Chapter 3: Things Get Even Worse

Just as Ian had demanded, Gabriella went straight home after school, and finished all her homework before he got him. When he got home, he sat down, and went over all of it. If anything was the slightest bit off, she had to do the whole question (or problem) over again. Ian seemed to find something wrong with almost every question, so it took them nearly an hour and a half to get through them all. When they were done, Gabriella packed up her books for school the next day. She made them dinner, and then she showered, and went to bed early.

It was around midnight when she heard a sound in her room. Thinking it was nothing; she rolled over, and fell back asleep. Ten minutes later, she woke up again with a start. Someone was attacking her. She tried to scream, but a strong hand came down over her mouth.

"Don't you dare make a sound!" Ian hissed in her ear. He was touching her, trying to take off her clothes. Gabriella couldn't believe this was happening to her. She thrashed about, but that only made him madder. He grabbed her arm, and twisted it around, causing her to cry out in pain. She had to do something. The phone was too far away, plus Ian would catch on to what she was doing. Wait, men had a single weakness. In a flash, she brought her knee up to his groin. Ian let out a groan. He crawled off her, but not before slapping her.

"I'm not done with you," he said in an icy tone.

Gabriella didn't sleep the rest of that night. She was too afraid of what Ian might do to her. At 5:30, she got up, and stumbled into the shower. She was starting to get more bruises. Luckily, they were on her torso, so no one would see them.

"Oh, no! Chad's party! I only have a bikini to wear!" She cried out as the hot water poured over her sore body. Once Gabriella got out of the shower, she got out a red East High t-shirt, and a pair of tight fitting jeans. Still having time, she switched on the TV in the family room while she fixed herself a real breakfast.

"Mami comes home in just 2 more days. That's all I have to last, 3 more days with Ian," she told herself as she walked to the corner. Once there, Troy wrapped an arm around her, and kissed her.

"Ready for school?" he whispered in her ear. Gabriella rolled her eyes, and kissed his cheek.

"I'd rather be asleep. I only got a few hours of sleep last night," she replied.

Chad asked, "Why? Up studying for a test that the teacher hasn't even announced yet?" The comment earned him a whack on the back of the head from Taylor. Gabriella smiled, and they began to walk to school.

"No, I just had trouble sleeping. I don't know what it was about," she explained. Troy looked at her. She was smiling, but her eyes were deep; as if they were holding a secret that was tearing her apart. She was hiding something from him, something important.

While Gabriella was in the bathroom during lunch that day, Troy brought up to his friends about how Gabriella was acting a little off.

"I noticed that something was wrong too," Sharpay said. "I was talking to her about the homework from last night in English, and she got really quiet. I asked her if everything was alright, and she said yes, but she wouldn't look me in the eye."

"You know, when people lie, they won't look you in the eye. The eyes are the window to the soul," Kelsi added.

"Hey guys!" Gabriella said from behind Troy. She then slid onto Troy's lap, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I could fall asleep right here," she murmured so only he could hear.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Gabi, but lunch's over in ten minutes, and then you have to get up," he said to her. She frowned, and buried her face deeper into his neck. When the lunch bell rang, Chad reminded everyone of his party which was the next day.

"We know, we know!" Troy yelled over his shoulder as he and Gabriella left. Troy slipped his arm around her waist, and walked her to class.

Gabriella was looking for something to make for dinner when Ian came home that day. She hadn't even said a word to him when he shoved her into the refrigerator.

"I'll teach you to attack me in the middle of the night!" he yelled at her. She couldn't believe it! He had attacked her! Based on what had happened last night, Gabriella knew better than to correct Ian. She wasn't surprised by the shove. She was, however, surprised when Ian took off his belt, and began to beat her. The pain was horrible, and he wouldn't stop. Gabriella knew that her back was almost raw, even though she had on a shirt. Finally, he stopped. He shoved her to the ground, and kicked her several times. Gabriella let out a cry of pain. "Shut-up!" yelled Ian. After a few more minutes of him just beating her, he left her curled up in a ball on the ground.

Gabriella whimpered. She raised her head slightly, just to see if Ian was in the family room. It sounded like he was in the basement. She scrabbled to her feet, struggling a little bit, and ran to her room. It was only 6:45, but she set her alarm clock, locked her door, and collapsed into bed. Then, she began to cry. Why wasn't her Mother calling her? If her Mom called, then she could beg her to come home. It was too late though. Rosa Montez would be back the day after tomorrow. Gabriella would just have to stay at Taylor's house Friday night. She knew that she would get in trouble for not telling anyone where she was, but she was willing to take that risk.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Gabriella lifted her head, and slammed her hand down on her alarm clock. She was sore all over. When she pulled off her nightshirt, almost her whole torso and back was black and blue. There were also long, red welts weaving across her back from Ian's belt. She figured that she just wouldn't swim that night, or else wear a shirt on in the pool so no one would see her upper body. Gabriella pulled on a loose fitting black shirt, and jeans. She grabbed her lunch money and made herself some waffles in the toaster. She sat down and ate them quickly before rushing to meet her friends at the corner just like she's done every morning this week. She was trying to make them think that nothing was wrong. That's the last thing that she needed.

"Hey, beautiful," Troy said as she hugged him. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her close to his body, she winced slightly. Gabriella hoped that he didn't notice it, but he did. "You still coming early to my house today?" he whispered in her ear. She nodded.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied, and they began to walk to school.