I stumbled sleepily out my door the next morning. Overnight, I had made a command decision…I was going to make things right with Gabby. That was the first, and only, thing on my mind.
I went to her room, but the door was open and Taylor was coming out. "Hey, Tay," I yawned.
"Hey. Ike, you'd better not go in there."
"Why not?"
He handed me the note. I read it carefully and almost collapsed. "Are you going to look for her?"
"Yeah. I'm leaving with Jason, Eric and Dad."
I wanted to go too, but I decided to stay for my sake, for her's, for Zac's, for Ellie's and for Celine's. "I'll watch over everybody while you're gone."
"We'll find her. Don't worry." Taylor put his hand on my shoulder and ran downstairs.
Dad, Eric and I covered the area for two days. Gabby wasn't at home or at any schoolmates' houses.
Three days after we had been looking for her, my dad pulled up outside some sort of youth facility. "Dad, where are we?"
"Juvenile Hall," Dad answered. "This is where Randi is."
We walked inside and asked if we could see Randi. "She's being visited by someone right now," the woman told us.
I raised my eyebrows at Dad.
We waited 20 minutes, then Gabby walked over to the door. "Gabby!" I yelled.
Gabby whirled around, her backpack swinging behind her as I ran to her.
"Gabby, where have you been?" I demanded. "Ellie is going insane at home and you scared everyone to death!"
"There were things I needed to do," she said simply as Dad and Eric came over. "I'm ready to go back now."
I decided to ask questions later. My only thought was getting her home to Ellie and Ike.
"Where is she, Zac?" I screamed. For the past few days, I hadn't stopped crying. Gabby was my best friend in the whole wide world. She knew me better than anyone. She always knew how to comfort, how to make me laugh.
"Shh, sweetie, shh," Zac said, drawing me close for the ten billionth time. At night, when I couldn't sleep, he would sing and hold me. If I hadn't known him, I probably would have gone crazy…if I hadn't already.
"Ellie?" a soft voice said. My head shot up and I saw Gabby standing there. Fresh tears filled my eyes as I ran to her side and hugged her. "Ellie, I'm fine. Don't worry, okay? I would never hurt you. You know that."
"Hey, Gabster," Zac said.
"Hey, Zacmeister." I smiled. My best friend was back!
"Man, what a chore," I said to Ike. "She was with Randi." Ike's eyes held unspoken questions. "Don't ask me why."
"At least she's all right."
I turned to him. "Ike…why are you being so stupid? What can I do to make you see that the perfect girl is right in front of you? I can't believe you. Do you know what Gabby has been through? Can't you see she needs you?"
I was never answered.
I was so glad Ellie wasn't mad at me. It was well after midnight, and we were still up, talking. Randi hadn't been spoken about yet. Ellie was telling me about Zac as Live From Albertane played in the background.
My heart was crumbling more every second at the sound of Isaac's voice. From the moment I first discovered Hanson, I was drawn by an invisible force towards him. Not the superstar Isaac Hanson…it went way deeper than that. That was something Ellie had never understood.
"Oh, Gabby, he was being so comforting, but it wasn't the same as you," Ellie said, unwrapping another candy.
I smiled. "You and Zac seem to really…"
My voice trailed off as More Than Anything came on. Isaac's beautiful voice filled the room.
"Gabby?" Ellie prodded.
I began shaking and then burst out into tears. My heart was broken. It was with Isaac. It always had been. I couldn't stop. I could barely breathe or see straight.
"Gabby!" Ellie's choked voice breathed.
I had to get out of there. I couldn't let Ellie see me go hysterical, not when I had to be strong for her. Almost collapsing out of fear, I climbed to my feet and bolted from the room, my tears dripping to the carpet.
Food…food…food…I lay in my bed, groaning inwardly. Why was I always so hungry?? I debated whether I should get up and of course my stomach won. I slid out of bed and crept downstairs. After a bowl of cereal, I rinsed my dish and headed back upstairs. Thump! Right in front of my door, I ran smack into Gabby. I noticed tears falling from her eyes like a downpour of rain.
"Celine," I burst out. "I need your help…Ellie…she…" I trailed off, unable to speak.
Immediately, Celine jumped up and hurried to Ellie's side while I hung back in the doorway.
After a few moments of anxious waiting, Celine came to me. "All I got was that Gabby went into hysterics. I'll stay with Ellie. Why don't you go see how Gabby is?"
I peeked around Celine to smile at Ellie, then went off down the hall.
Gabby's room was dark as I crept in. I noticed her huddled in a ball on her bed. I stopped for a moment, watching and gathering my thoughts. I had no idea what to say to her!
Finally, Gabby noticed me standing me there. "Hey, Zac," she said, weakly sniffling.
I went to her side, still not knowing what to do. "Ellie's upset," I said. "Celine's with her right now."
"Oh." Gabby bit her lip. "I shouldn't be doing this. It upsets her too much. Maybe I need to go talk to her."
I nodded. "I think she'd like that." Gabby and I headed back over to Ellie's room.
Celine had helped me up onto my bed and now I lay curled in her arms, my head resting under her chin. I tried to talk, but nothing seemed to come out. Inside, I hurt too much. I felt upset, sad, angry and desperate. I really wanted to help Gabby, but nothing seemed to work.
Celine rambled on, softly trying to sooth me. "Ellie, maybe we're going in the wrong direction." This sparked my attention. "Maybe Gabby needs to work this out for herself. We've been putting so much pressure on both Gabby and Ike. I guess we should let fate work it out…there's a power higher than any of us understand and it will work everything out the way it's supposed to be whether we like it or not."
I nodded and realized that Celine was probably right.
Celine continued. "After what Gabby and Ike have done to each other they might never be able to have a strong relationship."
Secretly, I felt that if the two of them could forgive and forget, everything would work out.
Celine seemed to read my mind. "Sometimes it's too late. Sometimes it's too painful to forget and too painful not to forget. That's when forgiving can be hard…" Celine trailed off as Zac and Gabby walked into the room.
Gabby spoke first. "I'm so sorry, Ellie. You're my best friend, and I'm hurting you."
"No," I finally spoke. "It's the rest of us who have been wrong. We've been forcing you into something that maybe you're not ready to face. From now on, we're going to stop putting you and Ike into situations that make you uncomfortable."
Gabby and I both hugged each other. In Gabby's eyes, I could see relief that we would stop forcing her but there was something else too. Something I sensed more than I saw. This scared Gabby because now she was all alone with no one pushing for her to get back together with Ike. She knew it would probably never happen.
