A/N: Hey guys! Here is the next one…which I hope you'll like. It's kinda another suicidal chapter, sorry about that, but, well, my mind works like that :oops: :) I'm really super grateful for all the reviews…wow, 20 reviews only for one chapter! That's amazing…and you all are amazing! :D

I hope you won't hate me after this chapter BUT, if you do, think that with only 1-2 more chapters the story is ended, so your suffering won't last long :)

Anyway, here is chapter 23. Enjoy! :)

Hospital.

His baby was in a hospital.

The love of his life was trapped in a fucking hospital.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked in a petite voice already fearing the answer Susan was about to give.

"A bus hit her in front of my office," Susan gulped. "Chad has told me she was like frozen in the middle of the street and the bus couldn't stop on time. Chad tried to reach her but it was useless; she was too far away from him to be able to push her away…"

Troy kept frozen; his mind was already imagining the horrific scene, he was already seeing Gabriella's petite frame hit by a bus, blood everywhere…and soon he had to close his eyes. "Please tell me she's okay…" He whispered knowing that he wouldn't be able to talk in a normal voice. "Tell me she's alive…"

"She's alive," Susan said with no hesitation knowing that was Troy's main fear. "I don't know which her injuries are because when I was yesterday at the hospital the doctors hadn't informed us yet. I guess Chad's parents or Peter or even Chad or Taylor are more capable to answer you specifically."

"Why no one has told me?" Troy's voice changed from worried and laced with fear to cold and harsh.

Susan noticed that and stood up in front of him, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "You've got to be fucking kidding me…"

"You know how important Gabriella is for me, damn it!" Troy stood up too and yelled at the top of his lungs. "How come you haven't told me anything at all until now?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Susan shouted. "Who do you think you are, Troy? Chad and Taylor have been calling you! You were the one who chose to not pick up his phone so don't turn that into my problem. Is that clear? You're the one to blame; I could have kept this from you because if I recall correctly, you broke up with Gabriella. You should be thankful I'm here explaining you that because both Chad and Taylor gave up some hours ago seeing you were ignoring them blatantly." She took a deep breath and then continued lowering her voice a little. "Listen, I'm fed up with your need to be the martyr, always the martyr. Grow up, you hear me? You're hurting the people supposedly you love by your actions; be a man and face the problems instead of run away from them."

Troy lowered his head in shame knowing Susan was right; maybe he didn't want to hear what she had to say, but everything she was saying was actually the truth. "Sorry," Troy muttered burying his head in his hands.

"Sorry won't help you this time, Troy," Susan sighed. "You can't be all friendly one moment and then, when you think you're too close to someone change into a jerk. You can't pretend we are responsible of what happens to you when you're the one pushing the people away and being a major idiot. You're fucking up your life, not us."

"I've been calling Chad and Taylor all day," Troy whispered still trying to defend himself but already knowing Susan wouldn't fall for it and that his efforts were useless because he was the one to blame. "I've even gone to their houses but no one has picked the phone and the houses were empty…"

"Everyone is in the hospital," Susan pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "And they called you a lot of times. I don't know when they stopped but I know they were calling you while Gabriella was in the ambulance and they also called you from the waiting room where we all were waiting for some news."

Troy didn't know what to say or do. He needed to see Gabriella; he needed to see her alive, even though she didn't want it, but he was afraid of what he would find when he saw her. He couldn't bear to see her damaged figure; he didn't know how bad she was but his mind was already tricking him imagining the worst scenario. But like Susan had said, he needed to be a man and face the problems. And that meant he had to go to the hospital.

"I have to go to the hospital," Troy said standing up again. "I have to see her…"

"If you're going to shout at her and be mean with her I suggest you to stay where you are," Susan threatened. "I'm not going to tolerate more of this bratty attitude from you."

"Susan please," Troy begged realizing she didn't want for him to see Gabriella. "I need to see her…"

"Think about it for a while," Susan sighed. "In no way I'm going to let you go in your state now. Think about it, cool yourself down, and then I'll think about it."

Even though she wasn't shouting, even though her voice had sounded normal, Troy knew the special edge signalling she was not commenting but ordering. He wanted to fight against her idea, but he knew it would be useless; he knew she wouldn't change her opinion no matter what.

Both remained silent for a while; Susan leaned her back on the door of Troy's room and closed her eyes, noticing how the stress and the tension were invading her body. Troy, on the other hand, kept sat on his bed. The silence was not uncomfortable but peaceful; Susan wanted to give him some time so he could register what was happening wholly, and Troy, at first, used the quietness to think about everything he'd done…regretting his weaknesses, regretting his words, regretting his moods…

Soon he realized that the silence would only serve for him to imagine Gabriella's accident and he decided he needed to talk. Clearing his throat so Susan opened her eyes, Troy stood up from his bed and went to stand in front of the woman, who locked her eyes with his trying to understand the emotions that his face was showing. "Can we talk?" He whispered fidgeting his fingers but still keeping his eyes on hers.

"About what?" She answered in a colder tone than before.

"Anything, everything." Troy begged. "This silence is killing me and…"

"Okay," Susan sighed. She didn't want to hear more pathetic self-pity nonsense from Troy. "Lead the way…"

"Can we go to the living room?" Troy asked uncomfortably realizing Susan's cold attitude towards him.

She nodded wordlessly and opened the door carelessly, with Troy hot in her heels, who was following her in silence, trying to think about the best way to approach the subject he needed to talk about. When both arrived at the living room Susan sat on the sofa and looked at Troy.

She was aware he was nervous; she was aware he wanted to talk about something…and she was glad about that. Though in her opinion Troy didn't deserve anything but a good slap on his head, the truth was that he was like a son for her; she cared about him too damn much to leave him alone. She understood he had questions or need to talk; she would have them also.

"Do you want a coffee or something?" Troy said hesitantly from the doorframe.

Susan shook her head. "What do you want to talk about, Troy?" She sighed tiredly.

Troy was a little taken aback; directly to the point wasn't an attitude he was expecting seeing how frustrated and angry she was with him. Of course he preferred for her to accept to talk other than the silence they were enduring in his room, but her bluntness was maybe too harsh. He knew what he wanted to talk about, but he couldn't help but doubt she would be willing to do so. "I wanted to talk about Gabriella…"

"What about her?" Susan leaned her back more comfortably on the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest.

Taking tentatively steps, Troy walked towards the other sofa and let his body fall. "Did she call you or did you call her?"

"When?" Susan asked frowning in confusion.

"When you began your meetings," Troy said in a low voice. "Who did the first step?"

"She did," Susan answered. "She called me and I agreed to see her…"

"What did she want?" Troy asked hoping Susan would be willing to answer him honestly.

"That's something you should talk with her, Troy," Susan said.

Troy closed his eyes as if he was in pain. "Please Susan…only tell me what she wanted from you…"

Sighing, Susan closed her eyes. "Help. She wanted help…"

"Help?" Troy squeaked. "With what? Isn't she okay? I mean…what she would go to talk to you to talk about her problems if she didn't know you…"

"She wanted to talk about you," Susan said rolling her eyes. "Her main problem was to try and help you…"

"Oh," Troy muttered falling into silence again. "But I…I don't understand…" Troy whispered.

"God," Susan moaned. "Look Troy, Gabriella was worried about you and she didn't know how to help you, so she thought I could help her and you both more…professionally…"

"Oh, I see…" Troy stiffened in his seat. "Did she explain something to you?"

Susan looked at him intently. "Look, she didn't explain anything too personal because she knew you probably wouldn't have told me, so she didn't want to betray you; she told me she wanted to keep those details for herself…but she did say some things. But…do you know which the curious thing is about my meetings with her?"

"What?" Troy answered afraid of the answer.

"In the end," Susan explained, "we talked about her and her problems. Of course she was worried about you, and we both tried to come up with something to make you see the light, but…I realized she had some internal problems herself and I don't know, we clicked and so she thought she could trust me with them…"

"Which problems?" Troy asked in a low voice realizing he didn't know Gabriella as well as he thought.

"Mostly her parents," Susan said simply. "Don't ask why Troy, we simply clicked and she thought she could trust me. That's all…"

"But her father and she were okay the day of the…accident…" Troy made himself to say the fatidic word. "Why she was in your office?"

"Actually," Susan cleared her throat. "I was the one who called her that day; but that's something she has to explain to you…I'm only going to say that it was something about you, about helping you…"

Troy nodded. His heart was hurting more with each word Susan was speaking; he realized, again, that the only thing Gabriella had wanted all along was to help him, to find the best comfort for him, to help him to find the happiness…and that he had dumped this angel because he didn't know how to be with her. While Gabriella had been selfless he'd been a major selfish jerk; he hadn't realized about it, of course, but looking from afar, he could see clearly he'd been hurting her because he hadn't had her thoughts and feelings on mind.

"I need to see her, Susan…" Troy said all of a sudden. "Please don't make me stay here…"

"In a minute," Susan sighed. She'd been thinking about Troy's problem and she'd realized she needed to intervene legally and professionally so he could be a happy guy again. "But first I want to talk with you…"

"About what?" Troy asked in a petite voice again.

"Your problem," Susan answered locking her eyes with his. "Look, I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them as honestly as you can. I need for you to be totally sincere here, Troy. Totally, totally."

Troy nodded his head confused about where she wanted to go with that. "Okay…"

"Do you care about Gabriella?" Susan asked straight away.

"Yes," his answer also came surely and without signs of doubt or hesitation.

"Do you love Gabriella?" She continued seriously.

"Yes," again, Troy's voice sounded firm and sure.

"I'm not talking about a mere need here, Troy. I'm talking about feelings, about what you really really feel for her…" Susan explained wanting to know exactly if Troy loved or Gabriella or if, on the contrary, he only needed her.

"I love her, Susan." Troy explained not missing a beat. "I love her with all my heart; of course I need her, but it's a lot more than that. We've been through a lot together; she's helped me in a lot of ways, she's stood by my side through all the shit life has thrown at me. She knows me better than I know myself and still she's beside me."

"I know she's helped you a lot, Troy," Susan explained. "But you see? You're talking about how she's helped you. Though to help the other is something very important in a relationship, there are more things. Do you trust her? Do you believe in her? Do you respect her? Because those are the questions you need to find the answer for."

Troy thought about it. "I love her, Susan. I trust her and I respect her. I need her. I can't live without her…"

"Do you trust her?" Susan asked putting a special edge around the word trust. "Do you really trust her, Troy?"

Troy realized where she was going at and he didn't like it. "Okay, maybe I haven't trusted her the way I should have done with all your talking with her but I know I love her…I know I need her with me…"

"Do you want her happiness?" Susan continued not going back to the love question.

"Of course," Troy said in a duh tone.

"Then you have to let her go," Susan whispered.

"What?" Troy asked in a shocked and throaty voice. "Let her go?"

"Yes," Susan took a deep breath. "You need to do your own thing for a while; you need to work on your total recovery and that's something you have to do alone. You need to learn how to survive without Gabriella by your side, to be your own happy person by yourself. You need to realize you can be happy with yourself, Troy…and for that to happen, you need to do it alone, without Gabriella."

"But I can't live without her," Troy protested. "I can't let her go…I need her…"

"If you really, truly love her," Susan explained, "you have to want your own recovery also. She won't be happy with you if you're not happy with yourself."

"I'll be happy with myself but please don't make me let her go…" Troy kneeled in front of Susan. "I'm begging you, Susan, please you can't make me let her go…"

"You know things are not this easy, Troy," Susan whispered wiping the tears that were falling from Troy's eyes. "You need to make amends with your history, with your person, with yourself. You need to discover who you are; you need to realize you're a good guy who can be happy by himself."

"But without her I can't be…" Troy sobbed. "I can't not be with her…"

"If you really love her, Troy," Susan said wiping her own tears this time, "you need to love yourself first."

Her own heart was breaking at the sight of the broken guy she had in front of her, but she knew that, in the long term, her idea was the best idea in order to both, Troy and Gabriella, be actually happy.

"I have to see her everyday at school, Susan, my friends are her friends too. It's kinda difficult to see each other everyday and not talk…" Troy said with anger and bitterness in his voice.

"You won't see her," Susan sighed. "I'm going to send you to my grandfather's farm in Texas."

"What?" Troy yelled. "I won't go there…"

"You'll go there and that's final." Susan stood up. "I've been giving you all the rope you've wanted but that's it. You've showed me you don't know how to handle your own life and so I'm taking the reins from now on. Maybe you hate me now, I don't care, but I know in the end you'll say thanks."

"That's fucked up, Susan," Troy begged again. "How can I be happy if I'm not with Gabriella?"

"That's my point." Susan answered. "You need to be happy because of you."

Troy shushed at that; he knew what Susan was saying made sense, but he couldn't bear to not see Gabriella, to not hug her, to not make love to her…Gabriella was his heart, his oxygen…without her, life had no interest for him.

"I'm almost 18," Troy protested again. "You can't make me do that…"

"Actually, I do." Susan interjected. "Troy, I'm doing this thinking about you and your wellbeing as well as Gabriella's. The both of you need to be happy without the other, only by yourselves so you can be happy together if this is your future. Trust me just this once, please?"

"I can't," Troy shook his head. "I trust you but I think that's the craziest idea you've had…"

"I don't care what you think," Susan said flatly. "You're going and that's final…"

"And what about school?" Troy said trying to change her opinion. "I can't leave the school like that…"

"With my permission you can." Susan answered flatly again. "And you'll do that."

Troy knew his chances were less each second by. "And what about Gabriella?" He said desperately grabbing the last reason he could think of. "I can't leave her like that…"

"I'm not saying you're going to leave now, Troy," Susan said in a low voice. "You'll be able to talk to her first. Though you think I'm a demon, the devil, I'm a person with feelings too…" She lowered her voice and then her look got lost somewhere over Troy's shoulder. "And I care for Gabriella. To not see you after what has happened will kill her, so don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea of go away for a while."

Troy didn't know what to say; only the thought of to be apart from Gabriella was excruciating. It was killing him. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive if he hadn't Gabriella with him, and the determined woman he had in front of him had been clear enough: he would go to a fucking farm in fucking Texas.

"How long?" Troy whispered.

"What?" Susan answered snapping out of her trance.

"For how long I'll be in Texas?" Troy said looking directly at Susan.

"You'll be there while you need to be there, as long you need to be there." Susan sighed. "I'm not going to force you away from your home more than what's necessary. But now that's what you need so I'm not going to tolerate a tantrum about that."

Troy nodded once; he was mad, furious, but in the deepest part of his core he knew Susan was acting thinking about him. Susan cared for him, and he knew it even though this same thing pissed him endless. Plus, at the present time what he needed and wanted was to see Gabriella; later on they would be able to discuss whatever the crazy woman wanted to discuss, but Gabriella was his first priority.

"Can I go to the hospital now?" He asked in a cold voice not even bothering to show her some manners; he was too pissed for that.

"We are going to the hospital." Susan said. "I'll drive you there…"

"I can go alone, thank you very much," Troy rolled his eyes, fed up with her attitude.

"Shut the fuck up," Susan said loosening the end piece of patience she had. "You are going with me and that's it. Go grab your things and I'll wait for you in the car."

And then she disappeared behind the front door of his apartment without adding anything more, leaving a dumbfounded Troy behind her, frozen in the middle of the living room. A whole minute passed and Troy hadn't moved; it was as if his feet were glued to the ground. He knew he needed to move, he knew he needed to go to his room and grab his things so he could go see Gabriella but, at the same time, he knew that once he saw her Susan would take him away from her, and that was something he wasn't ready for; he couldn't say goodbye when he wanted to say I love you. The simple thought was a stab in his heart.

His brain was telling him to go lock the front door of his apartment, hide under the duvet of his bed and let the time pass, but his heart was aching to see Gabriella, to feel her once more, to listen her heartbeat in totally sync with his…and he let his heart win for just this once. Because the crave he was feeling, the pain, would be number if he could feel Gabriella's presence.

Sighing, he ran into his bedroom and took his phone and keys and when he was about to go outside, he had the need to turn his head once towards the "Memory Wall". He had to stop for a moment; he didn't know why because he was aware that he was in a hurry, but he'd needed some kind of comfort from his family, from the people who were not there physically but each day by he felt closer to his heart. "I love you guys…" He whispered lifting his both hands, one to touch the only picture he had where all the family appeared and the other to touch the picture of his grandmother, the woman who was like his mother for the most important moments of his life.

Slowly and walking backwards, Troy directed one last glance towards the wall; he had to be a man for them…they deserved as much. He would show them they could be proud of him; for his family and for Gabriella, Troy had to fight against the demons which were threatening with steal his soul. For them, Troy would fight against the ghosts of the past…

And he would win.

Even if that was the last thing he did.

Though she was still trapped in the black loneliness that had been surrounding her for so long, the first signs of light came slowly at her.

The first thing she noticed was a cold hand grabbing hers; a soft thumb was drawing small circles in the back of her hand and Gabriella took the comfort that little gesture was giving, because she felt her body as if it was lying on needles, and this cold touch numbed the pain. The uncomfortable sensation was too much, and to know she was not alone, that someone was taking care of her, was enough to make her forget the pain.

All her senses but one, were useless; she couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she felt her throat as if it was covered by dry and tough paper and she couldn't smell anything, either. The sense of touch was the only thing that bonded her with reality at the moment; she had been living in a strange and weird world for she didn't know how long.

The world she was in was warm and welcoming; no problems, no drama, no hate…it seemed her own heaven, though it wasn't perfect.

Something was missing.

Someone was missing.

Troy.

Though the place was inviting, she couldn't bare to be there if not with Troy beside her. Even though he had broken up with her, Gabriella knew they would have to talk. She needed to talk to him; she needed to explain what had happened, to make him see the light. And she would do that.

Some minutes passed and then she noticed how her ears were turning back to life; soft murmurs were surrounding her. She tried to guess who the owners of the voices were but she had no luck; the voices seemed to be too far away for her little ears to recognize who was speaking.

But that was good; it was another step towards her recovery.

The voices sounded closer each second by, until Gabriella could recognize her father's voice. "How come she hasn't woken up yet?"

"Peter," Gabriella recognized Diandra's soothing voice. "She'll wake up when her body is ready; the anaesthesia is still working so she doesn't feel pain. Don't worry; they've told us she'll be fine…"

"But," Peter interjected again tightening his hold on Gabriella's hand. "I can't be calm until I see with my own eyes she's awake. I need to see my baby okay…"

Gabriella smiled inwardly; she felt her father's voice and she recognized the special edge the fear and the worry with what the voice was laced. She tried to squeeze her father's hand and, to her surprise, she heard his gasp.

"Gabriella!" Peter's voice sounded super close now. "Can you hear me?"

"What is it, Peter?" Diandra's voice also sounded closer now.

"She's squeezed my hand…" Peter said in awe. "Hurry, call the doctors!"

Gabriella didn't hear anything else but a door closing and soon her senses returned back. "Dad?"

"Yes baby," Peter whispered into her ear squeezing her hand softly. "I'm here…"

At the same time her mind was gaining conscience, her body did too, and Gabriella began to notice the pain the painkillers had been hiding invading all her body. "It hurts so much, dad," she winced.

"I know, baby" Peter placed a hand on her forehead and began to caress it softly. "The doctors are coming and they'll give you something to stop the pain…"

The door opened in the distance and Gabriella noticed how Peter took the hand off her forehead and talked with someone.

"Gabriella," an unknown voice said. "Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?"

"I don't know," the girl whispered tightening the hold of her father's hand.

Slowly, she focused in to open her eyes; her eyelids were heavier than ever, but she fight against the soreness and finally she could she the white light upon her. Squirming her eyes, trying to adjust them to the new brightness, Gabriella blinked twice before she turned her head to her right, where she could see her dad. "Dad…" She said noticing how the first tears were trying to make an entrance but she stopped them.

Carefully, Peter wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her temple. "I was so worried…"

"I'm sorry, dad," Gabriella stopped her fight against the tears and sobbed into her father's neck.

"Shhh," Peter whispered. "You're okay…you'll be fine…"

The other occupants of the room walked to the back of the room, giving both father and daughter a private moment only for themselves. Diandra was sobbing into her husband's arms, and Chad had both his arms wrapped tightly around Taylor waist, with his head buried into her shoulder, sobbing tears of relief. Neither of them said anything and Gabriella didn't knowledge them, either, so they let her be for a while, understanding the special moment she was having with her father after so many years apart.

"I love you sweetie," Peter said lowly, only for Gabriella to hear. "So much…"

"Love you too, dad," Gabriella said between spasms of sobs.

The doctor cleared his throat and Peter and Gabriella pulled away, though Gabriella didn't let go of her father, who unwrapped his arms from around her body and grabbed her hands instead. "Gabriella, I'm Doctor Sullivan…" A man in his mid forties smiled warmly at her.

"Hi," Gabriella whispered.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked walking closer to the hospital's bed.

"Sore," Gabriella answered lowly. "And in pain…"

"What hurts?" The doctor took notes of everything Gabriella was saying.

"Mostly my ribcage," Gabriella said wincing when she took a deep breath. "And my right leg…"

"Well, you've 3 broken ribs, so the pain you're feeling there is totally normal," the doctor placed himself in front of Gabriella and opened the gown she was wearing. "We've bandaged them after the surgery and…" He said pointing at the big white bandage wrapped around her torso so Gabriella could see.

"Surgery?" Gabriella squeaked snapping her head up.

The doctor was a little taken aback by her outburst but smiled at her when he saw how Peter put one of his arms around Gabriella's shoulders and kissed her temple again, whispering some comforting words into her ear, and Gabriella responded leaning her side into her father's chest. "Yes; but don't worry, you're okay now. You'll be three weeks with the bandage and then you'll have to go to physical therapy for a month or so, depending on how fast you recover…"

Gabriella nodded her head trying to register everything the doctor was saying. "And my leg?"

"Well, that's another story;" the doctor smiled already working adding some painkillers in the IV. "You're a very lucky girl because you only have broken your ankle, and for the description this boy over there gave us of the accident, it could have been worse…"

The girl turned her head to look at her left, where the doctor had pointed at and gasped. "Chad…"

The emotion with which her voice was laced was too much for Chad, who stepped from behind Taylor and took 3 big steps towards Gabriella, embracing the girl softly, trying to not hurt her. "I thought I had lost you…"

Gabriella buried her head in the crock of Chad's neck and sobbed. "What happened?" She asked when her sobs subsided. "Why I'm here?"

"We'll talk about it later," Chad said sniffing but wiping Gabriella's tears nonetheless. "Now you should hear what the doctor has to say," he added smiling a little and trying to break Gabriella's hold. "Hey, you have to let me go…"

"No," Gabriella protested pouting. "Stay with me…"

Chad couldn't help but nod at her smiling. "Then you need to let me sit; this bed is way more comfortable than those horrible chairs and my back is killing me…"

Gabriella's giggles floated around the room and each person there couldn't help but smile at the sight of the girl trying to move her body carefully, trying to not hurt herself, so Chad could sit…and the boy sighing in annoyance when he saw her wincing in pain and simply pushing her back a little so he could fit behind her and her back could rest comfortably on his chest.

The doctor cleared his throat again. "Well Gabriella, as I was saying, you have to wear this cast for a week; after that, you'll need to take it slow for a while, but you won't have to go to physical therapy or whatever. Is that clear?"

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded and then frowned. "But I'll need some help with showering and stuff…"

"I'll come by your house to help you," Diandra said softly walking to the bed. "And I'm sure Taylor would love to help you too…"

"Thank you," Gabriella whispered returning the hug Diandra was giving her. "And thank you to you too, Taylor," she smiled while pulling away from Diandra and opening her arms for Taylor to step in the circle of them.

"You had us worried as hell, missy," Taylor said kissing Gabriella's cheek. "I was so scared…"

"I'm okay now," Gabriella said lifting her head and noticing for the first time her best friends' fathers standing at the back of the room. "Hey come here you two, too…" She said smiling at them.

Both men went to hug her and then Gabriella returned back to her position, leaning into Chad's chest and reaching for her father's hand, who took it eagerly and gave to hers a small squeeze.

"Well, I see you're in the best hands…" The doctor smiled leaving the chart in the box placed at the end of the bed. "So I'm going to check on other patients I have, but I'll come back later…"

"Uhm…" Gabriella muttered. "When I'll be able to go home?"

The doctor took the chart again and read everything written there. "Let's say…tomorrow after lunch? How does it sound?"

"Perfect!" Gabriella smiled. "Thank you."

"No worries, now relax and get some rest. The painkillers will get you sleepy but you won't feel more pain," the man smiled. "See you all later…"

The group chorused their goodbyes and then went back to chat quietly. Soon, the adults noticed the teens were like too silent and so they interchanged a look, agreeing about something wordlessly. "Uhm…" Peter cleared his throat. "I could go with a coffee; do you guys want to come?" He asked his friends.

"Sure," Diandra said cheery. "We'll be back in a bit. Behave…"

"God mom," Chad rolled his eyes. "What do you think we're going to do?"

Gabriella slapped his arm playfully. "Sure Diandra, don't worry. We'll be fine…" Diandra and both men nodded their heads and soon the threesome left the room, leaving the teens to themselves.

When the door closed, Gabriella reached for Chad's hand. "Where's Troy?" She asked in a petite voice.

The truth was that she had hoped he would be there when she woke up. Seeing he was not there, and though she'd tried to pretend she was happy and okay for her father's sake, the truth was that she was broken on the inside. To know Troy hadn't been there at all made her feel a pang of pain cross her heart, a stab; of course maybe that was what she deserved because of her talks with Susan, she didn't know, but she did know he was like the missing piece of the puzzle. Without him she didn't feel complete; she was kinda afraid about the rehabilitation she would have to do, and she knew that, with him by her side, her fears wouldn't be there.

But he wasn't there.

And maybe she should have to learn to live without him.

However, Chad clearing his throat broke her thoughts. "He doesn't know you're here…"

"What?" Gabriella's head turned to look at Chad. "How come?"

"We've been calling him but he never picked his phone up;" Taylor said rubbing Gabriella's arm softly. "You've been out almost for a day Gabs…neither Chad nor I have gone to school today…and so we haven't seen him."

"And he hasn't returned your calls?" Gabriella said trying to blink back the tears were forming in her eyes.

"Now that you talk about it…" Chad muttered frowning. "We don't know; we turned off our phones yesterday and I've forgotten to turn mine on today…"

"The same with me," Taylor whispered already reaching for their phones in her bag and handing Chad's and Gabriella's to their owners.

The three teens turned their phones on and so soon the beeps signalling new messages could be heard. "Wow," Gabriella whispered seeing she had 10 missed calls from Troy. "Should I call him?"

Before Chad or Taylor could answer a deep and husky male voice sounded from the door. "That's not necessary now…"

Gabriella and her two friends turned their heads to look at the newcomer at the same time, though their reactions were way too different one from the other. The four teens remained silent and stilled; Troy, however, was taking everything his eyes were seeing in mind. All three reactions were registered by his brain; even though Chad and Taylor's reactions were the ones he expected from them, the one he wasn't ready for, the surprising one, she shocking one, was Gabriella's.

Chad, as he expected, crossed his arms over his chest, standing protectively in front of Gabriella, with a dark look directed straight into his eyes, as if daring him to make a move, and a coldness in his eyes only showed to his enemies.

Taylor moved herself closer to Gabriella's bed, reaching for her hand as if trying to give her some kind of comfort with her right hand and placing her left hand on Chad's shoulder. Maybe she thought she would be able to stop him if Chad launched himself at Troy for a fight.

Gabriella, however, was another story: one of her hands was covering her mouth, muffling the gasp that was pounding to break free. Her eyes gained a special brightness fruit of the tears that she was trying to keep there; her body stiffened even though she felt pain doing so…nothing like he'd expected. Because he'd expected from her a yell, a shout…something that proved how angry she was at him, how much she hated him.

"What do you want?" Chad asked coldly snapping Troy out of his reverie.

"Sorry," Troy said simply not bothering to create a problem because he already knew Chad was right behaving the way he was doing. "I want to apologize…"

"Sorry? You've got to be kidding me…" Chad laughed without humour. "After everything you've put Gabriella through now you appear here and you really expect for us to forgive you? You're freaking dreaming…"

Chad's hissed words made Troy flinch a little; he wanted to fight back, he wanted to explain himself, but he knew it'd be useless and also unfair. He had to swallow whatever they wanted to throw at him. However, what he needed, first and foremost, was to be closer to Gabriella, to talk to her, to assure himself she was actually alive, to know if she hated him or not.

Taylor talked then looking at Gabriella from the corner of her eye. "Troy, now it's not the moment for that; Gabriella…"

And then the sweetest of the voices interrupted the glaring contest. "Enough!"

Both Chad and Taylor turned to look at her and Troy remained where he was; he wasn't sure which Gabriella's intentions were and he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable than she already was.

"But Gabi," Chad protested.

"I've said enough, Chad," Gabriella said with a firmer voice now. "I want to talk with Troy in private. Could you two go to the cafeteria with our parents so we're alone?"

Chad tried to read her eyes; he couldn't understand why Gabriella wasn't kicking Troy out of the room, but he didn't have time to analyze her for long because the warm hand of his girlfriend pulled his body away from the bed and towards the door. "Let's go, Chad…"

"Thanks Taylor," Gabriella nodded once and turned to lock her eyes with Troy's, ignoring both Chad and Taylor while they disappeared from her sight.

Troy didn't know what to do; of course the main thing he needed and wanted to do was to go to Gabriella, crush her into his chest and kiss her senseless, but he knew he couldn't do that. He was at her will and he'd respect whatever decision she made…even though it could kill him.

For the very first time, Troy couldn't read Gabriella's expression. A lot of emotions were written in her face and so it made confusing for him to know which the powerful one was: fear, happiness, sadness, angriness, pain, sorrow, hope…but Gabriella stopped his train of thought speaking directly to him. "Come here…"

She whispered the words but Troy understood them perfectly; their bond was still as strong as ever. Slowly, he walked towards the bed until he stood in front of Gabriella; the need to touch her overcame him but he closed his eyes, trying to avoid the caving he knew was close.

"Open your eyes, Troy…" She whispered again, but this time with a special edge laced in her voice. An edge he recognized full of pain and sadness, but also something different. It was a different sadness this time, and he couldn't understand what it was.

Obliging, Troy opened his eyes slowly and gasped when he saw Gabriella's face full of tears. He lifted his hands following his first instinct; the need to console her, the need to make everything better for her, the need to see her smile again, but he stopped them only mere inches apart from her body.

Gabriella could see the confusion, the doubt in his eyes…and though she knew they had to talk and that they weren't a couple anymore, she needed him; she needed his comfort, she needed to feel safe in the circle of his arms. Seeing him so hesitant around her was painful, and she chose to make her will clear. "Hug me, Troy…"

That was all it took for Troy to embrace her petite frame, carefully when he noticed the bandages, and to pepper soft kisses wherever spot of her skin his lips could reach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Gabriella didn't say anything; she returned the embrace and collapsed into his chest, finally breaking free the sobs she'd been fighting. Her ribcage was protesting in pain but she didn't care, she needed the comfort his arms around her were providing.

After a while, they pulled away. Gabriella looked at his face and saw he was also crying; she wiped his cheeks with her hand and Troy dropped one of his arms from around her so he could grab it. "I'm sorry," he whispered boring his eyes into hers. "So sorry…I lo…"

"Shh," Gabriella silenced him. "Can we talk later, please? I just want…no…I need you to hold me…" She whispered with a trembling voice.

Gabriella knew what he wanted to say, but she couldn't bear this kind of conversation now. The tension was being too much for her petite body and she only wanted the comfort only Troy could give; at the moment his mere presence was what she needed.

Troy wanted and needed to talk but the beg he saw in her eyes was stronger than the one she could have shouted. Slowly, he manoeuvred himself so he was behind Gabriella, and she rested her back into his chest, grabbing his hands and sighing in relief when he interlaced their fingers together, already feeling how the painkillers were acting relaxing her muscles and numbing the pain.

They knew they needed to talk, but at the current moment, both needed to feel, even more, the feeling of safety only the other could give.

The rest could, and had, to wait.