It had been an hour since Troy had seen Ms. Darbus. It had been almost an hour and a half since he found out that his girlfriend was in a car crash. But it felt a lot longer.
The lights were boring down on him. Making him feel uncomfortable as if he was down at the police station and being interrogated one-on-one. His palms of his hands were sweaty as he clasped them together nervously, not knowing what else to do. He leaned back in the uncomfortable squishy red chair as him, Carlos, and Jake were in another waiting room towards the back so they weren't by the receptionist and everyone else who was just arriving at the hospital.
They were the only ones in there and there was a silence that seemed like it was going on forever. His mind couldn't stop racing about other things that could be wrong. If Gabriella had only a concussion then why couldn't they just go in and see her body? It wasn't like it would be a bad thing if their voice just happened to be a little too loud and they accidentally woke her up. In Troy's mind that would be a very good thing.
Troy heard some rustling of people's feet go by one of the two archways branching out into separate hallways for patients rooms, and his head perked up to try to recognize the doctors' voice who was treating Anna and Gabriella.
He sighed dejectedly as the voices faded along with the forgotten footsteps. He knew that it would probably be bad news if the doctor came to talk to them about Anna right now since she was in surgery and wouldn't be reporting back to Carlos or Ms. Darbus for a couple of more hours. But there was always hope that it was Gabriella's doctor who walked by, but it sadly wasn't.
"Are you guys hungry?" Carlos's voice spoke out loud as Troy turned his head slightly, having his bangs fall over his eyes, to see the blonde shake his head no on his left side and Carlos on Jake's other side rub his temples.
He looked tired, he looked sad and even though the doctor said his daughter would be okay, Troy could tell that he was worried about Anna. No matter what happened in their past, they must have felt something for each other earlier on in life or else they wouldn't have gotten married, but things change. But even so, he was still worried and that just made everything different in Troy's eyes. He was so used to having an anchor with him, whether it was his mom or dad who were always there to tell him what to do, but he didn't have someone like that now as he hadn't even called his parents yet to tell them what's up.
"No thanks." Troy said quietly as if talking too loud would disturb others.
Troy leaned back in his seat as he looked around them at the multiple twenty chairs that were exactly the same, the white walls that were almost too white, a sign that said 'no cell phones' as Troy didn't understand that but it had something to do with the cell phone somehow messing with some of the machines if they were in use, and the old magazines the hospital never updated as he was sure he recognized one from five years ago when Chad broke his arm.
"Are you guys thirsty because I think I saw a soda machine down the hall. I can go get you something?" Carlos offered as the blonde haired boy shook his head without making eye contact with anyone. Jake had been awfully quiet the past hour as Troy didn't exactly know what was up with him, but as Gabriella's boyfriend he was going to do everything he could to make sure that he was okay.
"No thanks Mr. Arias." Troy murmured as he stretched out his legs, getting a feeling that he was used to in nervous situations: he felt like he needed to be active, he needed to do something to occupy himself, make himself feel useful. Troy was guessing that's how Carlos was feeling also as he was making sure the boys were okay.
Troy's head whipped up again in pure hope as a doctor he recognized came into view and stood before them with a sympathetic smile on his face. Troy recognized this man as Gabriella's doctor. He was tall, mid forties, black buzz cut hair, and a friendly face that at least reassured Troy that she was in good hands.
Carlos stood up as Jake's and Troy's eyes both looked at the two. "How is she? Is she awake?" Carlos asked anxiously.
Dr. Knutson shook his head no slowly, "We got the MRI testing back and there's no brain damage, so that's a good sign. And usually with concussions it takes only a little while for them to wake up, so we should all be expecting her to wake up within thirty more minutes or less." The doctor turned towards Jake and Troy as he said the last sentence, bringing them into the conversation as Troy felt a small smile overcome his face. Gabriella would be waking up any minute, and when she did he was going to be with her again. Everything would be okay.
"Now when she does wake up there is a chance that she won't remember the events leading up to the car crash." Carlos nodded as the doctor went on explaining what might be after symptoms of Gabriella's concussion. "Now in children or teenagers, it is common for her to be restless, irritable, she might be slow to respond to questions, have a vacant stare, and changes in sleeping patterns."
"She will get better right?" Carlos asked to be sure as Troy felt his head spinning. Even though it wasn't nearly as bad as her mom, he still didn't even like to imagine Gabriella anywhere near a hospital.
"Remember Mr. Montez that she might not even have these after symptoms. But if she does; with a lot of rest after a couple of days to weeks she'll be like brand new. But the physical symptoms do sound a little worse than what I just told you. She'll almost be guaranteed have a head ache that will last days, dizziness, vomiting, difficulty balancing and concentrating. She probably won't like bright lights, she might have blurred vision, and ringing in the ears." When the Dr. Knutson stopped talking Troy tried to count how many things he just listed that might possible happen to Gabriella, but couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. He had never actually seen someone after a concussion so he had no idea what it would be like, but from what the doctor just described it sounded like Gabriella would have symptoms kind of like the flu. "So with that said, we want to keep her over night, wake her up every couple of hours to test her reflexes and make sure everything is okay, and she should be able to head home tomorrow."
"When are we allowed to see her?" Carlos asked eagerly as he ran his hand through his short jet black hair.
Dr. Knutson smiled at the father's eagerness. "For now she's still not awake, so only family members one at a time." Carlos nodded. "Is there any other questions?"
"Um…how's Anna Montez doing?" Carlos asked with a shaky voice.
"Dr. Rutz is a very good surgeon. She's in good hands." Just then his pager went off and Troy saw him and Carlos shake hands before he left them alone in the room again.
"See you guys, everything is gonna be okay." Carlos said with a smile full of relief. "I'm gonna head back there, but once she's up I'm sure she'll be happy to see the both of you."
Troy nodded as Jake still said nothing from his seat. Carlos left the waiting room and went towards the room the nurse told him earlier before was hers. Troy looked at Jake as he just stared down at the ground with his eyes narrowed slightly.
"You want to talk?" Troy asked in the bluntness way possible.
Jake tensed besides him as he shook his head no. "There's nothing to talk about. Gabriella's gonna be okay."
"Are you?" Troy asked back as he was hoping that Jake was at least gonna be able to pull it together before Gabriella woke up.
"What do you mean?" His eyes looked up and over at Troy as Troy sent him a look that told him that he knew that something was wrong. Jake sighed as he ran a hand through his short thick hair. "I'll be okay when Gabriella's okay." Jake confirmed as Troy nodded his head.
It made sense that he was freaked out. Troy was still freaked out as his heart was pounding a mile a minute. "I'm scared." Troy breathed out after a moment of silence and Jake turned his head in surprise. "I was scared and still am."
"Scared shitless and it's all because of one girl." Jake let out a chuckle as Troy did too. It was true, both of them were wrapped around Gabriella's finger and neither one would have it any other way.
"She has a way of doing things without even realizing it." Troy pointed out with a small smile just thinking of Gabriella's beauty. And now Jake and him were bonding by just talking about her without her knowing about it. She did do things without realizing it and that's what made her a great person in Troy's eyes.
"I know. I learned that the hard way while losing one hundred bucks in the process." Troy saw Jake smile and he smiled too glad that he could get him in a happier mood.
Just then both boys tensed up as they heard quick footsteps coming their way and in a moment of waiting Carlos appeared in the doorway with a wide grin. "She's awake!" He announced happily as Troy felt himself break out into a huge grin. "She woke up five minutes ago and she's pretty much how the doctor described she will be so she's not gonna be her usual self, but she's talking and she's awake…I have to call Ellen." Carlos thought out loud.
"Can we uh…can we go back there?" Troy asked hesitantly as he stood up. He couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face.
Carlos' smile almost faltered, but he offered each boy a small one. "Only one at a time, sorry you guys." He apologized even though it wasn't his fault. "You guys work it out as I have to make some phone calls and fill out paper work for this bloody hospital." Carlos explained as he walked out towards the lobby and cafeteria were located.
Before Troy could even say anything Jake beat him to it, "You go."
Troy turned to look at him. "Are you sure man? Because you're her best friend and--"
"And nothing. You're her boyfriend. I'll get to see the damsel in distress after. It's okay, really Troy." Jake said as his tone was serious and Troy nodded slowly.
"Thanks." He held out his hand and they did a guy shake before Troy nearly ran out of the room and towards Gabriella. He turned down various hallways, following the numbers that were slowly getting higher and higher and he stops until he reaches a door that read her name off to the side and room number, 414.
He takes a deep breath as he puts his hand on the door knob. Letting everything sink in from this early morning to only two hours after. His parents didn't even know that he was at the hospital instead of school, Chad and Taylor and probably everyone else were texting him as before he even saw the cell phone sign in the waiting room he could feel his cell phone vibrating every five minutes and to a point where he just turned it off.
He slowly turns it and looks around the room that had dimmer lights than the hallway, the off white walls that needed some other color to it because it just looked too plain, the TV that was on a high shelf that wasn't on yet, and the girl in the bed.
He looked at her and their eyes connected as she offered him a very weak smile. Her eyes looked drained of all color, her forehead had a cut on it that was covered by a clear strip and two sticky pieces of white gauge, her body looked limp as his girlfriend looked so small lying in the all white sheets in the hospital gown.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was clogged. He couldn't believe how horrible this felt. He couldn't even imagine what it would feel like if Gabriella was hurt even more.
"Wildcat…" Her voice was raspy as she spoke so soft that he had to walk into the room to hear more. He made sure to shut the door as quietly as possible before turning to look at her again. He almost preferred looking at the used white tile flooring than at his girlfriend who he loves since it didn't hurt so much.
He forces his eyes to stay on her as he walks closer and has to fight the urge to not crush her in a huge hug. "God Gabi…" He breaths out as he is now at the side of her bed and his right hand tentatively reaches up and pushes a stray curl behind her ear and softly strokes down her cheek, slowly maneuvering itself to her hand and lacing their fingers together. "When I saw the news, I couldn't…" He trialed off as Gabriella nodded her head in an understanding way. "And I thought…"
"I'm sorry." She whispers as tears prick her eyes and Troy shakes his head and wipes the tears away that fell delicately down her face away with the pad of his thumb.
"Don't be." He said sternly. "It wasn't your fault." He looks at her and she sighs and sniffles.
"Okay." She agrees defeated as she probably wasn't in the mood to bicker with him.
"God, come here." Troy says as he slowly and carefully wraps his arms around her and she leans forward a little so he could reach around her back and bring her into a hug. He kisses the top of her head softly, as he barely put any pressure on her, afraid that she'll break even more. "I love you so much."
"I love you too Wildcat." She breathed into his chest as he softly stroked up and down her back.
He pulled back reluctantly and offered Gabriella a small smile as she smiled back. "So I hear you'll have a bitch of a head ache pretty soon." He said as Gabriella nodded.
"It already started." She says with a little amusement in her voice as Troy all of a sudden wonders if she knew about her mother, but it wasn't his place to tell her. But then again, who's place was it? It wasn't like her mother and father were together and Carlos was busy at the time with paper work and bills, Ms. Darbus was God only knows where, and that was all the family Troy knew of for Gabriella.
"Wildcat, what is it?" Gabriella asks as Troy mentally curses himself for showing what he was thinking through his face.
He clears his face off from the distant distubed look and and smiles gently at her. "Nothing, I was just wondering if you could fit two people in the bed." He lies as he flirts with her and giving her a smirk.
Gabriella rolls her eyes a little at him as she scoots over the best she can in the bed without triggering the nausea the doctor said she might get. "I don't know. Let's find out." Troy got into the bed with her as he wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest.
"I have a question to ask you." Gabriella said softly as her right hand slowly reached up and played with the collar of his shirt.
"Anything." He murmured into her hair while just taking in the fact that Gabriella was going to be okay. She was awake and was responding to him okay. She was starting to get a head ache, but she was okay. He was thankful for that.
"Where's my mom?" Her question brought him out of his thoughts as his whole body tensed up. "I saw my dad. I thought he would've told me but the nurse told him he had to go set up some payment plan with her, and then…you came in. Where is she Wildcat?"
Troy sighed as he shut his eyes hoping beyond hope that something would happen where her dad would magically come into the room and tell Gabriella about Anna. He didn't think he could bare seeing Gabriella's tears again with the questions she was asking.
"Wildcat?" Gabriella cooed softly as she stiffened a yawn. "Please don't lie."
Troy nodded his head as he held her more securely in his arms. "…O--okay." He stumbled over his words as he tried to rack his brain for a more easier way to tell her, but there wasn't one. "She…her side of the car was the one that got the most impact of the crash." He said slowly, remembering what he had picked up of the accident on TV, overhearing the police talking, and the doctors talking about it with Carlos and Ms. Darbus.
"Keep going." Gabriella urged softly in a weak voice as he knew she needed to get some sleep pretty soon.
"She was uh…rushed to the hospital first and she's in surgery right now." Troy whispered as he tried to control his own emotions and Gabriella gripped onto his shirt tighter. "One of her lungs collapsed Gabi."
"…Is she okay?" Gabriella hiccupped as she fought back tears.
"We don't know yet." Troy whispered as there was a silence. Troy didn't know if he did the right thing or not, but she was going to find out eventually and it was probably best that it was from him and not the doctors who by accident might mention it to her.
"Troy?" Carlos calls softly, as to not disturb the massive head ache forming in Gabriella's head. He took one step into the hospital room and smiled softly at the couple as Gabriella was on the brink of breaking down into tears. "Your dad's here. Chad told him everything and he wants to speak to you."
Troy looked down at the girl in his arms and leaned down towards her ear so only she heard, "I don't want to go, but I have too. I'll be back as soon as possible." Troy kissed right under her ear lobe.
Gabriella didn't say anything and that worried him as Carlos looked at Troy puzzled and Troy and him shared the same look. "She knows about Anna." Troy blurted out once they were away from Gabriella's ear shot.
Troy studied Carlos's expression and he didn't look mad. "Okay."
"You're not mad?" Troy asks unsure as if he was reading Gabriella's father's expression wrong.
"No." He answers. "Relieved actually. Thank you Troy." He says as Troy got the feeling that he just wasn't saying thank you for breaking the news to Gabriella about Anna, but for something else as Troy nods.
"No problem." They enter the waiting room again and Troy sees his dad and Jake talking quietly. When Troy walks over he was surprised to get a quick hug from his father as he was expecting maybe a lecture on skipping school.
"Your mother wants you to call her." Jack said softly as Troy nodded and looked briefly behind him at the 'no cell phone' poster and Jack seemed to get the message. "Let's go take a walk. Do you guys want anything? Need anything?" Jack asked as Jake and Carlos both declined and Carlos and Jack quickly shook hands before Jack started leading Troy out of the waiting room. Troy really had no idea why he couldn't wait to call his mom because he just wanted to be with Gabriella, but he wasn't going to get into a fight now. It just wasn't the time to when he knew Gabriella was going through a rough time.
Gabriella swiped at her eyes as she swore she could hear a high pitch ringing sound in her head. Even the dim lights hurt her eyes as she concentrated down on the white sheets wrapped around her body.
Her stomach churned just thinking back to the fight her mother and her had before the car crash. She remembered that part perfectly as the car ride to school was still a little blurry and personally, Gabriella didn't mind that she forgot that part as it would always be with her.
She shut her eyes as she held back a sob just imagining her mother's lifeless body on a surgery table, being cut open because of her. And even though Troy told her it wasn't her fault, Gabriella still felt like it was. How could she let her mother's side of the car get hit like that?
She bit her lip as she felt a pounding in her head. Her whole body ached as a small whimper escaped her tightly shut lips. The one person she really wanted to see now, was gone and Gabriella didn't know when she was coming back, or if she was even okay.
She wanted to just collapse and sleep, she wanted to get out of this hospital bed and rush to her mother, and even though those two things contradicted each other; she wanted to do both of them, even though it was impossible.
She rips her eyes open as a tear leaks down her red cheeks and she sees the door handle to the wooden door five feet away start to turn slowly. She was expecting the sad blue eyed basketball captain to walk through, but instead saw the blonde haired boy who was known as her best friend.
Neither one said anything as Gabriella swallowed more tears while letting some slip past the invisible barrier and down her cheeks. She grips the white sheet between two enclosed fists, telling herself not to fall apart now. She was okay, she should be relieved, but instead she could only think of her mother who was probably still mad at her, even though deep down Gabriella knew that was a lie, but was too tired to think reasonably.
She couldn't help the small gasp come out from between her lips as more tears spilled over and the blonde haired boy rushed over to her. She let herself break down in his arms. She cried all the tears that came to the back of her eyes; pouring down her cheeks and into his dark blue t-shirt.
"It's gonna be okay." He whispered in her ear as she just cried harder; knowing that sometimes you might not have luck on your side.
Gabriella let another sob take over her body as she ached with pain physically and emotionally. Her mother made one mistake by taking her feelings out for Eric in her dancing, and Gabriella blew up at her for it. She could've found some other way to tell her that she didn't want to dance, but instead they end up getting in a car crash. How was that fair?
There was one thing that would get Gabriella through this and she knew it. That key thing that Gabriella was going to use to get better is determination. She was promising herself right there and then that she would find a way to make her mother proud as she didn't feel worthy of her mom now. Her mother wanted only one thing from her and that was to dance, and Gabriella couldn't even give her that when Anna has given her so much already. Gabriella in return of clothing, food, and shelter could at least giver her one thing back. And Gabriella was going to use determination to help.
"I promise everything is gonna be okay." Jake whispered as Gabriella just clung onto him.
Author's Note--So I really personally love this chapter and if others don't then feel free to tell me, but I just really like it for some reason. Now I can reassure you that nothing past being best friends is going on between Jake and Gabriella. Also, I've never experienced a cuncussion before so everything that the doctor said and explained I got from wikipedia. So...with those three things said, review please and tell me if i just spent time writing crap or something good for this story. Thanks--