I need to update more. I know. Thank you so much for the reviews guys, at least I know some of you are still sticking by me with this story :') I'm going to shut up now so that we can get through this chapter and then the next one because I've aready started it :D review this chapter kay? Don't forget please xD
Dedication: Diana (Unproper Grammar). You've helped me in picking the song for this chapter and I love you and Silvia sfm :D Our twitter convos rock. 'Nuff said. This is for you bby xoxox P.S. Now update Mami and maybe I'll update quickly… -cough-
Disclaimer: NOTHINGGGG OKAY. Good (y)
CHAPTER SIX:
BREAKEVEN
'You got his heart and my heart and none of the pain, I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing,
You took your suitcase, I took the blame.
Now I'm tryna make sense of what little remains, oh.
'Coz you left me with no love, with no love to my name.
Just prayed to a god that I don't believe in,
'Coz I got time while she got freedom,
'Coz when a heart breaks no it don't break,
No it don't break, no it don't break even no.'
- The Script; Breakeven
-----
They didn't know how long they were out there. Once Gabriella's sobs subsided and Chad's soothing words were hushed, they sat on a nearby bench in silence. There was nothing said between the two, they were so consumed into their thoughts. Troy did not remember them. At all.
He didn't remember the two people that raised him, he didn't remember the birth of his siblings, he didn't remember the love of his life since forever or the parents of said love of his life, he didn't remember meeting Chad in kindergarten when they bonded over basketball, or meeting Taylor around the same time he met Chad, he didn't remember anything.
Chad's cell started to ring and Gabriella lifted her head from his shoulder rubbing her bloodshot eyes before bringing her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead onto them. Sighing, the afro-haired boy took out his phone and glanced at the caller id.
"It's Shar."
The brunette raised her head and watched as he hesitated to answer. It was understandable. Sharpay Michelle Evans had no idea what was going on, Gabriella did say she was going to call her later on tonight and the blonde probably called everyone else too, but with everything going on, she had no intentions of calling the blonde at the moment. Not when Troy was in the hospital.
Taking a deep breath, Chad raised the phone and pressed the green button.
"Hello?"
"Danforth! Where the fuck is everyone?! You know I've been trying to call your fucking houses since five o'clock?! Do you have any idea what time it is now? Seven! Seven fucking o'clock-"
Gabriella giggled softly, hearing Sharpay screaming on the phone and Chad grimacing holding the phone far away from his ear. She reached her hand out to Chad who graciously gave the phone to her and she placed the earpiece by her ear.
"-I've been calling for two hours! I-"
"Shar…" Gabriella interrupted softly causing the blonde on the other end of the phone to stop. "I'm sorry we haven't called. Something happened."
She could hear silence in the end and the heavy breathing of the drama queen, probably catching her breath from yelling at Chad moments ago, "What happened?"
"I… we're… at the hospital.." Gabriella whispered, tears threatened to fall from her eyes again as she tried to blink them back. Shutting them tightly she winced when the blonde shrieked on the other end.
"What?!"
Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Gabriella sniffed loudly, leaning onto Chad and clutched the electronic device to her ear tightly.
"We're at the hospital." she repeated, "I'm fine, Chad's fine, Tay's fine-"
"Then why are you guys at the hospital?" Sharpay pressed confused.
"Troy got hit by a drunk driver on his way home from school." the brunette choked out. "He's the one that's in here, Shar. He's the one that's laying on a fucking hospital bed."
Silence.
"Shar?" Gabriella asked quietly. She was probably going to get yelled at by the blonde for being at the hospital for the same guy that broke her heart. Out of everyone in the group, Sharpay was probably the one that turned on Troy the harshest. Troy and Sharpay had a weird relationship, they acted like they were brother and sister, they usually argued more than Ryan did with his own twin. Sometimes people wondered if Ryan and Troy were switched at birth because the Drama Queen and the East High basketball captain seemed to balance each other out. But once she saw Gabriella run out of the hotel, finding out that Troy Bolton had broken one of her best friends' heart, it was as if Troy didn't exist in the overdramatic blonde's life anymore, it was like he was a piece of lint on her Louis Vuitton cashmere sweater and she flicked him off of her.
"Troy's in the hospital?" Sharpay repeated. Gabriella could hear the confusion and disbelief in her voice and she nodded, even though she knew Sharpay couldn't see it.
"Yeah. They-"
"I'll be right over." Sharpay interrupted before hanging up, not giving Gabriella the time to explain his condition.
Sighing, Gabriella pulled the phone away from her ear and shut it off, handing it to Chad who put it back into his pocket.
"Guess who's on her way over?" Gabriella sighed before standing up. Chad groaned in annoyance. It not that he didn't like Sharpay, it was just that she was overly dramatic over every little thing. She knew how to get on everybody's nerves and the fact that she's coming over to the hospital for Troy, after everything she said to him, pissed Chad off to no end.
"Why is she coming here when she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with Troy?" Gabriella shrugged at the question and reached her hand out to Chad. "We should go back inside. Warn everyone that Hurricane Shar is on her way over."
Nodding, he took her hand and kissed her forehead, "Just remember El, even though he doesn't remember any of us, deep down inside he does love us. He still does love you."
Shrugging her shoulders again, Gabriella pulled Chad up with all the strength she had, "Let's just go inside." she whispered softly and she led the way back inside the automatic doors, knowing that whatever waited ahead of them was going to be tough to accept.
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Sharpay Evans was always a loud child. In pre-school she was never the one to take her naps, she was exuberant, the wild child, one to go over the top. But when Gabriella mentioned that Troy was in the hospital she suddenly went quiet. Ever since middle school she and Troy didn't have a normal relationship. It was as if they were oil and water, fire and ice, and to many they would say opposites attract, right? Wrong. Ever since day one they knew they weren't right for each other. Troy couldn't stand her, she couldn't stand Troy. But a certain brunette put them together and they became close. She always went to him when Zeke was acting stupid or when her parents were angry with her for maxing out their credit cards, or when Ryan was pissed off at something she did. He was her brother. She told him everything.
Sometimes people had mistaken them for siblings even if they didn't look alike at all but they weren't. There was something about the bond between Troy and Sharpay that seemed like they were. To Sharpay, however, it was hoes over bros, always. Just like Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill had told Peyton so on Friday when she found out Troy had broken the einstienette, she was livid. he didn't know what to think when she found out. No one, not even the haters at school, had pictured Troy as a heartbreaker. On prom night. So she did the thing she thought was right. She pushed him out of her life and sided with Gabriella.
Sharpay didn't understand why the rest of their friends were still talking to him but in some way she also, kind of, understood. Of course Troy would try and explain himself to them but then again, she didn't want to hear it. No matter how close they were, Gabriella was her best friend. One of her best friends. It was always going to be hoes over bros. No matter what.
When she called Gabriella she didn't expect that kind of conversation. She didn't expect the brunette to say that she was at the hospital because Troy got hit by a stupid drunk driver. It was as if the past few days didn't matter anymore, Sharpay felt a sharp pain in her chest as she tried to digest the news. Troy was in the hospital. Her brother was in the hospital. There was only one emotion evident on the blonde's face after the phone call.
Guilt.
"What's the big emergency, Pay?" her blonde twin asked getting into her pink convertible with his composer for a girlfriend getting in behind him. Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi were practicing for their drama exam which consisted of re-enacting a play given by Ms. Darbus. They had taken a break during which Sharpay had talked to Gabriella.
After the conversation Sharpay had just told Ryan and Kelsi to get in the car and she didn't need to say it twice. Both Ryan and Kelsi could hear the fear and shock in Sharpay's voice. They still didn't know what was going on.
"Sharpay, what happened?" Kelsi timidly asked.
Resting her head on the steering wheel, Sharpay exhaled sharply before putting her car into reverse and they headed to the hospital.
"We have to go to the hospital." she started, "Troy got hit by a drunk driver."
That's all it took for Kelsi and Ryan to shut their mouths for the rest of the ride.
-----
"Is there any chance that Troy will regain his memory?" Jack asked hoarsely, soothing his wife as much as he could. It had been a few minutes since Gabriella had run out on the news and during that time the waiting room was silent except for the two four-year-olds in the corner with Taylor, playing with the various toys the hospital had to offer.
"It depends on the patient." Maria replied leaning onto her husband. "Sometimes it takes a couple of days or weeks to regain their memory, but depending on them it might even take a couple of months or years." Out of all her years as a doctor, Maria had never had to deliver news like this to people she was so close with. Yes she was a doctor and it was part of the job description but the Bolton family was like her family and telling her best friends that their son didn't remember them hurt her as well.
"Years?" Joanne choked out, wiping furiously at her eyes with a tissue she kept with her since she got to the hospital. "Can we see him, Maria? I need to see my baby…"
The older Montez woman nodded slightly, "Just follow me." she pulled away from Carlos who kissed her forehead, "I'll stay here and wait for Gabi."
"You can go ahead, Jo." Jack pushed her slightly towards the doctor. Joanne let out a shaky breath and grabbed onto Maria's hand who gave her a soft squeeze before leading her into the room where her eldest son was held.
Carlos looked over at Jack who stood rooted in his spot, "You going to be okay?" he asked the other man quietly. Jack shrugged tiredly, "Eventually. I still don't know how to grasp the idea that my son doesn't know anybody."
"Daddy?"
Both men looked up and saw Gabriella standing by the elevators with Chad behind her. Her eyes were slightly damp and her eyes were puffy and red. She was playing with the hem of her t-shirt while looking at the two best friends. Carlos held his arms out for his baby girl and she immediately went into them, holding him tightly and not wanting to let him go.
"Is everything okay?" Chad asked walking towards Taylor and engulfed her into a hug. Jack nodded slightly, "Joanne's seeing him right now-"
"And you, Coach?" the afro-haired African American wondered.
"And I still can't put my head around the fact my son doesn't even remember me."
"Do you want to go see him?" Carlos asked his daughter. Gabriella shook her head roughly, "I don't know if I want too…" she said, her voice muffled by her father's figure. "He doesn't know me dad."
"Well you should still go see him, mija. He does know you deep down inside. His head's just taking a little while to catch up and realize it's you."
"Funny, Chad said the same thing." Gabriella whispered, grinning softly.
"And Chad's right." Carlos pointed out and kissed her forehead again. "I know he hurt you, and I know it's going to take a while for you to trust him again when he regains his memory but he needs you right now. He's going to need all the help he can get."
"I know daddy…" she pulled away from her father and sighed, "I know."
-----
Troy stared at the TV screen in the corner of his room and watched as the Lakers took on the Boston Celtics. After his talk with Maria he sat for a bit wondering what was going to happen after this. He couldn't remember anything except his name and the date, Maria's face was familiar but he couldn't remember her name, he couldn't remember his parents. What kind of person forgot their own parents? Oh right. One that got hit by a drunk and ended up with the second worse possible case amnesia. He was thankful he could remember his own name. At least.
"Troy?"
His eyes moved from the television screen to the doorway where he saw Maria holding hands with someone he assumed was someone close to him.
"I have someone here who wants to see you…is that okay?" he could hear the hesitation in her voice and putting the TV on mute he nodded, "Yeah it's fine, who is it?" he asked.
Then he saw her. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders and her green eyes were full of tears. She was around Maria's age, he could see that, and judging by the hand holding of the doctor and this woman, he was pretty sure they were best friends and that only led to one thing.
His mother.
When Joanne entered the room she was scared. Her baby boy didn't know her and no mother ever wanted to hear that one of her children didn't remember her. It hurt so much. Troy was a mama's boy- not to the extent where people made fun of him- he was always just so close to her. She was the first person he talked to when he started to develop feelings for a certain best friend of his, the same girl she considered a daughter, he was the first person she went to after she found out she was pregnant with the twins. Troy was her baby, he would always be her baby but he didn't remember that.
"Hello."
She held back a sob at the formality of that one word. Her son would've never said 'Hello' to her, he would've probably said something along the lines of 'Sup Mama?' or 'Hey'.
"Hi…" Joanne let out shakily before Maria pulled her towards the bed.
"Troy, I'd like you to meet Joanne Bolton, your mother."
Seeing the pain across his own mother's face caused Troy to bit his lip harshly. He couldn't remember her and it was killing her inside, it was evident and he wished so badly that he could remember her.
"How are you feeling?" his mother asked standing a few feet away from him. She didn't want him to feel too uncomfortable. Troy raised his shoulders, "I could be better." he whispered before looking up at her, "I'm sorry…"
And that's when Joanne broke, he was saying sorry for not remembering her. She walked over to the bed and hugged him tightly and he hugged her back as much as he could. Tears started to fall from his eyes, this was one of the people that raised him and he was hurting her because he didn't know her.
Maria's heart broke at the scene, she couldn't even begin to imagine what Joanne was going through at that moment. If it were Gabriella in Troy's position she was pretty sure she would lose it. Deciding she was going to leave the two alone, the dark haired doctor made her way towards the door but stopped when she saw a figure at the door.
"Ella…" Maria whispered and watched as her daughter walk into the room. Gabriella gave her mother a soft smile and looked at the mother/son duo on the hospital bed, hugging the life out of each other. "They all told me I should see him after Joanne." she whispered back, "I was scared too, but it's okay now. Is he okay?"
Seeing a nod from her mother, she stayed where she was not wanting to interrupt the moment between Joanne and Troy. When they pulled away however, Troy broke his gaze with his mother and glanced up at the door, staring straight at her. Shifting on the balls of her feet, Gabriella didn't know what to say, they just stared at each other for the longest time. She could see the look of confusion on his face, but also a look of longing deep down inside.
"Gabriella."
Maria's head snapped up and turned toward the masculine voice. It wasn't Joanne nor herself and Jack, Carlos and Chad were back in the waiting room. There was only one person who could've said Gabriella's name and that person was currently on a hospital bed.
Troy.