Freedom

Summary: We'd been dating for a year and a half, but I still didn't let Troy get to cozy. Why? Well, I've got a secret. I know, everyone's got secrets. But mine is worse than most people's. Gabriella's POV.

Note: This isn't a very happy fiction, just to let you know. This is what I get when I read the depressing but awesome book "3 NB's of Julian Drew" and talk abortion with Macy. So that's a warning. There is a happy ending, but you know, there's not enough Troyella angst, is there? (that was sarcasm). So enjoy, and maybe, possibly (hopefull! this is my goal) cry! Without further ado:

"Gabriella? Can I come in?" I heard my madre ask.

"Sure mama," I call back to her.

"So...Troy's coming over again."

"Yeah...so..."

"Well...he left awfully late yesterday...I just want to make sure you two are-"

"NO! We are not having this talk! Madre, he hasn't even seen my bra strap yet, there's no way we're doing anything!" I yelled at her. She looked at me apologetically.

"I'm just making sure! You don't want to wind up like your cousin Maria! Married with three kids by the age of twenty and only been married two years! Colleges look at that type of thing!" my mom explained.

"Mama, I'm already in Stanford!"

"I know, but you might want to go to a different college one day. To study something else. It's what your cousin Dorinda did!" she reminded me.

"I know! I'll think about that later," I told her. She gives me a look. "We're not doing anything!" I insisted. She smiled at me.

"I trust you my little one. I know you'll do what you think is best. I'm just here to make sure you remember your options," mom tells me.

"I know mom, I love you for looking out for me! Go, he should be here soon! Come on, hurry!" I said motion for her to leave.

"You know that's what your cousin-"

"I know that's what cousin Andrea said before she had sex when she was my age! I'm not Andrea, now go!" I yelled at her. Her face broke into a grin.

"I'm going. But one more thing...that was your cousin Guadeloupe that said that. Andrea was the smart one!" then she ran out. "Oh! And tell Troy he can use the door whenever he feels like it!" I smiled. He hadn't used my door in nineteen months; I doubt he was going to start now. I heard a rapping on my window. I turned around. It was Troy.

"You know Troy there's this whole new invention, it's really catching on," I told him. He kissed me quickly.

"Oh really? And what would that be?" he asked.

"A door. I know it's a foreign concept to you, but it really works!" I said, smiling.

"Yeah, well, you know me, I'm an old-fashioned guy, doors and all that new-aged stuff just isn't my style," he said, smiling just as big. He's got the most heart-stopping smile I've ever seen. I love it. His teeth are so white too! I know, weird, but my teeth used to be yellow, so I notice these things.

"Just a suggestion. Sit down stranger, stay a while, I swear I don't bite!" Troy took off his jean jacket and plopped down on the floor. I sat down next to him.

"I can see that you are almost completely packed," he said, looking around my almost empty room.

"Yup. What about you?"

"Now, we all know I don't pack until the last minute!" he said laughing.

"So what do you want to do? Oh! I have this new book it's called The Charlie Bone and the Hidden King. It's by Jenny Nimmo. Well, actually, it's not new, I read a long time ago, but I just bought it. It's about this girl and-"

"Gabriella, if there's one thing I don't want to do on our third to last day before leaving to go to college, it's talk about a book!" Troy told me. I smiled at him.

"Okay fine. What about-"

"What about we..." he cut me off and kissed me. Long, slow, unhurried, like he had all day to kiss me.

"I guess that'll work," I mumbled.

"And this..." Another kiss, more demanding, more deep. He pulled me closer to him so he could kiss me easier. "No offense Gabriella, but your floor is very uncomfortable," he mumbled as he moved to my neck. I got up and pulled him over to my big fuzzy chair. He smiled and continued on my neck. I played with his hair for a bit. He put both his hands on my waist and next thing I knew he was sitting on my lap, kissing my lips again. Wait, where's this going? Am I going to be like cousin Guadeloupe? Well, I always liked her. Andrea annoyed me a lot. I thought. Suddenly, I felt Troy's hands on my skin...the skin on my stomach. AH! My shirt's off. Wait, do I care? Or don't I care? I'm not sure. Before I could decide where I stood on this subject, I noticed that Troy's shirt had somehow come off as well. He put his hands on my back and continued kissing me. Oh crap, don't touch my- OW! I gasped out loud. He pulled back.

"What? What's wrong?" Troy said, looking concerned.

"It's nothing, nothing."

"Gabriella?"

"You touched my uh...bruise." Troy looked at me.

"What bruise?"

"It's just this stupid bruise I've got, it's nothing," I said hurriedly.

"Let me see," he said. He got off of me and turned me around. "Gabriella! That's more than a 'stupid bruise'! It's a freaking scab, and fresh one at that! What's going on?" he asked, concern written all over his face. I looked at him. Should I tell him? He deserves the truth...but madre. If I tell, mama will be in so much trouble. I might never see her again. They'll say she wasn't looking out for me. But she was! But...my madre.

"I was trying to do some cartwheels in the backyard, and I bumped into the hammock. It hurt like crazy. I'm fine!" I insisted. Troy looked at me.

"There's no way you can get that from a hammock. It's huge! It looks like...it looks like someone hit you and got a little carried away."

"Who do you think hit me?" I yelled at him. I grabbed my shirt from off the floor and put it back on.

"Well..." he trailed off. My blood boiled over.

"NO! My madre would never do something like that! She loves me!" I yelled at him.

"Well who else is there!" he yelled back. Then I swear I saw the light bulb go off. "That scab is roughly a week and half old. Your...dad was here roughly a week and a half ago," he said slowly. I looked at him.

"My dad doesn't hit me," I said. It was the truth.

"I didn't hear that he loves you part and you didn't sound very convincing Gabby," he said. I could feel tears start to build up. I didn't say anything. "Gabriella?"

"Don't tell anyone!" I yelled at him.

"Don't tell anyone what? What's going on Gabriella?" he asked. I could tell he was getting scared.

"My dad...he used to hit my madre. For the stupidest things. One day he went too far and our next door neighbor called the cops. My madre's job transferred her somewhere else. But he got out of prison and came back. He started hitting her again, and she's not as strong as she used to be! So I...told him to stop...told him...he could take it out on me instead..." I recounted, crying. I sat down on my bed. Troy grabbed his shirt and sat next to me. His knuckles were turning white; he was clutching his shirt too hard.

"But he didn't hit me..." I said, crying. I put my head in my hand. I was so ashamed. "He..." I couldn't go on. I couldn't repeat it. If I did, it made my nightmare all the more real. Troy looked at me, his eyes cold.

"Gabriella...did he..." he couldn't get it out. "...did your dad...rape you?"

"Yes." I whispered it.

"Why didn't you tell your mom?"

"That's where I got this scar from. I threatened to tell, and he pushed me into the table in the kitchen. He said if I told, he'd hit again. He scared me so much, I didn't say anything. You can't tell anyone either! If he finds out he'll hurt her so bad!" I sobbed.

"Gabriella! He's raping you! You can send him to jail!" Troy yelled, jumping up.

"NO! He escaped once, what's to say he won't escape again?" I yelled back.

"GABRIELLA! HE'S RAPING YOU!" Troy screamed.

"I told you not to tell anyone," a voice said. Crap. He heard.

"Papa, I'm sorry. Don't hurt mama!" I pleaded.

"Well, as long as your boyfriend doesn't tell, I won't do anything," he compromised.

"To hell I won't tell. I'm going down there right now!" Troy said, heading toward my balcony. Papa ran toward Troy.

"TROY LOOK OUT!" I screamed. Troy turned around, but not fast enough. My papa hit him. "STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I screamed.

"Shut your mouth!" he screamed at me. I ran towards Troy. He was breathing, that was a good sign.

"Gabriella? What's going on?" my mom called.

"Nothing madre!" I yelled frantically. I remembered something we set up years ago. If I was ever in trouble I should call her mother. "Troy was just being an idiot, mother. The goofball hit his head on my stupid curved ceilings mother." I yelled. I hope she remembers.

"Okay," she yelled. I hope that was really good acting.

"Don't hurt him anymore. Please," I sobbed quietly. Papa looked at me.

"I don't know," he said, smiling. I've got to hate that smile.

"Please. He just wants to look out for me," I explained. Come on, the police station is just around the corner! I tried to buy some time.

"Look...if you let Troy go...I'll...I'll stay with you for three days," I said, cringing as I said it. Troy's eyes fluttered.

"Gabby? Don't-"

"Shush! Please, Papa, just don't hurt him," I pleaded. He looked at me.

"Three days, huh? Well..." I heard the doorbell. "What was that?" He looked at the door nervously. "You called the cops didn't you?"

"NO! I didn't I swear!" I said frantically. He walked closer. He pushed me away and grabbed Troy by his hair. "NO DON'T!" I yelled. I looked at my bed. There was Charlie Bone sitting on my bed. It was a relatively thick book...I grabbed it.

"What are you-" SMACK! I brought the book down on his head. He passed out, dropping Troy. I ran over to him.

"Troy! Troy! HELP! We're up here! HELP!" I screamed. I heard thundering footsteps.

"GABRIELLA! Oh, mi carazon!" my madre screamed. The cops ran to my dad and grabbed him. Another ran to Troy.

"We've got it from here. Don't worry, we'll take care of it," the woman said, smiling.

"But...my dad...he escaped before! If he gets out, I have to be there to protect Troy!" I told her, holding on to Troy.

"Honey...I know what it's like to have someone do that to you. This psycho guy. He came back and my boyfriend defended me. I felt the same way. I'll take care of him," she said. I looked into her eyes. All I saw was the truth.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Eve Jackson,"she said. I looked at Troy.

"Take care of him, hermana," I whispered. She smiled at me.

"I will."

Now I'm sitting outside Troy's hospital room. I'm waiting for the doctor to say it's okay to come in.

"Gabriella?!" I hear someone yell. I look up. It's the cop.

"Hi," I say hesitantly.

"I've got great news. Your dad was found guilty and he's being put in a penitentiary in Oklahoma. And...I got your test result back," she says. I looked at her. "You're not pregnant."

"Thank you!" I yell. I throw my hands around her neck.

"No problem. Look, if anything happens, if you need me for anything, here's my number," she says, taking out a scrap of paper and pen.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah. And not just cop stuff either. If you just need to talk," she says.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Gabriella...after I was raped, I didn't talk to anyone for months. I was traumatized. I talked to this doctor though, and I felt better. I felt like maybe...there was a bit of good left. The doctor referred me to this place where there a bunch of other victims. All of them thought that they were alone, but we weren't. It happens," she whispers. I look at her.

"Thank you...for everything."

"Anytime." Eve says, hugging me.

"Miss Montez? You can come in now," the doctor says.

"Okay."

"Just a quickie," Eve says.

"What's up?"

"Montez? Is that..."

"My mom's maiden name."

"Right. And what about hermana?"

"It means sister," I tell her.

"Oh...cool," she says. "He's waiting for you," she says. I turn toward the door.

"Troy?" I call.

"Gabriella? Are you okay?" he asks. I smile. I think of Eve, madre, and Troy. They all tried to save me when I thought there was no way out. My smile feels like it's widening.

"Yeah. I'm perfectly fine. The best I've felt in so long."

I'm free.

What do you think? My first try at real angst, so feedback is appreciated.