(A/N): First and foremost, this story was CO-AUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. The chapters are written by both of us. We each wrote half of every chapter so enjoy!
Dedications: We would both like to dedicate this story to Mrs. Radcliffe-Efron
Disclaimer: Must you rub it in our faces that we own nothing?
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Chapter Eight: Return
Wow, what happened to me? Am I dead? Wait I hear Zac talking. My eyes feel like they have weights holding them down from opening. Where am I? Did they find my Dad? At that moment Vanessa's eyes shot open.
"Nessa, baby, oh my god. Your awake" Zac says rushing over to the side of her bed. Vanessa looked around and saw all white.
"Babe, your in the hospital." Zac said seeing the worry in Vanessa's eyes.
"Why?" Vanessa asked
"After you blacked out last night, you didn't wake up." he said
"Is Monique alright?" she asked
"Yeah Nessa, I'm fine." Monique said walking through the doorway.
"When can I go home?" Nessa asked
"They said after you woke up you could go back with us." Zac said "But I'll go check, do you want everyone else to come in?" Zac asked
"Yeah they can come in." Vanessa said
A few seconds later the whole gang comes through the door, lead by Corbin. Ashley rushed over to one side of Vanessa's bed while Corbin went to the other.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ashley asked
"My head hurts" Vanessa said reaching up to her head. She felt a cloth of her head.
"You hit your head on the coffee table in my suite when you blacked out. You had to get ten stitches." Corbin said. Zac walked back into the hospital room with a smile planted on his face.
"I can go home!" Vanessa asked excitedly
"You sure can!" Zac said
"Okay, why don't you guys go get the car while I get dressed." Vanessa said
"Okay we'll meet you outside." Olesya said. The gang walked out and Zac was about to go with them.
"No Zac, can you help me?" Vanessa asked, "I don't think I can get up and get dressed by myself." she says
"Are you sure?" Zac asked making sure she was completely positive.
"Yeah, I am." she said. Zac walked over to the side of her bed and lifted the cloud white sheets off of Vanessa's lets. Vanessa swung her legs of the side of the bed and tried to stand up. Her legs were like Jell-O and she slowly started to fall, but she never hit the ground. She felt a strong pair or arms catch her. She looked up and saw those beautiful baby blue eyes staring into her chocolate ones.
"Thank you" Vanessa said standing up on her own now. Vanessa walked over to the chair that had her jeans and hoodie draped over it.
"I'll be out in a minute," Vanessa said walking into the bathroom that connected to the hospital room.
"Okay babe." Zac said sitting down in the chair. About five minutes later Vanessa came out with a big smile on her face.
"Wow you look like you just kissed someone!" Zac said.
"Ha, you wish" Nessa said
"Lets get my beautiful girlfriend back to the wonderful hotel!" Zac said
"I'm with ya!" she said. Vanessa and Zac got back to the van and opened the door to see all of their best friends sleeping. Zac turned to Vanessa "It's been a long day."
Lucas, who was snoring in the drivers seat, Zac decided to have a little fun. "LUCAS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Zac yelled at the top of his lungs. Vanessa was giggling like crazy as Lucas suddenly jolted awake. Now that is the giggle that I totally miss. Zac thought to himself. Zac finally came back to life. He saw all of his best friends and his girlfriend smiling at him.
"What's so funny?" Zac asked
"You have been standing there for at least five minutes with the stupidest grin on your face" Chris says
"Ha ha, very funny, lets go!" Zac demands while getting into the van. By the time they reached the hotel, Vanessa was asleep in Zac's arms. Zac got out and carried Vanessa to her room. Chris and Olesya agreed to stay with Vanessa and promised they would call Zac if she woke up.
A few hours later Vanessa woke up and saw Chris and Olesya sitting on the floor in front of the TV watching Hannah Montana on The Disney Channel.
"Go back to your suite you guys and get some sleep." Vanessa ordered
"We didn't even know you were up" Chris said
"Quit trying to change the subject, go back to your rooms, I'm going to call Zac to come over" Nessa said
"Ooh La La" Olesya said with a huge grin.
"Get, Out" Vanessa demanded pushing Chris and Olesya out.
Once Vanessa got them out she sighed and flopped back down onto her bed. After a few seconds of lying there Vanessa reached over and flipped her Hot Pink Razor phone open.
"Hello?" a groggy Zac answered his phone
"Zac" Vanessa said
"Hey babe, are you okay?" Zac said instantly awake
"Yeah, I'm fine, can you come over and keep me company, keep me safe?" Vanessa asked
"Sure babe, give me ten minutes, okay?" Zac said
"Yeah, okay!" she said excitedly. Three minutes passed and then there was a knock at Vanessa's door.
"Hold on Zac, you're too quick" Vanessa said with a happy tone. Vanessa ran over to the door and opened it.
"Hey Za..." Vanessa stopped. She felt like her heart was going to jump out of her mouth.
"You scream or fight against me and, I will kill you, you got it?" he said
"HELP ME!" Vanessa screamed
Zac was walking down the hall when he decided to stop at Corbin's suite before he went to Vanessa's. Zac knocked on the door and hear laughing coming from inside. Chris answered the door.
"Hey Zac, what's up?" Chris asked
"Coming to...wait. Where is Vanessa?" Zac asked
"She told us she was going to call you to stay with her." Chris said. And that is when they heard it...Vanessa screaming.
"Please Dad don't" Vanessa coughed out while her dads hands were growing tighter around her neck.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on her." Monique said rushing through the door.
"Shut up little girl." Greg said
"No you already ruined my life, you're not going to ruin hers too." Monique said going towards Greg.
"You take one more step and I will kill her," her dad said
Monique continued stepping towards Vanessa, knowing that he would let her go. Greg threw Vanessa across the room and made her hit her head on the wall. Greg tried to make a run out of her room but ran into Zac, Chris, and Lucas.
"You're not going anywhere," Zac said punching Greg square in the jaw. Corbin rushed over to Vanessa where Monique already was.
"Corbin, please help me." Nessa cried.
"Shh…. Nessa… It's going to be okay...Does anything hurt?" Corbin asked rubbing her back.
"My neck hurts really bad." Vanessa said with her voice cracking.
"Okay, I'm going to help you, don't worry." Corbin said lifting her up and putting her on the bed.
"IF YOU EVER TOUCH MY LITTLE SISTER EVER AGAIN, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Lucas yelled thrusting his fist into his nose, making him fall down. Zac started kicking him where the sun doesn't shine. Corbin got off the bed and got three kicks in before Greg dragged himself out the door. Once the door was shut and locked, Zac ran over to the limp body lying on the bed.
"Nessa, baby." Zac whispered. Then Zac saw the ruby red hand marks on her neck.
"Zac, where were you? I was so scared that I would die and not be able to tell you that I love you again." Vanessa said with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Hey... I know that you love me with all of your heart." Zac said. "Are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?" Zac asked.
Then it hit Vanessa. She had gotten abused in front of her best friends and her boyfriend. Vanessa started crying and sobbing. She started breathing short and taking shallow breaths. Corbin started rubbing her back while Zac was talking to her.
"Nessa, baby, you have to calm down, your going to faint if you don't quit. Please Nessa… Shhh… you're okay. You're safe now. None of us are going to let that bastard get near you ever again." Zac said kissing her forehead.
"Why would he do this?" she asked through her sobs
"He is wrong to do this to his own daughter. And to rape her best friend." Corbin said angrily.
"He… He… He… raped me too." Nessa cried out.
"Oh my god Vanessa" was all Zac could say
"Maybe I deserved this." Vanessa whispered.
"Hey look at me," Zac said lifting her chin up with his hand. "No one especially you, and Monique, would ever deserve this. Your dad is wrong, so wrong, to do this to you." Zac said caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"I'm so tired. Can we go to bed?" Vanessa asked
"Yes you can go to bed, but first we need to clean your cuts up." Corbin says
Zac goes to get the first aid-kit out of the bathroom when Vanessa started freaking out.
"Zac… Zac help me" Vanessa starts screaming at the top of her lungs. Zac grabs the first aid kit and runs over to Vanessa.
"Vanessa. You need to quit. I'm right here; I'm not going to leave you. Who do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Zac asked
"All of you." Vanessa said very dimly.
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Vanessa was lying on her bed, asleep. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she saw the whole gang sitting on the floor and on the edge of her bed watching The DC Games. "Do you guys ever turn Disney Channel off?" She asked, letting them know that she was awake. They all turned to her and smiled.
"No, not really." Corbin laughed. "Whoa, did you see me there? I rocked!" Corbin said excitedly. The others, including Vanessa, just rolled their eyes. "What?" Corbin asked.
"Hey, where's Lucas?" Vanessa asked, ignoring Corbin.
"He just went down to get you a snack, don't worry." Ashley reassured her friend when she saw the worried look on Nessa's face. Vanessa sighed and turned her attention to the TV screen. She suddenly heard the door open and she saw Lucas walk in with a bowl of ice cream.
"Room service!" He said jokingly as he handed her the ice cream. It was a large bowl of chocolate ice cream with a bunch of chocolate syrup on it. Vanessa smiled and took the bowl gratefully.
"Thanks, Luc!" She squealed delightedly while hugging him. He sat down next to her on her bed and they watched the DC Games. Zac got up and sat on the other side of her and put his arm around her. "Hey, sweetie." Nessa laid her head on his chest.
"Hey, Ness." He cooed. "So, how about giving me some of that ice cream?" Zac asked his girlfriend. Vanessa smiled and started nodding slowly.
"Not a chance." Zac frowned and Lucas started laughing from her other side.
"Dude that is so not how you do it!"
"Then how would you get her to give you some ice cream, Lucas?" Zac asked his friend.
"Yeah, Lucas what's your secret? Please enlighten us." Ashley said from the floor, suddenly interested in their conversation. Lucas smiled and turned to Vanessa. He frowned and made a puppy dogface.
"Oh, man! I already have enough trouble resisting the puppy dog pout but Lucas just pulls it off so well!" Vanessa whined. Lucas continued frowning at her and then, he pointed out the window. She spun her head around and looked and Lucas yanked the bowl away from her and took a big bite off the spoon.
"See?" He said with a mouthful of ice cream.
"Well played!" Zac complimented. Lucas handed the bowl back to Nessa.
"I must admit I was not expecting that!" Vanessa said. "Touché." She told him. He smiled and leaned his head back on the pillow. "Are you always tired?" Vanessa asked her the boy next to her. He nodded and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he was fast asleep. The whole gang was laughing. This is how it should be, Vanessa was thinking. I wish that things could stay like this forever. She thought to herself. She knew, though, that all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, this happened sooner than she thought.
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"Now, are you sure that you're gonna be okay if we leave?" Zac asked for the umpteenth time.
"I'm fine! I'll lock the door and won't let anyone in without looking through the peephole first." Vanessa reassured him... again.
"I don't know, Ness." Lucas began.
"Lucas, Zac, I'll be fine!" Vanessa laughed while she pushed them out the door. "Go to bed!" She shouted into the hall. The door slammed in their faces. Lucas looked at Zac.
"So, we're camping out in the hall tonight?" Lucas asked.
"Oh, yeah." Zac nodded. They sat down on the floor and leaned their heads against the wall.
"What're you guys doing?" Vanessa asked from the doorway, trying to hold in her laughter. They both stood up quickly and chuckled.
"Um, sleeping in the hall?" Zac said weakly. Vanessa burst out laughing. She pushed each of them to the door of Zac's room.
"Go to bed!" She laughed. Vanessa slammed their door and walked into her room. Her stomach suddenly felt queasy as she realized that she had left the door to her room open. She then noticed Corbin walking down the hall with a bucket of ice in his hands. "Corbin!" She called shakily. He turned around and walked towards her.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Um, would you check my room for me? I accidentally left the door open and..."
"No problem, Ness." He said with a smile. Corbin walked into her room and came back out a minute later. "All clear!" Corbin announced.
"Thanks!" Vanessa hugged him and he headed back to his room. Vanessa proceeded into her room and closed her door, making sure to lock it. She lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes slowly drooped shut and she found herself drifting into a dream.
Vanessa sat up on her bed when she heard a loud bang. She looked over and saw her window was open. "Oh, no!" Vanessa said quietly. She looked around the room and saw a dark silhouette in the corner. "Hello?" She whispered shakily. The figure stepped forward and she saw her father standing there with a crooked smile. Vanessa couldn't speak. She couldn't move. Her entire body was frozen. Her father moved towards her and all she could do was stand there and wait for whatever he was planning to do...
Vanessa woke up in a cold sweat and looked around. "Just a dream." She panted. Then, she felt a breeze on her face. She looked at the window in fear but realized that it was just her imagination. Suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, Vanessa turned and saw her nightmare coming back to life. Her father stepped out of the darkness, that same crooked smile from her dream was plastered to his face. Once again, she found that she couldn't move or speak. Vanessa just sat on her bed, waiting for whatever was about to happen. She couldn't scream for help. Zac, where are you? Vanessa thought as her father got closer and closer to her. Vanessa closed her eyes and expected the worst...
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KelsiLovesLucas: Omigosh! What is going to happen next? Only we know! You need to review if you ever wanna find out! What will happen to Vanessa? Will Zac make it to her rescue in time? Will Zac ever get Vanessa to give him some ice cream? Find out in the next chapter of The Perfect Life Gone Wrong! Okay, I'll stop sounding like a cheesy movie announcer. Review, okay? See the button… Hear the button… Smell the button… Click the button… Be the button! Thanks to our many reviews and thanks in advance to our reviewers for this chappie! See ya next chapter! God bless all of you, KelsiLovesLucas
MissZacEfron: Okay...This has been the best chapter to right by far! I loved writing this chapter! My hands were shaking so bad when I was writing the abusing part that I had to stop for a half and hour. I think this was a really good chapter! I loved all of the Zanessa stuff... I just wanted to say that Corbin is a big sister to Vanessa. Like him rubbing her back and kissing her forehead is something that any brother would do. And Zac wouldn't care anyways. So if you think that Corbin was trying to do something, he wasn't doing anything other than being caring for his little sister! Okay...So... you know what to do. I was happy to see that we got 8 reviews for chapter seven. But can you guys try to step it up a little. I'm not complaining to the people that do review! You guys are doing an awesome job! But if you don't review, just let me say that it helps us SO MUCH! Just to know that you review makes my heart warm! Okay… I think this is long enough! Come on mousie… go toward the button… cute little button...good little button! Come on CLICK THE BUTTON! Much Love to all of our Readers and Reviewers, God Bless, -MissZacEfron