Her eyes shot open as her stereo began blaring "Welcome to My Life" by Simple Plan. How appropriate! She thought. Apparently, she had forgotten to turn her alarm off, since it was Saturday. She attempted to sit up, when all of the vivid memories of the previous night filled her head. Holding back a scream, she managed to stand up and walk into her large bathroom, hoping that a warm shower would ease the excruciating pain she was feeling in the whole of her body.
"Sharpay?" her father called from the door to her room.
"Yes, Daddy?" she lifted herself from the seat she was now comfortably sunken into.
"I just got your report card in the mail, and apparently you got a C in Social Studies. Is that true?"
"Yes, Daddy." She hung her head, so she didn't see when he brought his right hand to her head and grabbed the majority of her thick, blonde hair. As she yelped in pain, he lifted her head so that their eyes locked. The blonde could tell that her father was drunk, just from the redness intruding on his piercing blue eyes.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR GRADES, SHARPAY?" she now had tears running down her soft cheeks and any person with a soul would have felt sorry for her, but Kirk Evans didn't have a soul, nor a heart.
"I'm trying, Dad! I've just been so overwhelmed lately! Give me a break!" she knew that was the wrong answer when she felt her head hit something that resembled a wall. She began to slide to the floor, but felt her arm being pulled up once again.
"SHARPAY, I WILL NOT TELL YOU AGAIN! KEEP YOUR GRADES UP, OR NO THEATRE!"
After flinging his helpless daughter across the room, so that her head hit the corner of her sleigh bed, the man vanished. She lay there, close to unconsciousness, not wanting to move, because, at this moment, she fears for her life. Sure, her father had yelled at her before, but he had never taken it this far.
Now, as she steps into the shower, even the thought of last night sends a shiver down her spine. She knows that no one can know…she knows what would happen. They'd either give her their pity, or laugh at her, and she didn't need either. She stepped out of the shower and onto the cold marble floors, and turned to face the mirror. Her body was covered with bruises on different places, most likely from hitting the ground so hard. A sting went through her body and her hand flew up to the side of her head, where there was a small gash. It wasn't bleeding any longer, but it still hurt like hell on top of the major head ache that still lingers over her from the previous night.
She searched around in all of her drawers until she found what she was looking for – Advil had become her best friend lately from all of the shouting going on in the Evans house. These days, it was mostly just her father and she in the house, considering her twin brother, Ryan, was always out somewhere. At one point in time, Ryan had been like her best friend…her only friend, actually. Now…now, she was alone.
Once she had swallowed the two small pills, she slipped on her hot pink Juicy jogging suit, put her air up in a messy bun since it was still wet, and covered her face with enough makeup to mostly cover the purple bruises. After deciding that she wanted to go visit her mother, she walked down the wooden stairs as quietly as she could, so as not to be heard. Finally, she slipped past the living room where her father was asleep on the couch and was out the front door. She took a few steps outside her house and then turned around to stare at it. It sometimes scared her at how big it was, seeing as how she was home alone a lot. The Evans' mansion was definitely the biggest house in all of Albuquerque, being three floors and on three acres of land. She looked next door and smiled; there was the Bolton house, three times as small as her own. Her life-long crush and ex-best friend lived in that red brick house…Troy Bolton.
What to say about Troy Bolton? He was only the hottest, nicest guy at East High…and she was the hottest, meanest girl at East High. They were meant to be together; it just made sense. Sharpay had her chance in eighth grade, but when the two friends got to high school, everything changed. Troy joined the basketball team and Sharpay automatically became president of the drama club, to which they still were today.
They split up. Troy started ignoring Sharpay, encouraging this dark façade that lingered over her. She got meaner and meaner, until the friends that she had, all disappeared. It was just she and Ryan now, but now, Ryan's not even there…
The engine of her hot pink Porsche Cayenne hummed as she sped along the road. She stopped, pulled into a fenced area, and got out of the car. Her steps echoed in the empty courtyard; she turned and looked down at the ground in front of her. There stood the grave of Karen Evans.
She had been thirteen years old when her mother passed away. The two Evans women had stuck together, always there for each other; always ready to catch each other when they fell. That's why it pained Sharpay the most to see her mother's lifeless body lying in the wooden casket, a blank look on her pale face.
They all thought that the heart-attacks were just minor, but they all thought wrong. They kept coming, and soon, Karen Evans couldn't take it anymore; she just couldn't hold on.
A tear slipped down the blonde's cheek just as she heard rustling behind her. She whipped around and immediately came face-to-face with that long-lost boy. Troy Bolton stared back at her with hurt in his eyes. And then, Lucy, Jack, and Baylor Bolton all appeared. Sharpay walked towards them, and Troy extended his hand; as she went to take it, they all vanished. It was all just a hallucination; why would Troy and his family be there, at the graveyard? They wouldn't.
As the tears kept rolling, Sharpay walked back to her car, a million thoughts going through her head. At least half of those consisted of the words Troy Bolton. It had been so long since she had even spoken a word to him, counting out insults. She missed what they used to have and longed for it back yet again. He had been the only one there to comfort her when her mother died; he had always been there whenever she needed him to be.
Sharpay began to drive home but stopped herself. Was she insane? She couldn't take the risk of going home right now and running into her father, not after what he did to her. So, she quickly made a u-turn and drove to the local park, which she knew would be empty this early in the morning on a Saturday. Once she had pulled into the parking lot and parked her car, she went and sat in one of the swings that were already mysteriously swinging back and forth. She pushed off of the ground with her legs and she began to float through the air, with the wind rushing through her golden blonde locks.
Sharpay had started to fall off into her own world, when she heard another rustling sound behind her, so she turned around. But this time, Troy Bolton wasn't just a hallucination; he was actually standing there, looking at her with those eyes that could control your every move. Sharpay stood up from the swing as he took a step forward, and then he spoke with that angelic voice: "What's wrong, Sharpay?" Only then did Sharpay realize that there were tears running down her cheeks again. Ignoring his question, she configured her own:
"What are you doing here, Troy?" she crossed her arms and looked down at her feet nervously.
"My dad has me running a mile every morning, so I run down here and back. You know, I've got to stay in shape for basketball season in the winter. What are you doing here?" he was trying to drill her for information.
"I don't even know really. I was at the graveyard and then I drove here. This is where I used to come all of the time when Mom first died; I guess it's just a sense of comfort." She was starting to feel more comfortable around Troy, now.
"Yeah, I understand." He walked over to the nearest bench and sat down, followed by Sharpay, who sat at the other end of it. "What happened to us, Pay?" The old pet name stung at her like bees on a flower. It had been so long since anyone had called her that.
"I don't even know how to answer that Troy. I guess we just got pulled apart by society. When we got to high school, we both went our separate ways." Her voice quaked with the thought of their last happy days together.
"Pay, I really wish we would've stuck together. You don't even know how many times I've needed your good advice or good comebacks. Do you think we could hang out together sometime?" hope filled his voice.
"I don't know, Troy. We can't just start hanging out again; it's more complicated than that. We've drifted so far apart over the years; I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Sharpay, I just want us to be friends. I hate the way we treat each other now; it cruel and unfair. Besides, my mom won't ever stop talking about how much she misses you hanging around the house all the time like you used to." They both smiled at the thought of Mrs. Bolton; she had been like a mother to Sharpay at one point in time.
"Why don't we start with dinner, sometime?"
"Hey, do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind and Baylor would love to see you again."
"Sure, that sounds great! I'm going to go home and get ready. What time should I come over?"
"Whenever, I'll be home all day."
"Alright, I'll see you in a little bit. Bye, Troy." She started to walk off but Troy caught her hand.
"Thank you, Sharpay. You don't know how much this means to me." He leaned in and softly kissed her on the cheek, making her blush. As he let go of her hand, he turned around and walked off back in the direction of his house, leaving Sharpay standing there, dumbstruck.
Once she had recovered from her brief moment of perfection, she sighed, walked back to her car, and climbed in. On the drive home, she couldn't keep her thoughts straight, resulting in her almost crashing three times. When she pulled up to her house, she was relieved to see that her father's car was missing from the driveway, so she casually got out of her car and entered the house.
Later that evening, Sharpay stood on the Bolton's front-door step pondering whether to actually ring the doorbell or not, when the door flew open. "Sharpay!" Baylor Bolton, Troy's younger sister, grasped Sharpay in a tight bear hug, almost knocking her over.
"Baylor, oh my god, you've grown so much since I last saw you! How old are you now, 23?" Sharpay joked with the thirteen-year old girl. All of a sudden, a new voice came into the picture.
"I heard Baylor scream, so I figured that you'd arrived." Troy laughed and hugged Sharpay, though not as tightly as his younger sister. "Now, how about we migrate into the house, unless you would like to stand outside." They all walked inside the house and into the Bolton kitchen, where Jack and Lucy, Troy's parents, were cooking dinner. Lucy heard the sound of footsteps coming into the room and turned around. Her eyes lit up when they landed on the oh-so-familiar blonde.
"Sharpay! It's so good to see you! How have you been?" Lucy had always been very motherly towards Sharpay, so the questions didn't bother her at all.
"I've been good. And how have you been?"
"We've all been great, but now we're even better now that you're here."
"Lucy, you know you don't have to suck-up to me, it should be the other way around, actually."
"I'm not sucking-up Missy! It's the truth. We've missed you hanging around here like you used to." Lucy gave Sharpay a quick hug and then moved out of the way so that Jack was in sight of Sharpay. Jack put his arms around Sharpay's small body and she knew it. No matter what anyone had ever said about him, Jack Bolton was the best fatherly-figure she had ever known. Lucy began: "now, who's hungry for spaghetti?!"
At the word spaghetti, the kitchen broke from its awkward silence, into a mad roar of voices and the clashing of glass. Plates were flying and knives, forks, and spoons made there way to the table. Finally, they all sat down.
Dinner went well up until Baylor whispered something quite significant to Troy. Pondering the statement, Troy turned and looked at the side of the blonde's face. There it was, peaking out from behind her several layers of foundation. There was a bruise on Sharpay's cheek that covered her whole cheekbone. Troy's eyebrows furrowed and he turned to the rest of the table. "Would you please excuse us for one moment?"
As Troy grabbed Sharpay's arm to drag her along with him to the living room, he saw her wince in pain out of the corner of his eye. He knew something was not right, and he also knew that the bruise on her cheekbone was most likely one of many.
When Troy and Sharpay reached the living room, Troy let go of Sharpay and turned to look her sternly in the eyes. "What is that?" he motioned towards the bruise on her cheek. She looked confused at first, but Troy turned her around so that she could look into the mirror on the opposite wall. Once she realized what Troy was talking about, Sharpay turned back around to face Troy with her head hanging slightly, so that she didn't have to look into his eyes.
"It's nothing…I just ran into the door and it left a bruise." She still did not dare look into his ocean-blue eyes.
"That bruise was not left by a door, Sharpay. Tell me what's going on!"
"Troy, it's nothing. Just let it go!" she picked up her head and Troy realized that there were tears running down Sharpay's cheeks.
"Sharpay, I'm just trying to help you. You can trust me, I promise. Now please tell me the truth, Sharpay. I would never do anything to you if I didn't think it was the right thing." Troy looked straight into Sharpay's eyes and he say the look in them change.
"Can we talk somewhere more private?" she motioned to the stairs leading up to the second floor and Troy nodded. As they walked up the stairs, silence fell upon the two teens; a silence that could kill. Once they had reached Troy's room and the door was shut, Sharpay sat down on the bed and began talking. "Last night, I was sitting at home just doing my algebra homework and my father came in. He started yelling at me because he had found out about the C that I got in Social Studies. He was obviously drunk, even I could tell that. Before I could say another word, he grabbed my hair and hit my head on the wall. Right before he left, he threw me on the ground and my head hit the corner of my bed. It was horrible. I felt like my life was over; I felt like ending it right then, but I knew if I did that, then other people would have to feel the pain I felt that night, and I would never do that."
Troy reached down and took Sharpay's hands, pulling her up so that she was standing in front of himself. She leaned her forehead on his chest and cried into his shirt, as he stood there, just trying to wrap his mind around everything that Sharpay had said. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He pulled away and looked into her eyes; he had to know. "Sharpay, how long has this been going on?"
"It was just last night. My father has never done anything like that before. Hopefully he never will again." Disturbing thoughts filled Troy's head and he quickly reacted.
"Sharpay, why don't you stay here tonight?" hope filled his ocean-blue eyes.
"Troy, I can't. I should be getting home anyway."
"Sharpay, please. Just one night; do this for me. Just one night." Sharpay sighed and finally made up her mind.
"Fine. I'll stay for tonight… Thank you, Troy." Troy wrapped his arms around her small shoulders and kissed the crown of her head.
"Of course, anytime. Now, I'm sure you're tired and it's getting late." He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a big t-shirt. "Here, you can wear this to sleep in."
"Thanks, Troy. I really appreciate everything you're doing for me." And with that, she left the room and went into the bathroom next door to change.
Troy walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen where everyone was standing around the island. "Mom, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course." They both walked into the living room and sat down across from each other on the couches. "What's up, honey?"
"Mom, Sharpay's dad hit her."
"What?"
"Yeah. Her dad came home last night ticked off and flipped out. She was almost unconscious and now she's covered in bruises." Troy looked down at his hands and held back a tear. He had never cried before, but it seemed like now would be as good a time as any. Lisa walked across the room and sat down next to her son, wrapping her arms around him. "I offered her to stay the night here; is that okay?"
"Of course, she can stay as long as she would like; Sharpay is always welcome in this house. Now, go on upstairs and check on her. I will talk to your dad and
Baylor."
"Thanks, mom." And with that, Troy stood up from his sitting position and ascended the stairs. He stopped outside of his room and softly knocked on the white wooden door. Not getting an answer, he slowly opened the door, trying not to let its hinges creak.
There she was, sleeping peacefully on the far left hand side of the bed. Sharpay shivered as the cold air from the fan above blew across her bruised cheeks. Walking across the room, Troy pulled the comforter up around her frail body and smiled as she snuggled down into the bed. Troy changed into his sleep shorts and a white t-shirt, and lay down opposite the blonde girl. Although the two teens had been friends for years, Troy felt if he were meeting Sharpay Evans for the first time.
The next morning, Baylor decided that she would wake Troy up before Sharpay got up, because she wanted to talk to him. Not knowing that Sharpay was also in Troy's room asleep, Baylor swung open the door, about to start singing. Then, she saw the two teens, sleeping without a stir.
She walked a little further into the room and took a closer look at Sharpay's wounds. She felt her face cringe as her eyes scanned the girl's bruised arms and face. She exited the room and went down to the living room, where her mother was reading a book. "Hey, mom. I just went up to wake up Troy and Sharpay was with him. Mom, I'm really concerned. The bruises that you were talking about are worse than I thought. Don't you think she should go to the doctor?"
"Baylor, I will never understand the teenage mind, but I can already tell you that Sharpay will refuse to go the doctor, simply because she'll have to tell him how the bruises got there in the first place. She has already lost one parent, and I highly doubt that she'll feel too kindly about losing another."
"It just doesn't feel right to let her just go on and live her life like that. Mom, what if it happens again?" Baylor really looked up to Sharpay and could not believe that this was happening.
"Baylor, I promise to you that if it happens again, I will try to do something about it. I love Sharpay like my own daughter and it hurts me as much as it hurts you to see her struggle through this, but right now I can't do anything about it." Lisa hugged her daughter.
"Okay…should I go wake them up? It's almost time for breakfast."
"Yes, please. And tell Sharpay that she is welcome to stay as long as she would like. Thank you, honey." Lisa left and went back to reading her book.
Baylor ran up the stairs and stopped in front of her older brother's room door. She slowly opened it and smiled. They were both sound asleep, just as she had left them earlier. She decided upon awakening Troy first to talk to him, and then waking Sharpay. Baylor walked into the room and placed a light tap on Troy's shoulder, making his eyes flutter open and land upon his little sister. "What's up, sis?"
"Can I talk to you, Troy?" She motioned towards the blonde still asleep, and Troy caught her drift.
"Of course." They both got up and walked into Baylor's room. Sitting on the bed, Baylor began:
"Troy, I think that Sharpay should stay here, with us." She said so matter-of-factly.
"Baylor, I wish she would just stay here too, but it's not that easy. She has a home and a family." Baylor raised her voice:
"What family? Ryan is never around and her dad-" Troy cut her off.
"Baylor! Keep it down. I don't want Shar to hear." What the two didn't know was that Sharpay was standing right outside of the room, listening to their conversation. "How about this: I'll talk to her after breakfast and see what happens, but I'm not promising anything. Sharpay is the most stubborn person that I know and she won't break easily. But I will try. Now go back downstairs and help Mom with breakfast." Troy stood up and walked back into his own room, shutting the door. When he turned around, he just stood there for a moment staring at the blonde's still body. He sat down next to her on the bed and shook her gently until her eyes opened and she had a smile on her face.
"Hey, Troy." She had to act as if she was just waking up, since he hadn't realized that she was standing outside of Baylor's room just a few moments ago.
"Hey, Pay. How did you sleep?" he said, while moving a piece of hair from in front of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
"That was probably the best night of sleep that I have ever had." She sat up in the bed and looked around. She loved the way that Troy's room looked; it was all so familiar to her. Not much around the Bolton house had changed much since she had been here years before. "Do I smell pancakes?"
"Yeah, Baylor and my mom made them earlier. How about we go downstairs and have some?"
"That sounds great, but first I should probably…" she paused. "Everyone knows, don't they?" she brushed her fingers over her bruised cheekbone.
"I'm sorry, but I had to tell my parents. I didn't know what else to do; I was so freaked out at the time. And-"
"Troy. Calm down. Its fine, I'll just have to face it like it is. Now, I don't know about you, but I am starving!" Troy laughed and followed Sharpay downstairs and into the kitchen, where everyone was just sitting down at the table to eat. Baylor looked up and caught her brother's eye, but Troy chose to ignore her. The mood at the breakfast table was very intense and no one spoke; the only movement was the scraping of plates and forks and occasional darting of eyes, mostly in Sharpay's direction.
Once breakfast was finished, and the table was cleared, Troy and Sharpay went back up to his room where they both just sat on the bed thinking. "Well, that wasn't awkward at all." Sharpay said sarcastically. "It was so quiet; I think I could hear your heart beating!"
"Oh my god, I know! It was horrible!" the two teens laughed and then Troy turned to Sharpay with a sense of seriousness. "Hey, Pay, can I talk to you about something?"
"Yeah, of course…" Sharpay got a little nervous because she knew what Troy wanted to discuss.
"I was talking to Baylor this morning and we were talking about how we both want you to stay here. I told her that I'd ask you if you would." Sharpay had to try not to look into Troy's light blue ocean eyes, because if she did, she knew that she couldn't turn him down.
"Troy, you know that I want to, but you also know that I can't. If I just stop coming home, my dad is going to know that something is up, besides the fact that you live right next door to my house."
"Would you please just consider it, Sharpay?" Troy knew begging wouldn't help, but he was out of options.
"Troy, I can't. I should be getting home, anyway." She picked up her clothes from the previous day and left the room. Walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, Sharpay ignored Troy's silent pleas. When Sharpay and Troy walked into the kitchen, Lisa, Jack, and Baylor all stopped what they were doing to look up at the two. At first, Baylor was excited, but when she saw the less-than-satisfied look on Sharpay's face and the worn clothes in her hands, Baylor knew that Sharpay had said no. "Good morning everyone!" Sharpay smiled and tried to look happy, but the disguise was not working. The room was silent for a moment, so Lisa spoke up.
"Oh, are you going home Sharpay? You know, you can stay as long as you like."
"I know, and thank you for the offer, but I should be getting home. It's been great seeing all of you again and I hope we can do this again soon. Bye!" Sharpay was trying to get out of the door as fast as possible because she could feel hot tears pressing against the inside of her eyelids. She started to walk out of the kitchen and towards the front door, but Troy took her hand and pulled her into a hug. He whispered in her ear so that his family could not hear.
"Pay, please remember that I'm always here when you need something. Don't ever be afraid to ask." Sharpay gave up on holding back the tears and let them pour quietly down her cheeks.
"Thank you, Troy." She smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek, turned around, and left the house. Troy just stood there, without moving, replaying what just happened in his head. The feeling he had in his stomach was very uncomforting and he knew that something bad was going to happen. The only thing was that he knew that he couldn't do anything now; Sharpay was just too stubborn. No, he would have to wait.
Later that night, Troy had barely said a word all throughout the day and dinner, but spoke up now: "I'm going to go over to Sharpay's house and check on her. Just to make sure she's okay." Before anyone could say anything, Troy had stood up from the table and left, slamming the heavy wooden front door in the process. He had never been so mad in his life, but he had also never been so worried. Scenarios and possibilities were playing through his head of what he would find out when he reached the house. He tried to focus his mind on something else, but it would not wonder from the small blonde girl he had come to know and love. Wait…love? Yes, he loved her; he couldn't deny it to himself any longer. Troy Bolton loved Sharpay Evans; it was just that simple.
He finally reached the long walkway to the front door, but before he continued down the slate path, he looked towards the door and something caught his eye. The front door was not shut all the way. His heart-beat increasing, Troy started to run towards the house, and not even bothering with the doorbell, he swung open the cracked door and looked around. Everything was in order, but something didn't seem right. "Sharpay! Sharpay! SHARPAY!" He screamed for her over and over, but never got an answer.
Troy ascended the marble staircase up to where he knew that Sharpay's room was, still not getting an answer from her each time he called her name. He reached the double doors that led into her room and stopped. He was deathly afraid of what he might find on the other side of those seemingly innocent white double doors. Slowly he reached out his right hand and grabbed the porcelain door handle. Turning it, he pushed on the door just enough for it to swing open about a foot; but that's all that it needed.
The color drained from Troy's face and his limbs turned numb. There, lying on the hard-wooden floor was the still body of a seventeen-year-old girl. You couldn't see her pale face because of the blonde hair covering it, but Troy didn't want to anyway. He didn't have to physically see the bruises that occupied her face to know that they were there. He built up his courage and squatted down next to Sharpay's body. Taking her wrist in his hand, he felt for a pulse. It was still there, but fading by the minute. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed 9-1-1 before calling his parents and Baylor to tell them to meet him at the hospital.
About fifteen minutes later, an ambulance had picked up the two teens and sped to the hospital, about two miles down the road. The minutes felt like hours sitting in the empty waiting room, but the nurses wouldn't let him back because he wasn't a relative and was under the age of eighteen. Until his family arrived, Troy had somehow kept himself together, but as soon as he saw them walk through that door, he couldn't help it. He stood up as his mother wrapped her arms around him; she and Baylor were already broken down into tears, and you could tell that Jack was forcing them back.
"Troy, I am so sorry. I know how hard this is for you. It's hard for all of us, but I promise that she'll be okay and we'll all get through this as a family, Sharpay included."
"Thanks, Mom, I know that she'll be okay; Sharpay's the toughest person I know." Troy let a small smile escape from his lips while he thought back on the previous times that they had spent together, but his father's voice brought him back to the world of today.
"Son, has anyone called Ryan yet?"
"No, I haven't had the guts to, but I'll call him now." Troy walked away the rest of the family and pulled out his cell phone. After hesitating for a moment, he hit the call button on Ryan's name. The phone rang three times and just about the time Troy was going to give up, he heard a distinct 'Hello?' on the other line. "Hey, Ryan, it's Troy."
"Troy?" Ryan could tell that something was wrong in the tone of Troy's voice. "Is everything okay? You seem upset."
"Ryan, you need to get down to the hospital now. I'll explain everything when you get here." Before Ryan could get another word in, Troy ended the call. A nurse had walked out of the swinging doors and was walking toward his parents. When he reached them, he overheard the nurse talking.
"Ms. Evans will be okay, but she's has some pretty serious injuries. If any of you know how this happened, we would like to talk to you, but besides that, we cannot let you back. So, does anyone want to step forward?" Everyone turned and looked at Troy for a moment and he finally gave in.
"I'll talk to whoever it is, and just FYI, her twin brother is on his way here."
"That's good to know. Thank you, Mr. Bolton. Now if you would just follow me back here, there's someone that wants to speak with you before you do anything else." Troy was confused at first, but when they stopped outside of a hospital room, he knew where he was.
"Nurse, I thought that I wasn't allowed to see her without a relative present."
"Technically, you're not, but she says that she won't see anyone until she sees you, so we really have no choice. You may go on in, Mr. Bolton."
"Thank you." He hesitated before pushing open the door and walking into the room. He turned around and saw Sharpay weakly smiling back at him. "Hey, they said that you wanted to see me first. What's up?"
"I just wanted to tell you to tell the doctors and police anything that they need to know." Troy could barely hear her words because of her hoarse voice. "I also wanted to say that I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you asked me to stay, I was in denial that he would try it again, or should I say, do it again."
"Sharpay, none of this is your fault! I should've made you stay, at least for a couple of days-" he was cut off by the soft whisper of the blonde's voice.
"Troy, I never would've stayed, even if you made me. I would've found a way out of it. It just felt so awkward at your house, and when I found out that your parents and Baylor knew, it was tough to be around them." She lowered her head and examined the bruises on her arms. The beating had been so much worse the second time and she didn't know if she could ever face her father again.
Troy and Sharpay just sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, before the room door swung open and Ryan came rushing in. "Oh my god, Shar, are you okay?" He went to hug her, but she held out her hands to stop him.
"I will be, Ry. Thanks to Troy." She smiled sideways at Troy and that was the first time Ryan even realized that he was sitting right across from him.
"Oh, hey man. Would you mind giving Shar and me a bit of privacy?" Ryan tried to sound as kind as he could, considering the circumstances.
"Of course." Troy got up to leave, but stopped and turned around when Sharpay said his name.
"Troy…" that's all she said, but then she mouthed something: I love you. Troy smiled and walked back to the side of the bed, where he kissed her softly on the forehead and leaned down to whisper something in her ear. He pulled back and saw her smile. As he left the room, he couldn't help but laugh to himself over the situation. They had just shared their I Love you's in a hospital, but to them, there seemed no better place. To Sharpay, those three words were reassuring. Those three words told her that everything was going to be alright…
Five days later, Sharpay was released from the hospital, but under one condition: She had to live under adult supervision until she turned eighteen, which was another year for her since she had just turned seventeen two weeks before. Kirk Evans was arrested and thrown in jail, without bail, after being found in a bar in Santa Fe. Ryan went to live with his friend Zeke Baylor and his family for his remaining year of high school, and four years later graduated from the University of Albuquerque with a Business degree. Sharpay went to live with the Boltons, and graduated four years later with a Musical Theatre degree from Juilliard on a full scholarship; Troy did the same.
All of there lives turned out pretty much the way they had planned, with a few bumps in the road and one very large hill, but in the end, they all learned the value of friendship. Two of them learned the value of love.
17