Chapter 2

My Baby

Eric walked into his apartment with a huge grin on his face. He looked around before speaking. "Babe? Gabriella?" He walked into their bedroom and scanned it. Everything was like it was. Except, there was Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion or any of Gabriella's clothes. Maybe she got lonely here and left to her parents house.

Eric was out the door in a second. He needed to touch her, to kiss her. He needed to know why she didn't visit him in prison. He needed her so badly.

The car came to an abrupt stop in the drive way and Eric fled out, running towards the house. "Gabriella!" he shouted. "Love!" He banged hard on the cedar door. "Gabriella, I'm here!"

The door flew open and Eric's smile faded. It was only her mother. "Eric?"

"Where's Gabriella? Is she here? I need to see her. How come she didn't visit me?"

"What? Oh, Eric she uh, she left," Maria said trying to debate whether to tell him where she left to. Eric stared at her with a blank face. "Left? She was supposed to wait here. S—she was supposed to visit me." He twitched, his right eyelid closing partly and his shoulder lifting slightly. His chest was heaving and anger soared through him. She had left.

"Where did she go?"

"Eric, I don't know if I can tell you."

"Where did she go?"

"Eric—"

"Where the fuck did she go?"

Maria backed up with scared eyes. Eric stepped through the threshold without invitation and went to the phone. He quickly searched through Caller ID until he found her number. Why'd she change it? 215-347-6757. He memorized it before calling it.

"Hello?" a voice said on the other line. Eric felt his insides warm up. He could talk to his Gabriella again. "Gabriella, I missed you so much. How are you? How come you didn't visit? How come you left? Did you miss me?"

Gabriella went white on the other line. She, Chloe, Taylor, Samara, Sharpay and all the kids were sat in her living room watching Despicable Me. She hadn't expected this call. She didn't want this call. She was trembling and she wanted to just curl in a ball and die. "Eric," she breathed into the phone and Chloe, Samara, Taylor and Sharpay's heads flicked towards her, worried. Gabriella's features were washed down with horror.

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you? Can I come see you? What am I saying, of course I can. How's things going?"

"No,' she said into the phone, her voice shaking with the rest of her. "No. No, you won't see me again. You won't hurt her. Not another one. No. You're a fucking bastard and I never want to see you again. Do you hear me?"

"Gabriella."

His voice was hard and cold and Gabriella had tried to sound tough and mean, but just that one word coward her back.

"You can't deny our love."

"Yeah, and I can't deny you're an abusing son of a bitch." Then a light bulb switched on in her head. "Why are you at my parents house?"

"I just needed to get in touch with you. Your mom was a little disobedient though." Gabriella didn't have to see him to know he's smirking.

"If you touch them so help me I will kill you." She swallowed. "Stay away." With that she hung up and dashed off into her room. Sophia got up next and ran after her, ignoring the calls from everyone else. "Mommy," she cried. Sophia climbed on the bed and collapsed next to Gabriella. "Mommy."

"Go back in the living room, please."

"No, you're hurt. Who was that?"

Gabriella turned to her with red swollen eyes and tears streaming from them. "Sophia, please."

Then her cell phone that she was gripping tightly in her hand rung. It was Eric and the ringing was like a bomb. Sophia looked at the phone with curious blue eyes.

She grabbed for it and answered.

Gabriella's whole world tumbled down as she darted up to catch the phone.

"You hurt my mommy," Sophia said into the phone. "Who are you?"

"Sophia, no!" Gabriella went to grab the phone, but Sophia swiped it away.

"My...mommy?" Eric breathed into the phone. "Who are you?"

"Sophia Briella Montez."

"Sophia Briella Montez, give me the phone!" Gabriella snatched the phone and threw it into the wall. It broke into what seemed like a million pieces. "Sophia, I told you to give me the phone!"

"I was only trying to help!"

"You don't know who he is, Sophia!" Gabriella said, pointing at the dead phone. "He could kill us."

"Who?"

"Go to sleep, now," Gabriella said through gritted teeth. "You have school tomorrow, go to sleep." She bowed her head in her bent knees and Sophia glanced at the broken phone. She sighed and got out of the room silently, leaving a crying Gabriella.

Eric stared at his phone in disbelief. Please tell him she was joking. She couldn't...That couldn't be...He didn't have a daughter. "Do I have a daughter?" he said turning to Maria. "Was Gabriella pregnant when I left."

"Yes, Eric, she was two weeks pregnant. If you didn't go and steal those drugs, you would've saw your baby girl."

"Oh, well can you tell me where she is? I want to see my daughter," he lied. He was boiling with rage. Why does she keep getting pregnant?

"Eric, I think you should leave," Maria decided. Eric looked up at her with electrifying blue eyes. "Not without an answer."

"I think you should leave or I'll call the police."

"Fine." And he walked out angrily.

Sophia was sat on her Dora and Boots bed. She was looking down at her small hands. Her mommy was hurt because that man hurt her. And Sophia had hurt her too.

Sophia looked st her little Dora table with two fold out chairs. She quickly got off her bed and walked over to it, sitting down with a piece of white paper and crayons. She was going to make her mommy a card.

She started writing, finding it difficult.

"Der momy," it said in sloppy, but adorable letters. " Im sory fur herting yu. I downt like dat man becus he hert yu. I love yu to becus yu love me. Im sory. Do yu forgiv me? Plees? Dank yu. I love yu." Sophia stared down at her letter and smiled. She started to color under the writing a picture of her and her mom together holding hands and big smiles on their faces.

"Sophia?"

Sophia turned and smiled as Sharpay came into the room. "Hi, auntie Shar."

"Hey. What's that?" Sophia smiled and lifted up the piece of paper. Sharpay smiled. "She's going to love it, you know."

"I didn't mean to make mommy mad," Sophia said, frowning. Sharpay shook her head. "You didn't."

"Who did?"

"Soph, you never knew your dad and there's a big reason for that. I'm not the one to tell you why, that's your mommy's job, but I just want to tell you not to speak about him for awhile. Okay? It might be hard for your mommy."

"I won't," Sophia said. "I want mommy to be happy."

"I want her to be happy, too,' Sharpay said with a smile. "Everyone and I are leaving. Why don't you get some sleep and give this to your mom tomorrow?"

"Okay." Sophia nodded and folded the paper. She placed it gently on her night stand and placed a doll over it. She then climbed in her Dora and Boots bed and pulled the sheets over her. Sharpay smiled and bent to kiss her forehead. "Night, Soph."

"G'night, auntie Shar." Sharpay smiled and turned off the table lamp. She walked out of the room with one more glance.

***My Baby***

Gabriella looked up dully at the tan ceiling. The fan was waving at her from it and the little dust bites were dancing the conga. Gabriella smiled faintly and went to sit up. Immediately she saw the broken cell phone pieces she has created. She didn't have too much money or time to get another cell phone. Gabriella sighed, but put the smile back on her face. She needed to apologize to Sophia.

Gabriella peeked her head into the room and smiled. Sophia was getting dressed—attempting to. Her shirt was wrinkled and inside out. Her pants were dropped at her ankles. Her hair was in a messy pony tail. And she was trying to get her feet in her shoes. Gabriella covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, but the chances Sophia heard were futile. Sophia looked up and her moonlit blue eyes flashed over with bliss. She pulled her pants up then quickly ran over to her mom.

"Hi, mommy," she said softly, laying her head on Gabriella's shoulder when Gabriella picked her up. Gabriella smiled and looked down at her. "Morning. How...did you sleep...last night?"
"Good, but I made you a card," Sophia said and wiggled out of her grasp. She landed with a soft thud on her feet then scrambled over to her night stand. Gabriella watched with a smile as Sophia walked over and handed her the card. "I'm sorry." Gabriella looked down at the card and shook her head softly. She looked at Sophia and grinned. "Soph, you don't need to be sorry. Mommy was just mad for adult reasons. I'm sorry."

Sophia grinned and hugged her mom. "I love you, mommy. Do you like the card?"

Gabriella glanced at it and smiled. She looked back at Sophia and nodded. "I love it."

***My Baby***

After getting ready, showered and dressed, Gabriella placed Sophia in her car seat and started off towards the school. Sophia had a different attitude today. She was bouncing in her seat, asking over and over again when they would arrive at the school. Gabriella would giggle and have the same answer; we're almost there.

And soon enough, they were almost there.

And Sophia wasn't the only excited one.

Gabriella pulled up into the separate parking lot the school owned so buses could come up in the other one. Quickly she got out of the car then got Sophia out, grabbing her bag on the way.

"I can't wait to see Liana and Lena," Sophia announced, swinging her and her mother's hands back and forth. "And today Miss Lynne said we're going to learn about animals that start with the letter 'A'."

Gabriella smiled. "That's cool. What animals start with 'A'. Got any?"

"Uh, ape starts with 'A'," Sophia said with a nod. Gabriella smiled and agreed. "And eagle."

"Well," Gabriella stopped her. "eagle actually starts with an 'E'. How about...anteater?"

"I heard of that thing before," Sophia said, lifting her bag as it started to slip off her shoulder. "They eat ants."

"Yup. Good job, Soph."

"Are ants animals, mommy?"

"No, ants are insects, sweetie," Gabriella answered, pushing the door open and holding it open for someone. "Do you know what an insect is?"
"No."
"Insects aren't animals, that's a thing. They have three parts of their bodies, too. Head, thorax, and abdomen. They have three pairs of legs and two antenna's," Gabriella classified. Sophia nodded, hardly understanding any of it.

"Okay. Come on." Sophia tugged on her mom's hand and the two walked quickly to the gym. Less kids crowded the gym this time, but many were there still. "Are you gonna stay today, mommy?" Sophia asked, stopping at her line. Gabriella sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, Sophie Smiles. I have to go to work."

"Okay, mommy," Sophia said reluctantly. "There's Mr. Bolton."

Gabriella looked up and bit her lip. Why was he a teacher? His body was heaven. His top button on his plaid, white and baby blue shirt was unbuttoned and his hair was a tangled mess. Gabriella cleared her throat to try and clear the liquidity lump downing her throat. But she couldn't keep her gaze from him. His muscles were amazing. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off long, bulky arms. Gabriella's eyes traveled back up and to his face. He had a slight stubble under his chin and an impish grin playing on his lips. His beautiful icy blue eyes were looking at...at her. Embarrassed, Gabriella looked away and to Sophia who was talking to Lena. Her heart was beating fast, trying to break its way out of her chest. "Soph," Gabriella said softly. Sophia looked up with a piercing smile. "I'm going now." And now the smile vanished. Sophia looked down. "I don't want you to go," she whispered. Gabriella smiled sadly and bent down to her level. "Soph, I'll be here on time today, okay? I'll be here before you know it. Please have fun and be on your best behavior."

"I'm a big girl?"
Gabriella grinned and nodded. "Always."

Sophia grinned back and wrapped her arms around Gabriella's neck, Gabriella wrapping her arms around Sophia's torso. "Bye, mommy. Love you."

"Love you, too, Soph."

And Gabriella was off again.

She climbed in her Volvo and quickly left the parking lot, trying hard not to look back at the school her little—big girl was at.

When Gabriella arrived at work, it was nine o' clock. Perfect timing, she thought then quickly got out the car. She signed in before walking slowly to her desk and sitting down, sketching her design.
"Well, Miss-I-Like-To-Leave-My-Friends-Hanging." Gabriella turned and smiled as Samara was stood above her with her arms opened wide. "You just walked right by me."

"I'm sorry, Sam," Gabriella apologized, standing and giving her friend a hug. "But I need to work so I can get a pay check, pay my bills, for food, for Sophia and I and for a new cell phone. Plus, I need to save up on Christmas."

Samara scoffed and waved her off. "Gabs, Christmas is in five months. You have plenty of time."

"Well, still, I need to work." Gabriella sat down frustrated and started sketching her design. Samara pulled up a chair and sighed softly. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing." She didn't look up and Sam sighed.

"Sophia was upset."

"I know, but it's okay now."

"Would you look at me and talk?"

"Talk about what?" Gabriella snapped, staring up at her. "Eric? Because if that's what you want to talk about, count me out."

"Gabriella..."

"Why do you guys always try and butt in on my life? Eric is out of my life. Out of the picture and none of you respect that."

"Gabs, I'm sorry, okay? I don't want to hurt your feelings or try to pry into your life. I just want you happy."

"I am happy," Gabriella disagreed. "I have Sophia..."

"Only Sophia," Samara pointed out. Gabriella groaned and shook her head. "You want to talk about boys? Well, fine. I met this really, really hot guy yesterday. He's charming, too. And he's nice...and has the most incredible blue eyes ever."

"Where'd you meet a guy?"

"Well...he's Sophia's teacher, actually."

"What?"

"Yeah...we were flirting, too. You know, he really knows how to flatter people."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Oh, I need to see him."

"I'm sure you can come with me to pick Soph up. Magnita won't mind too much."

"I'm there."

***My Baby***

She was on time. A bit early, actually. That was Samara's fault.

Once two o' clock hit, they were off to the classroom. Sophia was building blocks with Liana while Lena slept on her pink mat. Andrew was sat by Sophia, watching her.

"Aw, how cute," Gabriella said softly.

"He's been doing that all day, actually."
Gabriella and Samara turned at his husky voice. He was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his right ankle crossing the other. "Good afternoon, ladies. I missed you in the morning, Gabriella."

"I had to...go," Gabriella breathed softly. "somewhere..."

"That's okay. Sophia was really good today. She's annoyed by Andrew. I think he has a...crush on her."

"I tried telling her," Gabriella quipped.

Troy laughed and nodded. "Yeah...well, I guess you better go ahead now. I don't want to hold you back."

"Yeah...I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning, Troy." Samara shot Gabriella a glance. Troy nodded. "Okay."

"Soph, come on. It's time to leave."

Sophia looked up and smiled. "Coming "

After making sure Sophia had everything, they were off.

And Samara made sure she had everything before she left.

"He is hot," Samara exclaimed when they were in the car.

"Who?" Sophia asked, playing with her hair ribbon.

"Your mommy has a crush on your teacher," Samara said and Gabriella swatted her.

"I do not."

"You do to. You guys were so awkward and did you see the way he looked at you? God, I almost melted. And you call him Troy, too. Not by his last name."

"Hey, he suggested it," Gabriella said defensively. Samara rolled her eyes. "And you went a long with it. He calls you Gabriella."

"Shut up."

"You like Mr. Bolton?" Sophia spoke up, looking alarmed. "Daddy?"

"No, no, sweetie. Mr. Bolton isn't your daddy. Please don't call him that. And I don't have a crush on him. He's your teacher."

"Okay," Sophia said quietly, looking down at her handout. "Miss Lynne gave me a paper with my ABC's on it."

"Oh? Do you know your ABC's?" Gabriella said, steering the car around a corner.

Sophia nodded and flipped the page over. "Yes! A B C D E F G H I J...K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and Z. Now I know my ABC's. Next time won't you sing with me?"

"I'll sing with you, Soph," Sam perked up. Sophia beamed a smile and they sung the ABC's.

The whole ride home.

Gabriella wanted to rip her ears off.

***My Baby***

"Where could she be, Ed?" Eric said, pacing back and fourth, to Edison, his friend. His obsession for his girlfriend was taking over his body, making him feel like killing anyone. He swallowed and sat down, burying his head in his hands. 'She didn't visit me," he said slowly. "Does she miss me?"

"If she hasn't visited you..." Edison didn't get to finish his sentence. Eric had him glued to the wall, his hand penetrating deep into Edison's flesh on his neck. Eric squeezed and Edison squirmed, loosing air. "Listen, Ed. She missed me, alright? Alright?" Eric pushed harder and Edison nodded the best he could. "Good, because I love her. And, And she loves me, right? Gabi Bear loves me. She wants to marry me. I never got to ask." Eric let go of Edison's neck and turned around, pacing again. "Man, I miss her. I never got to say I love you again. Or ask her to marry me."

"She would...say yes," Edison said for the sake of his neck. Eric nodded. "Yeah, she would. I'm going to find her. And you're going to help."

"How?"

"Her parents will tell me. Plus, she has my baby girl. I get to see her. I can call the police."'

"Yes." Edison nodded and Eric grinned.

"And then we'll live together."

"Yes," Edison agreed once again.

Eric turned slowly, thinking about how good it would be to touch her again. To feel her golden, smooth skin on his..."Alright. Let's do this."

***My Baby***

"I'll be right back, Soph. Stay here with Chloe," Gabriella told her daughter, tying her shoelaces. "I'm going to the park for a jog. Is that okay?"

Sophia nodded and went back to tracing her ABC's. "Okay, mommy."

"Okay. Chloe, if you leave my daughter for one second or talk inappropriately—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've had this conversation before. If I do, you'll kill me." Chloe waved her off, throwing a Lays chip into her mouth. Gabriella eyed her skeptically, thinking if she should leave her here with Sophia. Sure, Chloe was seventeen. She was capable of watching a four-year-old. But she has a tendency of talking the wrong things and doing the wrong things.

"Okay. Well, if there's anything wrong. Anything at all, don't hesitate to call," Gabriella said, worried. "And, don't give Soph too many snacks. Maybe an apple or apple sauce." Chloe got up, her eyes rolling. She started pushing Gabriella out the door. "Wait! Wait, don't turn on the—" Gabriella was taken aback as the mahogany door slammed right in her face. "stove," she finished with a roll of her eyes. She turned around and started a light jog towards the park. "Nothing will go wrong..."

The sun rose high over the sky and was beaming down at Gabriella like a hammer. The park was five blocks away. She would round the whole park ten times then head home at around four o' clock. Yes, it's a lot of work, but she's gotta stay in shape.

Gabriella wiped at the matted hairs sticking to her forehead. The jog was picking up and she was sweating. She had arrived at the crowded park.

"Jeez, what's up?"

"Hey! Gabriella!"

Gabriella turned to the voice, confused. A teenage boy was waving.

Oh.

He was waving to another Gabriella.

Oh, that makes sense.

Gabriella turned her head back around, getting a crashing surprise. Her bod collided with someone else's and she fell back with a grunt. "Ow!"

"Hey, hey. I'm so sorry—" Gabriella looked up, taken aback to the familiar voice and face. Her brown eyes met with his warm blue ones. And God, was he close. His face was mere inches apart from hers. She was on her butt, hands holding her up by her sides and knees bent upwards. He was crosschecked over her, arms on either side of her. He had saved his fall and fell into this...teasing position.

Gabriella's heart was drumming in her chest. She could hear it—or maybe it was Troy's. Whatever it was, she could hear it loud and clear.

"I—I'm sorry, Mr—ah, Troy. I wasn't paying attention. I thought some guy called me," Gabriella tried to explain with heavy breaths. Troy nodded and moved, extending both arms to help her up. Gabriella took them and was tugged up easily. "I'm sorry, too," Troy said, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. Gabriella smiled slightly. "It's okay. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know," Troy said, chuckling. "Jogging. After this I was actually planning to play basketball."

"Basketball? You play?"

"Well, used to. When my dad died, I kind of stopped. You know, it was his dream. I felt as if I couldn't fulfill it without him."

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's okay. Hey—uh, want to jog with me? I mean, unless you can't keep up," he said with a smirk. Gabriella raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, you're on, Bolton. How about I race you."

"Fine. Whoever wins has to do what the other says." Troy put his hand out. "Deal?"

Gabriella grabbed the offer with a grin. "Get ready to crawl on your hands and knees, Bolton."

"Okay. Ditto. Now...Ready...Set...—"

"Go!" Gabriella took off with no warning and Troy stared shocked after her. Gabriella threw him a sly grin before sprinting to victory. "Are you serious?" Troy took after her, running extremely fast. Even for a basketball player.

He had even passed Gabriella.

"Oh, no fair!"

"Everything's fair!" he yelled out, laughing. Gabriella rolled her eyes and tried to catch up with him, not doing good.

"I wasn't ready, cheater," Gabriella defended, bending over and leaning on her knees with her hands, breathing heavily. Troy raised his eyebrows and shook his head, breathing equally hard. "Wha? You got a head start. You cheated." Gabriella waved him off and stood up straight. She peered around herself then glanced down at her watch. It was almost three o' clock. Maybe her and Troy could hang out.

"You wanna hang out?" Troy asked, knocking her out of her thoughts. Gabriella grinned and looked at him. "Sure. What do you have in mind we do?"

"We could play a few rounds in basketball," Troy suggested. "Or we could just hang out in my house and watch a movie."

"I think basketball would be nice," Gabriella decided, tilting her head to the side. "Mind loosing to a girl?"

"I won the race. I can win this, too."

"We'll see about that," Gabriella said with a smirk, then started walking off. Troy started after her in a daze, finding it hard to keep his eyes from falling to her...bottom. "You coming, or what?" Gabriella threw him a look over her shoulder and Troy cleared his throat. He nodded and jogged after her.

***My Baby***

"Oh, come on!" Troy exclaimed as Gabriella jumped onto his back. She giggled as the ball flew out of his hands and missed the net. "You cheater!"

Gabriella looked offended. She slipped off his back and pouted. "Who, me?"

"No, the imaginary person over there," Troy said sarcastically, chucking his head to the side. Gabriella looked over there and shrugged. "There's no person."

"Oh, just be quiet. God, I'm tired out." Troy plopped down onto the fresh grass and leaned back. Gabriella sat down next to him and studied his features. His muscles peeked, showing out of his wife beater. His red track pants with a white strip zooming down the middle was bagged and slipped down a bit so she could see his plaid boxers. Gabriella looked up at his face and smiled. He was looking at her, too. His blue eyes sizzling into her skin and sending involuntary spines down her sweaty back.

She then saw him sit up and lean forward, his eyes glancing down at her lips. He whispered huskily, "I'll stop if you want..."

"Please don't..."

His lips pressed to hers and fire roared through her body. She hadn't been kissed in four years. She hadn't been kissed gently in eight.

This one was gentle and passionate. She'd only met him yesterday, but the soaring feeling through her body and the flips twisting in her stomach told otherwise.

Troy's hand lifted up to Gabriella's cheek, his big hand settling there softly.

They pulled back slowly and both had dazed smiles taking over their lips.

Gabriella then giggled.

"I feel so much like a teenager right now," she said, shaking her head and grinning. Troy chuckled, deciding that her giggle was a beautiful trait she owned. It was like music, soft and bubbly. "I'm serious," Gabriella said, leaning back on her hands. "I mean, it feels like my first kiss. In a way, it is."

"You've never been kissed? But Sophia..."

"I've been kissed," Gabriella said. She quirked an eyebrow upwards. "Haven't you had 'the talk' yet, Mr. Bolton?"

"Yes," Troy replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm just confused..."

"Well, I haven't been kissed in four years." It wasn't a lie. She hadn't been kissed in four years. She just left out a waterfall of information. Like Eric. But she's only met the guy. Why would she tell him about Eric, yet?

"You okay?" Troy said, leaning over on his forearms and palms. Gabriella looked at him and gave him a beautiful smile. "Sure. I won. Ready to do anything and everything I say?" Gabriella stood.

"Now wait a minute," Troy demanded, standing up as well. "You didn't win. No one did. Plus, I still didn't get my reward for winning the race."

"You didn't win that," Gabriella said, placing either hand on her hips. "You cheated. Obviously you've had more training than I."

"I'm not stupid. I'll make this an easy demand. How about you spend the whole entire evening with me today?"

Gabriella grinned. "I was planning on it."

***My Baby***

The two were sat on Troy's couch, watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Gabriella still had no idea how the hell he persuaded her to watch this.

"Oh, jeez! Why is he so cruel?" Gabriella jumped and clung onto Troy. Troy chuckled and wrapped his arm tightly around her. "This actually does kind of sort of actually seem a little bit like high school."

Gabriella looked up at him. "You seem so unsure."

Troy smiled down at her. "I'm not."

Gabriella flashed him a smile back then ducked her head into his chest again. "Please turn it off..."

"Fine, cry baby. I'll turn it off."

"Can we order pizza, too? I'm kind of hungry."

"Sure. I'll pay."

Gabriella smiled as he went to turn off the DVD player. Eric would never do this. Every time they watched a scary movie, he would tease her about how much of a baby she was. And when she asked if they could order pizza, he would make her pay. Then half way through the movie and pizza he would start making out with her. Then it would get intense and when Gabriella wants to stop, he get's rough...

"Mm, Eric, stop," Gabriella demanded softly, disconnecting their lips. "Let's just watch the movie."

"But, Gabs," he whined, bending down and tracing her neck with the tip of his tongue. Gabriella sighed and pushed him away gently. "Eric, I said no. Not tonight. I'm sore from earlier."

"Come on," he urged, pushing her down roughly and kissing her. Gabriella squirmed under him and pushed him off. "Eric! I said no."

"I said yes," he said firmly before stripping off her shirt and kissing up the smooth, golden tan. His hands roughly lifted her from the couch and unclasped her bra, kneading the new opened flesh roughly. Gabriella cried out and more pain was added as he bit harshly on her neck.

"Eric—stop, please."

"Baby, you know I have needs. Let's make this quick."

"You always have needs! What about me? Have you ever thought that I don't want to do this every twenty minutes? You're hurting me..."

"No, no, baby. Shh, don't cry. I'm not hurting you. Shh."

And forcefully, he made rough, harsh sex with Gabriella.

But it's nothing new. He would always rape her.

"Gabriella, you okay?" Troy said, sitting down next to her. Tears were silently rolling down her face. He should forget Eric. She shouldn't think of the horrible times he put her through. She needs to be happy now. He's gone. He's out of the picture. He's not coming back...

"Gabriella? Hey, shh, don't cry. I'm here. what's wrong?" He pulled her into a hug and Gabriella tightly clung onto him. Troy sighed. "What's wrong, Gabriella?"

"Nothing," she said after a while. She escaped his embrace and stood up, wiping at her eyes. "I'm just going to go. Have you seen my other shoe?" she picked up her Nike sneaker before slipping it on and gazing around the room. "I need to get home."

"Here." Troy handed over the small shoe on the other side of the couch. Gabriella smiled with a small 'thanks' before slipping that shoe on, too.

"You sure you're ready to go? I mean, if I've done anything to upset you, I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's wasn't you. I'm just a bit...I'm just thinking about the past. It's fine. I'm sorry, we can exchange numbers."

"I already have your number," Troy said with a grin. "The school requires all parents numbers."

Gabriella giggled and shrugged on her hoodie. She turned to him and extended her hand. "Fine. Give me your number. We'll chat sometime."

Troy grinned and reached for a felt pen. He gently wrote his number down on her palm. Gabriella gazed at him as he did so.

"It's not polite to stare," Troy said, looking up. He grinned as Gabriella's cheeks went pink. "Sorry. I better get going." Gabriella stood, Troy in tow. "Thanks for having me," she said softly, looking up at him. "I had fun."

"Ditto." he leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. Gabriella smiled. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Troy."

"Same. Hope to see Sophia, too."

Troy watched as Gabriella walked out the door with a wave. He sighed softly and sat back down on the couch. "The most amazing girl," he whispered, peering at the door.

***My Baby***

Gabriella had no idea how late it was. It was eight o' clock. One hour past Sophia's bedtime. A hour and a half after bath time. Two hours past dinner time. And four hours past the time she was supposed to get home. And Chloe was in charge.

"Chloe! Soph, I'm home!"

"Mommy!" Sophia ran through the dinning room archway with paint drawn sloppily all over her face. Her hair was flooded with fruity colors. Her Disney Princesses pajama's were soaked and running a stream of paint. Then, there was a God awful smell radiating from the kitchen. A beep went off and smoke came from the archway.

"Oh, my God! Chloe!" Gabriella ran into the kitchen to see Chloe there with an apron on and her hair and clothes bathed with flour and other cooking supplies. She had pulled something out of the oven. It was inedible and burnt to a black crisp. The fire alarm from the dinning room went off and Sophia was screaming, running around.

"What did you do?" Gabriella screamed over the two beeping objects and a screaming Sophia. "I told you not to touch the stove."

"I'm sorry! Sophia didn't want to eat anymore cookies or chips so I tried cooking some chicken! I fell asleep as it cooked and it and Sophia turned out...like that."

"Oh, I have a huge head ache," Gabriella said, rubbing her temples. "I'll clean it up. Come on, Soph. We have to clean you up."

"I made my room pretty, mommy," Sophia said as they walked by her room. Gabriella looked in it and nearly screamed. Her walls were covered in splats of paint. Her furniture was painted sloppily with different colors. "Oh, no, no, Soph. No. This'll take forever to clean. I don't have forever."

"Do you like it?"

"Soph, paint is for paper. Not for your body or all over a house, okay?"

Sophia looked down with a pout. "I'm sorry, mommy."

"It's okay. God, this will take forever to clean. Let's get to cleaned up." Gabriella guided Sophia into the bathroom and held her breath as she saw the bathtub covered with soapy bubbles and paint water. "Oh, goodness."

***My Baby***

"Four hours. Four fucking hours," Gabriella breathed, plopping down on the couch. She turned to Chloe who was looking guilty. "I should've made you clean it all up."

"Gabs, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean any of it."

Gabriella then smiled and nodded. "I know. I forgive you. Plus, I was something like you when I was your age. And you're rebellious, stupid, idiotic, egomaniac, inappropriate—"

"Is this going anywhere?"

"But you're still my favorite cousin."

"Aw, you're my favorite cousin, too, Gabs," Chloe said and leaned over to hug her. "And if you need me, I'll be there for you."

"Same."

Second chapter. Tell me what you think, please?

Thanks!-Brittany