A.N. This is the penultimate chapter; thank you to the readers for reading this far, and to the reviewers for reviewing.
Chapter VII: Duty
Ryan was, of course, flabbergasted at his sister's declaration. Truth be told, he knew she wasn't dumb, and he'd had an inkling that she'd probably been suspecting something, but certainly not to this extent. Needless to say, his reaction was one vehement denial on the outside, though on the inside his blood froze with fright.
"What are you talking about, Sharpay?" he exclaimed.
"You know very well what I'm talking about," said Sharpay.
"What do you mean?" said Ryan "Me and Troy? Together? That's crazy, not to mention disgusting…"
"Crazy?" said Sharpay "Yeah, right: like hell it's crazy… You don't know who you're dealing with, Ryan! I followed you down to Eden Street for one thing, and I interrogated the driver after you came back."
"The driver?"
"Oh, don't worry, he doesn't know anything; he's too dumb to live, like most people here… But seriously Ryan? You thought I was that dumb? And I saw the note, Ryan. I mean, of course, it all adds up: the insistence on hiring him, the times you had a "slight cold" and stayed home… Did you really think no-one would catch on?"
"Well someone did, but…"
"Aha! Then it's true!"
"What? No, I…"
"It is, Ryan," Sharpay cried "It is, and you know it!"
Then, Ryan went on the offensive, and took probably one of his firmest stances he'd ever taken; he seldom used any authority against anyone but the sheer terror of dealing with a discovery of his relationship with Troy, and in absence of Troy at that, was just overwhelming.
"Sharpay," he shouted angrily "I'm your brother; I command you to never speak of this again. Now leave me alone!"
And he stormed off, a lot more frightened though than truly angry Ryan couldn't believe this was happening to him. He felt his stomach tie up in a knot, and he felt himself go red with shame. What would he do? How was he supposed to react to this? He went looking for Troy; Troy would know what to do; he'd dealt with Miss Darbus after all, hadn't he? But as his father reminded him when he asked were Troy was:
"He took the day off, don't you remember?"
Well, at least Sharpay hadn't told his father; that was decent of her.
"By the way," his mother interjected "You should get ready, we'll go out to eat in less than a half hour."
"Yes, mother," said Ryan, but he really wasn't listening; then Sharpay entered:
"Don't worry, mother," she said darkly "You can start without us, we'll follow you, we know where you're going."
And for a moment there was some tension, even if it was silent; but of course, Ryan thought, he wouldn't get off the hook so easily. And indeed as soon as their parents were out of the room, Sharpay picked up the battle right where they'd left off.
"Ryan," she said "Ryan, it's scandalous! You can't do this: you have to break up with him this instant!"
"But I…"
"Ryan, don't play possum with me. Mom and dad might be idiots, but I know what's going on…"
"Sharpay, I told you…"
"How long have you been at this?"
Then Ryan couldn't take it anymore; and cracking under the pressure, he confessed.
"I met him at the start of the summer, if you want to know so badly."
"The start of the summer? Oh my God… this is… Cut him off; cut him off immediately you have absolutely no right…"
"No, you have no right, Sharpay," Ryan cried "So what if Troy is my lover? So what if I like him? You have no say in this… No say whatsoever! I can love whomever I please."
"Ryan," said Sharpay, "Ryan this isn't a game… If you did weird stuff with classmates back in High School, or you occasionally ran away with a good friend, I really wouldn't care. But your servant? And on a regular basis? What would our parents say? What would society say? What would people say?"
Ryan here cringed for a moment:
"What would the world say Ryan? What would the world say if they knew you were up to…this?"
She'd cornered him now; he was on the defensive, but, breaking free, he lashed out at her.
"I don't care!" cried Ryan "I don't care what the world says! I love him! I love him, and there's nothing you can do about it… So you can stick your prejudices where you like!"
"Ryan," said Sharpay "This isn't a romance novel… this is real life. Do you really think I personally have a problem with you doing girls, or boys, or dogs or whatnot? But this is not the place not to care… The Earl is coming over tomorrow… This is my best chance to get married. But do you think a Peer of England will really marry into a family that has... this in it? Do you think anyone will want to marry me if this gets spread?"
"If he loves you he'll marry you!"
"Ryan, he's an Earl… he outranks love!"
"Sharpay, you'll never be happy with a man that would break up with you because your brother likes men."
"Oh, don't be so wishy-washy, Ryan…" said Sharpay "I'll get to know him, I'll get to fall in love; how did you fall in love with your guy? But that'll never happen if he gets scared away by your… your… your antics!"
"Sharpay, I…"
"Silence Ryan," said Sharpay "This is an ultimatum… either you break up with Troy and get him fired, or I'm telling our parents! You have two hours to decide…"
"I'll never break up with him!"
"Two hours."
Then, Sharpay turned around and started to leave; but Ryan interrupted her.
"Hey, sister…" he said in a tone much more sober but also darker than before.
"Yes?"
"Tell mom I won't be going out to dinner; I'm not hungry today."
"That's very good. Then you have until I come back."
Then, Sharpay turned around again, and left Ryan dumbfounded.
Two hours later, Ryan was still as much at a loss as he had been before. He still didn't quite understand since when Sharpay had come to her conclusions, and his anxiety hadn't died down one bit. How could she do that to him? His own sister? What was he supposed to do? If Sharpay went through with her threats, his life would be ruined. Sure, his parents were pretty liberal for the time, and they'd probably still love him, but… Nothing would be the same again. He'd barely be their son. There tenderness would be forced, their love would be reticent… He knew this would happen: he'd break their hearts. If his sister was capable of blackmail like that, ignoring this would be the clement reaction on their part.
Of course, he might just get disinherited; he didn't really know how liberal his parents were were...
And then again, there was no doubting, Sharpay's marriage really would be ruined if it were known; and if his "antics", as she called them, didn't give his parents heart attack, that certainly would.
It was his duty to break up with Troy.
But he couldn't leave Troy! He wouldn't leave Troy. He loved Troy, and Troy loved him even more, if that was possible. He'd been so tender, he'd been so kind… And he'd abandon him to please the social aspirations of what, a blackmailing sister? But if he didn't the shame would be too much to bare…
Ryan grasped in his hands the watch his lover had given him.
He'd just have to break it to pieces along with his love
He passed his fingers over the engraved T and R, and fought to hold back his tears thinking of all the innocent love Troy had given him; and he'd pay back all that tender love with betrayal! Ryan was in a lose-lose situation, stuck between Scylla and Charybdis.
Just the he heard a door open downstairs. And then he heard, sure enough, the sounds of his sister and his parents coming in. His heart trembled… Why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn't he just love? Why was life so unfair? Sharpay could love, and she threw it away for the Earl… And he, he who wanted nothing more than to be happy with his servant boy, who aspired to nothing more than a nice, cozy romance that wouldn't hurt a soul, had to give it all up or face shame for the rest of his life! Why did they have to make him choose?
Well, no! He wouldn't have it! He'd be with Troy, he'd elope if they had to; he had the money, they'd sell his half of the theatre company, and Sharpay could just do with her Earl what she damn well pleased. He was going to be with his boyfriend, and he was going to take revenge on her. If they didn't want him, it was their problem!
Ryan firmly held Troy's locket.
Then, the door of his room opened. It was his sister; Ryan plucked up all his courage.
"Sharpay," he declared "I…"
But he didn't continue. For his sister stopped him. Not by shouting, or screaming, or threatening, but with a weapon much stronger: Sharpay, against all expectations spoke to Ryan calmly, in a submissive, regretting, sisterly tone, and simply said:
"No, Ryan… It's okay… I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry I said those things to you," said Sharpay "I'd never tell our parents. I'd never force you to do anything; you're my brother, and I love you, no matter what you... even if you are a… a… well, you know."
She hugged him. Ryan was now taken aback even more than before… and that was something.
"I just… I really wanted to be a Countess…"
Here, she muffled her sob. Ryan hugged her back.
Then, it suddenly struck him; he couldn't break up his sister's marriage!
And Ryan decided to do his duty and make the responsible decision that would hurt the least people; even if one of those people was him:
"Sharpay," he said "It's okay. Don't cry. I'll break up with Troy."
"What?"
"You heard it, sister," said Ryan "I'm calling it off."
"Oh Ryan!" said Sharpay "Oh, Ryan, I love you!"
That night, Ryan didn't come out of his room; neither did he eat anything. Yet even so, he heard Troy entering the house perfectly.
"You have to do it, Ryan," he thought "You said you'd do it, and you have to do it."
Troy, of all things, decided to surprise Ryan by coming into his room. He climbed up the stairs, and mock-coyly knocked on the door. Then, he came in, and declared in that fond, impish voice:
"Hey, honey… I'm home!"
But Ryan didn't answer.
"I said honey, I'm home…" Troy repeated.
Yet his beloved still said nothing.
"What's wrong, Ryan?" Troy reiterated.
"Troy, I…" Ryan stuttered; but he got lost in the words. That innocence, that caring, it broke his heart.
"What is it Ryan?" said Troy rushing to him, grabbing his hand "What's going on? You can tell me anything!"
Ryan heard him, but he pushed his hand away.
"Troy," said Ryan "Troy, we have to break up."
"What?"
"We have to break up," said Ryan "I can't do this anymore. I have a reputation, and sister that's about to get married. This is scandalous and I… I think we should separate as fast as we can, before anyone gets hurt."
Now it was Troy's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Go away, Troy," said Ryan; he pulled the watch out of his pocket and presented it to his lover "Here… You can have this back. You can stay and work here till the end of the month, and then we'll arrange for you to go back to your old mistress."
"What are you talking about?"
"Troy, please... There's nothing else to do; we're finished."
Then Troy entered a sort of trance.
"Oh…" he said "Oh… I… okay…"
And he turned around, mystified -he seemed almost too surprised for his heart to have been broken yet- and exited the room.
And Ryan fell onto his bed sobbing.
