Chapter 13: Best Friends Graduation

POV: Gabby / Zac

Word Count: 30 39

April 18, 2009

I really just didn’t want to get up, the painting was done but it had been one hell of a week. The headaches weren’t easing much, added I was feeling tired and drained, which was making me a bitch to everyone and the paint fumes had made me so sick Monday I had to leave. Zac had taken Tuesday and Wednesday to come help me just finish it because he said the consistent paint fumes wasn’t good, the plus is cold weather was moving out so it was warming up.

By the time Zac came in and dragged me up the sun was shining bright outside.

“Baby, if you don’t get up and get ready we’re going to be late to Abigail’s graduation. She wants you there, come on.”

“I’m going to need Tylenol.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’s only been a few days Zac, that’s not enough to clear the fumes from my head.”

“Okay, you get ready.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

He’s opted for black shorts, a white t-shirt and a black and yellow checked shirt that was short sleeved. He even had his shoes on. I groaned and got up, showered and let the warm water attempt to relieve the headache. When I came out he had a suit laying on the bed, a white skirt that was below my knees, yellow tank top and a white over shirt. I got dressed but the dizzy spells were not kidding and the bra he laid out, too small so I had to find a tank top with a bra built in. I then went to the front where he mentioned just grabbing lunch there.

“Aren’t the others riding with us?”

“No. Taylor and Stella have left already, Isaac and Nicole are already in the city. Sierra and Heather left forty minutes ago and well, Abby’s already there.”

“Are we running that late?”

“Not really, but if we don’t leave in like 20 we will be seriously cutting it close.”

I got her graduation gift and we headed out, we got a driving lunch but that did not work so well for me. Between the headache and the movements, food didn’t settle very well. I would be glad when the paint fumes cleared my systems and these headaches went away. I didn’t finish breakfast, just left it in the bag because even the smell was causing me to feel weird.

“Can you turn the air on?”

“It is on.”

I looked to be sure and sure enough he had it up all the way! That wasn’t good.

“Gabby?” he asked.

“I think I’m getting sick again. Fucking hell.”

“Well, least you won’t be on the boat this time.”

“Ditto. I’m just going to…lay back.”

I reclined the seat but that just made the sickness worse, riding laying down wasn’t good so I just sat it back up. Glasses helped with the sun and I was grateful when we arrived. I did managed to eat the rest of my lunch and I sat in the car for a good ten minutes making sure it wasn’t going to come back up.

Her graduation was outside on the university’s ball field, so we found Taylor and the others and took our seats, we were currently in the shade which was perfect for my headache.

“What did she even go to school for?” Sierra asked.

“She wanted to be a teacher, so she came here to earn a degree in middle school teaching.”

“Wow, she wants the good age.” Nicole said.

“I told her she needed like pre-K or something, she said the sick kids would bother her.”

“Go figure.”

It didn’t shock me that the boys were huddled up talking about work, what else?

“Did she do an associates?” Stella asked.

“Bachelor’s, she’s thinking about a master’s but wants to have a few years under her belt before she pursues more.”

“It makes sense really, the master’s will help is she wishes to move up probably but it’s also good to see if she’s going to really like this field.”

“She did a minor in business because she said administration might be her goal, but she didn’t want to move straight to that.”

“You didn’t want to teach?” Nicole asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

I still hadn’t totally come to terms with that and we reached the year mark Monday, I wasn’t even sure how to feel about it. Dr. Cortez said to expect some bad feelings but I didn’t want to feel bad about it anymore. I didn’t notice the sun was creeping up until my legs got warm and then I realized the sun was coming around.

“You okay?” Nicole asked.

“Headache again, the drive down was not pretty. It was like the boat all over again.”

“Ouch. Tell me you’re not getting sick again.” Stella said.

“I think I am, there were a lot of days where I had to turn their heat off in that room and open windows, which meant being cold and then hot when I saw them. It was insane.”

“Did you finish already?” Sierra asked.

“Thursday. I had to leave Monday because my headache was so bad I was sick and so dizzy. I just went home. So, Zac came Tuesday and Wednesday and helped me finish it.”

I showed them photos from my phone that I had taken, I had better ones with the camera too.

“That is awesome! Snow White looks so real.”

“Mrs. Brooks was very happy with that too. She wanted realistic. But the baby beds was her favorite thing.”

“Baby beds?” Stella asked.

I pulled them up. “She asked me to personalize each one with the names, so we did like a bed feel, and at the end of each bed is their names.”

“That is so nice.” Nicole said.

“How are you handling it? I know it’s approaching time.” Sierra said.

I shrugged. “It is what it is, not much else to say Sierra. I see Dr. Cortez Tuesday she encouraged me to not lay in bed all day, but between us that’s my plan. I’m tired.”

“You look tired, looks like those headaches are bothering you too.”

“They are the worst ever.”

“Well, if they don’t go away after a few more days you need to see a doctor.”

“I will.”

We talked until the events began about their jobs, Stella was going to reopen the bookstore, but it wouldn’t be the same location because they weren’t rebuilding. She and Taylor were actually contemplating building themselves. I thought that would be a good thing for them and told her what my…well, what my sister said? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that whole situation yet.

By the time the events began though we were all in the full sun and had been for over an hour, I was drinking plenty of water but the sun was making the headache worse. Taylor had brought his very powerful camera, not that we needed it much because we had great seats. When the announcer called her name we all stood up to yell, scream, whistle and generally show our support along with her family which was even closer to her. But the moment I got up, I could feel that something was very wrong. Everything was spinning violently and I felt very light headed. I reached out for Zac and that was it.

-Zac-

I really didn’t like the number or intensity of these headaches, I would have faith and give her another week but if they were still occurring she was going to a doctor whether she wanted to or not. I was concerned with the dizziness and sickness in general, but I’d looked up headaches and those were things that could occur with these migraine type headaches.

I was glad the Brooks painting was done, because she’d been a major bitch from hell the last few weeks, being tired and the headaches were causing her to be snappy and ill and the mood swings were no joke. Taylor and Isaac saw one Friday, she was perfectly fine and dandy but some asshole called and hung up like four times when she answered and that shifted her mood extremely fast. Taylor and Isaac had text me later to make sure I was okay.

I wished I could have foreseen this sun though, but even if I had everyone was on the same side as me, so it wasn’t something I could easily avoid. Abby looked so pretty today, she had her hair curled and down, the gowns looked great on them all really. We listened through the opening but I could tell by the way Gabby was acting the sun was bothering her. The three bottles of water and then she was sweating quite a bit compared to everyone else.

Abby’s name was called and we got up but just moments after we were standing I felt her hand grab my arm and I looked at her but there was something wrong.

“Gabby?” I asked.

I barely had time to catch her before she was falling. I kept her head from hitting anything.

“Zac?” Isaac asked.

“Help me somebody.”

I couldn’t get a grip to pick her up and I think Taylor pulled a ninja move because he was suddenly there helping me lift her back up some so I could get my hand under her legs and lift her up to get out. Everyone between her and the end moved quickly and I carried her out of the sun before I laid her down on the ground.

“Gabriella?” I asked.

Taylor dumped that bottle of water over her face as carefully as he could. Isaac had run somewhere, Nicole was suddenly kneeling beside her checking her pulse.

“Her pulse is still high and she feels very warm. Keep that water on her forehead Taylor, we can’t afford for her to choke on water right now.”

Isaac found the paramedics and they took over for Nicole, checking her blood pressure and not just her pulse.

“She’s been complaining of headaches.”

“Her blood pressure is high, very high.”

They used the smelly salts which was bringing her back to us slowly.

“Where..?”

“You passed out Ma’am, you’re just behind the stands.”

They had her lay there a few more minutes before they slowly sat her up and rechecked her blood pressure. Once they were certain she was okay we went back to the stands so we could finish the ceremony, everyone asked her a dozen times if she was alright. Once the graduation was over we made our way down to the field to meet up with Abigail, how Gabriella knew exactly where to go was beyond me but she gave her a tight hug.

Yet, I could tell in Abby’s face she knew something had happened.

“You fell and I saw Zac carrying you, what happen?”

“I got too hot and passed out. Only for you. I had to liven up the place a bit.”

I rolled my eyes remembering she’d been told that when she fainted at Six Flags. There was pictures taken, people talking, she even got to meet a few of the girls Abby knew here.

“Are we still set for dinner?” Abby asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Taylor said.

“Mom? Dad? Are you coming to dinner?”

They both smiled. “We are not, it’s getting late and I’m sure you won’t mind riding back with Gabby. We just rather get back home.”

“Not a problem. They won’t mind.”

Actually, I would mind because my plan was to fuss at my wife for being so stubborn and not seeing a doctor. Then again, Abby could help me convince her.

“We don’t mind at all.” I said.

We gave Abby time to spend with her parents before we headed to the restaurant. The air seemed to help some of the color return to Gabriella’s cheeks, but I could tell the headache was still there. Isaac had made the reservations so we followed him and once we were all present we went inside, got seated, and even ordered. We then gave her the gifts. Most everyone got her gift cards to a variety of places but Gabby had not gone that route so she was shocked by the larger box.

“I don’t do gift cards.” Gabby stated.

“I know you don’t, you never have.”

She opened the box and then just stared. Gabby had gone shopping alone for her gift and had come home with a high quality teachers bag, it would be big enough to hold whatever she needed for the day, homework papers, whatever she could possibly need. It also had her Ms. Young on the side.

“I love it. How did you know I didn’t have one?”

“You never were one to be fully prepared. Now you will be, everything you may need is inside too. Folders, pens in multiple colors, including the dreaded red.”

She smiled and even checked. “The red pen of death. Love it.”

“Red pen?” Taylor asked.

“We had a teacher in middle school that only used a red pen when it was wrong. Red pen of death when you missed a lot of them, it was like blood splatter.”

“I got several of those.” Gabby said.

“Because you stopped trying, come on you passed that benchmark and shocked the poor guy.”

She shrugged. “You know he gave me another test right? Said I cheated.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Two actually because when I passed the second one he refused to believe that I didn’t, his last test was oral and I passed again.”

She shook her head. “So, how is everyone else doing? Stella, the bookstore? Nicole, how is your school going? Guys? New album?!”

We took turns and answered her as we waited for the food but I could tell her headache was getting bad again, but she did eat what she ordered which was light anyway. We then just sat here and talked a bit, we had a private room and no time frame to leave. Sierra and Heather left first, followed by Taylor and Stella. Nicole and Isaac were the last to leave and they did when the rest of us did.

“You have no luggage here? No car?” I asked.

“I took a lot back a few weeks ago when I came up, just left what I had to have. My dad brought me back, I loaded everything else earlier into their car.”

“Explains all.”

Gabby was already in the car and I slowed. “I need your help.”

“On?”

“I’ve told her four times she needed to see a doctor, she won’t listen to me Abby. She keeps telling me the headaches are from the paint fumes, which is possible. She’s been there for weeks around this paint. The dizziness and nausea can occur from the headaches and I’m betting they are, but I just want to be sure. What if it’s not the paint? What if Max’s hit in March did something. She didn’t even go to the doctor then.”

“What the fuck did Max do in March?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Fuck no.”

“When she met the Brooks she walked over and on the way back he approached her. When she refused to go with him he punched her and then he kicked her. Taylor was going down and intercepted, we filed a police report I didn’t give her an option there. I’m done with him.”

“She didn’t tell me, but I haven’t heard from him in months. When she called in November I was done but that was it.”

We got in and Gabby had her head back.

“You can both forget it, I don’t need a doctor. The paint caused the headaches, now that I’m not painting they’ll go away.”

“If they don’t?” I asked.

“Then I will.”

We started home but Abby remained mum about the doctor until we were about thirty minutes outside Tulsa.

“He has a point Gabby, paint does cause headaches but they shouldn’t maintain this degree. You’ve been feeling nauseas the whole drive. You aren’t getting sick, it’s the headaches.”

“Which is the paint. I’m fine. I just need fresh air for a few days and I don’t plan to do any painting for this week. No acrylic, no latex, nothing.”

“Gabriella Skye quit being so fucking stubborn. He told me about Max, what if he did do something that is just now manifesting itself? Don’t be stupid about this. You’ve never had headache this bad, not even when you painted. You helped Max and I repaint my parents house, not once did you bitch.”

“I was also fourteen! He hit me months ago, if I was going to develop issues from that I would have known in April!”

“Which is when your headaches began.” I said.

“I am fine. There is nothing wrong.”

“Then just humor us and go see a doctor. If you’re right then we’ll both do whatever you want.” Abby said.

I glanced back at Abby but Gabby didn’t bite even for that, instead she just ignored us both the rest of the way home. I took Abigail to her parents house where she thanked us both, told her to see a doctor, and then headed inside.

“Which one of these is the house you grew up in?”

She gave me a side glance. “What makes you think it’s any of them?”

“When I asked Abby said her parents have lived here since she was six. You met her when she was eight, if they never left then this is the street you were on.”

“I lived across the street, down two. Max lived beside us. 45 and 47.”

The house at 45 was empty, had been for years apparently since the yard was overgrown and the house was boarded up. 47 looked pristine and neat.

“Well, you don’t have to go back there thankfully.”

I went home after that, it was late and she basically went to bed the minute we got home. I know she was being stubborn, but there was stubborn and stupid, right now she was being stupid about not wanting to see a doctor. I went to bed rather late.