A/N : Happy Monday :) Don't forget. The preview for chapter 14 is at the bottom :)

Chapter 13

Gabriella's ears were ringing with the strained silence in the house. It was rare for the Montez house to ever be quiet. There was always conversation, laughter and bickering. Even when Addie was away, Gabriella usually found herself arguing with Alejandro over something. Ever since Gabriella was born, she and Alejandro always found something to disagree on. It didn't stop when he got married. When they all had a family dinner, even now that they were grownup, Gabriella and Alejandro were still at each others' throat. But, as the remaining Montez's sat in silence, staring at the landline phone, Gabriella terribly wished she could be arguing with Alejandro again. She wished for that with every fibre of her being. If they were arguing, things were normal.

Things weren't normal right now.

In normal circumstances, Gabriella would be overanalysing her kiss with Troy. But the truth was: she didn't give a damn. She didn't care if they were going to start dating or if things were awkward and he'd fire her. She honestly didn't give a flying fuck. Believe it or not, she was more preoccupied with worrying about Addie. She didn't want to think about the worst possible scenario but how could she not? There was a bombing in Afghanistan where her little sister was based and there were still unconfirmed deaths.

Gabriella looked towards her father. There was nothing specifically wrong with him. It was the standard decrease in health that everyone experienced when they reached their later years. Heart problems, arthritis in his hands and knees, and diabetes. But, mostly, Greg was physically okay. However, in that moment, he didn't look it. He didn't look okay at all. He seemed to have aged about twenty years. His eyes were dull, his greying hair seemed more out of control than usual and his jaw seemed to be set. Possibly fear. Possibly guilt.

Maria was sat in an armchair, compulsively polishing one of her crystal ornaments. Gabriella put it down to an animalistic maternal instinct. Whenever Maria was upset or angry or scared when the subject matter was one of her children, no matter how old they were, she cleaned. It wasn't so much that she actually wanted to clean but that she needed to do something to keep herself composed.

Still, there was one thing that all of the Montez's were doing. They were all staring at the coffee table, at the phone that was lying silently in the middle. Perhaps they would've been better off occupying themselves by doing something, anything, because the longer they sat, the more they worried and the more tragic scenarios they thought of.

But, they didn't do anything. They sat and they watched, praying that Addie was safe.

A shrill ring pierced the strained silence and it took a moment for them all to realise that the phone was ringing. Greg reached forward and pressed the speakerphone button. He glanced at his wife and his oldest son and daughter who were all perched on the edge of their seats.

"Uh, hello?" he asked tentatively. His Spanish accent was more prominent as fear, anxiety, and worry took over.

"Hello, this is Blue Sky life insurance, I'd like to explain our over 50's plan-" a feminine voice spoke politely.

Before the lady could even finish her sentence, a loud voice, laced in anger, yelled out, "Vete para la verga, perra!" (A/N: Fuck off, you bitch)

Greg hadn't moved an inch, Alejandro was holding his breath and Maria was crying silently into a handkerchief. It was Gabriella was standing up, phone clutched in her hand, breathing hard as anger coursed through her veins. The phone slipped out of her hands as tears leaked from her eyes.

"It's not fair," she whispered.

Alejandro stood up and touched his sister's arm. "Gabi, I know it's not."

"Our sister might be dead and we have insurances companies phoning us? Fuck this," she cried before she shrugged her brother off and stormed out of the room.

She slammed the front door behind her and sighed. She didn't mean to snap at Alejandro and she didn't even mean to snap at the insurance lady. How could she possibly know that the house that she was calling was on the brink of being torn apart? It wasn't her fault. Gabriella walked to the end of the driveway and sat on the low wall which surrounded Greg and Maria's front garden.

Ever since Addie had confessed how she'd wanted to become a military medic, Gabriella had worried. There wasn't a day that went by without her praying for Addie's safety. But the longer that Addie went without extreme danger or injury, the more Gabriella took it for granted that things would stay that way. And that's what made everything so much worse. Gabriella was Addie's older sister. Shouldn't she have persuaded her not to go into the Navy and prevented something exactly like this?

But, then Addie wouldn't have had the chance to truly help people and live her dream. If that had happened, Gabriella wouldn't have been a very good sister, would she?

Gabriella stared across at the house opposite her parents'. The thought of not seeing Addie again brought a torturous burning in the back of her throat. It would be so easy to extinguish the fire and forget that any of this was happening. She knew that Greg and Maria didn't need to be worrying about Gabriella as well as Addie but she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't take the feeling of hopelessness anymore. She wanted to forget the worry and the pain.

Gabriella could walk down the street, buy a bottle of vodka and forget all of this.

She massaged her temples for a moment. She wanted to fight the temptation. But the want to forget all of the pain was too strong. She brought her mobile out from her shorts pocket. She flipped her phone open, staring at the picture of Addie that she had as her background. She couldn't very well walk back inside and confess that she was on the brink of another relapse. She really only had one option.

Scrolling through her phonebook, she paused on Troy's name. Mere weeks after revealing her secret addiction she was going to ask him for his help again. After she'd kissed him and prominently left afterwards. But, Troy wasn't exactly a bad man. Even if he didn't want her and didn't like the kiss, he wasn't exactly going to leave her at her lowest point, was he?

She pressed call and listened to the persistent ringing.

"Hello?" that wonderfully familiar voice asked.

Gabriella sighed at the sound of his ever-calm voice. He probably had caller ID and he probably had an inkling as to why she was calling. Still, there wasn't a hint of worry in his voice. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Troy, I need you here."

"What's happened?" he asked gently after she'd told him where she was.

"Can you just talk to me? Talk to me about anything that pops into your head. Please," she whispered urgently.

"Of course," he exclaimed. "Well, last night me and Andy watched Top Gear and they claimed that the new Aston Martin is the best car in the world which me and Andy disagreed with because Audi just brought out a new car that is so much better."

"Have you driven the new Audi?" Gabriella asked sceptically.

"Well," Troy laughed, "not exactly. Have you seen the car that I drive?"

"I fixed it, remember?" she murmured.

"Exactly. It's not exactly first in line at an Audi showroom, is it?" he joked.

Gabriella laughed a little bit but it died off. "Are you almost here?"

"Almost," he muttered.

"Gabriella?" a gentle voice asked.

She looked up to find an elderly lady staring at her worriedly. "Oh, Mrs Jones. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

She smiled sadly. "Is everything okay, Dear?"

Gabriella shrugged, too exhausted to keep up a pretence. "Not really. But I'm fine. My friend is coming to keep me company."

"Aren't Maria and Greg home? I thought I saw Alex go in earlier, as well," she said softly.

Gabriella shook her head. "They're home, I just...I'm really sorry, Mrs Jones, but I'm just not in the mood to talk."

"Brie!" Troy called.

Gabriella turned to see Troy running towards them. She looked up at Mrs Jones. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Mrs Jones paused as Troy sat down next to Gabriella. "Well, I'll go then. I assume you're in good hands. Say hello to Maria and Greg for me."

Gabriella nodded absentmindedly. She waited until Mrs Jones was out of earshot before turned and gave Troy a weak smile. "Hey."

Troy hesitated for only a moment before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Have you heard anything?"

Gabriella fiddled with her fingers and shook her head. "No. That makes it worse." She looked at Troy with watery eyes. "Do you know what I'm going to say to you?"

He nodded and pulled her closer. He tightened his hold on her, as if he alone could protect her from the world. "Be honest with me: did you drink anything?"

Gabriella closed her eyes, intent to focus on Troy. She wasn't going to think about Addie or the worry or her demons. Just Troy. "You've seen me when I've had a drink. You know that I haven't."

Troy paused for a moment, running his fingers up and down her back, hoping to bring her some sort of comfort. "Why did you call me?"

Gabriella straightened up, forcing him to let go of her. Still, she refused to look at him. Perhaps she was embarrassed that he was seeing her at one of her lowest points. Perhaps she didn't want him to see her family possibly get torn apart. Perhaps she was afraid of confronting the kiss with him. Whatever the reason, she didn't want to look at him. "You think I can go back in there and tell them that I'm thinking about drinking again when they're concerned about their daughter possibly being dead? I can't ask for their help. Not now. They think I've been strong for so long."

Troy brought her back into his arms. "So you asked for my help instead," he whispered.

She shrugged. "You offered, remember. I didn't have many options."

"You still thinking about drinking right now?" Troy asked quietly.

Gabriella nodded, letting tears drip down her cheeks. She finally looked at Troy, letting him see how broken she was. "I can't take it. I just want a peaceful life. I don't want to worry about my sister every day like this. I should've stopped her before she signed up."

Troy brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this," he said sternly. He knew all about self blame. For twenty years, he'd blamed himself for how Andy didn't have a mother and blamed himself for other things that still haunted him. But, he didn't want Gabriella to feel that way. It would only push her even closer to drink again.

"But," Gabriella started.

"I'm serious," he exclaimed. "You can't think that way, Brie, you just can't. You love her so much, I know you do and whatever happens after today, none of it is your fault."

Gabriella paused. "What do I do, Troy? Addie might be dead and I'm sat here, complaining about how I'm thinking about drinking again."

Troy shrugged. "I don't know, Brie. I wish I did. I'm crap in these situations."

Gabriella rested her hand on his knee. "No you're not." She looked away from him. "You've kept me talking. I haven't drunk, have I?"

Troy placed his hand over hers. "No, you haven't." He paused. "What's that song that Alejandro played for you?"

"'Leningrad,'" she whispered.

"What does it mean to you?" Troy asked quietly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I liked it before my...problem. I guess, now, when I hear this song, I hear my brother telling me exactly why I should be strong and I think of all the reasons to stay sober. Mum, Dad, Alex, Addie, Zeke, Sharpay." She paused and looked down at her scuffed walking boots. "You."

Troy touched her cheek with his fingertips. "Brie, look at me." He waited until she looked at him before he placed a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled back and sent her a crooked smile when her eyes fluttered open. "Listen," he whispered, "you didn't drink, did you? Whatever happens after today, you'll be okay, I promise."

"How can you promise me that?" she whispered.

He shrugged. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Gabriella blushed prettily and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you." She gestured with her head to the house. "Do you mind coming inside with me? I don't want you to leave just yet."

Gabriella rested her head on Troy's shoulder. Something about sitting between her brother and the guy she sort of had a thing for made the silence easier to endure. Pleasantries were brief, nothing more than Gabriella explaining 'This is Troy' and her family responding appropriately with 'Hello' before lapsing back into silence.

Troy's fingers were linked with hers. It was a simple action. Perhaps it was to be expected after the kisses they'd shared. But it was reassuring for her. The silence was no longer as pressurising as it was simply because she knew that, no matter what happened, Troy was there. He was a kind hearted man who had entered her life by chance but still didn't want to see her hurt.

Having Troy beside her was comforting but it didn't make the waiting any easier. Gabriella, as she presumed that Greg, Maria and Alejandro did too, still had a million scenarios in her head. She simply knew that she wasn't going to have to face any of them alone.

Gabriella didn't think it was the most ideal way for Troy to be introduced to her family. But, in the moment, she knew that no matter where their relationship may be headed, starting this way made her feel like he wasn't willing to let them be a short, meaningless fling. Whatever they were determined to be, it was never going to be a fling.

A shrill ring pierced Gabriella's thoughts, making her snap her head up. She glanced at her family as everyone sat on the edges of their seats expectantly. She watched Greg as he wearily reached towards the coffee table to turn the phone on speakerphone. She could tell that he was unsure how she would react if it was another insurance company.

"Hello?" Greg asked slowly.

"Papi?" a feminine voice asked.

Greg laughed. "Adela! We're so happy to hear from you. You're on speakerphone. Everyone's here."

"Hi Mum," Addie called.

Maria had tears of relief streaming down her cheeks. "Mi hija! I'm so glad you're safe. You are safe, aren't you?"

Addie laughed. "I'm fine. I only have a couple of minutes left, though. I had to wait two hours just to use the payphone here. Alex, you there?"

"I'm here, Addie," Alejandro replied.

"Haven't been up to too much mischief since I saw you last, I hope," she joked.

"Me? Mischief? You must be mistaken," Alejandro replied sarcastically.

A beautiful laugh rang from the phone. "Of course. I have to be mistaking you with my other brother," she said sarcastically. "Hey, Gabi?"

Gabriella felt Troy squeeze her hand. "Hey, hermana," she replied quietly.

"How are you and Mr Mechanic getting along?" Addie asked suggestively.

Gabriella felt her cheeks flush as she looked at Troy. He turned away with a very smug grin as he figured out that Gabriella had obviously been talking about him. "Um, Addie, Troy's in the room."

"Oh, hi Troy," Addie said politely.

Troy laughed. "Hey, Addie. I've heard a lot about you."

"I can say the same," she exclaimed. "Gabi, are you alright?"

Gabriella smiled to herself. Her sister was in the middle of a warzone in the aftermath of a bombing where her medical services would obviously be needed. But, Addie was still concerned about her older sister. "I'm fine. You concentrate on staying safe, okay?"

Addie laughed. "Of course. I have to go now. There's a line behind me about a mile long. I'll talk to you soon. Te quiero a todos. (A/N: I love you all)"

"Te quiero, (A/N: I love you)" Greg, Maria, Alejandro and Gabriella all replied.

After a moment, Greg reached forward and pressed the hang up button on the phone. He looked at his wife and his two oldest children. "She's alive!" Greg reached for Maria and kissed her while Gabriella hugged Alejandro.

She turned to Troy and grinned. "Come here, Bolton, you're not escaping that easily." She brought him into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "I wouldn't be here without you," she whispered. She pulled back, looking into his eyes, letting him know she was telling the truth.

Troy nodded with a smile. Before he could respond, though, Maria had already pulled him to his feet and was embracing him.

Maria pulled back and kissed him. "Isn't this fantastic?"

Troy laughed. "I'm truly happy for you, Mrs Montez."

She waved him away. "Oh, please, call me Maria."

Troy nodded. "Well, I guess I'll leave you all to celebrate. I should get back to Andy."

Maria frowned and shook her head. "You think you're going to miss out on a celebration like how we do it back in El Salvador? No. You're going to stay here and celebrate with us."

Troy looked towards Gabriella who shrugged. "Andy's a grown man, Troy. I don't think he'll mind you staying here for a while." She stood up. "Besides, it'll probably give him a chance to figure out why Steph's still not talking to him."

Troy laughed. "That's true." He looked at Maria, Greg and Alejandro. "My son's best friend, Steph, is in love with him, he doesn't know and so she's not talking to him and he doesn't know why," he exclaimed.

Alejandro rolled his eyes. "I sympathise. Women are too frustrating that way. Why can't they just tell you what you did wrong?"

Gabriella elbowed her brother. "Be careful. If Sarah finds out you said that, learn to sleep with your eyes open."

"Speaking of my wife, I should head off." He hugged his family and turned to Troy. "You're cool, man. I hope to see you again."

Troy laughed. "Same here."

Maria clapped her hands. "I have to cook Carne Asada." Before anyone could respond, Maria had bustled her way out of the room.

Gabriella touched Troy's arm. "It's a traditional dish from our home country, El Salvador. It's delicious and my mum's speciality. If you like steak or barbeques, you'll love this."

Troy nudged Gabriella. "You said I'd enjoy this. This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten." He looked across the dining room table at Maria. "This was amazing, Maria, I loved it." The table was covered with food and all of it was delicious. Troy had never been to El Salvador but the food that Maria made was certainly a good first impression. He couldn't help noticing that no alcohol was offered as drinks. It was either water, orange juice or coffee.

Maria laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Troy nodded. "Well, I did. And I'm truly glad that Addie is okay."

Greg grinned. "Aren't we all?"

Troy pushed his plate away. "I'd like to stay here and celebrate some more but I really should get home. Andy's twenty but the Lord knows he inherited my cooking skills."

"Next time, invite your son. We'd love to meet him," Maria said softly.

Troy smiled. He was always weary about explaining to people who Andy truly was. When people worked the maths out, did some simple sums and figured out that Troy had had Andy when he was Andy's age, people sometimes withdrew. They sometimes disapproved and judged. But the Montez's appeared to accept anybody, no matter their story, their past or if they just had the clothes on their back. As long as you respect them, they'll respect you.

"I'd like that, too," he murmured.

Gabriella pushed her chair back, getting to her feet. "I'll show you out."

Troy reached over the table to shake Greg's hand. "Thank you, Greg. It was really nice to meet you and I had a really good time."

Greg smiled and nodded. "Ustedesbienvenido en cualquier momento."

Troy nodded unsurely and then shook Maria's hand. "Once again. It was a delicious meal, Maria, and I'm glad your daughter's safe."

"Come again, Troy," she said.

Gabriella gestured to the doorway. "Just through there." She followed Troy out of the house and shut the front door behind them. The summer night was drawing in as a slight chill settled in the air. Gabriella sat down on the low wall again, silently inviting Troy to do the same.

"I'm sorry about my family," she whispered. "They're sometimes embarrassing when they're celebrating."

Troy laughed. "They were awesome. And they just found out their daughter is still alive. I think that's a good enough excuse to be a little embarrassing."

Gabriella nodded. "I guess so."

Troy nudged her shoulder after a moment. "So you told Addie about me?"

Gabriella elbowed him in response. "She's my sister. I tell her everything."

"So what did you tell her, exactly?" he asked curiously.

She laughed. "Like I'd tell you."

Troy shrugged. "I should've expected that. Can I ask what your dad said to me back there? I didn't have a clue."

She smiled. "My dad is very proud of who he is and he expects us all to speak Spanish when it's just us. He was quite lenient today as you were there. But he still speaks Spanish to strangers when he's either angry or being sentimental."

"Which one was it?" Troy asked wearily.

Gabriella laughed. "He said you're always welcome here."

"Really?" he asked quietly. "I'm glad. I had a lot of fun."

Gabriella smiled to herself as she inspected her oil-stained fingers. "Thank you," she whispered.

Troy frowned. "What did I do?"

She shrugged and looked across at him. "I don't know. Coming here when I needed you to. Staying here when I needed you to. I just know that I should thank you."

Troy nodded slowly. "Well, you're welcome."

"I mean it," she muttered. "If you hadn't have come here, I would've been down the pub destroying my liver."

Troy wrapped his arm around her. "Well, you didn't do that, did you?" When she turned to face him, he kissed her. There was a subtle difference between this kiss and their previous ones. This kiss was less about reassurance. It was a simple expression of how Troy wanted to be with her. There was no lust. Simply want.

He pulled back and brushed her hair from her face. "I told you that you'd be okay."

"Yeah, yeah. I should listen to you more often," she murmured.

He chuckled. "Maybe you should. And on that note, I really should get home." They both stood up and faced each other. Before she could say anything, Troy was kissing her again. He was hesitant at first, unsure how much she wanted. But as her fingers dug into his shoulders, he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. His hands wove around her waist, resting on her lower back. He pulled back before he got too carried away. Gabriella pressed her forehead to his chest as she caught her breath. He held her in his arms, revelling in the way that her lips had felt against his, the feel of her body against his.

Gabriella lifted her head to look at him. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to?" he replied as more of a question. He let go of her and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. "I need to go."

She nodded and waved her fingers at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He went to walk away but paused and turned back to him. "Hey, Brie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to talk about..." he trailed off and instead gestured to the gap between them.

She smiled and shook her head. "Not tonight."

Troy nodded and scratched the back of his head, trying not to show how much she truly affected him. "Are you going to be okay?"

She laughed and gestured to her parents' house. "I'll crash here tonight. I'll be fine. And if I need you, I'll call you, I promise."

"Anyway, I just want to clarify that he was lying. I wasn't checking you out."

Gabriella smiled slightly as she leant against the bonnet of the 4x4, crossing one leg over the other. "Don't lie to me. I know you were."

Troy gaped at her. "How could you possibly know that?"

"You were burning holes in the back of my head," she exclaimed. "Oh wait. You weren't looking at my head, were you?" she teased.