Unfortunately this story is based on something that happened in real life.
Sharpay downed her fourth scotch as her friends giggled and talked about the movie they all just watched. She wasn't really paying any attention to them, lost in her own thoughts about the way her life has been going lately.
"Man Shar, I can't believe how great you were," her friend Greg told her. "To the first of many roles!" The group all clinked their glasses of preferred poisons together.
Sharpay just smiled, "Thanks." To them, she had it all. Not only was she a news reporter for the local news station, she had just landed her first role on the big screen. It wasn't a big part but it was something (that is if you counted being a NEWS anchor playing a News anchor something). Even though she had taken the first step to the start of her dream career, she couldn't help but still feel empty inside.
All of her friends had something going for them. Greg was married and had two children he always showed off in pictures, Sandy was engaged to a lawyer, Hannah got her big break in advertising, and Bret had a newborn baby at home. Sharpay, well, she had 4AM wake-up calls to get to the News Station and traveled all over the state to report on the ins and outs of what was happening in different places. She wasn't married or even dating, she hadn't had a serious relationship in years.
Of course she knew the rumors that had been going around the station for years. No one hired a college sophomore with no experience unless she put out, but that was far from the truth. Sharpay was only hired because she told the station she could work immediately and they were desperate to fill the job. From there, she worked her way up the old fashioned way. When a new job opened up, she applied for it. Now she was at the top of the ladder at the age of 26.
As the clocked ticked, her friends dissipated, leaving behind Sharpay and Hannah. "Come on," Hanna pleaded, "let's go clubbing or something!"
Sharpay checked her watch and frowned, "I can't, I have to head to work in a few hours."
"You wouldn't even be able to get in 2 hours of sleep, come on, please?" Hannah didn't give up easily. Out of the group of friends, Hannah was as fired up as her bright red hair.
"Oh alright," Sharpay gave in, "but if I go on TV with bags under my eyes you're gonna get it." The two got up and paid their tab. They didn't bother with hailing a cab, the nearest nightclub was only two blocks away. They didn't have to wait long in line, or even pay to get in.
"I call that one over there!" Hannah yelled over the music as she pointed to a tall blonde in the corner. "Loosen up, Shar, just have fun!"
"Yeah, yeah," Sharpay waved off her friend, "I think I know how to have fun!"
Truthfully, Sharpay hadn't had any late nights out in a long time and had been tucking herself in bed every night at 9PM. She sat down at an empty table and ordered herself a bottled water, thinking she had enough to drink for the next year.
Sharpay scoped the room looking for anyone she might know, the only familiar face she recognized was Hannah's and she was currently grinding against the blonde she had called dibs on.
"Have I met you before?" Slurred a dark haired man with a scruffy beard who reeked of cheap beer.
Sharpay cringed and tried to struggle to get away from him as he pulled her close, "I don't think so."
The man gripped her tighter, "Are you sure? You look awfully familiar." He wrinkled his face as he concentrated on where he knew her from, "Oh I know, you're that pretty chick on channel 7 NEWS."
"Er, Thanks," Sharpay said as she still stuggled to get away from him.
The man rubbed his hand up Sharpay's thigh, "If it weren't for your pretty face, I'd never watch the NEWS."
"I'm glad you like the show and all," Sharpay told him as she started to panic, "but I really need to get going." Sharpay quickly gave him a shove and ran off, not giving him time to stop her.
Sharpay looked all over the club for Hannah but couldn't find her party-loving friend anywhere. "Just great," Sharpay mumbled as she walked outside and was hit with the crisp air. The streets were deserted and Sharpay knew she wouldn't find a cab this late at night. Even though it was the city, public transportation wasn't very popular in their state yet. Snuggling her jacket tighter to her body, Sharpay took off in a brisk walk towards her town, bracing herself for a three mile walk.
As Shapay got closer to her home, she spotted another man putting his trashcan out by the street. He was looking in her direction but seemed to be looking past her. Nervous, Sharpay turned to see what he was staring at but saw nothing but an empty street.
The man stepped nearer to her and the first thing she noticed were his ocean blue eyes. He didn't appear scary.
"Excuse me mam," he quietly said as he stopped a few feet in front of her, "I don't want to frighten you but it looks like you have a follower."
Sharpay took another glance behind her and saw the shadows from the trees and got an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"He's hiding now," the man in front of her said, "would you like for me to give you a ride?"
Sharpay chewed her lip. She didn't want to trust a complete stranger but she didn't want to be caught by the person following her, which she assumed to be the man from the club.
The man saw her dilima, "My name's Troy," he told her and streached out his hand to shake her's.
"Sharpay," she smiled.
"If you would like, we can sit on my porch until he goes away or I could always call the police," Troy suggested.
"The police is a bit extreme," Sharpay thought aloud, "but if you don't mind sitting out with me?"
"Sure," Troy said as he shrugged his shoulders, he didn't have anything better to do.
After a few minutes of silence, Sharpay felt the need to start a conversation, "So we know one another's name, but what is it that you do Troy?"
"I'm a journalist for The Leaf Chronicle, I write the sports column," Troy told her. "What about you?"
Sharpay laughed, "Really, you write for the newspaper?"
Troy gave her a curious look and nodded his head.
"I work for the Channel 7 News station," She told him, "funny how we both have NEWS related jobs."
Troy laughed too, "Yeah, what a coincidence. I thought I knew you from somewhere, I wake up to you every morning." Troy blushed when he realized what he just uttered out, "I mean…"
"I get what you mean," Sharpay giggled.
After a moment of silence, Troy spoke up, "So are you always such a big celebrity?" He was referring to the stalkerish guy that was following her earlier.
"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes, "like being an anchor woman classifies as being a celebrity."
"Well you are on TV every day," he reasoned, "I think that counts."
"I'm a real Hollywood star," Sharpay joked.
Troy laughed, something that came easy with this woman he just met. They were talking as though they were old friends. As their conversation continued, they shared stories about their past, even including sour relationships and what their hobbies were. They laughed about embarrassing stories that their mothers would normally tell in new company. They proudly whipped out their wallets and showed off pictures of their nieces and nephews, both wishing they could see them more often as they lived farther away.
Sharpay wiped her eyes from laughing so hard and checked her watch, it was nearly 3 in the morning and her mother would be calling her soon for her wake-up call. She hated that they would have to bid farewell so soon after meeting.
"I think he's gone," Sharpay said as she took a peek around Troy towards the trees. "I have to get home and get ready for work."
Troy frowned and followed her glance, "My offer to take you home still stands."
"Nah," she smiled, "I think I have bored you enough for one night."
"You didn't bore me Sharpay," he told her truthfully, "I actually enjoyed your company."
"Me too," She agreed, "maybe we could do this again?"
Troy's eyes bugged out, he couldn't believe his luck, "Yeah, I'd love that." He pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket and snapped a picture of the beautiful blonde in front of him as she did the same. "Here," he said handing over his phone, "give me your number."
Sharpay passed him her phone and quickly typed her number into his cell and saved it to his directory.
Sharpay made her way off of his porch and turned back towards him, "See you around Troy." She gave him a small smile and awkwardly waved goodbye to a man who had been a complete stranger an hour ago.
Troy returned the smile, "Yeah, see you Sharpay."
Troy watched her walk down to the end of the street until she was no longer in his view. He felt a little sad that she was gone, though as he walked in his front door he told himself that he would definitely have to see her again. Who knows, maybe they'll even get to go out on a date.
Kicking off his shoes, Troy shrugged out of his jacket and put it on a hook next to his door. After climbing into bed, he grabbed his remote and turned his TV on to create a soft glow in the room. Before he could fall asleep, his phone beeped on his nightstand, alerting him that he had a text message. He smiled when he checked it.
"Can you meet me at Starbucks on South Main St. at 9AM later?"
-Sharpay
Troy quickly replied a "Yes, I'll meet you there" and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning Troy stepped out of his shower just as he always did, only this time he slipped on the wet tile and banged his knee on the vanity. He swore under his breath, so far he had stubbed his toe on his nightstand, shut his finger in his dresser, and now he could add another injury to the list. Today just wasn't his day. He was also running late for his coffee date with Sharpay. It was 8:45 and he knew he would never make it on time.
Not having any time to think too much on his outfit, he pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a blue and tan stripped polo. Troy grabbed his keys and jetted to his car, he was pretty sure he broke a half a dozen laws by the time he made it to Starbucks.
One glance in the shop told him Sharpay had not made it there yet. "Good," he thought to himself, he wouldn't have wanted her to wait on his slow self.
Troy frustratingly looked at his watch for the umpteenth time, he had been waiting for Sharpay to show up for almost an hour now and he was already on his third cup of coffee. Feeling rejected, he left the café and made his commute to work.
On his way to his desk, Troy stopped in at his friend's desk to see what she was up to. "Hey Taylor, whatcha working on?"
Taylor dried her teary eyes on a tissue before looking up at Troy, "What did you say?"
Troy frowned and kneeled by the dark skinned woman, "What's wrong, Tay? Those pregnancy hormones finally getting to you?"
"Maybe," she shrugged, "but I just got back from the hospital for my new assignment." Tears started leaking from her eyes again. "It was terrible Troy, just terrible…that poor woman."
Troy was a little confused, "What woman?"
"Where have you been Troy?" Taylor asked, flabbergasted, "It is all over the news, and we had a meeting about it earlier…you really don't know what is going on?"
"No," Troy replied, shaking his head, "I came in late, I was supposed to be meeting someone this morning."
For a moment Taylor forgot all about her earlier hospital visit, "Would this someone happen to be a girl?"
Troy rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, "Yeah, but before you get too excited, she stood me up. I waited an hour for her and she didn't show up."
"Hang in there," Taylor told him, "you'll find someone."
"I sure hope so…but I would have liked to get somewhere with her. Maybe something came up." He was trying to convince himself that she just got caught up at work or something. "Anyway, what about this woman that you were talking about?"
"Oh, it's just terrible Troy."
"Yeah, I think you already established that a minute ago." He inturupted her.
"This woman was beat and stabbed early this morning in her own home and left for dead."
Troy cringed, "Any motive?"
Taylor shrugged, "The police think it was a random robbery because her purse was stolen. Her credit card was used earlier at a gas station a mile from her home. It is terrible to think that she is clinging onto her life just over a couple gallons of gas."
"You are right, that is terrible," he agreed, "but why the meeting?"
"Oh, yeah," Taylor said, getting to the point, "She's a high-profile anchorwoman."
All the color in Troy's face drained and his legs turned to jello. "Her name…what is her name?"
"Are you okay Troy?" Taylor asked him, "You aren't looking too good."
"WHAT IS HER DAMN NAME?!" He shouted. He didn't mean to raise his voice at Taylor but he was just worried…
"Sharpay, Sharpay Evans," Taylor's eyes were wide, Troy was usually gentle with everyone.
Softer, Troy asked, "What hospital?"
"Gateway."
Troy nodded, "Can you ask Jimmy to cover my articles for today?"
"Sure Troy," Taylor told him. She was confused as to why this news would affect him the way it did. It upset her too but she just didn't get why Troy would be so worried about her, it was like he knew her.
"If he asks, tell him I'll be at the hospital."
Taylor nodded her head and watched her friend leave the office in a hurry. Taylor laid her head in her hands and prayed a silent prayer for the young woman she saw earlier laying life-less in a hospital bed, then she remember the words the investigators told her…"Don't tell the whole truth."
"Sharpay Evans' room number please?"
The nurse on duty at the front desk squinted her eyes at him, "You are the 50th person to come in here asking for her today. Unless you are family or from a reliable press source, you will never get beyond this desk.
Troy quickly pulled out his press badge out of his bag, granted it was for sports but the nurse didn't have to know that. He flashed it towards her, "The Leaf Chronicle."
The nurse gave him Sharpay's room number and directions to get there. He didn't make it three doors away before police stopped him, asked him a bunch of questions and threw what looks like a contract in his lap. Troy filled it out, willing to do anything to get in there and be with Sharpay.
Basically the contract only allowed Troy to give minor details in the case if he were to do an article about it. He could only state he she had been beat, stabbed, and robbed and that police were investigating her house to find evidence in order to put the bastard behind bars. Other than that, he was not allowed to tell the public the whole truth until the investigators gave him the go-ahead.
"Let's make it quick," one of the officers told him as he handed over the paperwork, "her mother and brother just left to get coffee."
The officer followed him in the room. Troy took a deep breath and turned away from the sight before him. It was worse than he could have imagined.
Tears started flowing from Troy's face, "I feel the same way you do," the officer told him, "it is tragic. Get your notepad out and I'll go over the details with you."
Troy was glad he had brought his bag with him, or else the officer would have thrown him out if he had realized he wasn't exactly the right kind of press. He grabbed his favorite ink pen and flipped his notepad to its first empty page.
Once the police man noticed Troy was ready, he began. "The crime happened between 2 and 4:30 AM. She was last seen with a friend at a club, witnesses at the club saw her leaving right before 3 in the morning and she appeared to be walking home. We checked her phone, she had texted someone at about 3:30 about meeting her for coffee. When her mother called her at 4:30 to make sure she was up, she didn't get an answer so she drove over there to make sure she hadn't forgotten to set her alarm for work. Her mother found her on her bed in a pool of her own blood. The mother called 9-1-1 and got her here to the hospital."
The older man shook his head sadly before he continued, "She was raped, beaten, stabbed, and robbed. We're not sure on the weapon but all the bones in her face were broken, she was beat so hard her jaw and all her teeth were knocked out." Troy kept controlled himself from running over to her bed and holding her in his arms. "Her arm was crushed, we believe she was using it to shield her head. The guy made deep incisions on her breasts and thighs and she lost quite a bit of blood. We've had a lot of people down at the Red Cross donating blood for her. She is currently unconscious and on life support, very little chance she will ever come out of it and even if she does, she will be in a vegetive state."
Troy felt his throat close up, the tears were already flowing freely down his face. The door opened up behind them and in walked two blondes, the woman was older and the man about Troy's age looked like a male version of Sharpay. Troy gathered that they were the mother and brother the police officer was talking about. The mom acted like she didn't notice them in the room, she moved to her daughter's side and placed her hand softly over Sharpay's bandaged arm. The brother however, stared right at Troy and walked right up to him.
"You're Troy," he stated.
Troy shuffled his feet, "How'd you know?"
"Your picture was on her phone," he answered.
The officer looked at Troy questioningly.
"I know her, we met last night."
"So you are not a journalist?" He looked like he was about to call in security and throw him out…or worse, throw him in jail.
"I'm a sports writer," he confessed, "I just had to check up on her. We only talked for about an hour but I feel like I have known her my whole life."
"Maybe you could answer a few questions," the officer said, "When did you see Sharpay last night?"
Troy had to think about what time it had been when he threw his trash out, "A little after 2 in the morning, I had a long drive from the basketball game last night and when I got home I took my trash out so it could be picked up by waste management today. I noticed Sharpay walking towards me but I realized she wasn't alone."
The officer's eyes widened at Troy's revelation, "Wait right here, don't say anything until I come back." He rushed out of the room only to return a few seconds later with a tape recorder, "Okay, go on."
"Well I noticed a shadow of a man in the trees a little way off, as she got closer, so did the figure. I think he realized that I saw him and he ducked behind a tree." Troy paused, wondering what else the man wanted to know.
"Go on, what happened then?"
"I approached her and let her know that someone was behind her. I offered her a ride but since we were strangers, she wasn't sure if she could trust me. We sat on our porch and talked until we saw the man walk away. She figured she was safe and continued on her way back to her home, but we traded numbers before she left so we could see each other again." Troy ran his hands through his hair, "She texted me once she got home and asked to meet her at Starbucks. I guess now I know why she wasn't there."
Ryan, Sharpay's brother, allowed Troy to stay with Sharpay once the police were done questioning him. For most of the day Troy sat in a chair in the corner, giving the family their time with her. Nurses and doctors were constantly coming in and out of the room, checking vitals. One daring doctor came in and talked to Mrs. Evans about donating her organs. Troy had never seen security throw someone out that quickly. People Sharpay worked with came and went as well, they said their goodbyes and kissed her forehead.
After a few days, articles about the crime started slowing down thanks to the police wanting to keep a low profile. By the fourth day, Police asked Taylor to do an article on how the doctors where stating that Sharpay was going to make a full recovery. That was far from the truth, her brain continued to swell and she was already brain dead before day 2 was even over. On day five, a day after the article about her "recovery" Mrs. Evans filed the paper work to get her organs donated, and the plug was pulled.
As Troy let go of Sharpay's cold, dead hand, he didn't say his goodbyes, he refused to do so, yet he did say "See you around, Sharpay."
Just that one hour he spent with her, changed everything. He could never imagine his heart feeling whole again, a chunk of it seemed to have died along with Sharpay, the hurt constantly reminded him of what he'll never have.
Rest in peace Anne Pressly: 1982-2008. May your murderer rot in hell.
I had wrote most of this story back in October and I was really hoping for a nice ending but once I realized the police was hiding the details, I knew it wasn't going to be good. It was super early on Thanksgiving day when Police caught the bastard who did that to her, I found out as soon as it happened. I can't wait until his trial, then we'll get some much needed answers. Random robbery my ass.
Oh yeah, I didn't come right out and say it in the story but the guy from the bar followed her home, he was the one who murdered her. I hope it was implied.