So, I know it took long but I hope it was worth the wait. Please read and review, 18 reviews to the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't owe anything...
Enjoy, LY Mitchi

"So…you heard it." He grinned at me and I felt myself blush. Yes, he said it. Those three words no one would say in vain. "I love you too, baby," I whispered as I brushed his hair back.

They all watched Troy as he slept in peace. It was already late, but none of them wanted to return home and sleep. They wanted to be with Troy. Lucille already fell asleep in her chair. Nick was about to doze off and Chad was lying on the couch, his eyes closed, but not asleep.

Only Gabriella was sitting in her chair, wide-awake, her eyes fixed on the boy in front of her. She watched his chest move up and down in a steady rhythm, not registering the machine beeping behind her. Her eyes wandered over to the wires attached to his body and the infusion leading to his right arm, which was slightly bandaged. Her eyes moved up to his face again, half of it hidden behind the oxygen mask. His fringes had fallen over his eyes again and she gently brushed them back as she sighed. "Why on earth…what happened so you had to go back?" she whispered, letting her hand softly drop on his left, heavily bandaged forearm. She brushed it up and down with her index finger while her eyes fell on the small cut at the collar of his hospital grown.

He just lay there, dreaming about his father coming to get him, the sedative preventing him from waking up…

The Next Day

Troy woke up first, his eyes scanning the room, spotting his mother and brother asleep in their chairs, and Chad sleeping on the couch. Then, he felt a small hand in his. He turned his head slowly and saw Gabriella, her head resting on her shoulder and her other hand resting on her stomach – asleep.

He smiled a bit; he felt that the effects of the morphine had faded overnight as he tried to readjust himself in the hospital bed. He hissed and clenched his teeth as he felt a stinging in his chest, as if someone had stabbed him from behind. He closed his eyes and clenched his hands to fists, pressing his lips together, not wanting to wake anyone up.

"Troy!" He heard a painful voice next to him. He realized he had been crushing Gabby's hand and let her go.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, the sound muffled through the mask.

Gabriella pulled her hand back and smiled slightly. "It's okay, has the morphine stopped getting you high?" She was worried when she saw the tears that formed in his eyes because of the pain in his chest. She tightened her grip on his hand just as Lucille and the other two woke up. Lucille looked at Troy as worried as Gabriella had. Troy leaned back again and closed his eyes in pain, tears of pain glistering on the edge of his eyelids.

"I'm getting a doctor, he'll give you something against it," Lucille said and stood up, walking out of the room.

Seconds later, she returned with a doctor behind her. "Good morning Troy, good to see you woke up…" He stepped closer. Troy didn't show any kind of reaction to the doctor. He wanted to keep his mouth shut.

Troy

I knew they had given me some morphine yesterday, and I knew I was really high after it – things just might slip out when I'm not clear minded. I watched the doctor leaving the room again. I sighed. Yes, they would leave it… but he returned a syringe in his hand.

My eyes widened. "What's that?" I whispered as he came near me.

"It's just some morphine, your mom told me you're in pain because of your chest and back."

I pulled my arm away. "I don't want it," I stated firmly. He couldn't make me take it, and there were enough other painkillers, on which I'd still have a clear mind.

He looked at me confused. "Bu-"

"No. I won't take it – I'll take any other painkiller, but no morphine." I knew those other painkillers wouldn't blur my mind as bad as the morphine did, and a blurred mind might just let things slip… things that weren't supposed to be known by any other person except me, myself, and I.

The doctor wanted to argue again but gave up. "I guess I can't force you. I'll go and get another one…" He turned around and left again.

"Troy?" I looked up at my mom studying my face, trying to figure out what was going on in my head. "Why don't you want to take it, it's the strongest one they have…" She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Mom, I don't like the…the…" I tried to make up an excuse that wouldn't ruin my purpose of keeping everything that had happened between my dad, my stepmom, and I to myself. No one needed to know, or else I'd get killed. "I don't like the way it…blurs your mind. Since I'm awake, I want to be part of what's happening," I said rather slowly.

My mom still watched me, but broke eye contact with a sigh and looked up as the doctor re-entered the room with another syringe in his hand. I closed my eyes as I felt the knives stab me in my back and chest…

Gabriella

Suddenly, Troy grabbed my hand again. I looked around and saw him with his eyes tightly shut again, with a tear rolling down his left cheek, biting his lip. No matter how much he'd fight, he needed something strong. His whole back was bruised according to the doctor and most of his ribs were sprained, maybe even broken; but they couldn't tell without doing an exam.

The doctor noticed it too, as he bent down next to Lucille and whispered something in her ear. She looked up to Troy who hissed in pain once more and slowly opened his eyes again. She nodded and the doctor left again.

She bent over Troy and brushed the single tear away. "Troy?" He looked at her, his eyes still showing the pain he was in. "He's getting some morphine again, but not as a liquid. He'll give you a tablet. It's nearly as strong as the liquid, but it won't have the same effects on your mind…okay?" She smiled a bit and brushed his hair back.

I squeezed his hand a bit and the doctor returned. "So Troy, I think things have been explained to you. Here it is…" He gave him a small plastic cup, containing one little tablet and another cup of water to swallow it.

Troy nodded and swallowed the tablet without moving too much. He pressed his eyes closed at the bitter taste of the medicine, but he knew it'd be good for him.

I didn't quite understand why he didn't want the liquid form again; as far as I knew him, it wasn't because of his blurry mind. There had to be something else…and I knew I had to find out what it was…

The Next Day

My mom forced me to go home for the night, but as soon as I woke up, I rushed to the hospital, only to be met with Chad, standing in front of Troy's room. I waved at him. "Good morning…" I nodded at his words.

"Why are you standing outside?" I asked as he looked down.

"Well, Lucille is trying to explain to Troy that she has to return to work, and so she can only visit during the afternoons, and that Nick has school as well."

I nodded. He would be alone during the morning and lunchtime. Then Chad's cell phone rang. He answered the call.

"Hey…"
"Yes, we're at the hospital."
"No, it's not a problem. He'd be happy to see you…"
"Yes…"
"Yes, I'm going to tell him…and when?"
"Oh, okay...just ask the porter, he'll tell you."
"Bye…"

He hung up the phone and smiled at me. "The gang's coming over today, they don't know when exactly but they'll show up…"

I nodded and smiled back, turning my head to look thought the slightly blurred glass front. You could see a bit of what was happening behind it. Troy looked at his mom, slightly sad, but accepting the fact that she had to work. After a while, the door opened and Nick and Lucille walked out the room. "I'm sorry, I have to go now…oh hello Gabriella," she smiled at me and I said "hey," in return.

Lucille and Nick left as fast as they left the room. Chad and I entered, to see Troy lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Hey Troy," we both greeted him as we took a seat in two of the chairs on the side of his bed. He nodded, showing us that he had heard us. I looked at Chad, who shrugged his shoulders, as Troy stayed calm again. "The gang's coming over today," I said and smiled, brushing up and down the bandage on Troy's left arm again. He looked at me. "Really?" A small smile formed on his lips.

"Yes they are, but I'm not sure when they'll show up, just you know." He nodded again, smiling. We sat there for two and a half hours just talking, but every time we got close to the topic of what exactly happened to Troy during the past two years and why he went back, he looked at the ceiling, closing his eyes, hiding his thoughts and emotions. The door opened and a nurse stepped in, smiling at us. We stopped talking. Troy's eyes were fixed on the scissors she had in her hand. "What are you going to do?"

"No need to be scared. I'll just change that bandage on your left forearm." I stood up from my position to let her step to Troy's side. I watched as Troy tensed and was about to pull his arm away. However, the nurse already had his arm and kept it in position, trying not to increase the pressure Troy already felt on his arm. "It'll be over soon…" I strained a bit so I had a better view of his arm. Somehow, I knew what was awaiting me, but on the other hand, maybe he didn't want Chad and I to find out.

So, it's the first beta read chapter YAY! And with help of my dearest beta reader JimPamJAM - please clap for her since she's putting up with ALL my mistakes. I want 18 reviews to the next one. I'm going to start as soon as I finished replacing the first 4 chapters with the NEW beta read ones. So if you ever want to read all over again, there should be less mistakes than last time.
So 18 reviews to the next one.
LY Mitchi