Thanks for the reviews. I love them, even the critiques. They are always needed. Thanks so much.

For many reasons, I didn't reveal if Greg was the rapist or not. I'm not going to tell you if Greg will pop up later in the story or not, because I am getting an idea for it.
If you want to know yourself if Greg is rapist, think about this: I am trying to make this story as realistic as I can, and Greg is gone for now (eh, kinda). So do you think he is?
I'm not confirming anything.

Oh, and you won't see Troy rough Greg up because this is G's POV remember? She didn't go.

Review please.

Named Breaking Free after HSM1, by Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens

A little after Troy left, it starting raining. It didn't start thundering until after he got back. He was gone for a little over an hour and a half. I didn't ask what happened, I kind of knew because his hands were all ripped up. I briefly wondered how he found him, what he said, and what Greg said to him. I also wondered what Chad thought.

"Hey," Troy said from behind me to get my attention. I didn't turn from the back door, and just continued to look out at the ran, and flashing sky. I felt him behind me. "Come on, let's move away from the window, it's starting to get bad out there," he suggested, one of his warm hands encasing mine. He walked over to the couch, bringing me with him. He sat me down, and like Vince, put the blanket over me. It didn't bother me as much when Troy did it, though. I did feel cold. I rested my body against Troy's, burying myself against him. Troy's always warm. Always.

We didn't say anything for a few minutes, he just held me. His hand moved through my hair repeatedly, it felt nice.

"We have to talk at some point, you know," he murmured in my ear, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Not yet," I replied, opening my eyes just as a thunderclap was heard. "This is all I want to do right now," I whispered, holding him tighter.

He took in a dead breath before speaking. "Gabriella, I understand that, but I need to know what happened," he responded, pressing his lips to my temple. I merely shook my head against his chest. "Gabriella," he said a moment later.

"What?" I asked, pulling away only enough so I could look him in the eye. "I don't want to talk, okay?" I stated.

"No, it's not okay," he informed me, and I looked at him with disbelief in my eyes. "I need to know what he said, what he did, I need to know what went on after I left, all of it," he insisted.

I let go of him, and ran a hand through my slightly damp hair. I was in the shower for almost an hour after Troy left. My skin is a little sensitive in certain areas right now. "Well, what did he tell you when you went after him like a pissed off teenager?" I questioned.

"I told you, either we were going to call the cops, or I was going to get him, you chose," he reminded me. "I can't even tell you what he said, because I didn't hear any of it. You think I was going to listen to him after whatever he did to you?" he rehtorically asked. "And, in case you wanted to know, if Chad hadn't pulled me away, I would have killed him," he added.

I buried my face in my hands. "I didn't want to know," I whispered. I felt his hand on my back, and it made me flinch.

"It's just me, baby," he assured me, lifting me to in between his legs.

"I know, that's not why I did it," I admitted, looking into his eyes. I was thankful that I took Advil after my shower right then.

Troy took the hint, and lifted up the back of my shirt, well technically, his shirt. It would be bruised tomorrow, but right now, it was red, and sore. He swore under his breath, and his hand covered it gently. It made me sit up straight. "What did he do to you?" he asked simply, resting his head against mine.

I sniffled. "He-He just pinned me against the counter," I answered easily, snuggling into him.

"That is from the counter?" he questioned, and I nodded. "Anything else physical that I should know about?" he wondered. "Other than your arms."

I let out a breath before lifting up the front of my shirt slowly. There was a red scratch that I didn't even feel at the time on my stomach. "That's it," I told him, biting my lip nervously.

Troy wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. "I'm so sorry," he croaked in my ear, and I wrapped my arms around him.

"It's not your fault," I replied, buring my face into the crook of his neck.

"What else happened?" Troy asked, his hand in my hair.

I shook my head. "Can we just sleep?" I wondered. "I want to go to sleep. I want this day to be over. Please?" I whispered with pleading eyes.

"This is so not a good time for me to give you whatever you want," he mumbled, cupping my cheek. "Brie, we have to talk about this, we have to work through it," he reminded me. "We can't-"

"I want to go to sleep," I stated in a hard voice. I stood up. "You can come, or stay down here, but I would rather you come," I told him, walking away while letting the blanket fall to the ground. I got into bed after looking over my body one more time, and sighed when Troy didn't come after me. I knew I couldn't sleep without him there, if I could sleep at all.

He came up five minutes later, taking his shirt off in the process. "I made sure everything was locked and turned off," he answered my unasked question.

"Vince already did that," I said, turning on my nightstand light as he hit the main light off.

"I wanted to double check," he informed me, sliding into bed with me. "So," he started as he turned on the t.v., then reached over to turn my light off. "We'll keep the t.v. on all night," he told me.

I nodded silently, and turned over. He followed my lead, wrapping his arm around me. I thought I wanted to go to sleep before, but staring at the clock as each slow minute went by, I realized all I wanted was to have morning come. I couldn't sleep. I didn't even fall asleep to Troy rubbing circles on my stomach or back. I didn't fall asleep to the sound of his heart beat. I didn't fall asleep to his even breaths when he finally fell asleep, even though I knew he wanted to stay awake until I drifted off. I didn't fall asleep to his subtle snoring, which usually lulls me to sleep.

Last thing I knew, it was four in the morning, and that was when I finally succumbed.

I was scared, and immobile. Greg's face with the biggest thing I could see. It was my main focus. His face was ridgid, and hard, containing no kindness whatsoever.

"This is all your fault," he taunted, holding my arms at my side, but somehow had another pair what were running all over my body. I was disgusted. "You led me on," he stated.

I shook my head, trying to get out of his hold. "No," I disagreed. "I love Troy," I stated.

My clothes changed into what I wore to the club, only I was wearing those leather pants Troy was talking about. My top was smaller, too, with holes in it. "You asked for this," he said to me.

"No," I repeated as he tared at my clothing, ripping it off. "You're looking at it all wrong!" I exclaimed.

"Looking at what?" Greg questioned, and suddenly my pants were gone, leaving me in underwear. "The fact that you're a slut?" he asked. "No wonder you got raped the first time. You're a whore, and you're just getting treated like a whore," he told me, his mouth near my ear, making me shiver.

We fell back onto a bed that had appeared behind me. All I was wearing was a bra and underwear. "Stop, please," I pleaded, hating the feeling of his hands on me, his lips on my skin, his body above mine.

"No, this is how it should be," Greg told me before plunging into me.

I woke with a start, my eyes opening, and my neck sore from snapping up straight. I looked over at the clock, and saw that it was seven in the morning. I groaned lightly so I wouldn't wake Troy. Three hours of sleep? Of crappy sleep? Come on! I shimmied out of bed slowly so I wouldn't wake Troy. I went over to the balcony and looked out over the backyard.

The sun had risen, and I could see it just over the trees. It was a new day, and truthfully, I felt better. I felt better knowing that today I wasn't almost-raped. That was yesterday. Today was new, but I still felt violated. I felt horrible, like this all could have been avoided if I didn't tell Troy, no confrontation would have been needed. Then again, if I didn't tell Troy, who knows what would have happened? There were so many unanswered questions. All of them don't matter. It didn't happen. Greg was stopped, even if I wasn't strong enough, Vince was. It's over, Greg is gone, and I've still only been with three guys (two willingly).

I turned back to Troy, and saw him still asleep. I decided to shower, knowing I wouldn't get anymore sleep. After my shower, I inspected myself in the mirror. That bruise was forming, it was a blueish purple, and looked really bad. My scratch wasn't as puffed up as last night, and I knew it would heal soon. My arm bruises were a faint blue, and I hoped would be gone quickly. I dressed in a black velvety sweatsuit with a white t-shirt underneath. I put my messy wet hair up in a bun so I didn't have to deal with it.

When I came out of the bathroom, Troy was still asleep, and I saw that it was about eight. I looked like crap. I had bags under my eyes, my eyes were puffy from crying yesterday, my skin appeared to be whiter, and I don't like looking white, I'm Mexican, I'm natrually tan, and I like it that way. I was also jumpy as hell. On the way down the steps, I heard Minnie running across the floor so she could greet me, and I flew into the air like she was an attacker. I picked her up, wincing at he back pain, and held her close.

"Hi, kitty. You're hungry, huh?" I questioned, and she purred against me. I fed her, and started to make coffee, lots of coffee. While the coffee, um, dripped, I stood in the kitchen. I heard Minnie eating, birds chirping outside, but I was looking at the place Greg had me pinned yesterday. It looked dirty; tainted. I went underneath the sink, and pulled out the cleaning products. I'm in the mood for cleaning. Troy came downstairs in pajama pants and a wifebeater about two hours later, and I was finishing up the kitchen, cleaning the sink to be exact. Yes, I clean the sink. I looked over him when he leaned against the entryway. "Morning," I greeted, using the hose to wash out the sink.

"Morning," he replied, his voice laced with sleep. I guessed he literally just woke up a few moments ago, threw clothes on, and came looking for me.

I took off my big yellow cleaning gloves, and leaned against the counter. "I just made a fresh pot of coffee," I informed him, throwing the gloves in the sink.

He nodded. "I noticed. How many have you drank this morning?" he wondered, giving me a look.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I was just in the mood for coffee this morning. I love coffee, you know that," I replied, going over to the pot to pour myself another cup in the mug that had been deemed mine after Troy bought it for me.

"How long have you been up?" he questioned, moving to stand in front of me while I sipped the drink. "And, how long did you sleep?"

"Someone is curious this morning," I mumbled, putting my mug down. I got up on my tiptoes and kissed him. It shocked him. "What? I can't kiss my husband now?" I asked him. "You shouldn't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles," I stated before grabbing the Pledge, along with the Windex, and left the kitchen. I remembered that he said that yesterday. Yesterday. Don't think about that. Get back in denial mode. It's better there. I started to wipe down the dining room table, and felt Troy's eyes on me. "You know," I started, turning to look back at him over the bar. "If you take a picture, it will last longer," I informed him, then went back to the table.

"I know what you're doing," Troy commented, now standing in front of the bar.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's called cleaning, and we don't do it nearly enough. Do you know how much hair I found on the kitchen floor?" I asked him, grabbing the Swifter from the top of the basement steps.

I was about to sweep the hardwood floor, but Mr. Moodypants wouldn't have that. He grabbed the handle mid-reach. "No, you're avoiding," he corrected, pulling the Swifter out of my hands. "I let you do it last night because I knew you were hurting, and I knew you needed sleep, I'm not going to let you do this today," he told me.

I sighed. "Troy, I'm just cleaning," I assured him. "Yesteday... yesterday didn't happen. Vince came, and everything is okay. I was shocked yesterday, but I'm fine," I lied. I reached for the Swifter. "Now, can I get back to cleaning while you go shower?" I asked.

Troy leaned it against the wall before resting his hands on my forearms. "No, you can't," he responded. "I've known you for about eight years, Gabriella, and we've been together for almost six," he reminded me. "I know you better than you know yourself, and this little 'I'm fine' charade isn't getting past me," he told me.

"But, I am!" I insisted, crossing my arms.

"But, you aren't," he said. "You didn't sleep last night. I didn't fall asleep on accident until after two thirty, and you've had enough time this morning to shower, and clean the whole kitchen to where it's nicer now than it was when we moved in," he told me. Oh, it is not. "The fact that you're cleaning is enough for me to know that something is wrong, and I know exactly what is wrong," he went on. "And, I'm going to make you deal with it, I don't care what you want," he finished.

I pulled away from his grip. "I am fine," I repeated. "Maybe it's you who is not," I said with a shrug. "I did get sleep last night, maybe not as much as you, but I did. I need you for a lot of things, Troy, I'll admit that. In fact, I need you for almost everything, and I'm okay with that. Not with this, though. I've been through this before. I know how I feel, and I feel fine. If you don't, you can talk to me about it, or you can deal with it. Keep that, I'll clean something else," I said, and went into the living room.

Troy didn't come into the living room after me, and I figured he went into the shower. My phone went off ten minutes later, making me jump, then curse myself.

"Hello?" I answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Ella, hey," Chad greeted, not sounding like himself.

I stopped alphebetizing the DVD's that Tommy messed up for the fun of it.. "Hey, Chad, what's up?" I questioned, noticing that the disc for Star Wars wasn't in it, and started looking through all the cases.

"Nothing. I just called to see how you were," he told me, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, Chad, how are you?" I asked him, finally finding it in My Best Friend's Girl and cursed Tommy. He loves that movie.

"I'm alright," he answered. "It's just..." he trailed off.

I starting sorting DVD's now. "It's just what?" I questioned.

"What happened last night?" Chad wondered. "I've never seen Troy like that, Gabriella, ever. And, I've known him all my life," he reminded me. "What did Greg do that had to do with you that made Troy act like that? I mean, Greg is Troy's friend, we all liked him," he went on.

I stopped. "How did Troy act?" I asked curiously. I know what Troy told me, but I don't know what really happened. "What happened?"

"Troy didn't tell you?" he responded.

"Not exactly, can you?" I asked, looking down at my wedding ring I love.

"Well, Troy came and got me at the apartment building. He said he needed to find Greg, and he couldn't say why. He was pissed. We looked around at all the places Greg knew around town, but couldn't find him. I told him I would call him, maybe he would answer. Troy told me to do it, so I did. Greg said he was at the bus station, so we went there. I got Greg to come outside, and Troy went after him. He messed up him bad, Ella. If I didn't pull him away, I don't know what Troy would have done to him. What the hell happened?" Chad asked again.

I cleared my throat. "Do me a favor, Chaddy, don't tell anyone about last night. Not even Taylor if you haven't already," I said. "I gotta go, love you, bye," I added and hung up. I dropped the phone onto the carpet, and ran my hands over my face.

I just want to get past this. Why is it so hard? Greg didn't do it, Vince came in. Everything he said is wrong. Isn't it? Troy is the only man in my life, always will be. I don't dress like a slut, at least I thought I didn't- no, you don't. Do I? Have you seen my lingerie drawer? I had to make it two drawers, now, actually. That doesn't matter, the only one who sees it is Troy. My clothes, my clothes are a little on the revealing side, but- no, no but, you're not a slut. And, whatever you wear, you wear for Troy. You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. Ugh. I don't know anymore! I have all these doubts now.

I heard footsteps on the stairs, and quickly picked up some DVD's to continue to alphabetize. "So, I guess the dining room is done?" Troy asked from behind me, and I turned to see him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

I shook my head. "Not really," I replied in a low voice, then cleared my throat. "I'll finish that after I finish in here," I told him.

"Well, the only good thing about this is that our house will be cleaner than it ever has been," he mentioned, coming up to me to sit down. "Do you still feel safe here?" he asked me, picking up a few DVD's to help.

I stopped, and looked over at him. He was looking back. "Yeah," I answered in a firm voice. I looked around. I do. "I'm just jumpy now," I told him truthfully. "And, if you're not here, I don't feel as safe."

"You've always been jumpy," he informed me, resting a hand on one of my knees. "Ever since your rape, I mean. In high school, I used to sneak up on you for fun, but not anymore. I did right after we got back together, then I realized it really did scare you, so I stopped. I still do, sometimes, but it's always on accident," he explained.

I wetted my lips. "I didn't know that," I whispered.

He nodded. "I know you still dream about it, too," he added. "I've never said anything because there is nothing to say. You can't control your dreams, and you're about as past it as you can be after something like that. Plus, you don't dream about it regularly, just once in a while. And, when you do, I just pull you closer to me, and you go back to sleep."

I took in a deep breath. "I've never told you this, but after I slept with Robbie, I had nightmares for days. They were always about my rape. Then, after we made love since our break up, I slept just fine. Well, I was pissed at myself for leaving you," I confessed. "Baby, whatever I'm feeling, it doesn't have to do with you. We could go have sex right now-"

"I don't want that, Brie," Troy cut me off. "Sex is one of the furthest things from my mind right now. I want you to feel better. I want you to be comfortable. I want you to be okay, that's all I want," he told me. "You're the only thing in my life I absolutely need. I don't need my job, or the house, if we lived in the shack in the woods, I would be happy. Well, a bathroom wouldn't hurt," he commented, making me laugh. "There it is. I haven't seen you smile in what feels like forever."

My gaze moved to the DVD's in a pile on the middle of the floor. "I'm thirsty. You thirsty? I'm gonna go get a drink," I said, and got up. I picked up my mug on the bar on the way into the kitchen. As soon as I walked in, I was startled by Minnie, on the counter, where she isn't allowed or supposed to be. It made me gasp, and drop my cup, effectively breaking it. Minnie got scared, too, probably because she was caught, and ran away. "Dammit," I swore, and bent down to try and pick up the shards.

"What happened?" Troy questioned from behind me, and I looked back at him.

"I'm sorry," I quickly apologized before going back to cleaning up the glass. "Minnie scared me, and I dropped it, and-"

Troy bent down next to me, and layed a hand on my back. "Hey, it's okay," he assured me. "It's just a mug," he reminded me, taking the glass from my hands, and I moved onto my butt.

"But you gave it to me," I said, hugging my legs to my chest. "I keep everything you give me. Presents, rings, necklaces, everything, I broke this," I explained.

He looked up at me. "It's just as mug," he repeated with a shrug. "It's not like it was a big present. We were at the mall, and it was on sale in the main lobby, remember? You thought it was cute, so I bought it. It was only, like, five bucks," he told me. "I can get you another one. Plus, you didn't mean to break it, Minnie scared you."

Everything is starting to scare me. I nodded, and evened out my breathing. My finger felt wet, so I held it up. There was blood. "Oh, I cut my finger," I mumbled, holding it away from my body. I went to stand up, but Troy stopped me.

"Wait, there's little peices of glass everywhere, and you're not wearing shoes," he stated, picking me up, and set me on the counter next to the sink. We wiped my finger off, and cleaned it up, then put the band-aid on it. "There," he muttered, reaching for the broom that was in between the counter, and the fridge. He swept up all the glass, and made sure it was all gone. Once he said he was down, I hoped down onto the floor, looking at my finger. "What's up?" he questioned, his hand reaching for mine.

"I didn't even feel it," I answered, wiggling my hand out of his to show my finger to him again.

"It's alright. I don't feel bruises I get at work sometimes, too," he told me, tilting my head up to look at him. "What's going on in your head, baby?" he asked me.

"What isn't?" I replied, sighing. "What's wrong with me, Troy?" I wondered aloud. "I'm fine, then I'm not. I'm up, and I'm down. This sucks," I told him.

He cupped my cheeks. "Nothing is wrong with you, and this does suck," he agreed. "And, you feel what you feel, you can't control it," he added as my stomach growled. I didn't eat this morning. I don't feel hungry, but I guess I am. "Obviously, you feel hungry," he finished. I couldn't help but smile a little. "You're hungry, I'm hungry, let's go get McDonald's. We'll bring it back here to eat," he suggested.

I nodded. "Okay," I agreed, making him smile a little, too.

An hour later, we both had eaten our McDonald's meals, and were lazing on the couch. I was firmly pressed against his side, my head resting on his shoulder, and trying to relax. "You ready to talk yet?" he asked me, kissing my hair.

I shook my head a little. "No. I'm tired," I whispered against his neck, my eyes slowly closing.

"How long did you sleep last night?" he questioned, moving his body so I could rest more comfortably.

I shrugged the best I could. "Three hours, a little less, actually," I mumbled sleepily.

He groaned something. "Go to sleep, Brie," he coaxed, moving me so I was horizontal, and so was he. "You need it," he said softly against my ear.

"Troy," I murmured, my eyes still closed as I spoke. "I'll be normal again, right?" I wondered in a low voice. His hand was repeatedly running over the hair around my ear, lulling me to sleep.

He cleared his throat. "You are normal," he stated right before I drifted off.

I was in the house, and I was missing something. I wasn't sure what, but I knew I had to find it. I tore through drawers, ripping everything out, and knew whatever it was, it wasn't in there.

I needed to find it, I yearned for it. I went into the living room, where a picture caught my eye on the wall. It was supposed to be a picture of Troy and me, right after we got back together, our arms wrapped around each other while smiling widely. But, it wasn't. It was me and Greg, in the same position, and we didn't look right. It didn't feel right.

Then, in my peripheral vision, I saw something. It was on the coffee table, sparkling. When I turned to it, it glowed brighter. It was a bright, pure shine, and I knew that where that light was, was the thing I yearned for. I ran to it, but it kept getting farther away.

When I finally reached it, the glowing stopped. It was a ring. A wedding ring. Before I could pick it up, someone else did. I looked up.

Greg.

"I want that," I told him, holding my hand out to me.

He shrugged, holding it up between his thumb and pointer finger. "Why? You don't need it," he replied.

"I want it," I said again, reaching for it, but he pulled it back.

"It's not yours," he informed me, then dropped it.

I gasped, but another hand appeared, catching it. The hand belonged to someone. Troy. "Troy," I smiled, but he didn't smile back. "What's wrong?"

He scoffed. "What's wrong?" he questioned. "You cheated on me, Gabriella!" he exclaimed, and Greg nodded. "With Robbie, with Greg, it's why you broke up with me while you were at college," he told me.

I shook my head. "No, it's not true!" I insisted.

"I can't believe I actually believed that bullshit story about a rape. Please," he said with disgust on his face. "You ask for it. The way you dress, that way you act, the way you look. It's all because of you," he stated. "Greg only took what you offered him," he went on. "You little whore!"

I shook my head, tears in my eyes. "No, I love you! I only want to be with you!" I promised, reaching for Troy, and saw that the wedding ring was his.

"Brie, baby," a nice voice was saying. "Gabriella, wake up," it told me. "Come on, babe," he said.

I opened my eyes. Troy. "Troy," I breathed, sitting up.

"Yeah. I only woke you up because I was worried. You kept saying 'no,'" he informed me. "What did you dream about?" he asked, knowing me well.

He was kneeling beside me, next to the couch. My shoes were now off, and a blanket was on me. It was hot. I grabbed his hand, and saw that his wedding ring was where it was supposed to be. "It's still there," I said to myself. I saw that he was looking at me strangely. "How long was I out?" I questioned.

"Almost five hours," he answered, and my eyes widened. "Yep. Our mom's called. I told them you were sick, and asleep, so you couldn't talk. Your mom wants you to call her, but I told her it would probably be tomorrow. I guess I don't have to ask how you slept," he said, pushing my haystack of hair behind my ear.

I leaned into his hand. "No, it was okay. I dream a lot, you know that," I replied, kissing his thumb. I, then proceeded to stretch, and winced at the pain in my back.

"Does it hurt?" he questioned me, and I knew exactly what he meant.

I nodded. "A little," I answered truthfully. "It'll heal eventually," I assured him.

"You'll heal eventually. All of you," he corrected. I bit my lip, and reached up to move hair away from my face. My real Troy could never say the things dream Troy said, even if he wanted to. "Can I see it?" he wondered once my hand dropped.

"If you really want to," I responded, and he nodded. I flipped over so he could see my back. He climbed on top of me, so his knees were on either side of my legs. He lifted up my shirts, and didn't say anything for a moment. I wondered if it got worse since I last saw it this morning. Probably, it has been about twelve hours. It's already five o'clock. His hand ran across it, and I felt his lips pressed against my back. For some reason, it felt good, it made me feel better. He kissed all along the border of the bruise.

I assumed when he was finished, and flipped back over. There was an immense sadness in his eyes. I knew why. I've been wondering when it would come up, even after what I told him last night. "I'm sorry, Brie," he murmured.

I laced his hand through mine. "I don't blame you, Troy," I replied. "I don't. At all," I stated, tugging on it.

"You feel what you feel, whatever the hell that is because you haven't told me, and I feel what I feel," he informed me. "Greg was here because he was my friend, if he hadn't come, none of this would have happened, you have to see that," he insisted.

I sat up. "He was your friend," I repeated. "But, he isn't your friend now. You knew who he was, not who he became, you can't help that you didn't know what a creep he is," I told him. "I guess you're right though, he was here to see you," I went on, Troy closed his eyes in hurt. I felt bad, and cupped his cheek. "But, you didn't know he would do it, Troy, if you did, you would have sent him packing the first day. You can't blame yourself for what you can't control," I went on, and he opened his eyes. I couldn't help but think what I could have controlled. The way I dressed, my actions, I can blame myself, it's not right for him to.

"You're everything to me, Brie," Troy murmured while looking into my eyes. "Everything. And, to see you like this hurts so much," he confessed. "A part of me, a small part, is kinda happy I didn't see you after the first time around, it would have killed me," he admitted. "How sick is that?"

He rested his forehead against mine. "It's okay," I responded softly. I didn't want him to see me like that either, it's one of the reasons I called him. I knew he could come out to help me, but I didn't want him to see it. "You're everything to me, too, Troy," I whispered, running my hands up his back soothingly. At least we're talking about his issues about this, it's better than nothing. "And, I don't blame you."

"I don't care about me right now, Gabriella," Troy replied honestly, one of his hands coming up to cup my cheek loosely. "We need to talk about you. You're a mess," he said oh-so-nicely. My eyes lowered. "Baby, you are. You're not sleeping well, you're not hungry, you're moody, and that's expected," he told me. "But, if we want to get passed this, you have to open up," he finished.

I bit my lip. "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't," I informed him, grabbing onto his shirt. He gave me a look. "Alright, it's both," I confessed.

"I get that, baby, but I need you to open up," he responded as the front door opened, and I pressed myself towards Troy more.

He didn't seem alarmed. "Hey- whoa, why do I always walk in at the wrong moment?" Tommy questioned, and whined like a puppy. I looked back at him, and his eyes were wide. I realized that my shirt had rode up, and he could see my back.

I straightened myself out, and pulled down my shirt, while looking at Troy with a scared expression. He merely kissed my forehead before getting off me, and grabbed onto Tommy to pull him out of the house. I could hear them talking. "Did you see that thing? What happened to her?" Tommy asked as Troy pushed him out.

"Don't worry about it, I can handle it," Troy assured him. "And, don't even ask if it was me, because you know better than that," he added.

The front door opened again. "It's why you left last night, something happened," Tommy stated. "Troy-"

"Yes, Tommy it is the reason I left last night, but tell everyone you know that Gabriella is sick, and I needed to be with her. What you saw can't leave the house, okay?" Troy asked.

Tommy was quiet for a moment. "Greg," he pieced together.

Troy was quiet for a moment, too. "I handled it, Tommy, just like I can handle this," he told him. "You might not understand this, Tommy, because you're not in love with Kara yet, but I can handle this. Taking care of Gabriella is like breathing, and she's stronger than you think. I won't be at work tomorrow, I already talked to Dan," he said, and I layed back down on the couch, pulling the blanket over me.

"Tell her I- Tell her I'm here, okay?" Tommy said in a low voice.

"She knows," Troy confirmed. "I'll call you." He closed the door a minute after that. I closed my eyes, and pretended to be asleep when he came back into the living room. I knew it was stretch, and I know he probably didn't believe it, but I didn't want to talk. He pulled the blanket up further around me, and made sure it was covering my bare feet. He pressed a kisses to my cheeks, forehead, and one on my lips. "I love you, baby. Always," he murmured.

I didn't expect to actually fall asleep after that seeing as I didn't feel tired, but I did. I woke a little later, and Troy wasn't with me. It wasn't dark out, but it wasn't bright either. I sat up, and got onto my feet. Troy was in the dining room, reading something with the light on above him. As I approached, he looked up.

"Hey," he greeted, scooting his chair back, and held out his hand for me. I took it, and he pulled me into his lap.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "What are you doing?" I asked, resting against him.

"Well, we installed the alarm system, but we never got around to turning it on, or actually using it, so I read the manual," he answered, holding me close.

"You read the whole thing?" I questioned, and thought about taking some more Advil.

Troy smiled, and shook his head. "I skimmed the finer points. All we need is a code," he corrected. "What do you want it to be?"

I shrugged, taking a deep breath. "Uh, one zero one four," I told him. "Ten fourteen. We got married on the tenth, and fourteen is your number," I explained.

"Ten fourteen it is," he confirmed, closing the manual. "I'll program it tonight," he stated. "How did you sleep?" he wondered.

I don't remember any dreams, but I feel like I had one. I felt like I didn't sleep at all. "Eh. How long was a I asleep?" I asked in return.

"A little under two hours," Troy told me. "And, you slept 'eh' because you tossed and turned the whole time. I was afraid you'd fall off the couch," he admitted, and I kissed his cheek. The doorbell rang, making me jump, and hold Troy tighter. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I ordered dinner," he said, and I got off of him so he could go get it.

I went into the bathroom while he got the food. After I did my business, I looked at myself in the mirror. I still had bags, but they were much smaller. I still looked too white, and worn down. The mirror went down far enough so I could see my bruise. It was dark, and horrible, and I wondered how long it would take to go away. I wanted to stop looking at it, so I left the bathroom. Troy ordered pizza, and two boxes of something else. He was putting plates, and cups down on the table when I came out.

"So, we got pepperoni pizza, bread sticks, and a cheese fries. I don't care if you're hungry or not, you're eating at least one piece of pizza, a bread stick, and a handful of fries," he told me.

I made a gross face, and sat down at the table. "One piece of pizza, half bread stick, and a little bit of fries," I tried to compromise.

"Nope. Sorry, babe. You're all screwed up on sleep, and the sleep you do get, isn't good, you aren't talking, you're moody, and all those things I've allowed for far. The last thing I want is you to lose weight because of this. That isn't healthy, nothing about this is," he stated while getting my plate together.

I let out a breath, and nodded in agreement, knowing it would make him feel better. "Okay," I said verbally, expelling a breath. I waited for Troy to fix his plate, too. I noticed he took less than usual, then again, so did I. "I'm only doing this because I know I've been unlivable during this, so," I stopped and ate a french fry.

"Brie, you aren't being unlivable," Troy instantly told me after he finished chewing. "This would be a lot easier if you opened up, though," he suggested.

"Troy, I-" I stopped, and he looked at me expectantly. "I'm not ready," I managed to say. "Last time.. last time was different. I was more traumatized, I needed to get it out or I would burst, this time is different," I started to tell him. "I may have gotten hurt, but Greg wasn't able to follow through, even if I wasn't the one to fight him off," I tried to explain. "And, I feel that if I go through the whole thing with you, it will make it hurt more, and you hurt more." And, you'll see what a failure I am because I couldn't stop it myself...

"That may be so, but if we don't go through it, we can't get past it," he reminded me, placing a hand over mine.

I nodded, and looked down on my plate. "I want to get this eating thing over," I muttered, using my free hand to pick up a bread stick to eat. I heard Troy let out a breath, and go back to eating himself. "We will talk about it, Troy," I spoke up. "Just not yet," I told him.

Troy and I didn't do much more that night. He was upset about me not talking, I knew that, but he also didn't want to push it because he didn't know how I would react. He knew I was hurting, and pushing me might hurt me more, something he didn't want, even if it was something I needed. I ate all my food, and we laid down in the living room for a while. We talked a little, mostly about school, and when he was going to work next, and some about what was on t.v. He told me he isn't going to work tomorrow, and I silently filled with relief. We went to bed around eleven, and I was just happy day one was over.

I slept off and on all night. I have vivid dreams I found hard to remember, but knew they were scary, because I woke up after. All I could remember is Greg's face twisted in a scowl, and me hardly wearing any clothing. The last time I woke up was five in the morning, and couldn't get back to sleep.

I was sick of being tormented by this whole situation. I wasn't sleeping well, I never felt hungry anymore, I couldn't open up to my husband, my back hurt like hell, and I was sick of it. I've already been through this before. I've been through the 'poor me, I'm the victim' and 'it's all my fault' thing before, and I don't wanna go back there again. I'm not the same girl who was too scared to tell Troy about it back in college. I'm older now, I'm different, I've grown, I'm stronger, like Troy said, and I'm not going to let this weigh me down anymore.

I got out of bed, careful not to disturb Troy, and pulled on a pair of my ratty old running sweatpants, and a t-shirt. I put my hair up, and threw on some sneakers. I felt like running. On my way out the door, I picked up my iPod, and took off. It felt good to run, empowering, even. I liked the feeling it gave me. I felt like I was breaking free of everything, and that felt great.

On my iPod it said it was almost seven thirty as I walked up Troy and I's driveway. I was sweaty, really sweaty, and wanted a hot shower, and some Advil. Other than the icky feeling of sweat rolling down my back, and my back itself hurting, and my slight tiredness, plus a little hunger, I felt better than I had in two days.

I wasn't sure why this suddenly took me over, the feeling of being sick of it all, but I was glad it did. Maybe it was because I needed that sad period to be just that, sad. Or maybe it was because I had Troy, who had been great through it all, and slowly gave me the strength to get back on my feet. It was probably a little of both.

When I went into the house, I was going to get a bottle of water, and take some Advil, but Troy was there, sitting at the bar. "Hey," I greeted, a smile on my face, and kissed him gently, making sure not to touch him too much because I was sure I smelled.

"Why are you smiling?" Troy questioned, looking me up and down. "I woke up this morning to you gone, no note, nothing, you were just gone, and you get back, and you're happy?" he asked. "What the hell?"

"One second," I instructed, getting a water bottle, and took some Advil before leaving the kitchen. I turned to leave, and Troy was in the doorway. "Geez, you're like right there," I mumbled, running into him.

"Are you my wife?" he asked, putting a hand to my forehead like I was sick, and I dodged it because of the sweatiness. I pushed on his chest until he sat down on a stool. "Brie, what's going on?" he wondered.

I took another sip of water. "First, I'm sorry for just leaving this morning. I just felt like running, and that overrode everything in my body, so sorry," I apologized.

"So, that's why you're smiling? You ran this morning?" he questioned, cupping my face.

I shook my head. "No, well, kinda. I'm smiling because I'm sick of it Troy, and I'm sick of feeling sorry for myself, and pleading poor little victim girl. That's not who I am, at least not anymore, because you give me strength, and you've been great the last two days, and thank you for that. I can't let that hold me down, I let it hold me down for two and a half years last time, I'm not gonna do that again," I stated. "I'm with you, Troy, I know you feel like I've been drifting, and I'm sorry, but I'm not anymore. I'm right here, and I'm ready to open up so we can be okay again," I told him.

Troy quickly pressed a kiss to my lips before hugging me tightly. "I love you so fucking much," he replied with no intention of letting go.

"I love you, too, and I'm sorry you have to hug me right now because I'm gross," I said with a slight laugh in my voice.

"I don't care," he responded, grabbing a handful of my hair as he hugged me.

"Everything is going to be okay again, Troy, I promise," I whispered in his ear.

He nodded against my shoulder. "I know it will be," he agreed, pulling away a little to rest his forehead on mine.

"I'll start from the beginning, right after my shower," I informed him, loosening my grip on him.

"Do you have to shower right now?" he questioned, cupping my face again.

I nodded. "We'll be talking for hours, Troy, I want to be ready, and comfortable. It'll only be a few minutes," I assured him.

"Can I come with you?" he asked, hope in his voice.

How did I break this to him? "Troy, even after what I said yesterday, I don't think I'm exactly ready for sex right now-"

"I wasn't even thinking about making love, Brie," Troy cut me off. "I just want to be with you, I don't want to let you out of my sight," he explained.

I bit my lip and nodded. "Okay."

Here it is. Sorry it's late.

Eh, I like some, I have some of it. This chapter was just hard, I think. Because of all the drama, the next chapter will be a little more of the fun variety. I have some silly drama coming at you after that.

Review please, I know it isn't up to par, but it's the best I can do right now. Sorry.

-- Kayleigh