"Gabriella." Troy said knocking on the guest house at Gabriella's grandparents. "Come one baby girl I know you're in there."

He had arrived an hour ago. Set in his car for 30 minutes and thought long and hard about his senior year and how he treated the love of his life, because of his fear. Finally, he got out the car and slowly made his way up the path to the guest house.

"Please can we just talk it out?"

No answer.

"Please baby girl."

The door opened and there stood Brie. Tear stained face. Dark circles underneath her eyes. She was wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

"What are you doing here Troy? I am trying to give you what you want. Ok. I am trying to get over my soul mate. I am trying to overcome heart break and stop the heart aches. I am trying to go my own way. Because you've made it perfectly clear this past year that that is what you want."

"Please let me in we need to talk."

"No." Brie stated firm but anybody could see the pain flash in her eyes. She didn't want to deny him. She just wanted him, her lover, best friend, soul mate.

"Brie, Gabriella. I don't blame you for saying no. I don't blame you for putting up your walls and protecting your heart at all costs. I don't blame you at all. But please. Please. I beg you don't shut me out. I know that is a bold thing to ask, because my shutting you out got us into this mess. But please learn from my mistake shutting out the one you love, your soul mate, the one that is meant for you, only brings heart ache and pain. And you don't need any more of that my beautiful Gabriella."

She stepped to the side, and granted him entrance to the house. Fully prepared to turn to him and cuss him out from there in New Mexico to Timbuktu, she turned around battle face on. But when she turned around she wasn't facing the arrogant man she'd come to loathe the past school year. She was facing her Troy Boy. And he looked broken up. It was then she knew he already knew and felt the depths of the hurt and pain he caused her. There was no need to yell, rant, and scream. But she had some things she needed to say.

She ran to him and looked him in the eyes and began to let everything she'd been holding in just flow.

"You left me. You just vanished. I waited for you, tried to revive you. I prayed for you. I prayed for us. In the process of you being a coward, I lost my life and my heart. You didn't have to deal with all the worried stares and glances from the gang. You didn't have to hear 'poor Gabi.' Whispered every single time you walked down the hallway. You forgot about me. You decided what was best. You didn't even stop to think about the hurt and pain I would endure; seeing my heart with another. Seeing you two cuddle, and kiss and be lovey dovey. Did you honestly I could actually sit there and stomach it. You only thought of yourself. And you disappointed not only me but the gang. I lived by myself for most of my senior year. And I didn't have the option to spend time with, coincidentally, the only person I wanted to spend time with. You couldn't see my hurt or my pain because you were too busy protecting your damn self. What was that this past year? Huh? Because my Troy, he just isn't like that. He cares, he's honest. He there for me and he knows that I'd be there for him."

She paused and looked down. When she looked back up tears were streaming down her face but she continued on. "You hurt me so bad. The amount of hurt I experienced I could have never fathomed. And to know that you, of all people, were the one to cause the hurt, made it hurt all the more. You were my rock, my shelter, my protection, my comfort, my smile. I had to let all of that go I had to convince myself that I was no longer needed, I was no longer wanted. I had to tell myself to get over you because you were never coming back. I had to force myself to give up hope. And then you show up here. My Troy Boy shows up."

She took a step forward and Troy automatically opened his arms, but he looked cautious. But the next four words that Gabriella spoke was all the encouragement he needed.

Gabriella simply looked him in the eyes and said "Baby, please hold me."