AN: Hello my favorite people in the world! I'm sorry to say, but this is the final chapter of this intense short story. I am happy though that you all convinced me to keep this story going for a little while longer than I had originally planned. I absolutely LOVE this chapter, and I'm SO proud of it, I really hope you feel the same. Please give me one last review on this story and tell me what you think of it! This chapter and entire story is dedicated to my devoted reviewers who I love unconditionally: Horse Jumper, xxZanessaxx, pinksuugar, LoverlyBabyZ.x, For.A.Moment, xoLAILAIxo, YaDoDOBird, HSMLUVER218, HSMBonesFan, beachblondi101, Line 101, and efrongrl. You make it all worth it.

Chapter 4

Troy had finally made it to Gabriella's empty house and walked inside. His arms were killing him and he was thanking god that he hadn't dropped her sleeping body along the way home. Trying to muster up some sort of strength left in his weak body, Troy daringly climbed up the stairs to her second floor and brought them to her bedroom.

Once inside he gently placed her drenched body on her bed. He then turned to her closet and looked for something cozy for her to wear. He picked out one of his basketball sweatshirts that he had been looking for for the past 3 months, and his basketball warm up sweatpants. Funny how the majority of her choices for cozy clothes were actually all his. That made him smile.

Troy made his way back to her bed after he changed himself into another pair of sweats that she had. When he was at her side again, he stopped and just stared down at her.

Her face was the palest he had ever seen, and it was completely tear stained. Her clothes had become a darker color because of what the rain had done to them. Her hair was dripping wet and parts of it were matted onto her forehead. Troy smoothed his hand over her forehead and pushed her hair back out of her closed eyes and then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Even in the state that she was in, she was still the most beautiful person that he had ever seen. Lying on her bed, she looked so fragile and vulnerable. Her life had fallen apart at the seams and he simply allowed her to push him away during the worst of it. He would never forget what he had stupidly done.

Slowly and gently, Troy proceeded to pull her sweatshirt over her head. Following that was her wife beater and then her jeans. Her jeans took a little more strength because they were drenched and were sticking to her thin legs.

He couldn't help but let his eyes drift over her body; she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Everything about her, inside and out, was stunning.

As he pulled up his sweatpants over her legs, he flinched at the iciness of them. He needed to warm her up fast. Before Troy put another dry wife beater on Gabriella's body, he stopped and let his hands graze over the large bruise that was present on her side. It was from the night that she found out her father had died. She was crying so hysterically that she ended up falling down the stairs as Troy watched in horror from the top of the stairs. He had been trying to comfort her and she ran away from him. He thought that she was dead, and he started to scream for her to respond. He would never forget that night; it was the last time that he was in her house before she broke up with him.

Troy leaned down and gave her side a soft kiss before putting the shirt over her body. He then put the sweatshirt over her head and made sure to sweep her hair out of her eyes again afterward.

After she was settled, he climbed into her bed with her and pulled her body as close to his as possible. He laid her head down on his chest and rapped his arms securely around her body. Finally content with his position, Troy released a deep breath and slowly allowed sleep to overcome his body.

There was movement in her bed, which startled her enough to wake her up from her deep slumber. Looking down to her waist, she saw that there was a large hand on it under her shirt. Becoming overwhelmed with fear, she flipped her body over only to come face to face with Troy. What on earth was he doing in her bed?

Then every single activity of the previous night came flooding back into her head, causing her to feel dizzy and she fell back against her bed, crushing Troy's hand on the way down.

'Oww,' muttered Troy.

'Sorry,' whispered Gabriella back.

This got Troy to wake up and when he opened his eyes they landed immediately on Gabi's.

No words were spoken, and the air had suddenly become as thick as Earth's core. Troy was feeling a little happy about the current condition that they were in because he knew that it was inevitable that they were going to talk. He was also feeling a little nervous because he wasn't sure if Gabi was going to flip out and scream at him for having the audacity to sleep in her bed with her when she hadn't even given him any sign that that was okay with her. On the other hand, she might not flip out too much because he may be able to convince her that her life makes more sense with him in it.

Gabriella on the other hand was feeling extremely confused. Just yesterday she thought that there was no way in hell that she would ever be in his presence again, let alone in the same bed as him. She didn't understand how she went from running away from him in the cold, pouring rain, to laying in bed with him feeling the warmth radiate off of his half naked body and comfort her own. Eventually, she realized that it was now or never to confront her feelings for him in front of him. She needed to tell him the truth and she needed to hear what he had to say in response also.

'I…I…it's just…it's just so hard Troy,' making words come out of her own mouth was almost impossible, she had no idea as to where she should start.

Troy knew that this may go on for a while, so he grabbed the sweatshirt that she had been occupying when he fell asleep, but she later took it off in the night and he put it on his own bare chest. He stood up and grabbed her hand and walked them over to the couch on the opposite side of the room. Once seated, Troy turned her body towards his as he turned to face hers and he took her hands in his own and held them tightly.

'Tell me why it's hard Bella,' Troy was desperate to figure this entire thing out. Living without her in his life was complete torture and wrong, he knew that with all of his heart. He was meant to be with her and only her.

'It's just…I wasn't prepared to let my father go…I loved him so god damn much, he was my everything and I was his everything. He made my life complete and he always knew what the right thing to say was. No matter what would happen, he was always my rock and he would always protect me. He showed me what to live for and what to ignore. Because of him, I wanted a future, a family, happiness, everything. He gave me the will to keep going.'

Troy reached his thumb up to whip away the tears that were streaming down her pale angelic face.

'Why did this make you feel like you had to let me go?'

'The thing is…Troy…you…you're just like him.' Gabriella's head lowed immediately after she spoke those words. She had no idea how he would react and instead of stopping to listen, she kept going.

'I love you so much I can't even explain it. It amazes me that that's even possible. You make me want to wake up every single day, just so I can hear your voice and run my hands through your hair. You always stand up for me, you always shield me from the bad things, and you support my every move. You make me want to be the best person that I can be, you make me want to have a future, a family, kids, success and the most happiness possible. I live for the days where you wrap your arms around my body and whisper in my ear how much you love me.'

Troy was dead frozen in his spot. She had never spoken to him like that; she had never expressed her true feelings for him in that way before. Hearing all of those things come out of her made him want to grab her face in his hands and give her the most meaningful kiss he could muster up.

'I...Don't know what to say.'

'I lost him Troy; I lost one of the best things that ever happened to me. I can't even describe to you how much that hurt and how much that killed me inside. I can't even describe it to myself. If I ever lost you…Troy… I know that it would be exactly the same, if not worse. I can't allow myself to go through that again, I'm just trying really hard to look out for myself.

'My Dad once told me that that you need to live by your heart. For the longest time I truly believed that and I always lived by that. I did whatever I felt deep down inside my heart. I listened to my feelings and based my decisions off of them. After losing my Dad, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I didn't know if or how I would ever be able to use it again. All that I had left was my head, my knowledge of right and wrong, and decisions to make. I had to live my life by common sense on ethics and mortality.

'At the time, it just seemed like the common sense thing to do was to push you as far away from me as possible and pray that I would just forget about you and everything we've been through together. I thought that I was doing the right thing for not only myself, but for you too. I felt guilty being with you because I felt like we were sharing laughs that would one day cease to exist. After that day we would both be heart broken, and in order to stop the heartache before it happened, I had to let you go.'

It was now or never for Gabriella, she had to let her entire heart lose and come clean with her true feelings.

'Your Dad was right, you know. And just because he isn't here any longer and your heart may never heal completely, doesn't mean that you should just ignore what he thought about life and what he taught you. That's almost like an insult to him. He wouldn't want you to push away your true feelings and miss out on what life has to offer you. He loved you too much, and you love him too much to just go back on something that you both believed in,' spoke Troy sincerely.

Gabriella looked down at her hands in shame. What Troy was saying was the truth and she felt horrible that she would ever reject something her own father had taught her.

She let go of Troy's warm hands and stood up. She walked over to her window that looked over her backyard. In the back left corner was the vegetable garden that she and her father had started three years ago. She didn't know how she was going to keep it alive without him there to help her.

Her arms were rapped around her body and she felt a few tears fall down her face. Only seconds later did she feel Troy's presence behind her. He brought his right hand up and rubbed the back of her neck as he rubbed his left hand up and down her left arm.

'I'm just so scared Troy, I'm petrified,' whispered Gabi as more tears streamed down her face.

'I know, it's okay to be scared Gabi.'

Troy turned Gabi's body around so that they were face to face. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look up into his eyes.

'The greatest rewards come from the greatest risks Gabi. Sometimes you just have to have hope and keep some faith tucked away in your heart. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. You just have to live in the moment as if you won't have a tomorrow. You can't always focus on the future, because you may not have one. I'd be a horrible person if I just let you live a cautious life and never went out on a limb, because then you wouldn't really be living at all. Please, you have to see this Gabi, you just have to take a risk. Take it with me. I'm begging you.'

'I want to so bad Troy, you have no idea. It's just…'

'No Gabi. There aren't any buts or ifs. It's now or never. Live or die. Stay with me Gabriella; believe in me, I'm begging you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much; losing you isn't an option for me. I promised your father that I would always protect you and I'm not going to go back on that promise, not now not ever. Please take a chance with me, I promise I'll always protect you with everything that I have.'

There was a moment of silence shared between the two. Gabi's head was still in Troy's shaking hands, but her eyes hand moved down wards. Looking in his eyes and seeing how he truly felt could become too powerful for her at times.

'Gabi,' whispered Troy as he made her look him in the eyes again.

'You promise?'

Troy sighed. 'I promise to be here for you until the day I die, to love you unconditionally, and then some. I promise you that you will never be lonely, unless you request to be alone. I promise to give you everything you will ever need, and if you're lucky I might spoil you a little. I promise to give you my full attention no matter what it is you want, or what I am doing. I promise to never let you suffer, for I will suffer for you. I promise to always keep you warm and safe, and I promise you that no one will ever come between us, for you are the only woman for me in my life.'

Gabi certainly hadn't been expecting an answer such as that. She was blown away by his warm and sensitive words. That was the straw that put everything else together. In that moment she knew that he was right and he had been all along. He was meant for her as she was meant for him. Together they were unstoppable and they would make each other happy like no other.

Standing on her tippy-toes, she moved his hands away from her face and put her own on his face. Taking his breath-taking face in her hands, she softly placed her lips on his, creating sparks between the two love birds instantly. This was where they belonged: together in each others arms, giving each other warmth and happiness. They were the other half to their souls, the joy in their lives, the breath that was taken away from them; the only thing on this planted that made them feel complete. Without the other they were incomplete.

The End

AN: Thank you ALL once again for reading this story and supporting me. I love you all and you all helped make me a little happier. Please do that again and review, even if all you have to say is just one word, please! It will make me so happy to hear what you have to say. Plus, I had a crappy Christmas, so I could really use some mood lifters. If you love this story, check out my other ones too! I just put up a second half to my TwoShot I Do Want It, and I put up chapter 2 the other day to Silent Admiration. There's also Hidden Desire! Please tell me what you think, and once again, thank you all and Happy Holidays & I wish you all a safe and healthy 2008!

FiFixoxo