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Chapter 27 – Broken and Bruised

As the months passed, Gabriella and David continued to talk regularly via phone and he made regular trips back to see her and the kids. He had told her this was the way he wanted it, except he wished that she was closer and he could see her every day. But they decided that it was best for his music career and for the kids if things stayed the way they were.

However, as the weeks and months kept passing, David's calls became fewer and farther between, as did his visits home. Finally, when a month had passed since Gabriella had last spoken to David and he wasn't answering phone calls, she wrote him a letter and sent it to him, along with the engagement ring he had given her.

Gabriella cried herself to sleep for days, thinking only of her kids during the day and trying to make it through each day with as much strength as she could. Finally after a few weeks, each day seemed to get easier, but she couldn't help but think that each man she had ever had in her life always walked out on her. What is wrong with me? Why do I cause the men that I love most to leave?

Troy and Stacy were planning their wedding still. They had decided on a long engagement because Stacy wanted plenty of time to plan the kind of wedding she had always dreamed of. The wedding was still two months away.

It was Thursday afternoon. Troy and Stacy had both taken off of work early so they could meet at a local bakery to decide on what they wanted for their wedding cake. Troy had just arrived and was waiting on Stacy to get there. Troy waited for 20 minutes and Stacy still hadn't showed up. She was 15 minutes late from the time they had said they were going to meet. Maybe she got tied up at work and couldn't get away that fast. Surely she would have called me, though.

Troy pulled out his phone to call her. Her phone rang three times before it went to voicemail. "Hey, you've reached Stacy. Leave me a message." (beep) "Hey Stace, its Troy. I was just wondering where you are at. We said we would meet at the bakery at 2:00 and it's now 2:20. It's not like you to be late without calling to let me know. Call me back when you get this."

Troy waited for 10 more minutes, but Stacy didn't show up. She didn't call either. Troy talked to the baker and rescheduled their appointment, apologizing for any inconveniences. As Troy was walking out the door of the bakery, his phone rang.

"Stacy?"

"Uh…is this Troy Bolton?"

"Yes."

"Hello. My name is Dr. Norton. I'm calling from Albuquerque General Hospital. Stacy Richardson has been admitted to the hospital. She has been in a serious car accident."

"Oh my god! Is she ok?"

"I'm afraid she isn't. But I can't give you any details over the phone. Could you come down to the hospital?"

"Of course. I'm on my way."

Troy hopped in his car and sped all the way to the hospital. When he got there, he asked where he could find Dr. Norton. He was directed to the correct floor and Dr. Norton led him to a private room where they could talk.

"Mr. Bolton, I'm sorry to tell you that Ms. Richardson is in critical condition. She had serious head trauma in the accident which has caused her brain to swell. We are going to have to do surgery, but we're not sure if she will make it through the surgery. I'm very sorry."

Troy began to cry. This couldn't be happening. They were so happy right now and everything was coming together for the wedding nicely. They were supposed to be getting married in two months.

"When does she go into surgery?"

"We are prepping her right now. You can go see her before she goes in if you would like. I will warn you, though. Be prepared. She is not in very good condition and she is unconscious still, so I'm afraid she won't respond."

Troy could only nod. He was at a loss for words right now. As soon as Troy walked into Stacy's room, he gasped at how bad she looked. She had cuts and bruises all over her body, mainly on her face. There was dried blood everywhere. This didn't even look like Stacy.

"Stace, sweetie, it's me…Troy. Sweetie you have to pull out of this. You can do it. I know you can. You're a fighter. Just go in that operating room and let them do their thing and everything will be ok. You will get through this…you have to. We have to finish planning our wedding and we have a son who needs you very much. I need you, too. I love you so much." This is just like when Brie had Caleb. Wait a minute…why am I thinking of Brie right now?

The doctors walked in ready to take her into surgery. They told Troy that he could wait in the waiting room while she was in surgery and that the surgery would take about four hours.

Troy waited impatiently while Stacy was in surgery. Four hours came and went and Troy began to get really nervous. Finally, after five and a half hours, Dr. Norton came out to get Troy with a solemn look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Troy. We did all that we could. Her body was just too weak to survive the surgery. She's gone."

"No!" Troy broke down in sobs on the waiting room floor. Dr. Norton looked at Troy sadly before slipping quietly from the room as he let Troy mourn the loss of Stacy.

One week later, Troy and Alex sat in Troy's apartment. Alex was watching a movie and Troy just sat staring at the wall. Over the past week since the death of his fiancé, Troy had only spoken when he had to and only gone out of his apartment if necessary. The rest of the time he spent locked up in his apartment with Alex, trying to keep Alex entertained while he grieved by himself.

After a couple of weeks, Troy started to get back in the groove of things. He was beginning to get back to his old self at work again, but was struggling with the fact that he was all alone to raise Alex. He was a single parent now.

Troy sat in his apartment one evening and thought about two questions: Why do the women I love most always leave me? How am I going to raise a child alone?

As Troy thought about these questions, one person came to mind. He would go to her for advice.