Chapter 11: Somewhere in Between
(Author's Notes: Hey everyone…I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews I really appreciated them. I just wanted to give you this update as I finally reached over a hundred reviews with this story seeing everyone likes the story. But don't stop… keep the reviews coming. Anyways I hope you guys still love the story!)
Albuquerque International Airport…
"So I just want to double check before boarding that you guys have your tickets and passports," Mr. Bolton asked the gang as they were about to check in for their flight to New York.
"For the hundredth time dad yes we got our tickets, passports, our baggage has been checked in and don't worry I'll call once we land in New York," Troy replied.
"You best behave yourself Troy just because you're not going to be home for the next two weeks it doesn't mean you're off the hook," Mrs. Bolton added, "This is New York I couldn't imagine what might happen to my only son."
"I assure you Mrs. Bolton that I'll make sure Troy is on his best behavior," Gabriella smiled teasing him, "Thank you again for the ride…it's just my mom and dad left a few days earlier and I hope it wasn't too much of a hassle."
"Don't be worried about it dear we promised your parents that you'll be in good hands and your father is picking you guys up from the airport right?" Mr. Bolton asked.
"Yes he is," Gabriella replied as she spotted Chad, Taylor, Jason and Kelsi, "I think the others are waiting for us to at the boarding gate. Troy are you ready?"
"I'll in there in a minute Gabi," Troy replied as Gabriella and the others went ahead to line up at the boarding gate, "I'll see you in two weeks dad, mom, I'll behave don't worry."
"Have fun in New York Troy," Mr. and Mrs. Bolton replied as they went through the boarding gate, "Have a safe trip kids."
On the flight to New York…
"So are you ready to tackle the Big Apple Troy?" Gabriella smiled holding her boyfriend's hand.
"Hey…whatever happens as long as we're together we'll be fine," Troy replied, "This is going to be a fun trip don't you think?"
"Oh yeah for sure two weeks in New York this is so amazing," Chad added sitting behind Gabriella, Troy and Kelsi, "I can't believe we're heading to New York for two weeks for Spring Break."
"We owe you big time Gabriella for this I can't believe your dad invited us and this is all paid for we don't know how to repay you," Taylor said sitting next to Chad and Jason.
"It's no big deal…I'm glad you guys are here with me," Gabriella said.
"So how long is it going to be until we land at JFK International Airport?" Kelsi and Jason asked.
"I think it's about three hours I believe if it includes the time zone changes," Troy said.
"This is so unbelievable Chad you and me celebrating our anniversary in New York together," Taylor smiled, "You and me can plan something romantic without my sisters interrupting us or our parents constantly hounding us. How long have we been going out for…was it since 10th grade or 9th grade? Well however long it's been I don't know why you chose to go out with a brainac like me."
"Well that's because next to Troy being my best friend, I grew up with you too and you and I have been close since we were preschool," Chad smiled as he took off his prized basketball necklace and placed it around Taylor, "And for a long time it took awhile for me to realize what I felt about you…this shows how much you mean."
"You're lucky necklace…but this is what helps you with your game," Taylor said.
"Hey…it's nothing," Chad smiled as they began to kiss, "It's only an necklace…besides it looks better on my little hottie here." While Chad and Taylor were kissing and Kelsi and Jason went to use the bathroom, Gabriella pulled out a letter from her purse as Troy glanced over.
"What you got there?" Troy asked his girlfriend.
"Actually…my parents found out what I was doing searching for my birth father and they gave me an ear full," Gabriella sighed, "My mom told me not to get any ideas to offend my dad of searching for my birth father. She warned me to stop before I would end up getting hurt, but what happened was that I got into a little argument over the topic of my birth father with my parents. Mom says that dad has information about him at his place…but it's not going to stop me from knowing the truth about him."
"What if your parents…might be right about him Gabi?" Troy asked concerned, "Maybe your parents are doing this so they wouldn't want to see you hurt or even worse…defeated with no hope of tracking him down. He maybe your birth father…but he was practically not there for you during your whole life while growing up. You don't know anything about this guy except the fact he was the one that got your birth mother pregnant with you."
"I know that his name was Bernardo Diaz…it was stated on my birth certificate Troy…which was by fate forwarded to the orphanage to the adoption agency the day I was adopted. My parents have my original file which I got to look at for the first time in my entire life. If I wanted to inquire information about my birth parents I turn to my dad for it because he had a better knowledge about them than my mom. However, my dad made my mom hide any of the information he had such as letters, pictures, anything that had to do with my birth parents when we moved."
"I'm guessing that's how you found out and how you began your entire search then and that is why your parents are upset with you. So what have your parents told you about your birth father since?"
"They reluctantly decided to reveal the information I wanted to know about Bernardo to me and to my surprise…they actually had one picture of him that he took with Maria while my dad attended his freshman year at the Berkley." Gabriella pulled out the picture she was mentioning and showed it to Troy to reveal a Latino looking couple about 19 years old in front of Berkley, "The man with the grey shirt with brown eyes and black hair is Bernardo…and the girl next to him in the skirt is my mother Maria…dad says that I resemble Bernardo, but I have Maria's eyes. This was the only picture he ever took of his friends…the one picture of him and that's it."
Troy looked at the picture as he noticed the letter at the contact information state on the letter. "What? Gabi…your letter says that Bernardo lives in New York?" Troy asked shocked, "Does your dad know this? You got a fixed address of where this guy is are you sure?"
"Dad never told me what happened after Bernardo and Maria separated but he knows where he resided but refused to tell me," Gabriella added as the captain announced their arrival in New York, "But what he doesn't know is that Bernardo resides in New York so I'm planning to visit this address hoping to see if he is still there. Troy…can you come with me?"
"I promised I'd always be there for you babe…and I'll hold you on my word," Troy said as they were buckling up for their decent, "If anything happens…I promise I'll always protect you because I don't want you to give up hope."
"Thank you Troy," Gabriella replied, "So here we're finally here in New York…it does feel good to be home."
Manhattan, New York- Montez Residence…
After arriving and claiming their luggage from baggage claims, Gabriella and the gang met up with Mr. Montez who was waiting for them at the arrival gate. They were amazed as he led them into to load up in their stuff in the limo he rented to take them back to his penthouse apartment. Gabriella, Troy and the others were all looking outside the windows at all the sites of Manhattan including Time Square and Broadway. When they arrived at Mr. Montez's penthouse apartment, they were amazed at the size of the two story penthouse suite.
"Gabriella I got to say that your dad has a really amazing place," Chad said shocked as they were walking around the main floor, "How…the heck does your dad afford a place like this?"
"He works in the fashion industry…with some of the top names," Gabriella smiled as she was looking at her friends, "When my parents separated, my dad stayed in Manhattan, but it was my mom that did a lot of the moving and transferring. Whenever I went to live with my mom for a little while, it was always in a new state, but when I stayed with my dad, it was always in Manhattan, but within different parts of the Upper East and West Side."
"Wow…you must really live the life out here Gabi," Taylor smiled, "So this is your two story penthouse Mr. Montez?"
"Yes, there are two bedrooms on the main floor so Kelsi and Taylor you guys can sleep in the guestroom while Chad and Jason can sleep in the den…just pull out the futon," Mr. Montez instructed, "I don't know how you guys are going to work out the sleeping arrangements but I know where Troy and Gabriella are sleeping…but make sure Gabi you remember the rules in the house kiddo…I'm keeping my eye on you guys since I'm held responsible for all of you."
During the afternoon, the gang was settling in at Gabriella's place and even got a hold of Sharpay and Ryan who were staying with their relatives on the Upper Eastside. Gabriella learned from her call to Sharpay that she, Ryan, Martha and Zeke were all in New York staying with Sharpay and Ryan's relatives and as a result, they were on the way over so they would plan to go sightseeing. Jason and Kelsi were relaxing in the living room watching TV while they waited for the rest of the gang to arrive while the others were wondering where Taylor and Chad disappeared to.
Meanwhile, Gabriella was on her laptop trying to track down any information about her birth father's address with Troy's help. After many attempts, she managed to track down his address to a residence address of a place called the Ostroff Center. It was kind of odd to them as to why Bernardo Diaz would be a resident at a clinical and rehab center. When Gabriella went down to the lobby after hearing that Sharpay and the rest of the gang arrived, Mr. Montez came out and saw the contents on display on Gabriella's laptop screen as he began to worry for his daughter.
"Oh no not this again," Mr. Montez sighed to himself, "I…I can't let her know the truth about Bernardo…oh Gabi what can I do to protect you?" Troy was heading back to the table when he saw Mr. Montez with a look of disbelief and worry on his face.
"Mr. Montez…is something the matter?" Troy suddenly asked, "Listen I can explain."
"Troy…I know what's going on," Mr. Montez sighed, "This has been an issue for weeks with Gabriella in regards to her birth parents. We both know we'll do anything to keep Gabriella safe and protect her from any harm…and I want to ask you Troy how much do you love my daughter?"
"Ever since I could remember I would do anything to protect her," Troy replied, "What does that have to do with this?"
"How far would you go to protect her from getting hurt and preventing her from getting hurt twice again? Troy…I love my daughter with all my heart and I don't want to fill her with false hope of knowing the truth about Bernardo. She won't listen because she's too curious to know about them and if she is planning to go to the Ostroff Center then…"
"Mr. Montez I'm beginning to sense that if Gabi does plan to track down her birth dad…then…is there something you that you're hiding that she doesn't know?"
"If I tell you Troy promise me…you find a way to keep Gabriella from knowing and whatever you do or whatever the outcome is just be there for her no matter what," Mr. Montez replied as he began to tell Troy everything leaving him speechless and shocked.
Manhattan, New York….
Throughout the afternoon, Troy, Gabriella and the gang went all over Time Square sightseeing and taking pictures. Gabriella revealed her plan to visit the Ostroff Center to the others about meeting her biological dad with Troy, but Troy had an uncomfortable feeling hearing his girlfriend's voice of hope and excitement of meeting her birth father. "I promised I would protect Gabriella how can I tell her?" was all Troy can think about. It was horrible being in his shoes right now after his prior conversation with Mr. Montez he knew why her parents were against the idea of Gabriella tracking down her birth father.
"So Troy and I are just going to take a quick taxi cab ride to the Ostroff Center to see Bernardo," Gabriella smiled, "After all these years I'm finally going to meet him…my real dad."
"It was a surprise that you found out he is actually living in New York," Sharpay added.
"It's only going to be for about an hour," Gabriella replied, "We got to be home by 8:30pm it's about 5pm so we'll meet you guys back here in an hour."
"Don't worry we'll be fine," Taylor and Chad added, "Besides Sharpay and Ryan are here to navigate around Time Square and you two will be okay finding your way back."
"We'll…see you guys later," Troy replied as him and Gabriella got into a cab.
"Troy are you okay?" Gabriella suddenly asked, "You seem…a bit distant."
"Gabi…are you sure you still want to go through with this? I mean we can turn back and just hang out with the gang at Time Square this is our first vacation together…it's a thrill being back in your hometown."
"I still want to go through this," Gabriella answered, "Troy…you promised you'll support me with whatever I decide. What's going on? Did my dad say something to you to convince me not to go to the Ostroff Center?"
"He didn't say anything!"
"You're lying to me Troy something is up!" Gabriella yelled as they arrived at the Ostroff Center, "Now tell me what is going on?"
"Gabi…just give it some thought please," Troy begged her as they got out of the cab, "I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"Whatever my dad told you is not going to stop me from seeing Bernardo!" Gabriella snapped as she went inside, "Out of all people I thought you'd understand…I guess you don't!"
Troy just followed Gabriella inside and waited until they arrived at the receptionist's desk. She was too stubborn to hear him out, but how could he Gabriella the truth as he just thought back to the conversation with Mr. Montez.
FLASHBACK…
"You're the last person I expect to tell this too but Gabi…promise me the minute she finds out just be there for her," Mr. Montez said to Troy.
"Why are you so against Gabriella going to the Ostroff Center?" Troy asked.
"Because if she ends up going there…it's going to be too late," Mr. Montez sighed, "She's going to know what happened to Bernardo and how he ended up there. Troy…what Gabi doesn't know is that while Gabriella was living in Newport with her mom, Bernardo came in contact with me and told him to meet up with him at the Ostroff Center."
"Okay then sir continue I'm listening."
"He found out that we were the ones that adopted Gabriella and he was happy. I haven't seen him since college because we all used to go to school together. The truth of the matter is he made me promise that Lucille and I would do anything in our power to keep Gabriella from finding him because…Bernardo doesn't want Gabriella to know that within the next few months he'll be gone."
"Gone?" Troy asked confused, "What…do you mean by gone?"
"Bernardo…was dying," Mr. Montez sighed, "Gabriella's birth father had AIDS. He was sick for almost 10 years with it. He contracted it a year after Gabriella was born through the massive drug addition he had…that was why he lived at the Ostroff Center. When he was tested for HIV it came out positive…it was the reason why her parents split. When Maria had cancer it made things worse and if in any given situation that Gabriella would end up losing her mother…he thought it was best that they just put her up for adoption."
"Oh no…I can't believe this," Troy backed up sadden, "Then if she goes…"
"Then it would probably be too late," Mr. Montez sighed, "Just be there for her if she hears it."
END OF FLASHBACK
Troy was looking on as he began to notice Gabriella's expression changed to shock and disbelief and he knew it was his cue to go to his now dishearten girlfriend. He noticed Gabriella was arguing with the receptionist on information but all she just did was breakdown in tears.
"Gabi…c'mon talk to me," Troy whispered as he embraced her, "I promised I'll always here."
"Yeah and I…think you did keep your promise," Gabriella cried hugging him, "Wow it's unbelievable when you find out 10 years too late the truth behind why Bernardo was never a dad in my life."
"I'm so sorry I should have told you…I didn't want to see you get hurt…I just wanted to protect you from knowing the truth."
"Truth or not I'd would have still figured out..." Gabriella sighed, "Here I am almost close to knowing my real dad only to find out…that he died of aids last year."
