A/N : Hello, sorry I haven't updated for so long, I've been on holiday and haven't had access to a computer! I didn't get my 10 reviews but I'm updating anyway, a big thank you to those who did review!
Warning: This chapter contains content that is not pleasant to read, it contains abuse and swearing. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: NOTHING!
Gabriella was awoken by the sound of her own sobs.
"Shh, honey it's okay" Said Troy, his arms around her waist. "What's the matter?"
"Not today.." Gabriella moaned looking at her calendar. "Please not today!"
"What's wrong with today?" Troy asked, confused.
Gabriella opened her eyes and realised that it was not her mother soothing her, but the boy of her dreams. She gulped. She could not have just said that. To TROY! The one person she cared about most in the world.
"Nothing" Gabriella mumbled, "I was still in my dream"
"Are you sure?" Troy asked, he was sure he had seen her open her eyes and look at the calendar.
"Yeah, I'm sure" Gabriella said with a forced smile. "I have to get ready for school now so I think you should go."
"But Brie, it's Saturday.." Said Troy, his voice trailing off at the look on Gabriella's face. "But I guess I better be going anyway. My mom probably wants me home"
"Okay, thanks for staying with me Troy" Whispered Gabriella "I love you" She added as she heard his footsteps fade on the stairs.
Gabriella turned and looked at the calendar. There it was. That dreaded date. October 20th.
Gabriella got dressed and made her way downstairs and out of the house, only pausing to scribble a quick note to her mom. You know where I am, back later. G x. She turned left out of her house and started along the pavement, deep in thought about where she was going. She was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear the car pull up beside her.
"Hey Gabriella, where you off to?" Asked Mia, rolling down the window and leaning out to talk to Gabriella.
"Oh, just for a walk" Gabriella lied.
"Oh, I was going to the park. Do you want to come?"
Gabriella just stared. Why was Mia being so nice to her all of a sudden? Was she trying to get inside her head and play games or was she actually being nice?
"Sorry, I just remembered, I promised mom I would only be ten minutes. Thanks for the offer though." Gabriella flashed an extremely fake smile at the redhead and turned to walk away.
"Another time then" Called Mia, glaring at Gabriella's back.
Gabriella quickened her pace as she rounded the corner, the only thing worse than having to face the day at all was having to face a certain redhead who Troy was so whole heartedly in love with. As Gabriella came to the end of the road a familiar gate came into sight, a big black wrought iron gate with two words in gold letters above it. Redgrove Cemetery. A familiar lump began to form in Gabriella's throat as she approached the golden archway, it was at the cemetery that her whole life had been buried. Her laughter and happiness had been buried along with that small blue casket only five years ago.
As Gabriella approached a polished black headstone the tears began to fall freely in rivulets down her golden cheeks. A small sob rose in her throat as she sat down and just stared at the words engraved on the black marble.
Carlos Jose Montez
A loving brother, son and friend.
Much loved and sorely missed.
October 20th 1995-June 27th 2003
There he was, her brother, her friend. And he was gone. Gabriella ran her fingers over the silver lettering on the stone and let her tears fall freely. She remember how he could never pronounce his g's, always calling her 'abriella. A small chuckle escaped from amidst the sobs but this just made Gabriella sad again, thinking of the way Carlos' face always used to light up when he laughed. The way he used to get the hiccups if he didn't control his laughing, the way Gabriella couldn't help laughing at his silly puppy dog eyes even if she was trying her best to tell him off.
Gabriella smiled through her tears and picked up the little teddy she'd brought with her to place by the headstone. Every year on Carlos' birthday Gabriella brought him a teddy, just to remind him that she was still thinking about him.
"Hey Boo, how're things going with you? Me and Mama are fine, we get a little sad every now and then but then I look up into the stars and realise that you wouldn't want us to be sad. You'd want us to be happy, even if we can't do it with you. I hope you're happy, Boo" Gabriella finished and burst into fresh sobs. The thought of her baby brother was so overwhelming.
"Gabriella?" A voice said from above her.
Gabriella looked up and choked with shock. Standing above her was Troy, his eyes full of concern.
"Wha-What are you doing here?" Gabriella gasped, trying to control the sobs in her voice. "Did you follow me?"
"No, of course not. I was here visiting my grandmother and noticed a girl crying. I thought I'd go and see if she was alright and when I got closer I saw it was you. Why are you-" Troy started to ask but then the headstone caught his eye and stopped dead. "Oh my god! Was he your-" He gestured towards the headstone.
Gabriella nodded, realising she would have to tell Troy the whole story.
"Sharpay told me about you waking up hysterical after a dream. She said it was about being in hospital, but it wasn't was it?" Troy asked, putting two and two together.
Gabriella shook her head. "Did you ever wonder why I never talked about my father?"
"Yeah, but I just assumed he died and it was a painful subject."
"Well, he did die but it wasn't in the way most people do." Gabriella started.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Troy said, sitting down and putting an arm around Gabriella's shoulders.
"No, I have to tell someone before I go insane. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else" Gabriella looked at Troy with such pain and hurt in her eyes that it was all Troy could do to stop himself crying.
"I promise" Said Troy.
So Gabriella started to tell Troy everything.
"It started when I was twelve…
Flashback
"What do you want you filthy slut?" Shouted Jose Montez, pointing at his twelve year old daughter and spitting. "Come here"
Gabriella tried to back away but rough hands grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the bath and into her parent's bedroom. Her father, the man whom she was meant to love and admire then proceeded to do things which are so terrible, so unimaginable that when an eight year old boy wandered into the room rubbing sleep from his eyes he didn't really understand.
"Daddy?" Carlos mumbled.
Jose whipped round, a look of complete shock and horror on his face and before he could control himself he lashed out and caught the small boy around the face with his hand. Gabriella watched in horror as her little brother started to fall backwards; she started to run across the room towards him but couldn't get there in time. The small boy fell to the ground, hitting his head hard on the table on the way. The nothing. No cries, no shouts of pain. Just a beautiful boy, still, on the floor.
At this point Gabriella broke down completely and it was at least five minutes before Troy could calm her down enough for her to speak again.
"Don't go on, if you don't want to." Troy soothed.
"I have to, I have to tell someone, I haven't spoken about it for so long. I need to let it out" Gabriella sobbed.
"Okay then, go on."
Jose ran over to his son and tried to shake him awake.
"Come on son"
Tears started to pour down Gabriella's cheeks as she watched her father, whom she disliked so much, go to pieces over the body of his pride and joy. His son.
Jose called 911 and when the men arrived span them a tale of how Carlos had been running and tripped at the top of the stairs, hitting his head on the table at the bottom. The paramedics seemed to believe him, Carlos was still alive but barely.
At the hospital Maria and Jose sat in silence as the doctor told them that their son had not survived the night. Gabriella thought that there had been enough tears cried that night to fill an ocean.
The next day, back at home, Jose came into Gabriella's room when Maria was out seeing her parents.
"You do know this is your fault, don't you?" He growled, pinning his daughter to the bed by her wrists. "Tell me you know that it's your fault Carlos is dead!"
"Yes Daddy" A young Gabriella sobbed, her stomach throbbing in pain where Jose was using his knee to stop the young girl from struggling.
"If you hadn't been such a dirty little slut I wouldn't have turned around so quickly. Got it?"
"Yes Daddy" Wept Gabriella.
"And if anyone asks, he was running to see you in your room when he tripped over your shoe at the top of the stairs. Right?"
"Yes Daddy"
"Good, now it's time for a bath." Jose said, picking his daughter up and carrying her into the bathroom where he did things to her that are too ghastly to imagine.
Three weeks later, Maria was sat on the sofa watching television with Gabriella, she put her arm around her and felt Gabriella wince.
"What is it, honey?"
"Nothing" Gabriella replied, not looking her mother in the eye.
"No, tell me" Maria said.
"It's nothing" Gabriella insisted, moving further away from her mother.
Maria took hold of Gabriella's shirt, lifted it and gasped. There on the young girl's stomach were several bruises.
"What's this?" Maria asked.
"I fell." Gabriella whispered. "When I was playing with Lizzie in the park yesterday"
Jose walked into the room, "Hello ladies, how's it going?"
"Have you seen this?" Maria asked her husband.
"What?" Jose replied.
Maria lifted up Gabriella's top to show her father the bruises on her abdomen. A look of pure anger and loathing crossed Jose's deep brown eyes as he looked at Gabriella.
"No, kids bruise easily. Gabriella probably fell while playing. Right princess?"
Gabriella nodded, keeping her head down. She knew she was in for it later.
"What did you go and show your mother for, you stupid little girl?" Jose said, shaking Gabriella roughly.
"I didn't mean to. She saw me wince when she hugged me and pulled up my top. I didn't tell her anything, honest."
"Good. You know nobody will believe a dirty little slag like you don't you? You know I'll just tell them you're lying. And nobody will ever believe you." Jose spat at Gabriella.
Gabriella just nodded. There were no words to describe the fear and anger coursing through her veins. She wanted to hit her father; this wasn't what fathers were meant to do. They were meant to love and protect their daughters, they were meant to show them respect, not tear it all away from them.
The abuse carried on for six months, right past Gabriella's thirteenth birthday. Gabriella became more and more excluded. She would spend a lot of time in her room and only see her 'friends' if she had to. Maria became more and more worried about her daughter, but even she could not predict what she would find when she popped home from work to pick up a book she had forgotten.
Maria opened the front door and ran up the stairs, her mind was on a big meeting she was meant to be at in half an hour. Not on the sounds coming from her bedroom, as she approached the room she became aware of what sounded like muffled cries and shouts coming from within.
"Shut up" Came the voice of her husband "Shut it or I'll do it harder"
Maria pushed the bedroom door open as quietly as she could; peering round the door she was almost sick in horror. There on the bed was her small daughter and kneeling over her was her husband. He was touching her, touching her in places that a father should never touch a daughter and Gabriella was crying, crying in fear and pain.
"What are you doing?" Maria cried, tears starting to pour from her eyes.
Jose jumped and swivelled around. As quick as a flash he reached under the bed and pulled something out. Before Maria knew what was happening she was staring down the barrel of a gun and the man whom she was supposed to love had his finger on the trigger.
"No" she whimpered, her mouth going suddenly dry.
"Move and I'll shoot" Jose growled.
"Why?" asked Maria.
"I'll give you to five, if you are not on the bed by the time I reach five then I'll shoot you first and then the kid. Move" This last word was a shout.
Maria could only think of one thing, getting to the bed and saving Gabriella. She started to slowly back towards the bed.
"Five, four.."
Gabriella looked at her mother and silently begged her not to do anything stupid or rash.
"Three, two.."
Maria moved, she lunged towards Jose arms outstretched. Jose fired! He was aiming for the chest but Maria moved and he got her in the arm. She collapsed in a heap of pain and shock.
No momma" The 13 year old cried.
"Don't touch her or I'll get you too" Jose hissed.
"I hate you, you're an evil bastard" Gabriella yelled, rage consuming her entire body. She ran towards the man she had once loved and could think of nothing more than getting the gun and shooting him. He had killed her little brother and had now shot her mother. There was nothing Gabriella wanted to see more than this man feel the pain that he had caused for his family. Gabriella ran and jumped on his back, seizing the hand with the gun and forcing it backwards, forcing Jose to drop the weapon. She leaped off his back and seized the gun, pointing it directly at her father's head.
"Now, princess, you don't want to do that" Jose said, the fear in his voice reaching fever pitch, "I've been a friend to you"
"Friends don't do that" Gabriella whispered.
"You can't get away from the fact that I am your father."
"Fathers don't make their little girls lie for them, touch them and fathers certainly don't kill their sons."
"As soon as I get that gun back I will shoot both you and your mother, now hand it over" Jose yelled.
"No, I'm sorry but I don't think I can do that." Gabriella said, perfectly calmly. The maturity of Gabriella's tone of voice and choice of words was way beyond that of a normal thirteen year old. But then again Gabriella had been through way more than your average thirteen year old.
"Give me the gun" Said Jose, through gritted teeth.
"Goodnight Daddy" Said Gabriella. She pulled the trigger.
Seventeen year old Gabriella buried her head in Troy and sobbed. She sobbed until she could cry no more. She had never told anyone any of this before, ever. It felt good to tell the one boy she loved most in the world her biggest secret.
"So that was it?" Troy asked "He died"
"No, not right away. I shot him in the stomach, he was unconscious and I called 911. He died in the hospital. And do you know what that sick bastard had been doing?" Gabriella asked.
"No, what?"
"Filming it" Gabriella said. Troy gasped, he understood that Jose hadn't been trying to film his own shooting, but he had been trying to film himself doing things to Gabriella.
"In the end it back fired on him. Not only did the tape capture what he had been doing before mom walked in but everything afterwards as well. He was one sick bastard. I still have scars from where I got so depressed I tried to cut myself with his razor."
Troy just pulled Gabriella closer to him. Never in a million years had he imagined what his best friend had been through before he had met her. He didn't want to imagine what it must have been like for Gabriella having the one man that was supposed to love and support her through everything turn into such an evil man.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Asked Troy, rubbing his hand over Gabriella's hair.
"What? It's a bit of a party pooper, 'hi I'm Gabriella. By the way I killed my dad.' Probably not the best way to introduce myself!" Gabriella snapped. "Also, I don't think I can tell people until I 110 trust them."
"Yeah, I understand. But Gabriella listen to me, whatever you have been through, whatever you go through, just remember that I will always be there for you. No matter what." Troy said.
"Thank you Troy, you have no idea what that means to me." Gabriella smiled up at Troy and he beamed back.
A/N: Right, there are two choices now.
A) I can do 1/2 more chapters.
B) Or I can do 5/6 more chapters!
I will go on majority vote! Please Please Review! Izzy x