A/N: Sorry for the huge gap in updates, my first college semester kept me much busier than I thought. I hope to get back into writing more often though…
This is like my 15th attempt to get this up properly...thanks to Starlightmint for all the help! (go read her stories!!!)
Ok, read on
The dining room of the lodge was bustling. The sound of forks clanging against plates and happy people quietly talking and laughing between bites echoed around the high ceilings.
"Here you are Miss," the waiter said placing a plate of Belgian waffles in front of Gabriella
"Thank you," she smiled
Across the table Mr. and Mrs. Herrera were receiving their breakfast as well.
"Did you have a fun night last night?" John, Max's father asked the two of them
"I guess" Max huffed
Gabi rolled her eyes at him, "we had a great time John, thank you so much for this lovely family vacation."
Isabel grinned at her daughter's politeness.
For the next few minutes everyone munched and talked about nothing between bites. Gabi was spinning a strawberry around in the fluffy whipped cream; it left a juicy pink trail through the plate. She couldn't stop thinking about Troy. There were a million things that she now wished she had said in the few moments she had spent with him.
"Hey mom," she blurted in the middle of Max's story
Mrs. Herrera put down her fork, sensing Gabi's odd urgency, "yes dear?"
"Have you talked to any of the Bolton's lately? Do they live in the same place? Is Coach still…coaching?" Her questions were awkward and rushed.
"Well, no. I believe they're still in the house on Noyes Lane. And last I heard Coach Bolton was still coaching. I haven't been around the high school much lately." She laughed and looked at Gabriella strangely.
"What about Troy? Do you know how he is? Where he's living?"
She smiled, "I knew there was a point to all this questioning." She turned to John to quickly explain that Gabi and Troy had dated in high school. "Why are you thinking about him after all this time?"
"Well, I saw him last night, at the party" she confessed, "we only talked for a minute, so I know nothing about him."
Mrs. Herrera looked confused, "He was here, on vacation? This soon?"
"Yeah," Gabi smiled, "why wouldn't he go on vacation?"
"I just didn't think someone would be up for skiing when they've had a year like Troy's."
"How was his year?" Gabriella was utterly confused
Her face fell, "you really are out of the loop aren't you." She sighed, "Now I've only heard this from around town, so it's probably not the full story. Troy married his college girlfriend, I believe her name was Allison. Last February she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she died three days after thanksgiving. It's just so sad. She was only twenty-five."
"Maybe he came here to get his mind off of things. When Elena died I went to the lake almost every weekend, just to go think you know?" John tried to explain, "do you remember that Max? I think your grandmother was-"
John continued his story but Gabriella was honestly stunned. She couldn't believe that Troy had been through something like that, and so recently. Next to her, Max was moving things around his plate with his head hung. He felt guilty for pushing Gabi on the poor guy, and making assumptions about him having a bad marriage. This was the kind of situation that people their age didn't really deal with, neither of them knew how to feel.
Gabriella felt an unmatchable sadness wash over her. That morning she had been feeling sorry for herself and her loneliness. But the way Troy must feel, it was unimaginable. She pictured him coming home to an empty house and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She put her fork down and folded her napkin carefully, she just wasn't that hungry anymore.
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This chapter was much shorter than I had originally planned, but when I opened it today I realized it had been months since I wrote this and I completely forgot where I was going with this…bear with me through the next couple of chapters while I remember my plot…haha
Review to let me know people still read this!
Thanks!!!