The next day, Vanessa woke up and looked at the clock which read eleven forty-five. Her eyes widened. She got up and walked downstairs and went into the kitchen and found Austin sitting at the table.
"Good morning" Austin said.
"Morning baby" Vanessa said as she walked over to her boyfriend, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips.
"Are you feeling better?" Austin asked.
Vanessa nodded.
"I'm just frustrated that's all" Vanessa said.
"I know. You need to let him choose his own path. It's not your responsibility to choose it for him" Austin said.
"Yeah I know" Vanessa said.
Vanessa's phone rang and she picked it up and looked at the caller ID which read Zac.
"Hello?" Vanessa answered.
"Hey, it's me" Zac said.
"Hi" Vanessa said.
"I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was rude and all you wanted to do is help me" Zac said.
"I accept your apology" Vanessa said.
"I also came to a decision. I want to go to rehab and therapy and get my life back to where it used to be" Zac said.
"I'm glad that you want to work on yourself" Vanessa said.
"Then you and I could be together again like old times" Zac said.
"No Zac" Vanessa said.
"No what?" Zac asked.
"We aren't getting back together ever. I'm with someone. Don't do this rehab and therapy thing just to try and get me to come back, because I won't" Vanessa said.
Zac sighed.
"Then why are you helping me?" Zac asked.
"Because I don't want you to ruin your life" Vanessa said.
"Alright. I guess I will talk to you soon then?" Zac said.
"Yeah" Vanessa said.
The pair hung up. Vanessa looked at Austin.
"He thinks that if he goes to rehab and sobers up that we will get back together" Vanessa said.
Austin sighed.
"Babe, come here" Austin said.
Vanessa walked over to her boyfriend, who offered his lap to her. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Austin's neck.
"I know that you want Zac to go on the right track. I get that and I understand that he means so much to you because of your past. But throwing yourself into helping someone isn't going to be positive until they want the help. You are being really sweet for trying to help him but he doesn't sound like he's ready for help" Austin said.
"He told me that he wants to go to rehab and therapy" Vanessa said.
"I know he did but saying one thing and actually doing it are two different things" Austin said.
Vanessa sighed and looked into her boyfriend's eyes.
"I love when you know exactly what to say when I need it the most" Vanessa said.
Austin smiled. The phone rang. Vanessa looked at the caller ID and saw Starla. She picked up the phone.
"Hey Starla" Vanessa said.
"Hi honey" Starla said.
"What's going on?" Vanessa asked.
"Zac called and told me that he apologized to you and told you that he wants to go to rehab" Starla said.
"Yeah, that's what he told me. He also said that he wants to go to therapy" Vanessa said.
"He's really motivated to get sober and get help. He told me an angel came and laid down the law" Starla said.
Vanessa laughed.
"Well, an angel that is with someone. Starla, he thinks that if he goes to rehab that we will get back together" Vanessa said.
"Honey, there are a lot of things running through his head. You came and talked to him, he's thinking about rehab, and he's just really trying to figure out his life. Don't get offended by it. He's just saying a lot of things because he hasn't talked to you in almost three years" Starla said.
Vanessa nodded. The two women talked for a little while longer until they hung up. Vanessa looked at Austin and sighed.
"I can't deal with any of this right now" Vanessa said.
"Then don't. Just relax" Austin said.
"He doesn't want help and then he does. He calls me every five minutes just to make sure I answer the phone. Oh my god, I'm going to go crazy" Vanessa said.
Austin walked up to Vanessa and kissed her shoulder.
"Babe, let it go. Give me your phone and get ready for the day" Austin said.
"If he calls please don't answer it" Vanessa said.
"Stop worrying. Go upstairs" Austin said kissing Vanessa's lips.
Vanessa left the room. Her phone rang as soon as she was upstairs. Austin looked at the caller ID and saw Zac's name. He took a deep breath and answered the phone.
"Hello?" Austin answered.
"Uh hey. I'm trying to call Vanessa but I think I dialed the wrong number" Zac said.
"No you have the right number. Zac, you need time to heal. The best thing for you to do is to go to rehab. Vanessa is throwing herself into trying to help you. She shouldn't have to because she's not with you anymore" Austin said.
Vanessa walked into the room and saw Austin on her phone.
"Austin" Vanessa said.
Austin looked at Vanessa and knew that he was in trouble.
"Zac, you need to get some help" Austin said and hung up.
Vanessa looked at her boyfriend.
"What did I do?" Austin asked.
"You answered my phone after I told you not to. Don't do that" Vanessa said.
"Babe, I was only trying to help" Austin said.
"You don't know Zac. You don't know that I have been put through hell with him. You don't get that. I want to handle this on my own because I know how to deal with him and I know how to help him. So please stay out of this" Vanessa said.
Vanessa walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs. She closed her bedroom door behind her and locked it.
"Why are you doing this to me Zac?" Vanessa asked herself.
There was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Nessa, can I come in?" Austin asked.
"Yeah" Vanessa said unlocking the door.
"Are you okay?" Austin asked.
"Yeah" Vanessa said.
"I'm sorry for answering the phone. I just wanted to help, that's all" Austin said.
"I know you were just trying to help. I'm just stressed with all of this" Vanessa said.
Austin walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to Vanessa.
"But you don't have to be babe. I was just trying to get you to see that Zac is his own person. He is going to do what he wants. I get that you want to help him but he needs to make the decision to help himself" Austin said.
Vanessa nodded.
"So what should I do? How should I go about this?" Vanessa asked.
"Discuss with him how you feel again. Tell him what you think he should do and make it clear that by getting help it doesn't mean that you guys are getting back together" Austin said.
"Maybe I can get him to go to lunch with me and we can talk then. What do you think?" Vanessa asked.
"Try it and see if it works" Austin said.
"Okay. Thank you for letting me cool off" Vanessa said.
Austin opened his arms. Vanessa moved into them.
"I love you and I will always be here when you need to talk. Even about things about Zac" Austin said.
"I love you too" Vanessa said kissing Austin's lips softly.
"Go call him and tell him your plan" Austin said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Vanessa walked out of the room and called Zac and told him to meet her for lunch the following day. The next day, Vanessa got up and took a shower. She put on light makeup and got dressed. Vanessa looked at the clock which read eleven and walked downstairs.
"I have to go meet Zac. Wish me luck" Vanessa said.
Austin kissed Vanessa's lips softly.
"Love you, be careful" Austin said.
"I love you too. I will" Vanessa said.
Vanessa left the house and drove to the restaurant. She parked her car and walked into the restaurant and looked for Zac. Once she found him, Vanessa walked over to the table and sat down.
"Hi" Vanessa said.
"Hey" Zac said.
"How are you?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm alright. You said that you wanted to talk. What's up?" Zac asked.
"So you know how when I said that I think you should go to therapy and rehab?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah" Zac said.
"Have you thought about it?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah I have. I want to get back to my old self. Before the fame, before all the success, I want to be me again. I know that I have led you to believe that I will flake and not go, but I want to change. I don't want to be known as another "Disney Star that went wrong". I want to work on myself and get better" Zac said.
"I am glad that you want all of that. But I also don't want you doing those things for the wrong reasons" Vanessa said.
Zac looked at Vanessa confused.
"What are the wrong reasons?" Zac asked.
"I don't want you to go to rehab and therapy to try and get back together with me. I don't want you to do that" Vanessa said.
"I don't want to do that. I think the best thing is to get my mind back to where it belongs and so the old Zac can come back" Zac said.
"When are you going to go to rehab?" Vanessa asked.
"I looked at some places this morning and found one in Malibu. It's away from everything and it sounds like the programs that they have will really help me get my life back. I start on Monday. It's a six week rehab and detox" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded.
"I'm proud of you Zac. For making this decision and wanting to get your life back on track" Vanessa said.
"As weird as this will sound, you are the one who I should be thanking. You came up here and talked some sense into me and made me see what I was doing and what I needed to do to change it. So thank you" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled.
"You are very welcome. You know that I would never want to see you go downhill. Just because we aren't together, doesn't mean we can't be friends right?" Vanessa said.
"The friends part we can work on. I don't think your boyfriend wants us to be friends" Zac said.
"Why do you say that?" Vanessa asked.
"Because he's your boyfriend, Van. We were together for five years. You don't think that he doesn't want us around each other?" Zac asked.
"He just doesn't want to see me get hurt. That's all" Vanessa said.
"You know that I would never hurt you" Zac said.
Vanessa looked down at her hands.
"Intentionally" Zac added.
Vanessa looked up.
"I just don't want you to make the wrong decisions for yourself. If you did, that would hurt me" Vanessa said.
Zac and Vanessa talked for a little while longer until they both decided that they should go. They went their separate ways. Vanessa got into her car and started driving home. She dialed Austin's number on the way.
"Hey how did it go?" Austin asked.
"He looked at rehabs and starts one on Monday" Vanessa said.
"That's great news" Austin said.
"Yeah, I'm happy for him" Vanessa said.
"Are you on your way home?" Austin asked.
"Yeah, I will be home in ten minutes" Vanessa said.
"Alright" Austin said.
Vanessa pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. She walked into the house.
"Babe?" Vanessa called.
"In the living room" Austin said.
Vanessa walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to her boyfriend.
"Hi" Vanessa said.
"Hi, so he starts his program on Monday?" Austin asked clarifying.
"Yeah. It's a combined rehab and therapy program" Vanessa said.
"How long is it?" Austin asked.
"It's for six weeks" Vanessa said.
"It will be good for him" Austin said.
"Yeah. I hope that he will be able to keep his sobriety and just better himself" Vanessa said.
"I hope so too" Vanessa said.
A couple weeks later, Austin had left to film a TV series in New York. Vanessa had been home alone and was currently working on some new music. One day her phone rang. Vanessa looked at the caller ID, which didn't say a name. She picked up her phone.
"Hello?" Vanessa answered.
"Is this Vanessa Hudgens?" a woman asked.
"Yes, who is this?" Vanessa asked.
"Vanessa, this is Nicole from Shields Treatment Center. I'm calling on behalf of Zac Efron" the woman said.
"Hi" Vanessa said.
"The therapist that Zac is working with thought it would be beneficial if you came in to the treatment center to talk to her. She thinks it would help her gain a better understanding of everything. Would you be okay with this?" the woman asked.
"Yes" Vanessa said.
"The therapist's name is Dr. Amy Bradley. When would you be willing to come in?" the woman asked.
"I can come tomorrow" Vanessa said.
"Okay, I will let Dr. Bradley know and we will see you tomorrow" the woman said.
"Alright" Vanessa said.
Vanessa hung up the phone. She was going to see Zac for the first time since he entered rehab. She had hoped that he was making some positive changes that could help him in the future. The next day, Vanessa drove to the treatment center and parked her car. She walked into the center and went to the front desk.
"Hi I have a meeting with Dr. Bradley" Vanessa said.
"Alright. You can go on in" the receptionist said.
"Thanks" Vanessa said.
Vanessa's heart was pounding out her chest. She walked down the hall and found Dr. Bradley's office.
"Hi Dr. Bradley, I'm Vanessa" Vanessa said.
"Hi Vanessa. Come in" Dr. Bradley said closing the door behind her.
"How's Zac doing?" Vanessa asked.
"He's doing well. As of right now, he is clean and he is in therapy three times a week" Dr. Bradley said.
"That's great" Vanessa said.
"Yeah. I wanted to call you in today because I know that you both are close and I wanted you to participate in one of his therapy sessions with me. Is that okay?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"Yeah, that's fine. Does he know that I'm here?" Vanessa asked.
"No. I will go get him and bring him back here" Dr. Bradley said.
"Alright" Vanessa said.
Dr. Bradley left the room. Five minutes later, the door opened and Vanessa looked up and smiled when she saw Zac, who looked a lot healthier.
"Hey how are you?" Vanessa asked hugging Zac.
"I'm getting there. How's everything with you?" Zac asked.
"Fine" Vanessa said.
Zac sat down next to Vanessa.
"Zac, I hope you don't mind that I invited Vanessa to participate in one of your therapy sessions. I thought it would be beneficial for the two of you to really connect " Dr. Bradley said.
"No I don't mind" Zac said.
"When Zac first came to treatment he had said that he wanted to detox and be sober because was going through a lot in his life. He mentioned that you were both in relationship for five years. Can you tell me about it?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"We were living together and everything was great between the two of us. The reason why I broke up with him was the fact that we couldn't go anywhere without girls throwing themselves at him. They would chase him and do stuff like that. We couldn't just go out. I get that it comes with the territory of being famous and all of that, but I felt like it was taking over and the Zac I knew started to disappear" Vanessa said.
"It got too much for you to handle" Dr. Bradley said.
"Yeah. He still means a lot to me even though we aren't together. Our friend was the one that had told me to go see him because he was going through all of this stuff and thought that I could help him" Vanessa said.
"When you found out what was going on, how did you feel?" Dr. Bradley asked.
Vanessa's eyes began to water. She sniffled.
"I was upset like any person would. I was hurt that he would do that to himself and I didn't want him to go through that" Vanessa said.
"Zac, when Vanessa came to you and told you to get help, how did you feel?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"I got angry and didn't want anything to do with her or therapy" Zac said.
"Was it because of the breakup? Is this what this is all about?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"I got angry because I had no communication with Vanessa for three years and when this all happened, she magically appeared. When this first happened, she wasn't there. She found someone else. I didn't know whether I could trust the fact that she still cared and that's why I acted the way I did when I first saw her at my parents house" Zac said.
"Your parents still have contact with Vanessa?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"Yes. My parents and brother do" Zac said.
"Did that make it harder for you when you were going through the breakup?" Dr. Bradley asked.
Zac nodded.
"Do you think you both will ever be friends?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"It's up to Vanessa. I would like to be but the decision is up to her" Zac said.
"Vanessa, can both be friends?" Dr. Bradley asked.
"Yeah" Vanessa said.
Dr. Bradley smiled.
"Good. Thank you for coming to meet with us, Vanessa" Dr. Bradley said.
"No problem" Vanessa said.
Zac and Vanessa walked out of Dr. Bradley's office.
"Can we go and talk somewhere?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah" Zac said.
Vanessa followed to the pool where there were a bunch of tables surrounding it. The two adults sat down.
"How are you feeling after that?" Vanessa asked.
"I feel like I finally got to tell you how I really feel and felt about everything. I feel like I have a weight lifted off of my shoulders because I was able to say how I felt" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled.
"I'm glad that you got everything off your chest. It's only going to get better" Vanessa said.
"Thank you for coming up here and meeting with Dr. Bradley with me. I know that it was hard to do" Zac said.
"I just want you to be healthy Zac. I know that a lot of what you have gone through is because of what happened between the two of us" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
"And I feel responsible for letting you go down this road. If I had tried harder to make it work between the two of us then this wouldn't have happened" Vanessa said tearing up.
"Van, this isn't your fault. Never blame this on yourself. This is my doing. I did it to myself" Zac said.
"But had I stayed after we broke up, I still wouldn't have let you go through this" Vanessa said as she choked up.
"Hey, come here" Zac said.
Zac and Vanessa got up. Vanessa walked over to Zac and hugged him. He rubbed her back as she cried and continuously apologized to him.
"Don't apologize Van. This isn't your battle, it's mine" Zac said.