Need You More Than Ever
Hiya guys, thanks for all of your reviews, sorry that I haven't updated this in a while, anyway, here's chapter 14, please read and review and chapter 15 and Chapter 16, the last chapter, should both be out tomorrow.
Chapter 14One week later and Gabriella had been released from hospital, and although she was still on crutches, she barely ever needed them as Troy insisted on carrying her everywhere, something that Gabriella was currently enjoying, but which could be very aggravating, depending on what she was trying to do, like when he insisted on carrying her to the bathroom. Besides that, she had found that she was perfectly mobile by herself, not that she'd told her friends or the doctors that she'd been attempting it, they'd only tell her that she was slowing down the healing process, but to Gabriella, she needed her own freedom, not to be confined to crutches, or to being carried everywhere.
She was currently sat on the cold hard bench, Troy's arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder, offering some warmth to her numb form as she stared forwards, not daring to look back.
She knew that if she did, all she would see was a sea of black and sympathetic faces to the young girl who had lost nearly everything that she held so close to her.
Today was the joint funeral of both of her parents.
As the service started to draw to a close, Gabriella vaguely felt Troy lean closer to her, and she distantly felt his hot breath in her ear as he asked her if she wanted to say something, the one thing that she did feel however, was the cold tears as they started to make a path down her face, swiftly followed by more tears, as she shook her head and Troy's embrace on her tightened, as it finally sunk in that her parents were no longer with her, that they were never going to be there to see her graduate high school or college, to see her get married, to see her get her first proper job, or to meet there first grandchild.
The silent sobs wracked Gabriella's body as the priest said the final prayer for her parents and the pallbearers, including all of the guys and their dad's, as they were the only family Gabriella had left, stepped up to pick up the coffins, slowly beginning the march out of the church and towards the graveyard, Sharpay's arm immediately taking over from Troy as he left with the others, casting one last look at Gabriella.
Slowly, Gabriella and the girls followed them; Gabriella's head hung low, desperately trying to blot out the concerned stares of people as she passed them.
The procession gradually moved out to the two plots of land that lay side by side, underneath the big, old billowing oak tree, where Gabriella's parents would finally lay to rest, together, side by side for the rest of time.
Troy's arm was soon around Gabriella again as the coffins were gently lowered into the ground and final prayers were said for the deceased. Gabriella's body started to shake more and more as her parents were lowered to rest and the sobs built up inside of her. All Troy could do was hold her as he prayed that she would eventually be alright and would learn how to trust and love people once again, whilst in the care of her friends, the Danforths' and himself.
As everyone else left and the freshly dug graves were refilled, Gabriella couldn't take it anymore and tugged herself out of Troy's arms, sprinting away from everyone that she knew, her now loud sobs echoing throughout the cemetery as she picked up speed.
She could hear the heavy footsteps on the gravel path behind her and knew that Troy and the gang were coming after her, deeply concerned, but if anything, this just made Gabriella run faster, run away from her problems, away from her life, away from everything.
She was abruptly stopped when a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her from behind, and instinctively, she started to struggling, lashing out at the one who held her captive, before she heard Troy whispering the gentle, soothing words to her.
She unexpectedly stopped trying to fight him and burst into fresh hysterics as he turned her around in his arms and held her tightly to him, while whispering loving words in her ear, desperate to clam his hysterical girlfriend.
Troy just stood there, Gabriella wrapped up securely in his arms, listening to her sob, as the heavens opened and the two young lovers were drenched instantly, with the whether deciding to match the sombre mood that now lay around the couple.
Troy looked over his shoulder at his friends and their families, all of who were also getting soaked and motioned for them to go inside either the church or their cars, while he stayed with Gabriella.
Obviously getting Troy's small gesture, the group started to wander slowly away, Sharpay looking over her shoulder every few minutes and smiling as she saw Troy turn back around and give a tender kiss to Gabriella's wet hair.
After a few moments of standing in the same position, Troy realised that Gabriella was mumbling incoherently to herself and bent lower so that he could hear her.
"It was my fault," she mumbled and Troy frowned, bending lower so that he could hear her better, "It was all my fault, if I had never been born, they'd still be alive." Troy's frown deepened and he straightened up as Gabriella started to repeat the phrases to herself again.
"Ella look at me," he said, softly, yet firmly, but she kept her head down, still muttering, "Gabriella look at me," he said fiercely, his voice rising as he battled over the raging wind and rain.
Hearing his tone of voice, Gabriela whimpered slightly, causing Troy to wince, but she looked up at him nonetheless.
When his ocean blue eyes caught on her mocha brown ones, he shuddered, behind her eyes there was nothing. None of the love or the warmth that he was used to seeing, only a vacant expression stared back at him, as though she couldn't even see him.
Gently he unwrapped his arms from her waist and cupped her face in them, shivering at how cold she was. "Gabriella, none of this was your fault," he whispered softly to her and she instantly turned her head away from him.
Re-cupping her face in his hands, Troy forced her to look back into his eyes, "You could have never known that your dad was going to get hit by that bullet, you telling him that you hated him wouldn't have affected his work Ella, I mean he was away when your mom was pregnant with you wasn't he?" she nodded slightly and his hands moved with her. He smiled lightly and kissed her forehead, she responded by closing her eyes unconscientiously, "If anything, I would have thought that that was a bigger distraction, the fact that he could have missed the birth of his first child, but he came home alive that time didn't he?" Gabriella nodded again, her eyes still closed, "And as for your mom Ella, there was nothing that you could have done, I mean, you became her punching bag for over six weeks and you didn't tell anyone because you didn't want anything to happen to her. There was nothing you could have done, Elle, it was just there time." He finished by tenderly kissing the top of her head again.
"No," she muttered, shaking her head violently, "NO!" Gabriella screamed as she started to hit Troy and he stumbled backwards slightly at the force of her blows, but he just allowed her to keep hitting him, knowing that one way or another, she had to let out all of her anger at her parents death.
As she started to sob uncontrollably, she sank to her knees, Troy sinking with her. "Why did they have to leave me Troy? Why? I can't do this on my own," she sobbed and he held her tightly to his chest, gently rocking them back and forth.
"I don't know why they had to leave you Ella, I just don't know, but I do know that you'll never be alone Gabriella Montez, not as long as you live, which you have to keep doing for everyone that loves you so much," Gabriella looked up at Troy, her tears drying slightly as the wind and the rain completely ceased to exist and the only clue that they had been there was the drenched ground and the soaked through teenagers. "I love you so damn much Gabriella Montez," Troy whispered softly against her lips as they meant in a fiery kiss, each showing how much passion and love that they had for each other, right there and then.
"And I love you Troy Bolton," Gabriella responded, gently pulling him in for another kiss.
Well that was chapter 14, I hope that you all enjoyed it, please review and hopefully the final parts to this story will be up tomorrow!