I Want You This Much
Chapter 9
Sharpay tucked Libby into her bed and then sat on the couch with her feet propped up on a few pillows. Zeke sat behind her, rubbing her shoulders.
"So, Baby... What did you and Troy talk about?" he asked.
"Nothing really... we just sat there in silence mourning Gabriella together. It's just really hard on us... We're letting things sink in still, you know," she shrugged.
"If you say so, Sharpay," he responded. She leaned back against her boyfriend in a comfy fit, slowly falling into a restless sleep.
Zeke looked down at Sharpay. The past week had been hard on her. She had done a lot of her work for the funeral in the hospital on high risk pregnancy and the doctors telling her to slow down, she hadn't really cried much, only when she had planned to.
He wondered what Troy had said that finally made her just stay silent all of a sudden. Sharpay had practically been screaming at everyone all week, even Leo and James, and they were still babies. She had even yelled at the priest right before the burial because he was wearing a heart necklace instead of a cross like she had planned and then the roses weren't blood red, they were more mauve and that only added more screaming. Screaming was now second nature to Sharpay's voice and was how she mostly communicated in high school anyways.
Zeke just assumed that was her ridding of her emotions. Instead of crying it all out she screamed it out in surrender. It was just something she had to adjust to. A change. And Sharpay hates when a change like Gabriella's death comes around and punches her in the gut as if she had to have it on her shoulders and in her heart for the rest of her life.
Nevertheless, he was worried, not only for her, but the children inside her that only had about seven months left until they were home with their parents. He wanted them to be safe and if Sharpay put all this stress on herself, she might go into premature labor and heaven only knows what will happen to her and the children.
At least Libby had turned around. She started treating Zeke with proper respect and even though she didn't love him, she still was a whole lot lighter around him. He remembered having her cry in his arms that afternoon when Sharpay and Troy had talked together. She was so scared and lonely. Her heart was aching and she really needed him for a change.
Zeke wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend's pregnant stomach, pressing his hands against her abdomen to get a sense of the baby.
Sharpay started crying out in her sleep softly.
"Shar', are you okay?" he asked. She tossed in his arms in distress as she started sobbing hysterically. "Shar'? Sharpay? Sharpay?"
She woke up abruptly, still crying, "Zeke... it hurts..."
"What hurts?" he asked.
"My stomach. It hurts really bad!" she replied.
"Sharp pain or achy?" he questioned.
"Sharp," she responded as tears stopped falling, but danced in her hazel eyes. "And it's becoming numb now."
"Okay, Shar'. I'm gonna take you to the hospital," he stated, scooping her up. "Libby!"
Libby stumbled out of her room and found her parents in the living room. "Yeah?" she said.
"I'm taking Mommy to the hospital. C'mon, let's go!" Zeke ordered. Libby grabbed her backpack full of stuff for her to do and they were off.