Have you ever tried living on a bus with seven other people? Everyone kept to themselves and shared everything at same time. Everyone was always working, tallying up supporters, talking about speeches or politics. Some had pictures of their loved ones back at home, some talked on the phone every night. People survived through human connection. Gabriella wanted to do with any of it. She kept to herself and most times people forgot she was there. Especially Troy, he never seemed busier, or more into his work, he been sleeping in a cot, staying in different hotel rooms, avoiding her as much as she was avoiding him. Gabriella shifted as she sat quietly and looked out the window watching scenery pass by. Lady was sleeping on the couch, her donkey chew toy in her mouth.
"You haven't eaten since we left Topeka, you can't just stop eating Gabs," Taylor sat in front of her with a sandwich.
"Watch me," Gabriella said, her eye never left the window. What was the point?
Taylor got up and let out a sigh as she walked to the back of the bus where Chad and Troy were going over Q and A's. "She still won't eat."
Troy stilled although he pretended to continue reading as if she said nothing, since L.A. she hadn't talked to him. He slept in a cot along with everyone one else while she slept in the bedroom. He been watching her, a few times he even talked himself into wanting to apologize. To say he was an asshole was being polite, although he heard her refer to him as such as few times. Tomorrow they would be in the same city as Anthony and she would give him the flash drive with Troy's mock Tax plan. One Chad and Troy put together that had holes and over the top numbers.
The plan was that Anthony would use this plan at the debate, while Troy would refer to his actual plan, one that worked efficiently. They were going to have a debate, small in size but just as powerful and important it was the rare chance that voters would have to compare them side by side.
"She has to eat, that medical condition she has requires her to get as much vitamins as possible." Chad let out a sigh and glanced over at Troy who was ignoring them both. "You've both been miserable, I don't see why you just don't apologize and spring us from this limbo."
No one knew about L.A. Gabriella didn't tell anyone and he sure as hell wasn't going to admit to that moment of disgust. Troy eyes looked up at Chad and Taylor felt the tension shift. Troy did say anything didn't do anything he simply got up and walked out of the room. Taylor sat down in his empty seat, "This doesn't feel right anymore."
"I'm working on the divorce papers right now," he said with a raised brow, "If you think this is bad wait till the press gets a hold of his divorce."
Taylor let out a sigh and leaned back in the chair. "For a moment there I really thought they were going to make it."
"I know," Chad said with a small frown. "So did I,"
"Everyone been avoiding them, no one wants to get in the middle or even ask about what happened in L.A.?" Taylor said with a shrug.
"Well don't ask me," Chad shook his head, "Troy won't say anything unless it's related to his campaign."
"At least he's talking, she's just sulking." Taylor said with an exasperated sigh.
"Well we just have to wait for them to figure it out." Chad watched Taylor for a moment. Her eyes stared off and she was fidgeting with her fingers. "Is there something wrong?"
"I'm not sure," Taylor said looking back at him, "I mean with everything that's going on I don't know if I should bring it up?"
Chad put his gadgets and paperwork aside. "You know I love you," he said with kind smile taking her hand. "I'm here, everything else aside, you come first."
Taylor smiled as she looking into his eyes that looked back at hers. They were both quiet for a moment and she spoke again. "I think I'm pregnant."
Chad bit down on a smile and he resisted the urge shout out with pride. "Have you taken a test yet?" he said in a low voice.
"No," she said with a small shrug "but my period late."
"How late?" Chad asked placing the laptop to the side.
"Three weeks late." Taylor said with a small smile.
"Taylor, we have to take a test, I have to know, I wanna know, we have to know right now!" Chad jumped up.
"Where are you going?"
"To tell the driver to pull into the next drug store!" he shouted as he kept running.
Taylor giggled as she let out a breath and then she glanced down at Troy's own lap top he had the windows closed his desktop looking up at her. It was a picture of Gabriella; she was smiling and holding a wiggling puppy in her arms. What happened in L.A.?
Troy slid into the seat across from Gabriella and she remained still and quiet. Her features were paler, her cheeks more sucked in. Troy heart pinched, she looked sick. "Gabriella,"
She gave him a sideways glance, nothing more than that.
"Eat," Troy said sliding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich over to her end of the table. Gabriella didn't move didn't blink and he watched her brown eyes in the reflection of the bus's window. Troy let out a sigh and placed both hands on the table. "Last chance,"
That caught her attention she turned to look at him her eyes narrowed, they both stared at each other for a long moment. Her brown eye filled with tears that didn't dare spill over. Her bottom lip quivered and before he could say anything she was up and walking towards the bedroom in the back where she locked the door behind her.
"Ouch," said of the interns as they winced. "Whatever you did doesn't look like your coming out of the dog house anytime soon."
Chad had told the others on the bus that they were in the midst of a little fight, nothing serious. Troy rolled his eyes as he looked back out the window. That was all he needed some intern leaking to the press that his marriage was failing. That Gabriella wasn't eating, that he was approving anorexia or something equally outrageous. The scenery passed by and he felt an anger welling up inside him. He looked down at the sandwich. Why did everything have to come down to what the papers would say, why was everything about how the press would spin it or what his opponent might use against him. The bus came to a stop and Troy looked at the intern. "Why are we stopping?"
Plucking her head set from her ear she looked up from her book. "I don't know?"
Troy got up and walked to the front of the bus there were in the parking lot of a convenient store, people already unloading from the bus and venturing out. "Why are we stopping here?" Troy asked.
"Chad said it was urgent," The driver leaned back in his seat and picked up his paper. "We'll be on our way in a bit boss."
Troy nodded and turned to look outside almost everyone one was off the bus and outside, everyone but her. Troy made his way to the back picking up the sandwich as he went.
Gabriella stared at the wall blankly as she rested in bed. She'd taken shower this morning; yet the vulgar grim of memories kept her from feeling clean. She couldn't scrub his touch from her skin. She could feel the bus come to a stop and her eyes shut. She didn't want to leave the bus, she didn't want to be hustled into another hotel room in another state with him just one door away. Chad and Taylor had been shifting her around, keeping her busy, in a obvious attempt to get her back on track. Gabriella sat up her hair coming forward a bit as she knees up to her chest.
People were murmuring outside, they must have stop at a rest stop. There was silence, only the outside noise. Gabriella looked around the room, the sound of a key in the lock caught her attention and she watched in horror while the door swung open and Troy came in. "Locking this door is a privilege." He said holding up the plate and shutting the door behind him, "I give you that privilege as long as you follow the rules."
Gabriella pushed herself further up the bed as he came closer. Troy stilled his brows furrowed as he watched her move away from him. He looked down at the sandwich then back at the door. Gabriella looked at the door as well then back at him her heart rate sky rocketing. She could smell his soap, smell that masculine scent he generated like a pheromone striking at her and making her palms clammy and sweaty. He proceeded to come closer to her and she was going to sprint off the bed like a gazelle in a open field at the sound of snapped twig.
"Hey, hey, hey" Troy's hand caught her as she sprung pulling her back. He had to put the sandwich down on the nightstand in order to keep hold of her as she fought. Pushing him away, wiggling, scratching, everything but screaming she moved quickly in her efforts of escape. "Gabriella, knock it off, you're going to get hurt." Troy got hold of one hand then the other his torso moved forward knocking her back and in turn bringing him over her. At this point he had her pinned to the bed underneath him both her wrist in his hands. "Stop it," he said calmly.
"Get off me," she said through gritted teeth.
"Look," Troy let out a breath, "Chad is working on the divorce papers, until then you have to eat, I'm not going to stand to see you starving yourself not with your condition."
"Why do you care?" Gabriella said looking away from him and at his hands which were still holding her down.
"I'm tired," Troy said letting go of her, "I'm frustrated and the sooner this is over the better," getting up he moved to leave the room.
"It must be so tiring to keep everyone at arm's length." Gabriella said sitting up and rubbing her wrist. "Then again I'm beginning to think you get off on being alone."
Troy turned around, "you kept me at arm's length," he said pointing towards her. "I wanted to make this work, you were the one who lied and kept secrets."
"Please," Gabriella rolled her eyes, "make sure the next woman you hire to be your wife knows that she has kiss the ground you walk on and be by your side at all times, maybe you can buy her collar."
"Trust me there will no other woman." Troy said waving a hand. "I don't want anything to do with women." Because no one was going to be Gabriella, no one was going to know him like she did, no one was going to talk to him like she did.
Gabriella was quiet and Troy watched her for a moment. She looked at the sandwich and then back at him. "Where are we?"
"Some small convenient store." He said watching her chest rise and fall, their small wrestling session had revealed that she wasn't wearing a bra. In the heat of the moment he had ignored it, but now in the aftermath the memory of the pleasure they were capable of having. His skin tingled with memory of her naked skin against his. His lips itched to kiss her, he give anything to just to hold her right now.
Dragging her eyes away from his arms she looked back at the sandwich, food didn't taste the same. Not that she was even hungry in the first place. Looking back at him she felt a heat between her legs, no matter how much she wanted to hate him, wanted to kill him or wanted to be terrified, she couldn't bring her heart to do think the same. Her heart wanted him, her body followed suit. "Anthony was right about you,"
Troy was walking backwards to the door, "Excuse me?"
"He said you didn't have romantic bone in your body," she said looking up at him, "That you were nothing but a business man, ice cold."
"Well since you're so close and open with him maybe you should marry him." Troy said gritting his teeth a little. Anthony, everything always had to come back to Anthony. He was tired of hearing that name.
"I rather drink myself to death," she said turning away from Troy and shooting back onto the bed further. "The both of you are one in the same, married one married both."
Anger flared in his blood and he took four steps until he was hovering over that side of the bed. "I am nothing like him, I do my job, I don't cheat or backstab people I care about."
Gabriella rolled her eyes and furrowed her brow."Please all you care about is you!"
"Don't be so quick to call the kettle black, you made a deal to stay out of jail and then a deal with me to get out of debt." Troy turned from her making his way out, his temper was already at an all time high.
"And you were all too willing to get rid of me if I didn't take the deal."Gabriella said climbing off the bed. "I didn't have a choice, what's your excuse?"
Troy turned quickly to face her, "We're done." He said leaving the room.
"Like hell we are, say what you want about how I made a deal to save my ass but don't you dare make it sound like your some kind of saint." She said following him into the hall of the bus.
"Keep your voice down," Troy warned. She was now dead behind him and Troy glance around noting that the bus driver was engrossed in his magazine now reclined on the couch. Turning back to her his lips became a grin she was close. Her breast seemed to poke out at him brushing against his arm as he turned towards her. He wrapped an arm around her waist to bring her closer.
"Fuck you," Gabriella said in a harsh whisper pushing away a little bit.
"Been there done that," Troy said taking a step forward as she took one back.
Shoving at him she let out a breath, "I wonder who'll pay more for my story, Oprah or channel five?" Gabriella countered. All this movement was more rubbing and touching, a fire ignited on her skin.
Troy took a step forward and she took two back, "At this point I could care less if you called the national inquirer," he said in a harsh whisper. "Being married to you for the last 6 months has been the worst 6 months of my life."
"It hasn't been rainbows and puppies for me either!" she said taking a step forward to stand her ground. "I wish I never met you, I wish I never told you anything, and more importantly I can't wait until I never have to see you again."
"As much as I'd like to continue this pissing contest of who could care less, I'd prefer it if you would just eat the damn sandwich!"
"I'm pregnant!" Chad booming voice took the next protest from her lips and both of them turned their attention to Chad as he came running up to them waving a stick. Gabriella and Troy sprung apart.
"That's physically possible how?" Troy asked raising a brow.
"I'm going to be a dad!" Chad placed both hands on either side of Troy's shoulders and shook him. "I'm going to be a dad!"
"Congratulations?" Troy said looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Chad, you can't just run through a parking lot screaming out that you're pregnant!" Taylor climbed up onto the bus and smiled as she stood in the small living room.
"Congrats," said the bus driver.
"Thanks," Taylor said looking at him then back at Chad.
"Congratulations Taylor." Gabriella said from behind Troy as she pushed forward and offered Taylor a hug.
Troy watched Gabriella hug both Taylor then Chad, their smiling faces; their giggles and proud parents to be glaze over their eyes. Troy felt a something inside him pinged in regret, regret that he would never get that close to anyone to know that feeling. Never have that feeling of absolute love and trust, that 'no care in the world as long as we're together feeling.' Something inside him twisted and Troy turned away from them to return to his index cards. They didn't even notice his disappearance as more people boarded the bus and everyone congratulated them and smiled. They were happy, they were living.
Gabriella watched Troy shoulders shag as he fell back into his chair his index cards on the table in front of him. He looked sad and the idea of his unhappiness made her sad. Gabriella shook her head a little trying shake the feeling away. Looking back at Taylor and Chad talk to everyone and smile, made her envious. Gabriella looked down at her wedding ring and for the first time she since put it on she felt longing. The desire to be what that ring represented. A circular promise of love, of eternity, of going through the good and bad times, looking back at Troy she felt her heartstrings pull he was staring at his own ring as well.
Was it possible that he felt that same longing and desire, that same pull that it had gave to her. His blue eyes looked up and their eyes locked. The room faded into the background. There was nothing else, just them, just the silence in a loud room, and those unsaid words in public speech. She looked away first. Unable to admit to those feeling again, unable to trust him in that way again. Her heart ached and she pushed herself off the wall that had been holding her up and made her way to the back bed room.
Troy watched her walk past him their eyes never met, once she past his eyes darted back to her watching the door close behind her. The scent of her perfume lingered in the hall. Looking back at his wedding band he felt the sadness seeping into his heart. He loved her so much and instead of honoring that love, that promise, that trust. Troy made a fist and then opened it again his eyes still on the ring. He hurt her, humiliated her, used her, and brought her. He'd found the one woman he couldn't live without and then ensured that she'd want nothing but to live her life without him.