A/N: Hey people! Here is the next one! Hopefully you'll like it but if not, tell me anyway, ok? :) Like always, I need to say a big thank you to all of you who have reviewed last chapter, or added the story or myself to their lists. Love you lots, guys! :hug:

Here is chapter 22. Enjoy! :)

To say Troy's day was being slow was the understatement of the century.

It was being painfully slow; the seconds seemed hours, and the hours had no end. Each class was even more boring than the other and the feeling of that something bad had happened was excruciating; the unknown was killing him and it burned into his core. He didn't know what was bad, but he had the feeling it has to do with Gabriella.

He'd already tried to reach her at her phone but he'd only reached the voicemail.

The same with Chad's phone.

The same with Taylor's phone.

It was as if the ground had opened and had swallowed them.

He felt a painful sensation in his heart and at this point he couldn't care less about Gabriella and Susan being friends, talking or whatever. He only needed someone assuring him that she was okay but no one was answering him; not even Chad nor Taylor were picking their phones up, and he didn't know how much of this killing sensation he could stand.

He'd never be so eager to hear the bell signalling the end of the school time; usually he wasn't sure he wanted to be outside the school, because that would mean to be alone at his apartment and because while being in the school he was able to see Gabriella. Maybe they didn't talk, but to see her, to lock his eyes with hers, was enough for him. That day though, he needed to hear the bell.

And he needed to hear the bell because that would mean he would be able to drive to Gabriella's house. He guessed she wouldn't want to do anything with him but he didn't care; he only needed to see her…to feel her between his arms one last time. And if Gabriella wasn't home he would go to Chad's and to Taylor's; he didn't know which would be their attitude towards him, but he only needed a reassurance from them.

It wasn't as if he didn't care if he had lost his friends or not; he only needed to know if his love was okay first and he would deal with the other mess later. Because he was sure he would have to deal with a huge mess; Chad and Taylor had, probably, taken Gabriella's side, because if not, if they thought that what Gabriella had done was wrong, they would be in the school. But they weren't there…and that only could mean that there was some information missing for him.

And he needed to know it.

And he would know what the fuck was happening.

Aware that people in his class were looking at him because of his bad mood and because of his obvious nervous state, Troy preferred to ignore everyone, locking his eyes in the big clock hanging in the wall. Mrs. Darbus was talking about something, but he wasn't listening; his mind was far away from East High. His mind was wondering where the hell Gabriella was; his mind was replaying their fight; his mind was replaying the fatidic words that left his mouth.

We're done.

How could he be so stupid? He couldn't live without her; he'd been trying to live without her for years now but the truth had been too obvious to deny: he needed Gabriella the same way he needed to breathe; hell, he needed Gabriella more than he needed to breathe.

Though he was aware that he had fucked up big time this time, he also knew he had been right when he'd god mad at Gabriella. She talking with Susan behind his back wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he'd been stupid when he hadn't let her explain. He'd been a jerk letting his heart overtake his mind, because the rage, the fury, the betrayal he felt when he saw his (ex)girlfriend hugging Susan were as if someone had stabbed him, and the pain, the sorrow clouded his mind wholly.

He didn't know if he and Gabriella would be able to arrange things between them; they needed to talk because things couldn't continue the same way. They needed to have a long chat, and he only hoped Gabriella would be up to that. Maybe things wouldn't be the same; maybe their relationship wouldn't exist anymore, but both of them deserved a last chance to explain themselves.

He hoped with all his heart that Gabriella's explanation would be enough to stop the pain of her betrayal the same way he hoped his apologies would be enough for Gabriella to take him back…again.

Groaning inwardly when he realized how fucked the situation was, he couldn't help but think that the most likely thing would be for Gabriella to send him to hell. She had the right to do so because he'd behaved in the worst way with her, but still he hoped her love for him would win. He still hoped the feelings she felt would be strong enough to fight against the hate, against the angriness she sure was feeling.

A sudden loud bell broke his train of thought and he didn't miss one more second in stupidities; gathering his things wildly, he was the first person in step outside the classroom under the scrutinizing sight of his classmates, who were looking the scene bewildered.

Running to his locker, he opened it and left his books there, not even caring about his bag. Screw the homework; he had more important things to do.

Running again, he arrived at his car and turned on the engine, putting the car in reverse in one fluid motion and then driving madly towards Gabriella's house. Traffic laws were broken but he didn't care; he couldn't think about anything but Gabriella. His only thought was to arrive at her house, see her, crush her against his chest, maybe even talk to her and then kiss her senseless; maybe those three last things wouldn't be possible, but now wasn't the moment to think in negative.

He had to be positive if he didn't want to get crazy at once; he needed some common sense, he was aware that he seemed more an animal than a person, but that was beside the point. First things first. And the first thing was to see Gabriella; to see she was fine…and then he would deal with the rest. Then he would be a person again; then he would behave like an human being again, but at the moment his senses, his love for Gabriella, his need for Gabriella overtook him in the craziest way.

Arriving at her house, and just when he was about to enter the car in the driveway, he realized that no car was there, that all the lights were off, that the house seemed to be empty. Deciding to park in the street instead, Troy killed the engine of his car and stepped out of it, pausing a moment to take a deep breathe.

Gulping loudly, he went to the front door and rang the bell; no sounds came from the inside.

Narrowing his eyes, he went to the back door and the same occurred.

Going to the backyard, he climbed up the tree and landed in her balcony with a low thud. He didn't hesitate; even though everything seemed to be as if no one had touched it for some time, he took the key of the balcony doors from his pocket, unlocked the doors and, tentatively, stepped inside the house. He tried to be as noiseless as possible in case Peter's car was in the garage or something, but soon he realized he was worrying too much because the house was, actually, empty.

However, he took a moment to inspection Gabriella's room closely. Things seemed to be untouched since the day before. He recognized a shirt Gabriella had been wearing the day before hanging on the chair of her room, the shirt of his she'd been using as pyjama laying on her bed instead of being under her pillow, her room was more or less a mess having un mind Gabriella's standards. Deciding Gabriella was too meticulous to have this mess in her room, he concluded she hadn't been there since the day before, and that bothered him.

Where the fuck she was?

The worry increased but he decided to take a look at the other rooms, just in case. Every room was empty…and the house had a special aura…as if no one had been there for more than a day, but he knew that was impossible because Gabriella had told him she and her father had agreed to have a talk the night before so…what the hell was happening?

Deciding he was wasting time, Troy went to Gabriella's room again to exit from the house the same way he had entered. Locking the balcony doors, Troy climbed the tree down and went to his car again. He stopped a moment deciding where he could go first; Taylor's and Chad's were the only possibilities he could think of, and he decided to go to Chad's first.

He didn't know why, because both were Gabriella's best friends, but he knew Chad had a special spot in Gabriella's heart. She considered him her big brother, and Troy knew for a fact that every time she'd felt down she'd gone to Chad.

The bond between those two had been strong since the first moment; of course, Troy's messed up life had helped but still. Since the very beginning Chad had taken Gabriella under his protecting wing and so she'd seen him always as a big brother. If someone hurt her, she would go first to Chad; at first that bothered him because Troy was her best friend, and then lover, but soon he understood her and where she came from.

Gabriella had been alone all her life; she had no brothers or sisters and soon Chad and Troy occupied those places…but differently somehow. Troy very soon became more than a friend; he became her best friend and even more soon her lover, but Chad was her friend and then he became her best friend. There were things were Troy was out; there were things where Troy didn't have to do anything because they were between Chad and Gabriella. He'd learned to respect that and now he was more than grateful that things had gone this way because Gabriella had had a rock all this time whenever she'd needed one…she'd had a rock when he hadn't known how to be so because he'd needed more a rock for himself.

Turning on the engine of his car again, Troy drove to Chad's house…only to find the same that he'd found in Gabriella's. All the lights turned off; the windows closed; no cars in the driveway.

Frustrated, he grabbed the steel with all his might until his knuckles were white; things were beginning to be too frightening now. He had counted on to have someone there; maybe Diandra so he could ask her what the fuck was happening, where the hell his friends were, maybe Chad. But he hadn't expected to come to another empty house.

Deciding to not waste more time, he drove to Taylor's house, sighing in relief when he saw a car parked there. Stepping outside his car, he took a deep breathe and went to the front door. Knocking softly, aware that no one in that house knew him, Troy waited impatiently for someone to open the door. When no sound came from the inside, Troy pressed his ear to the warm wood and tried to silence everything but the possible sounds that may come from behind the closed door…without luck, because nothing came from the inside.

Another fucking empty house.

With no more ideas, Troy drove to his apartment respecting the traffic laws for once. He had no hurry to arrive at the empty place he called home; his body was numb, it was as if someone had absorbed all his strength, as if someone had sucked his life out of his system…and he knew that, once he was in his apartment, that sensation, that feeling, would only increase.

He had lost the count of times he'd tried to call Gabriella, Chad or Taylor. He hadn't left any messages because each time the pain in his heart was worse; the beep that signalled he could start his message was like a new stab and he couldn't stand it, so he'd hung up just the beep had begun every time. He knew they would see all his missed calls, though he didn't know if those calls would help him with his case.

Because, at the moment, it wasn't as if he had received a call back from any of them, anyway.

Sighing, Troy parked his car in his parking spot and exited from the car slowly. He was already afraid of the loneliness that was waiting for him once he crossed the front door of his home; not even Gabriella's smell would be there, nothing from there reminded him of her because she hadn't been there for so many years now. And he cursed himself for that.

Unlocking the door, he felt a sudden need to watch the "Memory Wall"; he didn't know why, but there he could find the comfort his fucked up life denied him so strongly.

Sitting on his bed, he let his eyes wander along the pictures that hung there; his extremely beautiful mother, his lovely and caring father, his adored big brother, the woman who was like his mother, Gabriella and Chad. His family.

All looking at him intently; it was as if they were judging him though he knew that was no possible. He returned the look; he wasn't afraid of their sternly stare because he knew in the deep of his core that all of them only wanted what was best for him.

And then it clicked.

And then he understood.

And then he realized he'd been more than a jerk. He'd been a fucking idiot. He'd been dumber than he thought was possible.

Because then, he'd guessed why Gabriella was with Susan.

Furious.

Susan Meyer was furious.

And you didn't want to see her furious if you knew what was good for you.

Only thinking about what Chad had explained was enough to put her blood in boil mode. She could understand that Troy was kinda shocked, astonished…maybe even angry…but she hadn't expected for him to be so brutal with Gabriella until the point of decide to break up with her without even hear what she had to say.

That was a major what the fuck!? if you had in mind how much he loved her, how much Gabriella loved him and how deep their relationship was. It just didn't make any sense.

And though Chad had asked her to not do anything, and she'd tried to do so waiting a whole night thinking about it, the truth was that she felt frustrated with Troy; she felt as if she needed to punch some wall so angry she was. She couldn't keep herself silent, and she didn't care Troy would throw a fit when he saw her at his house. She couldn't care less about what he would do; she needed to make him listen, she needed for him to stop his bratty attitude and grow up, because keeping his current behaviour would mean a very lonely future, and she cared about him too much to allow that.

Troy would hear her even if that was the last thing she did; she would shout, scream, yell…whatever, but she only would leave his apartment when the boy had listened everything she wanted to say. She'd been silent too many years by now; putting up with his rudeness, his polarity, his bad manners…but that was it. She had been giving him all the rope he seemed to need, but that had to end. Susan realized she'd been all wrong allowing him to behave in such bad way; she should have cut his wings the first time he was rude with her, she should have tried to put some sense into his narrow minded brain.

At the moment, she knew that the past was the past and the past couldn't be changed, but she could try to change the future that was waiting for him if he continued this way. He'd been lucky Chad and Gabriella had remained beside him all these years, but with what he'd done to Gabriella, she didn't know if both she and Chad would still be Troy's supporter walls. Because when she'd asked Chad which his plans were about Troy, Chad had shrugged his shoulders and had told her that depended on Gabriella.

And Susan couldn't blame him.

After all these years putting up with him once per week, she could only imagine how hard was to have to put up with him on a regular basis. Because with what Gabriella and Chad had explained to her, it seemed Troy had been a selfish jerk with the both of them for years now, and that had to end. Susan didn't know what Gabriella thought about this topic, she hadn't been able to talk with her yet, but she would do everything that was in her hands to arrange the situation before it was impossible to do so.

Even though Troy had been horrible with her, Susan cared deeply about him; it was something strange, weird, because he'd only begun to show some kind of good emotion around her with Gabriella's ring, but still she knew he had a huge heart. If things weren't like that, he wouldn't have been keeping his distance from Gabriella even though the only thing he wanted was to gather her in his arms and never let her go; he wouldn't have been building walls around him so people wouldn't got too closer in order to protect them; he wouldn't have isolated himself until the point that he had no one beside Chad and Gabriella…and well, now Taylor too.

And that was the reason she was going to his apartment at this same moment.

Because she still had faith in him.

She didn't care if he would be the rudest he'd ever been or if he didn't want to see her there; she had a mission to accomplish and she would do precisely that. Two could play at his game…she had enough practice with him and she could win over him. She had to put herself at his same level; she had to show him his games had to stop; she had to teach him a lesson using his own weapons, and that was precisely what she would do.

Troy would hear everything she had to say.

Troy would stop being a spoiler brat and would be a man for once.

Troy would know everything that was in her mind.

And all even if he didn't want it.

Parking her car carelessly, Susan stepped outside not even bothering to lock it. She was in a hurry and the car was too old for someone to want to steal it anyway.

Stopping in front of Troy's apartment's door, she searched the key in her bag. She didn't know if she should go in without warning or not; the key was already in her hand and her hand just touching the handle. What would he do if she entered using the key he forbade her to use?

Well, she didn't care. At this point Troy had no right to demand anything from her because he'd shown with acts he was still a little kid, and she would treat him like one.

Nodding for herself, Susan introduced the key and turned it, opening the door softly. No sounds came from inside the apartment but she saw his keys already in the table situated in the hall, so that meant Troy was there.

Tentatively, and trying to be as noiseless as possible, Susan went to the living room.

It was empty.

She went to the kitchen.

It was empty.

And then she decided to go to his room.

And she wasn't ready to see the Troy she found there.

He was curled in a ball on the mattress with his knees hugged to his chest and crying silently.

She'd never seen him so vulnerable; he seemed a lost child. The blank look of his face alerted her that his mind was far away from where his body was; his wet eyes were roaming along the wall, and she directed her eyes there, realizing he was seeing his family and friends, the people for who he cared the most.

And her motherly instincts kicked in.

She didn't care she was supposed to be angry at him.

She didn't care he had been behaving like a spoiler brat.

She didn't care he had been a jerk.

Because she'd realized that he simply was a lonely kid trapped in an adult body; he'd been an adult when he was supposed to be playing. He'd been taking care of himself alone for too long; paying bills, taking care of his home…he'd been assuming responsibilities that a child shouldn't have. Of course he'd messed up. Of course he'd done some things in the worst possible way, and she would tell him precisely that…but at the moment he was only a child. A lonely child.

Slowly, she sat behind his stilled figure and put a hand on his upper arm. The sudden touch awoke him from his absent state and he turned his head to the left; warm look met a begging for some kind of comfort look. Her eyes studied him closely; they were directed to him, looking at him with concern, with care…and that was it. He lost all the composure he had left in his system and he sat back, wrapping his arms around the woman, burying his head in her shoulder and he cried.

A lot.

More than what Susan thought it was possible.

But she only hold him; she wrapped her arms around him and she let him to let out everything. The worry, the pain, the suffering…everything. They would have time to clear things up between then; she would have more than enough time to tell him everything she thought and he would have time to answer the way he wanted…but at the current moment, what was important for her was to help the lost child Troy was at heart.

Seconds, minutes, hours passed by and neither of them moved. At first, when Susan had realized they would be like they were for some time, she had leaned her back on the headrest of the bed and Troy had leaned into her side, with his arm wrapped around her torso while hers was wrapped around his shoulders. But since they'd moved into that position neither of them had moved a muscle.

When his sobs stopped, Susan waited for him to say something but nothing came, and so she decided to take the lead. "We need to talk, Troy."

He didn't answer at first; but when Susan was about to talk again he opened his mouth. "Tell me why you were with Gabriella."

"No." Susan answered seriously but playing with the little hairs of his nape. "You are in no way to be the demanding guy now, Troy. You are going to listen what I've come to say, you are going to have a piece of my mind because you've been the one acting like a jerk with everyone."

"I know," he sighed.

"That is not enough," Susan said sternly. "Sorry won't help you this time Troy. You've fucked up, and though I think you're conscious about it and you know this time things won't return to normal as if nothing, that doesn't mean you don't need to listen everything I should have told you when Lucy died."

At the sound of his grandmother's name Troy shivered and pulled away from Susan. "Are we going to the archive now?" Troy asked mockingly. "Fuck Susan, I have more important things to do."

"Excuse me, sir," Susan said sarcastically rolling her eyes. "Stop that bratty behaviour Troy. If I recall correctly, the one in the mess is you, not me."

At the threat in her eyes Troy admitted defeat. She was right; the one who had fucked up was he, and he'd done everything by himself. "I know, okay?" Troy said closing his eyes with frustration. "I know I've messed up big time, I know I've lost Gabriella…but…"

"You don't know if you've lost Gabriella," Susan interrupted him seeing how he was going into rambling mode. "You'll know that once you talk to her."

"She won't want to talk with me," Troy whispered. "I've hurt her so many times now…she must hate me…"

"Don't get all victim with me, Troy," Susan said exasperated. "You've put yourself in this mess. Now what do you want? My pity? Grow up! You're almost 18, Troy. You can't pretend that everything you do won't have consequences. You have to face them! And now I want to know why you went all crazy when you saw Gabriella and I together."

Clenching his teeth, Troy closed his eyes. "I don't know. It was a shock and…"

"A shock?" Susan gasped. "You broke up with her only because you were shocked! Oh poor you," Susan said mockingly. "And what about Gabriella, uh? What about her feelings? What about her explanation? You are so fucking selfish…you only see what you want to see, forgetting the others' feelings."

"Do you really think I've put myself away from Gabriella all this time because I don't care about her?" Troy asked angry. "You don't have any fucking idea what it's been for me. The pain in her eyes each time I've left her, the way her eyes let out tears without stop begging me to stay has been the most painful thing for me, Susan. Don't make me look as the selfish guy who doesn't know what love is because I fucking love Gabriella with all my heart, okay? With all my heart!"

Susan smirked inwardly. This was the reaction she wanted from him; he wanted all his thoughts in the open; she needed to now everything he felt because she was sure there was a lot more inside of him. But she had to be careful; she had to choose her words carefully because one wrong word and then everything would be hell. "If you love her so fucking much why the hell you broke with her?"

"Because she was with you!" Troy shouted at the top of his lungs. "When I saw her with you I thought she was betraying me!"

"So you choose the most drastic measure because you THOUGHT she was betraying you?" Susan rolled her eyes. "Very mature Troy, very mature."

"Don't patronize me, Susan," Troy growled. "You have no fucking idea…"

"But I have, Troy. I have more idea about everything than you think." Susan smirked when she saw Troy gasp. "Do you really think you're so mysterious and that your life is so unknown for me? I know more than you, Troy."

"What do you mean?" Troy narrowed his eyes and spat the words between his teeth.

Susan crossed her arms over her chest. "I know Gabriella's version about everything."

Troy's face reflected the pure shock that ran through his body. "What…what…what do you mean?"

"I'm not going to tell you how I know Gabriella's version," Susan lifted her eyebrow. "Gabriella is the one who has to tell you that. If you want to listen, that is. But I'm going to tell you one thing: if you think you're the one who has suffered the most, you need a fucking reality check. Gabriella has been putting up with you unconditionally for how long now? And you turn the favour being a major jerk without talking about the problem first…that's one of the stupidest things you've done…"

Troy groaned aloud. "Listen, I know I've fucked up okay? But when I saw you with her…I don't know. It was as if she was siding with you instead of siding with me and…"

"Siding?" Susan interrupted surprised by his choice of words. "You've got to be kidding me…" She muttered in disbelief.

"Let me finish, damn it!" Troy said exasperated.

"Fuck Troy," Susan stood up from the bed. "Siding? Where are we? In a war? That's a war? Am I the enemy? Gosh how can you be so stupid? There is no war; both I and Gabriella are on your side dumbass, we both want what is best for you. The one you've to fight against is yourself because you're your first, and more dangerous, enemy…"

"I know that now!" Troy shouted standing up from the bed too. "Why do you think I was crying? Now I've realized that you care for me and…and…and I'm no used to that! I don't know how to deal with someone caring about me, Susan. I don't have a fucking idea because I haven't had the chance to learn that."

"Ah-ah," Susan shook his head. "You're wrong; you haven't had the aim, you haven't wanted…because your friends, your friends' parents, Gabriella and myself have been around you trying to give you support and you've been pushing us away."

"But…" Troy interrupted though soon kept silent.

He couldn't say anything back because Susan was right.

"But nothing," she said desperately. "You and the stupid walls you've built around you are the ones to blame. Be a man, Troy. Fight for what you want; don't give up your happiness when you're only 18! You can't pretend you can live alone because you actually can't…but if you choose to be a jerk and try it, then keep yourself away from your friends and Gabriella. They've been suffering as much, if not more, as you, and I think now it's time for them to be able to be happy. It's your choice now…but the choice you make now is definitive, you won't be able to change it."

Troy looked at the woman bewildered; he'd never seen her so passionate about something, he'd never seen her talk with so vehemently, so convinced about something. And he didn't know what to say because he knew that everything she was saying was the truth.

The reality fell upon his head and he sat on the bed again. Burying his face in his hands, he let out tears of frustration. He felt lost, incomplete…he only wanted Gabriella. He needed his Gabriella back. He needed his lighthouse back.

But he had no fucking idea about where the hell she was.

Susan saw his shoulders shake and realized he was crying again. Sighing, she kneeled in front of him and grabbed his wrists, pulling his hands away from his face. "Look at me, Troy," she commanded softly. She waited until he obeyed and then she whispered. "You have to stop this fight against your happiness. Though you know now you didn't kill your mother you are still afraid of to be closer to someone. You've been pretending everything was fine for Gabriella's sake, but in the deepest part of your core you know that has been it: a pretending. You know you are not okay; you know you're still afraid." Susan realized he was letting all her words penetrate into his brain for the very first time so she took advantage of that. "Do you want to know why I think you broke up with Gabriella?"

Troy nodded silently.

"Because you needed an excuse," Susan wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes sweetly, giving him a sad smile. "You wanted an escape, something that let you push yourself away from Gabriella."

"But I need her," Troy whispered. "I need her so much…"

"I know, and I'm glad you've finally seen the light," Susan sighed pulling his body into hers and hugging him. "But you need to accept that you can be happy, that you deserve be happy, Troy. You can't forbid you to feel something good…you are alive! You have to enjoy the life because you know how short it can be…"

"I can't be happy, Susan," Troy murmured from her shoulder. "It's unfair for them if I'm happy when they are not here…"

And here came Susan biggest fear; Troy feeling guilty for being happy when all the members of his family were dead. "Troy, your parents would want for you to live, to enjoy the gift life is. They would want you enjoying the love you share with Gabriella, with your friends…they wouldn't want you all depressed because they are not here."

"But I miss them," Troy's muffled words came from Susan's shoulders and she closed her eyes noticing her first tears fall.

"I know," Susan rubbed his back soothingly. "But it's okay to miss them; it's okay to remember them. Keeping yourself from happiness won't return them to life; keeping yourself from happiness is not the way to honour their souls. You can keep their souls alive by living your life the way they would have wanted for you; happy, in love, surrounded by friends…they wouldn't want you closed up in a shell, surrounded by walls that surround you with darkness, that the only thing they do is to shield you from the light…"

Troy remained silent though Susan noticed the tears his eyes were letting fall soak her shirt. She didn't dare to move; she finally knew the last piece of explanation of Troy's behaviour and now she could breathe again. She felt pity he really felt he couldn't be happy because his family wasn't there; it had to be hard for a kid to restrain himself from the happiness at such young age because you feel guilty because you're alive and your family not.

"I need Gabriella," Troy muttered snapping Susan out of her reverie. "Do you know where she is?"

Susan froze.

She was sure as hell that moment wasn't the best for her to tell him where Gabriella was, but she knew she couldn't lie. Taking a deep breath and swallowing loudly, Susan closed her eyes briefly and pulled away, only to open them and meet Troy's inquisitive stare.

"What?" He asked confused by her behaviour.

"She's in the hospital, Troy."