I'm still determined AF. Please review. Please.
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Sharpay opened her eyes to Celeste hovering over her. She could hear Troy's mom and dad talking.
Lucille's voice was shaky. She was screeching at Jack, something about calling the hospital immediately.
Troy. It was Troy.
She saw his eyes, they were looking back at her. He was awake.
Sharpay ignored the little girl helping her up and the two frantic parents crowding the little corner that harbored their son. She couldn't look at anything else. It must've been a hallucination, or a dream. A bad, cruel dream. Because of the current situation her mind must've been creating some convincing daydream or delusion or hallucination.
She took his hand, it was still cold. But his eyes, those electric blue eyes were there; and they were looking right at her. Her hand squeezed his. They couldn't speak, either of them.
If this was a dream, it was one like she'd never had before.
A little hand took her free one, and she took her eyes away for a second to find Celeste hiding halfway behind her.
She looked back at Troy.
"Celeste," she whispered…barely able to say their daughter's name. The little girl peaked out at her father, clearly afraid for the first time.
"Troy…" she croaked.
Troy said nothing, staring at Sharpay, then at Celeste. His eyes were the only living thing left in him, or so it seemed.
"It's us, Troy." She let go of their hands to pull off the ring, the one that he gave her, and the one she never took off. It's me. She put the ring in his hand and closed it.
The man on the bed was screaming on the inside. He wanted to wrap his arms around them both. He groaned, setting off his parents and causing them to stir around beside him.
"Our granddaughter said that he was making noises and now we just heard him groan. No, he's awake goddamn it!" Lucille was shouting over the phone.
"I hope he's not in pain," Sharpay said moving out of the way for Lucille and Jack to step in and hover over Troy.
He was in no pain. He could barely feel anything, but he was starting to retrieve some senses. All he wanted to do was grab Sharpay and kiss her. And Celeste…she was probably five years old, or six, or seven. She was probably in school now.
His brain was all sorts of spit-fire. He knew he was in his room, he knew his parents were standing over him in panic. He wanted to rip the wires and tubes out of their woven knots from his body. Celeste. Sharpay. Celeste's eyes were still just like his. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
They were like looking at two angels when they were standing by his bed a minute ago. And he couldn't even tell them that he loved them.
He remembered the rain.
And the kiss, the one that he forgot. He just wanted to apologize.
The rain…
…
When they were sitting in the hospital waiting room Sharpay finally began to notice a little throb on the back of her head. She fainted. She had never fainted in her life.
Troy was up.
He had looked right at her, like he still knew her. There was no doubt in her mind that the man who had loved her all those years ago, was still in there somewhere. He just was, it was Troy. It wasn't just a body whose eyes opened and stared deep into her soul. It was Troy, when his eyes narrowed there was a glimmer of identity that she noted. He had her locked into his memory. And Celeste.
Troy's mother and father were inside the room talking to the doctor. She had agreed to wait outside the unit with Celeste. No one understood why he decided to wake up that day after so many years of brain inactivity. It didn't make sense, but neither would Troy's death. He was a healthy, fun, easy-going father and soon-to-be husband. The last five years would have been completely meaningless if it weren't for Celeste. She had saved them all.
"Sharpay," she looked up from her head being buried in her chest. Celeste adjusted herself in her chair when both Lucille and Jack approached them.
"He's still awake. You should see him."
Sharpay turned to Celeste, the little girl gazed on with concern.
"Would you like to stay out here with Grandpa and Grandma, and I'll come get you in a few minutes?"
"I want to see my daddy," she said.
"You will, but right now I need you to stay outside with Grandpa and Grandma. Then I'll come get you, I promise."
"Okay, Mommy." Sharpay smiled softly and with tire. She kissed her forehead, "I love you."
"I love you too, Mommy," Celeste answered as Sharpay rose up slowly. The room was just down the hall, it was where they had taken him after his last surgery.
Before she could take another step Lucille grabbed her and squeezed her tight. Sharpay fought to keep from crying.
After several deep breaths she headed towards the familiar unit. Troy, awake, calm, don't cry. He's safe. We're all safe.
When she approached his door he was propped up in bed, still motionless but awake. That glimmer of identity was there when their eyes met.
For several moments they just stared at each other, it's what they seemed to be good at for the time being. She wasn't sure if he was understanding a word she was telling him. Maybe his head hurt, maybe he didn't want to hear her voice.
Sharpay stepped closer towards him; his eyes followed her, something that reassured her in an unspoken way. If she were being honest with herself, she would've accepted the fact that it actually was actually scaring her to see him…awake.
When she woke up in the morning she thought that he was going to be dead soon. The irony was just too much, it was almost supernatural.
"I love you," she said surprising herself. She hadn't planned on speaking but it seemed her gut was telling her otherwise.
"I just want you to know that I love you. I haven't stopped."
The man's expression remained the same. She walked right up to him and grabbed his hand, she kissed it and held onto it.
"I'm sorry, baby," she sobbed. She couldn't control herself in this moment, it was like the day when Celeste was born. The moment she couldn't stop herself from picking up the baby even though her mind was screaming for her not to. She was trying so hard to not confuse Troy with emotions-but she couldn't help it.
"Celeste is the most perfect little girl you could ever dream of. I'm sorry she got taken from you. It should've been me. I'm sorry…so sorry Troy…"
She dropped to her knees, gripping onto Troy's single hand with both of her palms. She sobbed and heaved not knowing what to say or how to feel. Her only hope had come true, her answered prayer, and now that it was right in front of her she had no idea how to act.
"I did the best I could. I kept her in a safe place the best I could. She knows how much you love her. I promise she knows as much about you as I do."
She looked up, he was dead centered focused at her. His eyes never left hers.
"Troy?" she asked sadly, desperately trying to find him in there. She cupped his face, "Troy?"
She sighed; it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't speak. She was just hoping he could understand her soft whispers.
His facial expression never changed, it was a serious undertone.
"We think about you every day. We celebrate every holiday and birthday with you. Your mom and dad have been there for us from day one." If he could understand her words, she was sure he would feel comfort knowing that.
"My mom and dad…we don't really talk anymore. I think they got tired. I haven't done a very good job handling any of this." Sharpay looked away, desperate to hide the pain and shame from the man she loved. She didn't want him to see just how messed up she was, but the walls of her being were crumbling, and the humiliation was breaking through.
"I feel so alone, Troy," she said wiping tears away. "Even with Celeste, and your parents…no one knows what it's like to be a kid, with a kid, and a fiancée who…"
Sharpay looked up to Troy, he was still holding his gaze down on her. He hadn't moved, or made any noise, there were no signs of life besides seeing his eyes open.
"All I'm saying is…don't go back there. Don't leave again because I won't know how to just move on again. If you go, I'll die."
She felt her hand tighten. She felt his hand grip hers.
Sharpay cried in relief with her jaw muscles hurting from smiling so largely.
"I love you, Troy. Stay here, with us."
He held her hand until she fell asleep crying, right by his side.
With his eyes still lingering on her. If she only knew what he was feeling, she would have no worries in the world.
He wasn't going anywhere. Ever again. And he loved them both more than life itself. He was so unbelievably proud of her. He saw that little girl, and he saw how healthy, and precocious and spirited she was.
Sharpay had done an amazing job with her, there was absolutely nothing she should have been sorry about.
And Troy longed for the moment when he could hold her in his arms and tell her this.
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Please please please please please review. It seriously is the highlight of it all.