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Chapter 12 – His Forever

Two weeks had passed since Gabriella had agreed to Troy's unofficial proposal. He still hadn't proposed yet but was trying to plan an unforgettable proposal for her, and it was all a surprise. He had told her that if she wanted it to be romantic then she had to let him do it on his time so it would happen when she least expected it. His plan was for tonight to be the night.

Gabriella's mom was coming over tonight to babysit Annabelle. Gabriella had a feeling that Troy would do it tonight with all the effort he had put into making sure they got a night alone.

They went to eat at a quiet Italian restaurant. Gabriella hadn't gotten to go out to eat since before Annabelle was born so this was a nice break for her. She and Troy sat and talked while they ate. When they were finished Troy paid the bill and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the restaurant. Next, they went to the park they always went to in high school together. Troy pulled a blanket out of his car and they put it on the ground to sit on. Gabriella sat between Troy's legs and leaned back against him. They sat there and looked up at the stars for a while before either of them said anything.

"They're beautiful," Gabriella said in reference to the stars.

"Not as beautiful as the girl I'm looking at."

Gabriella blushed but said "Troy, you're so cheesy."

"What? It's true. You're gorgeous."

"Thank you. You know, this night has been amazing. Thank you for taking me out. I needed this. It's nice to just get away. I didn't realize how much time I spent trying to take care of Annabelle until tonight. Don't get me wrong…I love her so much but I haven't really had the chance to get out much since she was born."

"Well your mom said that she would be glad to babysit anytime, so we will have to do this more often so neither of us gets tired of being parents."

Gabriella looked around at Troy. "You called yourself a parent." She smiled at this. "I'm glad."

"That's how I feel. And that's how I want you to feel. I don't want you to feel like you are doing this alone. I'm going to start taking some of the responsibility too. I love Annabelle like she is my own. I have from the first time I held her."

"I love you, Troy."

"I love you, too. I had probably better get you home so your mom can get home too."

They got up to leave, but Gabriella couldn't help but be disappointed that Troy hadn't proposed yet. He had lots of opportunities to do it tonight but he hadn't.

They drove back to Gabriella's apartment in silence, Troy wondering if something was wrong. He hadn't seen Gabriella this quiet in a long time.

"Hey sweetheart, what's wrong. You're being really quiet."

"Nothing, I think I'm just tired."

"Oh…ok. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." Gabriella continued to just stare out the window. She didn't want to push Troy, but she really thought he would have proposed by now.

When they got back to Gabriella's apartment, she quickly said goodnight then unlocked her door. As she was stepping inside, Troy grabbed her hand and turned her around. "You know I love you, right?"

"I love you too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." As Gabriella closed the door, Troy fingered the little black box in his pocket and smiled. He was sure Gabriella had probably been quiet because she was disappointed he hadn't proposed yet. But he knew she probably expected it tonight at dinner or at the park and he wanted to wait until it was a surprise.

Gabriella went to check on Annabelle and saw her mom rocking her to sleep. Ms. Montez looked up and saw Gabriella. "Did he propose?" Gabriella shook her head no. "Give him time. He has to do it on his own time when he's completely ready. Just don't be expecting it to happen. I don't want to see you disappointed all the time. You know he loves you and you will get married. He's already told you he will propose…just give him time."

Gabriella nodded as tears came to her eyes. This was so hard. She just wanted him to propose. Why was she taking this so hard? This wasn't his fault, it was hers. First she pushed him away by telling him she didn't want to marry him. Then when she realized she was ready she forced him to take it back and wait until he could make it more romantic. Who cares if it was romantic?! She just wanted the reassurance that she would become the future Mrs. Bolton.

Ms. Montez put Annabelle back in her crib and walked over to hug Gabriella. "Mom, why does this have to be so hard? Why do I keep pushing him away? This is all my fault that I am struggling here. This isn't his fault, yet I'm treating him like it is."

"At least you are realizing that now before it's too late. Just let him have time and enjoy what time you do spend together, but don't expect anything out of it except quality time. You gave him a challenge, Gabriella, and I think he is up for it. But you can't give him a time limit."

"You're right. I think I'm going to go to bed for tonight. I'm exhausted and Annabelle should be down and out for at least a few hours. I'll let you out."

"No, that's alright. You go ahead and get some rest. I'll let myself out. Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, mom." Gabriella went to get ready for bed and heard her mom go out the door. She turned off the lights and crawled in bed, crying herself to sleep, hoping she wasn't pushing Troy too far away.

Troy stood outside the door until Ms. Montez came out. She looked at him and smiled. "She's all yours. She's already in bed too so you might have a little difficulty but she's going to love it all the same. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ms. Montez."

Troy slipped quietly into the apartment, being sure not to make any noise. As he tiptoed into Gabriella's bedroom, moonlight from the window shown on her enough to let him know she was already asleep. Perfect…this is even better. Troy walked over to Gabriella's bed and knelt down next to it. He brought the ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her left ring finger. Then he leaned up and planted soft butterfly kisses all along her jaw line and neck. Gabriella started moaning and grabbed the back of Troy's head, pulling him closer. Troy smiled at her reaction, glad that it was a positive one.

Gabriella suddenly realized what was going on and her eyes shot open. She saw Troy kneeling down next to her and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Troy smiled at her. "Brie, I love you more than anything in this world. I would do anything for you. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, proving how much I love you and Annabelle. I not only want to be your husband, but I also want to be the father of Annabelle and the father to many more kids with you. Nothing would make me happier than for you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

Gabriella began crying and put her left hand on Troy's cheek. That is when she saw the ring. She gasped at how beautiful it was. She looked teasingly at Troy. "So I guess you assumed I would say yes."

Troy was dumbfounded. "Well…I…I mean…I just thought…yeah."

Gabriella laughed at him. "You're right. I would love to marry you!" She leaned in and kissed Troy.

"You thought I wasn't going to do it, didn't you. That's why you were so quiet in the car."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to sound like I was complaining. I just thought you would do it tonight and there had been so many perfect opportunities."

"Yeah…but you were expecting it. I told you it would happen when you least expected it."

"Well I definitely was not expecting to be woken up and proposed to. But thank you. I love you so much. And I'm sorry for being so pushy these past couple of weeks. I just thought you would have proposed sooner. But then I realized that both times we talked about it I pushed you away in one way or another. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I understand where you were coming from both times. And I love you too." Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella again. "Now, get some sleep. We have some planning to do and you're going to need your rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, my future Mrs. Bolton." Troy got up to leave. "I'll lock the door on the way out."

"Wait." Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand and looked up at him. He looked at her, confused. "Will you stay with me?"

"Gonna miss me that bad? I'll see you in the morning, first thing."

"No…I mean…yes I would miss you. I just want you here with me. I feel safer when you're here."

"Uh…yeah, I can stay. I'll just grab a blanket out of your closet and sleep on the couch." Troy turned to go again, but Gabriella just jerked him back towards her again.

"No, stay in here with me…please."

"Are you sure?" Troy was a little unsure about this. Gabriella usually still seemed a little uneasy about being physically close to anyone and had been that way since the rape.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Ok, but if you start to feel uncomfortable about me being here just kick me out, ok?"

"Ok, but I'm sure I won't." Troy took his shoes and jeans off and climbed in beside Gabriella. She immediately snuggled up next to him. "Thank you, Troy. This means a lot to me. I love you."

"Anything for you. I love you too."

Gabriella closed her eyes and Troy soon heard even breaths, signaling that she was already asleep. He closed his eyes and snuggled closer to his future wife, happy that he could officially claim her as his forever.