Chapter 2: The Truth about Sharpay
"Your dad beat you." Troy grimaced. "Yeah." Sharpay said as they rounded into his driveway. "I am so sorry." He replied. "It's fine." She said. "No it's not, no one should have to put up with it." He held the door open for her as she walked in. "Go and sit down, I'm going to put your stuff in the guest room, and get a first aid kit, and since I don't want you to get up, and I don't want to go through your stuff, I'll bring you a change of clothes." Sharpay simply nodded, again, not able to comprehend her situation. She leaned her head back, as she felt her world spinning in circles around her. "Are you okay?" Troy asked. "Uh, yeah, I think, so." She replied, her head wavering back and forth in dizziness. "Hold on." Troy said. He went into the kitchen and grabbed two asprins out of the cabinet and ran some water in a cup and some on a towel. He went back into the living room and handed Sharpay the asprin. "Here, take these, and then, if you feel like it, go put these on, where I can fix your cut." Troy said. Sharpay took a deep breath and nodded as she took the medicine and then got up, "Where's the bathroom?" "First door on your right." Troy said. She came back out in a pair of grey sweat pants that read "WILDCAT ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT: 14 BOLTON" on the left hip, and a white shirt that said "EAST" across the chest. She sat on the couch as Troy put the wet rag on her head. "Can I see your arm?" He asked. "Yeah." Sharpay said. He held on to her arm gently, and wiped around the cut. She winced in pain. "Sorry." He replied. "I-It's fine." Sharpay said. "What did you get cut with?" Troy asked. "Glass." She stated. "That's what I thought, because theirs little bits around the edges, that's what keeps hurting you." He replied. When he finally got her cleaned up, he got up and got a blanked out of the closet and put on top of her. "I keep forgetting to ask you, what happened to Ryan?" he said. "Oh, he took my mom out of state, I told him to." She said. "Why?" Troy replied, "Because, I didn't want my dad to find them, so I told him to call when he got wherever he was going." Sharpay said. Troy nodded, "I'm going to call my mom real' quick, okay?" he said. "Take your time." Sharpay said, "And I don't mean that sarcastically." "Good to know." Troy replied. Sharpay listened to him tell her story, just as she had told him herself, she began to cry herself to sleep minute by minute into the story. About a few minutes after she got to sleep, Troy came back into the living room, "Sharpay, my mom is…Oh, sorry." He grabbed his math book out of his book bag and sat a recliner that was facing Sharpay. "She'll be okay, she always is." Troy sighed. Soon after that Troy's mom came home from work. "Shh…She's asleep." Troy said. "She probably needs it." Mrs. Bolton said. "Where's Alexandra and Ryan?" she said. "Their in California, hiding from her dad." Troy grimaced, "I feel really bad for her." "I know, it's horrible." His mom agreed. Sharpay stirred, sitting up, wiping her eyes. "Hey sweetie." Mrs. Bolton said, "Everything's going to be fine, you can stay here as long as you want." "Thanks." Sharpay said. After dinner, Sharpay went up to bed. About, twenty minutes later, Troy went up to check on her. She was sitting propped up in bed, holding on to a picture frame. Troy stuck his head in the door. "Hey, You can come in." Sharpay said. "Oh, okay." He said, "What are you looking at." Sharpay handed him the frame. Troy's heart sunk when he saw it. It was a photograph of the Evans family, at what Troy guessed was Ryan and Sharpay's first musical. "It's all a lie Troy, you can't believe that, it's a front." Sharpay said. "It's not all a front, just your dad, see," he put his hand over Matthew Evans's face to show just Alexandra, Sharpay, and Ryan. "True." Sharpay said, "But you can't just hold your hand over a person in your life and make them go away." Troy bit his bottom lip. He had never seen Sharpay in so much pain, he knew she was going to probably chew him out for what he was going to do, but he knew eventually it would sink in to her. Troy slowly put his arm around Sharpay, and brought her closer to him. Much to his surprise, she scooted herself in a bit and rested her head on his chest. "Sharpay, you are loved, you are beautiful, and you are talented." Troy said. Sharpay began to cry as she responded, "Thanks Troy, you're amazing." She put the picture on the nightstand as Troy held on to Sharpay through the night until he fell asleep as well. Around midnight, Mrs. Bolton came in to check on Sharpay, only to find Troy with her. She smiled at them, knowing her son was giving her truly what she needed.