Hey, everyone! I've been getting a lot done! Yeah, me! So everyone wants to know what happened to Gabriella right? Well, read on to figure it out and review, please, if you enjoy it!
CHAPTER EIGHT
Troy rolled onto his stomach when the sun light fell upon him in the morning and groaned tiredly before he opened his eyes. He reached behind him expecting Gabriella to be there but she wasn't and he quickly sat up and looked around his room.
"Gabriella." He called as he ran his hand through his hair.
He heard the door open and Gabriella walked in with her own clothes on and his sweater and pants neatly folded in her hand. She smiled at him and set his clothes on his dresser before she came toward him.
"Good morning." She said as she sat on the side of his bed.
"Morning." Troy said with a smile as he kissed her on her forehead.
"I talked to your mom and she's not going to be home for the rest of the day and your dad is at Chad's house hanging out with his dad." Gabriella explained.
"So we have the house to ourselves." Troy said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Yup… let's get something to eat." Gabriella said quickly as she stood up and walked toward his bedroom door.
"Okay." Troy said as he furrowed his brow and followed Gabriella out of his room.
Troy and Gabriella were leaning against the kitchen island eating cereal. They were going to make something like eggs or French toast but they didn't want to make a big mess. Gabriella watched as her berries from the bowl of Crunch and Berries bobbed up and down. She leaned on her elbows and kept her eyes on her cereal. Troy watched her as he put another scoop of cereal in his mouth and couldn't help but notice that she was being quiet and standoffish.
"Are you okay?" Troy asked her.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking." She answered.
"Care to tell me of what?" He asked.
"Just everything." Gabriella answered. "Of everyone."
Troy nodded slowly and set his bowl down on the counter.
"Did you see everyone yesterday?" Troy asked.
"Yeah… it felt so good to see everyone again."
"How was Taylor?" Troy asked.
"She cried for like an hour straight and then she didn't want me to leave. Chad cried too when he saw me and Zeke picked me up and spun me around for so long I thought for sure I'd be sick." Gabriella smiled as she continued. "Jason and Kelsi jumped up and down and Sharpay screamed for a couple of minutes, while Ryan tried not to faint."
"Wow." Troy said with a smile.
"Taylor said that she gave you your graduation gift." Gabriella said as she looked up at Troy.
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. Thank you." Troy said with a smile as he moved to the same side of the counter as Gabriella was at and leaned against it.
"It was the least I could do." Gabriella said with a smile.
"The note was the best part." Troy said as he looked at Gabriella.
"The note. I forgot about the note." Gabriella answered with a nod. "It probably made the situation worse, you know since you got it when I was missing."
"It gave me hope, I guess, but yeah it made it a little worse, I'm not going to lie. Definitely when graduation came around." Troy answered.
"I can't believe I missed it." Gabriella replied quietly.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, it was extremely boring." Troy answered.
"It's not about that, Troy." Gabriella sighed as she stood up and faced him. "I missed the moment that I dreamed of since I was in middle school and I missed this defining moment that all of our friends went through without me, one that I should have been a part of. I was supposed to make a speech with Taylor and make my mom proud by walking across the stage and moving the tassel on my cap to the other side." Gabriella threw her hands up in disappointment. "What am I supposed to do now since I missed it? Am I supposed to start all over? I mean, what do I do? I don't even know how to get my diploma now. It's not like I can just pick it up at East High's office and if I could I wouldn't. I'm not going back there. I'm not going back." Gabriella was panicking now and was starting to get emotional. She was teary eyed as she looked at Troy and shook her head.
"You don't have to go back there." Troy said as he hugged her tightly.
"I can't." Gabriella said as tears started to fall from her eyes. "It was so scary." She added as Troy continued to hug her.
"Come on." Troy said as he took her hand and led her into the family room.
Gabriella sniffled as she sat down next to Troy on the couch and looked at him with her sad brown eyes.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore… the guys that did this to you are locked up." Troy said sincerely as he looked her in the eye.
Gabriella sighed and looked like she was thinking as she looked back at Troy.
"They hurt me, Troy… I can't just forget about it." Gabriella said seriously.
Troy looked hurt for a minute, sad for Gabriella.
"What did they do?" Troy asked quietly, but seriously.
"At first they didn't do anything. They just put me in a dark basement and left me there. They didn't talk to me, they just made sure I was there… and one day I wasn't." Gabriella said as she looked down at her hands.
"What do you mean?" Troy asked in confusion.
"I was so close from getting out the day of graduation… but I knocked over something and gave away where I was. They found me and I got punished for it."
"What do you mean by that?" Troy asked worriedly.
"Let's just say I didn't make it down the stairs gracefully… that's how I got most of my bruises." Gabriella explained.
"Most?" Troy questioned.
"The tall guy kicked me a couple times… the guy that came in the closet we were in before they found us, threatened that he would shot me after I asked him why he was such a scum." Gabriella said as if it was okay to tell a kidnapper that he was scum.
"You called a guy that could have killed you scum?" Troy asked.
Gabriella raised her eyebrow at Troy.
"You wanted to know." Gabriella said quietly.
"You just need to know that you're safe… I'm always going to be here for you." Troy said as he looked into Gabriella's sad eyes.
"Thanks Troy." Gabriella said as she hugged Troy and he lightly hugged her back.
The next day after Gabriella spent some time with her mom, she looked at the clock and then outside where it was starting to get dark and new she should get to Troy's house so she wasn't late for their date. Her mom had a funny smile on her face as she waved goodbye to her daughter when Gabriella walked out the door.
She waited outside of the Bolton's house after she rang the door bell. Troy happily hurried to the door and greeted Gabriella.
"Hey Gabi." Troy said with a toothy smile.
"Hey." Gabriella said as she stepped into the house.
"Okay, I have a surprise for you." Troy said as he covered her eyes.
"Troy, you know I hate surprises." Gabriella smiled.
"You'll like this one." Troy said as he led her to the back yard. "Okay, ready?" Troy said as he stopped her where he wanted her to be standing, keeping his hand over her eyes.
"I think so." Gabriella said with a small nod.
Troy slowly uncovered Gabriella's eyes and she gasped softly.
"Oh my god, Troy!" Gabriella said in excitement.
Review for the surprise!
Much love,
unknownbyhim22