Chapter Four
"Are you guys coming?" Gabriella asked, plopping down on the couch. She leaned forward and pulled a magazine off her coffee table.
"Coming, honey," Troy called from the kitchen. Gabriella flipped through the magazine, not really paying attention to what was in front of her. Instead, she was thinking about what the other girls were doing. Mrs. Evans took Sharpay and Ryan shopping in New York. Mrs. Neilson took Kelsi to see a famous pianist perform. Mrs. McKessie took Taylor baby shopping in California. She was the only woman home. Her mother was away on a business trip. All the guys were staying with them for the weekend.
One by one, each of the young men came in, each carrying something. Troy held a few DVDs in his hand. Chad was carrying a big bowl of chips. Zeke was carrying salsa dip, and Jason carried melted cheese.
"So what have you picked for our evening?" Jason asked.
Troy shuffled through the movies. "The Hills Have Eyes, An American Haunting, Cry Wolf, and for the only lady here, Never Been Kissed."
Gabriella flashed him a smile. "Trying to earn brownie points, are we?" she joked. Troy's ears turned red. "You got them," she laughed.
Troy put An American Haunting in first. "Make some room," he said, squeezing in beside Gabriella and Jason. Once he was settled, Gabriella rested against him and he put his arm around her.
When that movie was over, Troy rose to replace it with another. "Put The Hills Have Eyes in." Zeke said.
Troy looked at Gabriella. She held her hands up in defense. "Don't look at me. I'm going to get a shower." She got off the couch, gave her wonderful husband a kiss, and headed upstairs to their room.
After grabbing her terry cloth bathrobe, she made her way to the bathroom. She put her hair up in a bun, turned on the shower and got in. She left the door open in case Troy had to use the bathroom.
Downstairs, the movie was getting good. The young mother was just shot in the head. The boys cheered and hollered.
Back in the bathroom, Gabriella was relaxing under the steaming hot water. The window and the mirror were already fogged up. That day had been real stressful. Just then, the bathroom door opened. "Troy, is that you?" she asked.
There was no answer. "Is anybody there?" she asked. Again no answer. She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe a breeze made it open a little more. She closed her eyes and let the water run all over her, washing all the negativity away. Just then the lights went out. Gabriella screamed in spite of herself.
"Hello? Who's there?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice. She was met by dead silence. She reached her arm out around the shower curtain toward the light switch. She didn't fully open the curtain in case it was someone other then Troy playing a practical joke on her. Troy had seen her naked plenty of times. They have had sex for crying out loud. There wasn't a part of Gabriella's body that was unfamiliar to Troy. The others, however, were a different story.
She fumbled until she reached the switch. When she flicked them on, she screamed again. There, standing in the middle of the bathroom, was a shadow of a person shown into the shower stall. "Who is that?" Gabriella demanded. "This isn't funny."
The figure raised its arm. There in his grip was a large knife. Gabriella screamed at the top of her lungs.
Downstairs, the movie was really getting good. The young girl was screaming. "This surround sound rocks," Chad stated.
"It sounds so real," Jason agreed.
Back in the bathroom, Gabriella was struggling with her attacker. He had ripped the shower curtain away and was trying to stab her. He reached out and latched onto her left breast. Gabriella was screaming and crying.
While her attacker was focused on her naked body, she reached out and clawed him close to his eye. "Get the fuck away from me!" She brought her foot up and kicked him in the groin.
"Gabriella," her attacker said, shaking her. It sounded like Troy.
"Gabriella…Gabriella…Gabriella."
Gabriella's eyes snapped open. She was safe and snug in her bed. Troy, however, was far worse off. There were claw marks by his right eye and he was holding his privates.
She sat up real quick. "I am so sorry," she said.
"It's all right." Troy managed to say. He was hurting real bad. Gabriella had kneed him pretty good.
Gabriella had hopped out of bed and rushed downstairs. When she returned she was holding an ice pack, a wet cloth, and some Band-Aids.
After she cleaned him up and the pain went away, Gabriella told him what she was dreaming about.
Troy pulled her close. "I would never let anyone hurt you in anyway," he promised.
Gabriella smiled at him. "Is there anything you can't do?"
A flash of pain came across Troy's face. "I can't take away your nightmares."
The next day, Sharpay and Zeke came over. "We haven't heard from you in a while and we wanted to see what you were up to," she gave as an explanation as to why they were there.
"I baked some chocolate chip muffins," Zeke said, producing a bag. While Troy led Zeke away to talk about guy stuff, Sharpay and Gabriella caught each other up on their lives.
After telling Sharpay about the night before and how Troy took care of her, Sharpay stood up and slapped her hand on the counter. "That settles it," she said.
"Settles what?" Gabriella asked, not comprehending.
"No offense, but for an Einstein-ette, you sure can be pretty stupid. Troy feels bad about not being able to take away all the pain from you. What do you want to do to show him he's appreciated?" Sharpay asked.
"I want to give him something special," Gabriella replied, catching on.
"And in order to do that, we need to go…?" Sharpay asked.
"Shopping," Gabriella finished.
After getting their hair styled and a manicure, Sharpay and Gabriella found themselves in a lingerie store. "How 'bout this?" Sharpay asked, holding up a see-through lingerie. It was black and had breast supports. Gabriella made a disgusted face. "How 'bout not?" Sharpay replied, replacing the item back on the shelves.
"There was nothing wrong with that, it's just that I want this night to be extra special," Gabriella explained, shifting through various items. Finally she saw what she was looking for. "Perfect," was all she said.
Later that night, Troy was in bed. He and Zeke played some ball while the girls were out shopping. When Gabriella got home, she didn't show him what she got. Instead she came directly into the house and hid it somewhere.
Just then, Gabriella came out of the bathroom wearing her bathrobe. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," he replied.
She walked over to his side of the bed. "I love you and love everything you do for me. You're there for me when I need you even when I think I don't. You care about me more then I could have even asked for," she started.
"I did take the vow to love and cherish you 'til death do us part," he pointed out.
"No, I know. It's just you make me feel safe, even in the middle of a nightmare. I love the way you make me feel." She stood up and let her bathrobe fall to the floor. "And to show how much I love you, I want you to love the way I make you feel." Troy threw back the covers and pulled Gabriella down to him. On her way down, she turned off the lights.