Thank you to everybody who read the last chapter. I really appreciated it. Finals week continues.
Warning: Discussions of past sexual assault and domestic violence. This is going to be a heavy theme for the next few chapters. I'm warning you now.
Chapter 62: Final exams of the emotional kind
December 12, 2008, 6:01 AM
Ryan's sister: Sorry I didn't text you last night but I kind of fucked up with your BFF. Or rather life in general since her boyfriend is hitting her because I am a coward. Or rather, he's even around to hit her.
Ryan's sister: We got in a fight yesterday. I said some stupid things because I didn't believe you entirely when you told me that Zeke was dating Penelope when we were sophomores.
Ryan's sister: Yes, I know I'm a moron. I somehow convince myself that yes, Zeke and Penelope may have dated when they were sophomores. But obviously, they had to have broken up before Zeke got with me. Then they got back together. This is probably the same thing Tiffany told herself during the Charles fiasco. So, I should've known better.
Ryan's sister: Anyway, when she left my room last night, I grabbed her arm and found a giant Malick-sized bruise there. She said it was cheerleading practice, but I know the cheerleading practice schedule. After the last cheerleading practice, she did not have that bruise in the bathroom.
Ryan's sister: I also consulted Nikki. She thinks something happened the other night when she interrupted the two to get a book. Nikki said that Penelope looked relieved and stayed with her the rest of the night. So Penelope is definitely 100% lying. I did that so often with Darby.
Ryan's sister: He never hit me. He was verbally abusive. Also, Olivia introduced me to the concept of gaslighting recently, which definitely described most of my relationship with Malick. Although considering Darby was doing that for most of my life, it's obvious I missed it.
Ryan's sister: I definitely should've texted you last night, but it was a long day. I know you know why it was a long day. It was even longer for me because I feel guilty. I didn't press charges after he put GHB in my drink and raped me.
Ryan's sister: I can count on my hands how many people know that. That it was him. I should've told you before that handprint ended up on Penelope's arm because that's my fault. He's hurting other people because I was a coward.
Zack: No. Nothing that Malick did is your fault. Nothing he did to you and nothing he did to Penelope is on you. Everything Malick did is on him. You are not responsible for the choices he made. None of that is your fault.
Zack: OK, I apologize for taking a shower and not responding to you immediately. I feel like I just left you to spiral this morning.
Ryan's sister: I feel like I've been spiraling since yesterday. It's been a really bad 24 hours.
Zack: So would it make you feel better to know that I already knew about the bruises. Penelope and I got into a very nasty fight about it Wednesday morning. I agree that Nikki probably walked in on something Tuesday and may have kept it from being worse.
Ryan's sister: Shit, and no, it does not make me feel better. Also, on Tuesday, Malick grabbed Nikki's ass. Which is why she moved in with Amanda Wednesday. You should have told me. I didn't know the situation was that bad; I'm going to tell her the truth.
Zack: You are?
Ryan's sister: I can't stay silent any longer. If I remain silent now, then Malick will just keep hurting her.
Ryan's sister: I thought I was doing the right thing keeping quiet about what Darby was doing. Yes, she never hit Ryan, but she pulled that stunt with Kelsi. So, my brother lost his best friend, and Jackie is divorcing her parents because she can't trust them anymore. All of it is just more wreckage caused by my silence.
Zack: Again, the only person responsible for that is Darby. You can't keep blaming yourself for everything.
Ryan's sister: I can try.
Zack: You shouldn't.
Ryan's sister: Olivia said the same thing during our emergency phone call last night. It didn't help.
Zack: There's like a 99% chance that you're going to be my sister-in-law one way or the other. So, I feel like it's my responsibility to let you know when you're being an idiot and engaging in way too much self-flagellation.
Ryan's sister: So, things are progressing with Ryan so much that there might be another way I'll end up your sister-in-law? That's promising.
Zack: I have to go get ready for my next exam.
Ryan's sister: I don't, but I have a paper to work on. If I see anything else, I will let you know.
Zack: Same goes for me. Again, this isn't your fault.
Ryan's sister: And if that's repeated enough, maybe eventually, I'll believe it.
XXXX
A little bit later
Sharpay stood in the bathroom putting on her makeup and doing her hair. Sometime during the third week of the school year, her morning routine was cut in half. She put her hair in a ponytail and only put on lip-gloss most of the time. She enjoyed snuggling with her boyfriend too much to wake up any earlier than necessary. Chad thought she looked her best sprawled out on their bed with messy hair post-orgasm. Therefore her appearance didn't matter that much anymore except for special occasions.
Today she went back to the old routine, complete with straightening iron and full makeup kit. She just wanted to do something to forget about the last 24 hours. Maybe she was doing the full routine because her boyfriend took her laptop and cell phone away after this morning's spiral. She's pretty sure Zack may have taken screenshots of some of her text messages and sent them to Chad.
Sharpay was willing to admit that she was now spiraling. Just Wednesday, she was thinking happy baby thoughts and celebrating that she got into the special writing class next semester. Now everything has fallen apart. A lot of it was her fault.
Ms. Darbus's cancer coming back wasn't her fault. Except maybe she could've used her connections like Kim and gotten her in some new drug trial. Gabriella was doing great on the new drugs and probably going back to Stanford Monday.
The thought of Ms. Darbus not being there scared her to death. What was she going to do without her mentor? Sharpay didn't know. She needed her more now that she was venturing out into uncharted waters. Instead, Sharpay was potentially losing her for good.
However, the Penelope/Malick situation was 100% her fault no matter what Zack said. Malick wouldn't be around if she just reported him. Or at least that's what Sharpay would like to think. But then she remembered that her father couldn't even get Malick kicked off the basketball team despite how much money he gave to the school. He had to go to Jack directly, which worked.
OK, maybe with the system the way it is, Malick would've gotten away with it because of his connections. But at least a forewarn Penelope could've avoided the current situation.
Just as that thought popped into Sharpay's head, Penelope showed up in shower shoes and her bathrobe that obviously covered the bruises.
"I will come back later," Penelope said as she made her way back through the door.
"Come on in. I'm done with the shower and just doing my hair and makeup now." Sharpay said to her.
"That's OK," Penelope said as she went to go again.
"I'm sorry for how I behaved last night," Sharpay said in a near whisper. She knew she needed to apologize for being an absolute bitch. Penelope was Zack's friend, and Zack was definitely going to be in her life for the duration. At this point, Sharpay is sure the DNA test is just a formality.
"What part of last night are you apologizing for? Was it when you started acting like a bitch to me for no good reason? When you didn't believe me when I told you about our evil mutual ex-boyfriend? Or when you assumed, I couldn't be left alone with your fiancé for 2 minutes without trying to fuck him?" Penelope slammed her shower tote on the countertop as she spoke.
"All of it," Sharpay said quietly as she finished up her hair. "I behaved inappropriately. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my bad day out on you. Also, I shouldn't have accused you of lying when I knew better."
"So, you actually believed what I said about Zeke?" Penelope asked, looking Sharpay directly in the eyes.
"Considering that Zeke did to us, what Chad's dad did to his mother and Tiffany, I find the situation highly plausible."
She doesn't mention that Zack already told her first. Nor did Sharpay mention that she tried to make some excuse to make Penelope the bad guy. Penelope doesn't need that right now at all.
"Sometimes, I think Zeke is more related to Charles than Chad is. Although considering how much Charles slept around, it's entirely possible he could be a relative." Sharpay said, half-joking. A joke would be a good way to break the tension right now.
"I think I would throw up if I found out that Zack and Zeke were related. At least Chad is someone worth being related to."
"I would too. Although, I'm sure Charles would be happy to get a straight son." Sharpay said bitterly.
"I'm certain the asshole would," Penelope said, trying to leave again for the third time. "Knock on the door when you're done in here."
"You know, I know the cheerleading story is bull shit. Did those bruises come from Malick?"
"Just because someone hit you doesn't mean someone is hitting me. Why do you think Richard is hitting me?" Penelope asked this in a way that was practically a confession.
"I dated Malick when I was a sophomore, and it was a nightmare. He's a very selfish person. But he also makes you think that everything he does is somehow your fault. I suggest you Google the term gaslighting." Sharpay said as she started putting her makeup back in her case.
"Is there a cute guy with a compatible orientation in New Mexico that you haven't dated at some point?" Penelope asked in irritation.
"I never dated Troy," Sharpay said with a shrug as she unplugged her curling iron.
"Unfortunately, he falls under the almost married category. So because Richard hit you in high school, now you think he's doing the same to me?" Penelope defensively said this.
"He was never physically abusive. Although again, look up gaslighting. Psychologically he was a nightmare, but maybe I was too used to that to see it as a problem. Once Malick grabbed my arm so hard, he left bruises, but he never hit me." Penelope looked away from her at those words. It made Sharpay wonder if he did that to her.
"I know what gaslighting is. I'm not an idiot. "
"Probably because you've experienced it. I'm so wary of Malick because he put GHB in my punch at the spring dance. I woke up the next morning alone, bleeding in a hotel room and desperately in need of a rape kit. He also sent me flowers the next day, thanking me for the good time. In the same note, he reminded me that he wouldn't have to give me something to 'help me relax' if I wasn't so frigid." Again Penelope wasn't making eye contact with her.
"If he could do that to me, then maybe domestic violence isn't that far away. Bruises like yours don't come from cheerleading. I understand. It's so much easier to pretend it's not happening. But it is happening. You have people who care about you who want you to get out, especially Zack. You need to leave Malick now before it gets worse." Sharpay said as she placed her makeup case in her designated drawer and walked away. She had nothing else to say.
Xxxxx
a little bit later at East high
"My boss is a complete ass." Carolyn heard her boyfriend say as she picked up her phone. She is surprised that he's calling her. They usually just text message when he's working.
"We already knew that. Aren't you supposed to be in first period right now?" Carolyn asked as she walked over to close her office door. She didn't want the entire suite to know about her personal life. There were already enough rumors floating around because she requested extra time off at Christmas.
"I needed to vent before I faced a roomful of 14-year-olds and Jason," Jack said with a touch of anger.
"What did the idiot do today?" Carolyn asked.
"I'm being reassigned."
"To a different school? Hopefully not West high?" Carolyn asked, knowing that he would hate that because the principal was an even bigger jackass than his current boss. Considering several of her nieces and nephews go to that school, she would know.
"To a different department," Jack said with a sigh.
"Which department?" It must be a really bad transfer if he's this upset.
"Drama." Carolyn started laughing hysterically. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.
"It's not that funny."
"No, it's not funny, just deeply ironic. Let's face it until Troy went over to the drama side, you and Ms. Darbus were at each other's throats."
"We are still not on the best of terms because she neglected to tell me I had a grandchild for two years. Not that I've had a chance to talk to her about that because she's been out sick." At least Jack had a legitimate reason to be upset about that.
"OK, that you can be mad about. Why are you being reassigned to the drama department? Isn't that essentially Ms. Darbus's domain?" Carolyn asked.
"Alicia is taking a medical leave of absence next semester. According to Troy, her cancer is back, and she's moving in with her daughter. The fact that Mrs. Rodriguez is doing a collection for a goodbye present pretty much confirms that."
"That is so sad. How is Troy taking the news? I know she is one of his favorite teachers." She asked with genuine concern.
"She told Kim, Troy, and Sharpay yesterday with Chad there for emotional support. Ryan got a phone call earlier. None of them are taking it very well. Troy and Kim pretty much locked themselves in the bedroom the rest of the evening after surviving the dinner from hell with Mariah, Teresa, Julie, and Karen." Jack spat the last two names out angrily. "Jackie probably has video."
"I think there are many reasons for that." Carolyn joked.
"It was one of the reasons. I think they were loud on purpose just to get back at Julie. I didn't fall asleep until 4:00 AM; I'm going apartment hunting next week. I can take living with Kim and Alex. However, there's no way I'm staying in the same house with two people who are essentially newlyweds." Carolyn started laughing again. "And I definitely want out before my mom comes back to Albuquerque."
"Sorry, that was just too funny. You definitely should get out now. Please continue."
"You wouldn't be laughing if it was Chad and Sharpay you were forced to listen to. Julie made a big deal over Troy staying with Kim in her room. They decided to let them know exactly what was happening in there. Unfortunately, I have the bedroom next door. Karen was quite crossed with her daughter this morning."
"Kim's last name is Bolton, and they already have a two-year-old child together. It's pretty obvious to everyone what's going on." Carolyn remarked.
"Julie has a tendency to forget that it is technically Troy and Kim's house."
"Because your soon-to-be former sister-in-law is an idiot. So you're actually teaching drama next semester. Troy is going to laugh his ass off when he finds out." Carolyn said, changing the subject.
"Only one class. The course load was divided between Ms. Ortega and me. I also get to teach 11th grade Honors English and the creative writing elective." Jack explained. He was more enthusiastic about teaching those Classes.
"It is closer to what you taught before. You were not that bad of an English teacher." Carolyn said, trying to reassure her boyfriend.
"I haven't taught English since Troy was in middle school."
"You'll do fine. You did really well helping Amanda with her essay over Thanksgiving."
"This is true. Also, Amanda's professor is a prick."
"That's pretty obvious by the fact he doesn't want to give her any reasonable accommodations whatsoever."
"I haven't told you the best part yet. Guess who my teaching assistants are next semester?"
xxx
Troy was currently sitting through the most uncomfortable car ride of his entire life. This was even worse than the ride back from the hospital after Thanksgiving with his dad's new girlfriend after checking his ex-girlfriend into the hospital. It was also worse than the ride to the hospital. Ryan found out about Gabriella being responsible for the almost-sex tape on YouTube. Julie was currently making nasty comments about his girlfriend. Teresa was trying not to punch her out. That might only be happening because his attorney was with them.
"I don't even know where you get half of this stuff Aunt Julie. Contrary to what my mom believes, Kim is a very good person. She loves me very much, and I love her." Troy defended his fiancé.
"That is not what your mom said. You were just one of her many boyfriends when she was in high school, and Alex may not even be your kid. She's probably lying to you to keep a hold of you." Troy seriously wanted to kick her out of the car. Why couldn't Liz be with him right now? She's so much better than Julie.
"Do I need to bring out the DNA test again? " Jen mumbled under her breath. His lawyer was definitely done with all Julie-related bullshit. She really is the best lawyer.
"Have you considered that your sister is lying to you to keep you on her side? Even grandma Karen isn't speaking to her anymore. I trust my fiancée over Lucy any day." Troy said, purposely putting extra emphasis on the word fiancée.
"She is your mother. You shouldn't be using her first name." Julie rebuked him.
"She allegedly also took money to break Kim and me apart and may have conspired to have my son killed. I can't refer to somebody who did that as mom."
"Lucy said she didn't do that."
"Nobody admits their guilt. Wake up, Julie. You know she's using you." Aunt Teresa said from the back. She was on nanny duty today with Liz being gone. At least until midafternoon when she will have to take care of her other child. Troy actually thinks she's mostly here for emotional support. If anybody understands dealing with hateful family members, it's Teresa.
"Teresa's right; she's using you. And you don't even see it, but that's what she does. Another reason I can never call Lucy mom again. I don't trust her anymore, especially because everything she's told you has been lies. Kim didn't date anyone else in school. I am the only person she has ever had sex with, even though we were broken up for nearly two years. Alex is my son. As Jen stated earlier, I have the paternity test to prove it." Troy said with a touch of anger. His acting classes were starting to pay off. He only looked slightly pissed off, when in reality, he wanted to punch her out.
"The fact that you got a paternity test proves that you don't trust your fiancé." Aunt Julie spat out the word fiancé as if it were an expletive.
"No, it means that he trusted my judgment when I said this would happen, and he needed irrefutable proof," Jen replied for him.
"Both Carolyn and Vanessa recommended I get a DNA test for this very reason. Lucy knew of Alex's existence for 2 ½ years and never said a word." Troy gripped the steering wheel as tightly as possible. Maybe he should've let Jen drive. At least that way, Troy wouldn't have to be sitting next to Julie. He knew better than to put her in the back seat with Teresa.
"Kim never said anything to you either," Julie said as they pulled in front of the house.
"My girlfriend was scared out of her mind after her mother tried to kill her and our child. It doesn't matter. Nothing I can say will make you change your mind. I'm not even gonna try anymore." Troy said as he cut the car off.
He quickly got out to help Teresa get Alex out of his car seat. Troy stayed silent as he began to make his way to the house with Alex in his arms. A petty part of Troy wanted Lucy to get a good look at the child that she kept him from for two years. The child that she allegedly conspired to have killed.
Another part of him wanted to keep Alex far away from her. Why did she even want him to bring Alex along? Jen thinks it's part of her defense strategy. Considering how manipulative Lucy is, Troy wouldn't be surprised at all.
"I'm just worried about you. You've only been back together with this girl for a few months, and she's already pushing you to marry her." Troy couldn't help but laugh at Aunt Julie's absurd statement.
"That's another lie Lucy told you, and you know it. Kim and I would already be married if it was up to me. She is the one who wants to wait until I turn 21." Troy remarked as he walked up the steps of the house. But he couldn't bring himself to ring the doorbell. Apparently, his lawyer picked up on that.
"Julie, why don't you go into the house. I would like to speak to my client for a moment." Jen suggested.
"Of course. I'll just take Alex." Julie motioned for Alex, but Troy stopped her.
"Alex stays with Teresa and me right now," Troy remarked.
"OK," Julie said as she opened the front door.
"You know you don't have to do this," Teresa told him.
"As your lawyer, I really don't think you should do this," Jen told him. "I know you want closure, but she's not going to tell you what you need to hear. She won't simply because it would be detrimental to her case. She's arguing that everything in the letters was a lie."
"We know some of those things are true since the money was easily found," Teresa remarked.
"I'm not just here for closure. I also want to get all my stuff out of here." Troy argued.
"I can arrange for that without you. I can call Lucy's lawyers and get her out of the house for a few hours. Then I will call in movers to get everything out. We already did it with your dad's things."
"And I may have you do that because I don't know how long I can stand being in the house, but I just feel like I need to do this right now." Troy answer truthfully.
"I understand. I went back to the house of hell after getting kicked out, hoping I could make peace with what happened. But you can't make peace with people who don't want that. You can only make peace with yourself." Teresa argued as she placed a hand on Troy's shoulder.
"Maybe I can't achieve that until I do this," Troy said just before he walked into the house to see Lucy sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. Julie was sitting beside her.
"Please be nice to the baby. I understand that you don't like Kimberly, but Alex is such a sweetie…"Julie stopped speaking when she noticed Troy walking through the front door.
The last time he saw his mother, she was being held down by uncles David and Chris, giving them enough time to get Gabriella out of there. He didn't even bother to see her at the hospital before leaving for Berkeley. He could not even bring himself to call her. He was just too angry.
Lucy quickly got up from the couch to hug Troy, but he pulled back. The thought of hugging her made Troy want to throw up.
"You are not going to hug your mother?" Lucy said to him. He could not even refer to her as mom in his mind. He didn't want to be here today. Kim was the one who convinced him to do this. She suggested that he needed closure before he could truly move on. But maybe that wasn't possible. Lucy was acting like nothing was wrong made him sure of that. You can't fix something when you don't acknowledge there's a problem.
"Per our agreement with your attorney, there's to be no physical contact. Please step away from my client." Jen directed.
"I should be allowed to hug my son. I should be able to talk to him without an attorney present." Lucy argued.
"I'm not ready to talk to you without Jen being here. Aunt Teresa, can you please take Alex upstairs. Please take Julie with you. I need to talk to Lucy with just Jen." Troy said, trying to conceal his pain and rage. He didn't want his son to see this conversation.
"No problem," Teresa said as she took his son upstairs. Julie followed behind because she adored Alex time. Even though Julie didn't like Kim that well, she loves baby Alex. Apparently, her not having a child was entirely the husband's decision.
"Why am I here, Lucy?" Troy asked as he reluctantly sat on the couch.
"I thought we could talk," Lucy said as she took another drink of her tea.
"I don't think you're going to be willing to discuss anything I want to talk about, such as the fact that you took $1 million to break Kim and me up. I want to know why you did it, but I know you won't tell me the truth. I don't want to hear the same lies you're telling Julie. I'm sure you don't want to talk about how you use Gabriella for your little scheme. I'm still furious about that too." For some reason, Lucy smiled at that. It was creepy.
"Don't smile because we are never getting back together. However, Gabriella is my friend. Because of your actions, she is in the psychiatric ward at Albuquerque Medical Center. Just so you know, she's getting out Sunday. I'm flying back with her Monday." He noticed his mother wince when he raised his voice, but she didn't say a word in response.
"I was hoping for an apology, but I should know better. That requires acknowledging you did something wrong. Would you rather talk about your boyfriend? I feel like that's something you might be willing to talk about because it's not incriminating. At least not in a legal setting. How could you do that to dad?" Troy asked icily. He was still furious.
"That doesn't really matter since your father has been fucking his best friend since you were in diapers. Julie showed me pictures of the two of them kissing." Troy isn't surprised at all.
"Nothing happened between them until dad asked for a divorce." Other than that kiss last year that caused Carolyn to move to DC because she didn't want to be the other woman. However, Lucy wasn't entitled to the nuances of that situation.
"He asked for a divorce because he wanted to be with her. He's always loved her." That may very well be true, but Troy was not going to address that at the moment.
"You can't blame dad for your own choices. Dad is leaving you because you betrayed everyone in this family. How could you hide my son from me?" Troy asked, crying and screaming at the same time.
"I didn't know for sure if the brat was really your son," Lucy said in her defense. Jen had to hold him back. Also, he's pretty sure he heard aunt Julie cursing from the landing where she was obviously listening. "Besides, you don't need a kid in your life. They just bring you down. It was better that you didn't know."
"I don't know if you're saying that because you actually believe my girlfriend slept with everybody or if that's one of the talking points that you and your conspirator came up with. Or maybe you're still mad at me for ruining your life by merely existing." The way Lucy didn't look at him made Troy sure that's exactly how she felt about him.
"My lawyer could show you the DNA test results again, but I doubt that will help. How can you say such horrible things about Kim when she's been so nice to you? She even bailed you out of jail," Troy screamed the last part.
"Only because you told her to," Lucy screamed back at him.
"No, I didn't. I personally want you to rot in jail for what you did. Kim has too big of a heart to let that happen." Troy yelled. He was so done with Lucy. Troy is now aware that coming here was a mistake. He can't get closure here.
"I can confirm what my client is saying is true. Even I tried to talk her out of posting bail for you, but she didn't listen to me. Unfortunately, my clients don't always take my advice." Jen explained as she looked directly at Troy.
"I deeply regret coming here when you told me not to. Please make arrangements for the moving crew to get my stuff." Troy said as he started to make his way towards the stairwell. He couldn't deal with her anymore.
"I'll be in contact with Mrs. Bolton's attorneys to arrange something before you return." She went to follow Troy.
"Where are you going?" Lucy asked.
"To get my son and leave for good. I'm not that little kid anymore who did what everyone expected him to do. I'm an adult, Lucy. I have more important things to deal with than you. Goodbye Lucy, I am not coming back." Troy said without looking back. Thankfully Julie was kind enough to drag Lucy to a different room when he came down the stairs, so he didn't have to see her again. Actually, he's pretty sure Julie is yelling at her for what she said about Alex. At least his aunt was protective of Alex. That's more than he can say for his egg donor.
Once Troy had his son in his car seat, he broke down in tears. Teresa gave him a chocolate bar and hugged him. Julie and Jen arrived 15 minutes later, with Julie visibly in tears. Troy was afraid to ask what happened, but it was enough to have Julie coming back with them instead of staying at the house for the afternoon as originally planned. Instead, he wordlessly passed his keys to Jen. Troy couldn't let go of Alex right now. Otherwise, he would fall apart.
XXXX
Troy didn't go home after the fight with his mom, especially with Julie there. He wasn't ready to ask her about what happened after he left. Instead, he ended up calling Chad to hang out. Teresa suggested it. He didn't feel like dealing with questions from Grandma Karen, and he knew Kim needed to work on her film class essay. He almost considered going to see Gabriella but decided against it because he had Alex with him. Troy would see her tomorrow as planned. Maria was there right now anyway, and he didn't want to disruptor time with Gabriella. He was already too stressed out at this point to deal with anything else.
It turned out hanging out with Chad meant shopping with his best friend and girlfriend as they prepared to surprise Kerri and Jason later today. He was dragged around various upscale stores by mission mode Sharpay. That worked for him. If he focused on shopping, he didn't have to think about how much Lucy hurt him. He didn't have to think about the entire mess with Gabriella. He did not have to think about his mentor being sick.
Troy also learned that shopping was much more fun when you could afford everything you wanted. Thanks to his super-rich girlfriend, he had his own black card. So far, he's only made one major purchase when he went ring shopping with Chad a few weeks ago. He was still trying to find the perfect moment to give it to her. He was originally thinking Christmas, but Troy wasn't sure he should wait that long. Julie made several comments yesterday about the lack of engagement ring.
After they picked up Kerri's dress, Troy spent the rest of his afternoon being dragged by Sharpay into the best menswear stores in Albuquerque to get him the perfect suit. Nothing like going clothing shopping with a two-year-old to drive you completely crazy. He spent half the afternoon chasing his son through various shops.
Halfway into the shopping experience, he asked Sharpay why she was making him wear a suit for his stint as a chaperone. His father never did anything like that when he was a chaperone. At this point, they sent Alex with Chad to a nearby café that happened to have a child play area.
"You owe her. You are the reason why she didn't get to go to prom. You're also the reason why she's been putting up with Grandma Karen and Aunt Julie. Do you have any idea how horrible Julie has been to Kim? She is definitely Lucy's sister." Sharpay remarked angrily.
"I saw it at dinner last night. In addition to Aunt Julie criticizing Kim's vegetable cutting technique, she regurgitated all of Lucy's lies. I don't even want to talk about the fight between Julie and Mariah. It was ugly."
"Jackie showed me the video. Grandma Karen wasn't exactly an angel either. She definitely had her own snide comments for Jack. She just knows better than to say nice things about Lucy." Troy was very appreciative of it. His grandmother was in a weird place. She at least acknowledges that Lucy's own actions led to the divorce. She just wished Jack would have waited at least a full 24 hours before moving on. However, only she could say those things to Jack. Julie wasn't allowed to.
"Of course, Jackie sent you the video. I acknowledge that it is my fault that Kim has to deal with Julie. Although how was it my fault that Kim missed her senior prom? She was already in New York at that point for the program."
"You know she didn't voluntarily go to New York. Your mom made her. You owe her for all of that bullshit." Sharpay said this as she threw a suit at him. Troy realized she was right. He would wear whatever Sharpay wanted him to wear. Kim deserved a good night. And now Troy had a plan to make it one she would never forget.
To be continued…
Those reading this story on A03 have probably noticed that I added a final chapter count. The story will be 76 chapters long. However, I will be sticking to an every two-week update schedule. That will give me time to finish rewrites and proofreading. The last five chapters are 100% new material.
Earlier this year, I had some health problems, including a blood clot that seriously decreased my writing time. It wasn't noticeable because I was nearly 20 chapters ahead for this story at that point. However, I burned through most of that. The current schedule will let me catch up. It will also mean that we won't have a six-month plus gap between books 1 and 2.