"Gabriella, I'm so sorry." Troy said a few minutes later after they heard the elevator door close. There was another door that slammed and then more silence.
"I feel so embarrassed and…I don't know." Gabriella said gently flicking the surface of the water. "I mean, I guess I sort of knew something was going on but I never knew what."
"It's okay." Troy said gently. "You'll be okay."
"I know but…" Gabriella said. "I don't really feel bad for my dad but more for my mom. I never really liked my dad too much anyway…"
"I can tell." Troy said with a slight smile. Gabriella tried to laugh but she couldn't.
"I wonder what's going to happen." Gabriella said.
"Maybe they won't get a divorce. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding." Troy said.
"No, it's been coming for a long time." Gabriella said. "Ever since we moved here."
They sat in silence for a while. Gabriella felt Troy's hand wrap around her own and they just smiled at each other. "Come," Gabriella whispered. They immediately began kissing. Gabriella soon found herself on Troy's lap. Everything seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.
Troy pulled away from her. "What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.
"I think you should go talk to your mom." Troy said. Gabriella sighed and said, "I don't care about them getting divorced. I'm kind of glad that they are. Now back to what we were doing…" She began running her fingers through his wet hair and leaned to kiss him. Troy held her hands firmly up in the air.
"Gabriella, you don't feel a little upset or anything?" Troy asked.
"Troy, shh." Gabriella said. "We can be together and just be happy, right now, okay. Or you can have me being all moody and upset." She then looked around and then at his unconvinced face. "Look, I just don't want to think about it now."
"Okay, but I'll be here when you're ready to talk, okay?" Troy said.
"Okay," Gabriella said with a smile. They kissed several more times and then Gabriella whispered, "Undress me."
"Are you sure?" He asked. She bit her lip and nodded with her hands on the back of his neck. "Oka- wait, no protection!"
"Ugh, you're right!" Gabriella said. She muttered a curse word and then said, "Okay, later."
"Okay," Troy said. They smiled at each other.
"Why don't we get out of here?" Gabriella said. Troy nodded and she climbed off him and then out the Jacuzzi. Troy followed her and they picked up towels. When they stepped into the hallway Gabriella asked, "So, are we like together?"
"If you want but you know 'long distance relationships never work'." Troy recited with a smirk.
"You're such a biter. You can't even come up with your own lines." Gabriella teased. Her parents' bedroom door opened and her mother came out with very red eyes.
"Um, Troy, I'm going to borrow Gabriella for a moment." Mrs. Montez said.
"Um, okay," Troy said before walking towards Chad's room.
"Come in, Gabby." Mrs. Montez said leading her into the bedroom. She closed the door with a sigh before directing Gabriella to the French couch.
"Your father and I-"
"Are getting a divorce." Gabriella said finishing the sentence. "I know."
"You, um, heard." Mrs. Montez said with a nervous chuckle. Gabriella nodded.
"What's going to happen, then?" Gabriella asked.
"We may be moving back to Albuquerque." Mrs. Montez answered.
"Are…you…serious?" Gabriella asked feeling her heart pounding. "Oh my…when?"
"I don't know when but I…Look, Gabby, I'm not really sure about anything right now so just don't get too excited." Mrs. Montez explained.
"Okay," Gabriella said before leaving. "Um, mom, have you seen Chestnut?"
"Your father locked him in his room." Mrs. Montez explained with an eye roll. Gabriella nodded and then left. She quickly went to the room where her father always locked Chestnut in. The moment the door was opened, Chestnut didn't bark or anything. She heard him weeping in a corner.
"Oh, come here!" Gabriella said bending down to pick him up. He was shaking and she quickly hugged him. "Are you hungry?" Chestnut looked up at her with his big brown eyes as if to say yes. She looked over at his bowl and saw that it was empty.
Gabriella carried him into the kitchen and hand fed him some of the hard puppy food. After being fed and watered, Chestnut was happy and care-free again. He followed her to Chad's room where everyone was hanging out watching television.
"Hey, you guys," Gabriella said with a half smile. Chestnut ran in and immediately jumped on the bed and started trying to play with Chad.
"We heard what hap-pened." Chad said trying to back Chestnut off. Eventually he began scratching Chestnut's belly while the dog sighed.
"I'm sure the whole building heard." Gabriella said taking a seat on the bed in between Taylor and Troy.
"Are you upset?" Taylor asked. Before Gabriella could answer there was a soft thud.
"Uh, Chestnut fell." Chad said with a nervous smile. Gabriella shook her head and said, "Not really because I guess I never really liked my dad."
"But that's still bad." Taylor said. Gabriella shrugged.
"Can we not talk about it?" Gabriella asked. Everyone nodded and she stood up. "Instead, tonight we can order pizzas and stay up all night then in the morning we can open up the presents."
"Yep," Taylor said with a smile. "Can't wait!"