Me be really sorry. Sorry for the bad grammer, I just felt like I had to be an idiot for a second. I know that I've been really slow with my updating and it's summer. I apologize now.

But, I've figured out how to keep you guys updated without updating. On my freewebs, I'll be posting a sneak peek into the next chapter. I'll try to do that about a day or so after my last update. I will also post a sneak peek into the next video.

Okay, on with the story...

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The sun's rays were unreachable behind the ominous clouds that rolled over the sky. The sound of thunder could be heard faintly as Gabriella moaned quietly when she softly stirred in her bed. Troy looked on, his head propped up on his hand, watching her sleep peacefully.

Crack!

Thunder caused the house to tremble slightly and also cause Gabriella to awake. She turned over only to be greeted by Troy's strong arms pulling her close to him.

"Good morning gorgeous," he whispered, feeling her silky hair brush against his cheeks.

"Good morning Troy," Gabriella answered. Her head was throbbing painfully and her thoughts wouldn't come clearly to her. "Why does my head hurt so much?" she asked, bringing her hand up to her hand.

"Don't worry about that...but do you feel okay?" Troy asked, placing a loving kiss on the top of her head.

"Other than the painful headache...I'm fine," Gabriela replied, snuggling up next to him.

Thunder struck again, this time, rain accompanying it. It splashed hard against the windows, running down the pane in sheets. Outside, puddles quickly started to form in the street. Gabriella pulled herself out of Troy's embrace and got up, walking over to the window and glancing outside. Troy followed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck lightly.

"It's raining pretty hard out there," Gabriella stated, running her fingers along the cool surface of the glass pane. "I'm grateful we're in here, safe from it."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you and I are safe," Troy answered.

They shared a moment of silence, the only sound being the thunder and the rain as it pounded against the windows, the sidewalk, the roof of the house. Gabriella's head was still throbbing so she leaned against Troy for support, trying not to think to hard. Looking out the window, she saw something making its way down the sidewalk, struggling as it fought against the force of the rain. She peered closer out the window, trying to make out the figure.

"Troy, do you see something out there?" Gabriella inquired, pointing out to it.

Troy stared out the window, only to see nothing in sheets of rain. "No," Troy took a hold of her shoulders and turned her to face him, "Gabi, are you okay? Maybe you're seeing things. You did have trouble with the wine last night." He put his hand on Gabriella's forehead and Gabriella shoved it away, tearing herself away from Troy and returning to the window.

"I'm not seeing things Troy, just look out the window," she answered, pointing out the window. It was limping, fighting against the rain. Thunder struck and it jumped in fear, running behind a tree. "We've got to go help it."

Peering out the window, Troy only saw the rain and nothing else. "Gabi, there's nothing out there. You're probably just a little dazed from last night. You should lie down on the bed, get some more sleep," Troy urged, leading her over to the bed.

Adamant on the fact that something was out there, Gabriella spun around, which caused her head to start spinning. She took a step backwards and leaned against the wall, taking a moment to steady herself. Troy was just behind her, wondering whether she seriously saw something out the window or was just a little delusional from last night.

"Gabi really, you should lie down. They're nothing out there. It's raining why too hard for something to be outside," Troy said helplessly.

Gabriella ignored him, walking over to the window and peeing out of it. Again, she saw the figure battling against the force of the storm. "Troy we've got to go outside and help it. I don't know what it is, but it's struggling."

"Gabi, I don't see anything out there," Troy stated, watching as she rushed over to the door. He followed, knowing that she was going to head outside and try to rescue whatever she saw from the window. "Gabi, don't do this. You still have a headache from last night. You're mind could be playing games on you."

Gabriella didn't listen or respond. She made her way down the hallway, ran down the stairs, and headed toward the door in only her jeans and T-shirt.

"Gabriella, don't do this," Troy seized her arm, "There's nothing out there. Plus it's raining too heavy to go outside. You're going to get pneumonia or even worse."

She turned around and looked at him with softened eyes, causing Troy to let go of her arm. With this opportunity, Gabriella dashed out the door into the rain. Troy watched helplessly, wishing he hadn't just let her go. He turned around and went back into the house, grabbing a couple of jackets and towels. He sprinted out the door, leaving the towels by the door as he went searching for Gabriella.

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The puddles splashed as she ran through them. Rain instantly drenched her as she ran from her home, soaking her from head to toe. Her hair was a ragged mess, her clothes stuck to her skin, and her shoes were filled with water. Her head was pounding with agonizing pain, throbbing heavier with every step she took. But she was determined to rescue whatever poor creature she saw outside the window.

With difficulty, she made her way through the rain to the place where she knew she saw the creature. She heard a faint crying from behind a bush. Walking toward it, the pain became more violent to the point where it became too much for her to bear.

She heard the sound again as she leaned against a tree trunk for support. Falling to her knees, she crawled over to the bush and pulled apart the leaves.

"There you are," she picked it up, cuddling it closer to her arms, "I knew that I saw something out here."

It cried again, nuzzling its head into Gabriella's chest, sounding with delight that someone had found it.

"Come on, let's go back home so I can make you better," she whispered. Wobbly, she got up to her feet, only to fall to them again. The pain flared up again, causing her to cringe in agony. Her world started spinning as the rain pounded heavily on her head. She leaned against the tree and breathed heavily.

"Don't you worry," she said to the creature in her hands, "Troy's going to find me. I know he will."

Within a few seconds, the world started to fade to black. The last thing that she remembered was the sound of water splashing as someone made their way toward her.

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Miss Gabriella to the rescue! But will Troy figure what's with Gabriella's headaches? And what did Gabriella rescue? Find out in the next chapter!

With much love,
Kat