Startling News

By CorbinBleuFanatic1

Normal POV

Chad Danforth paced the waiting room, ever so often looking at Taylor McKessie's hospital room.

"Chill, Chad," Jason Cross said to his teammate. "The doctor said Taylor's fine."

"Then why haven't they let us in to see her, God dammit?" Chad yelled. "If she's okay, why can't we see her? Huh?" Chad sat down in a chair and put his face in his hands. "Why can't we see her?"

Jason opened his mouth to say something but he quickly shut it again. Chad made a good point. If Taylor was all right, why hadn't they been able to see her?

"I don't know," Jason finally whispered, feeling helpless. "I really don't know . . . "

Kelsi Nielsen rested her head on Jason's strong shoulder. Jason wrapped his arms around her.

The doctor came out of Taylor's room and Chad raced over to him.

"Ah, Mr. Danforth," the doctor said, looking around. "How are you?"

Chad stared at him in shock. "My friend is the one in the hospital and you're asking me how I am?"

"Well . . . yes . . . " He paused. "I couldn't reach Ms. McKessie's parents. I was hoping you could try to reach them . . . ?"

Chad sighed. "Yeah, I'll try." Chad looked at the doctor. "But first . . . how is she?"

"She does have several bruises and I'm afraid she may have one or two broken ribs. She's going in and out of consciousness. Whoever did this to Taylor must've been really PO'd at her." He started walking away. He said over his shoulder, in a whisper, "She's lucky to be alive . . . "

Chad stared after him for a minute, then called out, "Can we see her?"

The doctor lifted his hand and gave a small wave. Chad took that as a sign that he could go into the room.

"You go in first, Chad," Gabriella Montez told him. "She'll probably want to see you rather than me, or Troy, or anyone else right now."

Chad nodded his head and gave Gabby a small smile.

Out of everyone, besides Taylor of course, Chad seemed closest to Gabby. Ever since Troy and she started going out, Chad sticks by Gabby and always tries to help her. Troy knows that Chad would never step on his toes, would never go out with her, and he respects their relationship so much. Just like Chad respects Troy and Taylor's.

Chad sighed as he walked into Taylor's room.

"Hey, sweetie, how ya doin'?" Chad asked the love of his life, sitting on her bed, holding her close.

"I'm good," Taylor answered but knew it was a lie. "How are you doing?"

Chad chuckled softly. "Man, why is everyone asking me that all of a sudden?"

Taylor laughed too. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you look like shit?" Her laughter died down and she looked at Chad. "Seriously though, have you gotten any sleep?"

Chad shook his head. "Only a few hours when I slept at your house. The other times, I've been too worried about you to sleep."

Taylor patted the spot next to her. "Well, I'm okay now. There's nothing for you to be worried about. You can sleep now."

Chad smiled and lay down next to her. He kissed her forehead and the next thing Taylor heard was the rhythmic breathing of Chad Danforth. Taylor fell asleep shortly after.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Aw!" Gabriella Montez cried. "Picture-perfect moment!" She pulled out her digital camera and snapped a picture, the flash waking up Chad.

"Morning, sunshine," Troy Bolton joked. "Refreshed?"

Chad Danforth sat up, careful not to wake Taylor, and looked at Gabby.

"Do you ever not have your camera with you?" he asked her, rubbing his eyes, trying to make the light from the flash go away.

"Gabby without her camera?" Troy wondered, kissing Gabby's cheek. "Now, there's a thought." He laughed. "Photography to Gabby is what basketball is to you, or me, or Jason, or Zeke." He looked over at the Evans' twins. "Or what show biz is to Sharpay or Ryan."

Gabby playfully pushed her boyfriend and Sharpay and Ryan rolled their eyes.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Sharpay Evans looked at her watch. "Well, let's see..." She paused, trying to figure out the answer to Chad's question.

"Don't hurt yourself, Shar," Chad joked.

"Shh!" she told him. "I got this . . . " She paused again, trying to do the math in her head. "Okay, you went into Taylor's hospital room at about five or so in the morning. It's almost eleven now so about . . . five, six hours."

"That long?"

"Yeah," Zeke Baylor answered. "When you didn't come out after an hour, Troy went in here to see what you guys were doing. He told us that you were asleep and not to bother you. That was almost five hours ago."

Chad looked down at Taylor. "Wow. She must be beat."

"After what she went through I don't blame her," Ryan Evans spoke up. "I'm surprised your not more tired, Chad. I mean, it's obvious you haven't gotten a lot of sleep in the past few weeks."

"I can't fall asleep," Chad said. "What if Taylor needs me and I'm asleep?"

"She'll be fine," Kelsi Nielsen told him, putting her hand on Chad's shoulder. "Mike Benson is in jail. He can't hurt Taylor any more."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure, Kelse . . . "

"What do you mean?" Jason Cross wondered.

"A person like Mike Benson never stops," Chad stated, wiping the tears that were coming out of Taylor's closed eyes. "A person like Mike Benson never stops . . . until he gets what he wants. And what he wants . . . is Taylor. Dead." Chad looked at his friends. "Taylor knows it too. She knows that she's still in trouble, that Mike Benson will never stop."

"Then we'll protect her, Chad. She knows we will," Gabby told him. "We'll help. We'll keep her safe."

"I have to call Taylor's parents . . . "

"We already did," Troy interrupted. "Or rather . . . we tried. We called the hotel they said they were staying at. The receptionist said they aren't registered at that hotel. And we also tried their cell phones." Troy shook his head sadly. "They didn't answer them, either, Chad."

"So her parents are out having a good freaking time while their daughter is in the hospital?"

"It's not like it's their fault, Chad," Ryan added. "They don't know where she is. We can't get in touch with them."

"We could get in touch with them if they had given us the right number to the damn hotel they were staying at!" He punched his left hand with his right fist. "Dammit! This is so frustrating! How are we supposed to tell the McKessies' about their daughter if we can't even get in touch with them?"

"Um . . . excuse me?" a voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to look and the guy's face got red. Obviously he didn't like being the center of attention.

I'll never be able to make it as a lawyer.

He cleared his throat. "Is there a Chad Danforth in here?"

Chad stuck up his hand. "Yeah, that's me."

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Mr. Danforth?"

"Um . . . sure," Chad said uncertainly. "Who are you? What's this about?"

"My name is Connor Roberts. I represent Mike Benson on the charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault."

"Well, what do you want?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"

"Uh . . . yeah, sure." He got off the bed and turned to his friends. "Don't leave Taylor's side, okay?"

They nodded their heads.

Once Chad got out in the waiting room, he asked again, "What's this about, Mr. Roberts?"

"I understand that you and Ms. McKessie are really close," Roberts started. "Is that right?"

"Yes." Chad eyed the lawyer up and down. "You still haven't told me what this is about, Mr. Roberts," Chad said patiently.

"Mr. Benson has told me some startling news that I'm hoping you can either clarify or tell me straight out is false."

Chad waited for Roberts to go on. When he didn't, Chad asked, "What is it, Mr. Roberts? What did Mike tell you?"

"He said that . . . he said that Ms. McKessie's father paid Mr. Benson a hefty sum to abuse Taylor. Would you happen to know if that is true or false?"

Chad opened his mouth, ready to tell the lawyer that Mr. McKessie would never do that. But he quickly closed it.

"Well?" Roberts prompted after awhile.

"I don't know, Mr. Roberts," Chad answered. He didn't want to falsely accuse Taylor's father of paying someone to abuse his only child but Chad was almost certain he was capable of doing something like that. He has enough money. Chad told the lawyer this.

"Do you happen to know where Taylor's parents are?" Roberts wondered.

"They went out of town . . . " Chad paused.

Could that be the real reason why they left town? Because they knew the police would be after them if Mike talked? Chad shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought. No, that can't be it. Mr. McKessie has never even laid a hand on her. Well, not that I know of. Could Mr. McKessie really be capable of doing such an underhanded thing?

"What is it, Mr. Danforth?"

"I want to tell you that Mr. McKessie would never hurt his daughter in any way . . . "

"But?"

"That's what I'd like to tell you but I just don't know. Taylor has never told us about her father abusing her. But they left town. Maybe that's why . . . Oh, I don't know. And I don't know where the McKessies' are. They left town a few weeks ago, leaving Taylor home alone. They said she was seventeen, that she was old enough. Could that be why they left?"

"It could be, Mr. Danforth, but I hope for Taylor's sake it's not."

"What do we do if it is true?"

"I assume Mr. McKessie will go to jail for coercing a teenager into doing his dirty work for him. Mrs. McKessie will, too, if we find out she has anything to do with this." Roberts paused. "So, you don't know where her parents could have gone?"

"No, not a clue."

"Well, did they say anything to Taylor?"

Chad shook his head. "All they said to Taylor was that they were going on their second honeymoon because they hadn't really gotten a first one. We just figured they went to Hawaii or one of those other places, you know? Honeymoon spots. They left Taylor the number of the hotel they said they were staying at but the person at the desk said that there was no McKessie registered at the hotel."

"All right, Mr. Danforth," Roberts said, turning to leave. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"Hey, wait!" Chad called, causing Roberts to turn halfway around. "What happens to Taylor if her mom is found guilty too?"

Roberts turned all the way around to face Chad and walked back to him. He put his hand on Chad's shoulder. "If her mom is found guilty, she'll go to a family member. But if she has no family, she'll probably end up going to a foster home for another year until she turns eighteen. Then she can move out." Roberts paused. "Does she have any family?"

Chad's spirits sank when Roberts told him Taylor's choices.

"Yes," he answered slowly. "Her aunt . . . but she lives in California. Oh, please, Mr. Roberts, if her mom and dad go to jail, can't she stay with me? Just until we graduate? I love her, Mr. Roberts. She can't leave!"

"I'm sorry, Chad," Roberts said apologetically. "I really am. But its out of my hands. She goes to her aunts or to a foster home. Which one do you think she'd be happiest at?"

Chad knew the answer to that question but it was neither her aunt's nor a foster home. It was here, in Albuquerque, with Chad and Gabby and everyone else. But Chad knew there was nothing he could do but pray that what Mike had said was a lie.

"Thanks, Mr. Roberts," Chad told the lawyer, heading back into Taylor's room.

Taylor was just waking up.

"What did he want, Chad?" Gabriella asked when she saw him.

"He told me that Mike told him that Mr. McKessie paid Mike to hurt Taylor."

Taylor's hand flew to her mouth and she was about to protest but no words came out. She knew that her father could've done it. She knew that her father would have done it. But did he? Taylor wasn't sure.

"Has your father ever hurt you, Taylor?" Chad wondered, sitting next to her, resting his hand on her back. "You know, anything? A little slap to the face, a little pinch on the arm?" He paused. "Would your father do something like this to you?"

"It's possible, Chad," Taylor answered. "It is possible. There were many times when my father would ball his hand into a fist and stop just above my head. And it does seem likely that, in order to avoid getting jail time, he'd have one of my classmates do it for him. But I hope to God it isn't true, Chad."

Chad decided to change the subject.

"Has the doctor talked to you about a place in New Jersey?"

Taylor shook her head and looked at the faces of her friends. "What about New Jersey?"

"There's a good rehab center..."

"Rehab?" Taylor wondered. "For what?"

"For your eating disorder..." Ryan started.

Taylor cut her eyes to Chad and stared at him angerly. "You told them? Even when you promised me you wouldn't utter a word about it to anyone?"

"No, Taylor, I..."

"He didn't tell us, Taylor," Gabriella interrupted. "We overheard him telling the doctor about it. He didn't tell us."

"You told the doctor?"

"I had to, Taylor," Chad answered. "I had no choice. The doctor said you were skin and bones. I had to tell him what was happening so I could get you some help." He kissed her forehead. "You were wasting away, Taylor. What was I supposed to do? Wait until you were on your death bed before I told them what was going on? I couldn't wait that long. You need help now. We want to see you get better now, not when you're in your twenties or thirties and we can see your ribs."

Taylor sighed and looked at Gabby as she said, "He cares about you so much, Taylor. We all do. Chad just wants what's best for you. He doesn't want to see you suffer. Hell, none of us do. What we do want to see is you getting better, Taylor, not worse. Chad really does care about you. Just let him help."

Taylor stared at Gabby for a moment and then started laughing. "Geez, what are you, a friggin' Hallmark card?" She tried to sit up, to laugh some more, to show her friends that she was all right, but every time she moved her stomach killed. She stopped laughing and took Chad's hand. "I know he does, Gabby, and I really care about him too." Taylor kissed his hand and squeezed it, glad that Chad was here with her, to help her through this. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I've always hated people fussing over me. I usually retaliate by yelling at them, telling them I'm okay, that I'll be okay."

"But that's not the truth, is it?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. The truth is . . . " She paused. "The truth is that I'm not okay, Chad. As you said, I'm wasting away. I should have told you what was going on way before any of this happened but I was afraid that Mike would kill you. I was worried that he would hurt you. I'm still scared that he'll hurt you . . . "

Taylor put her face in her hands and started to cry. Chad rubbed her back, saying soothing words to her.

Taylor looked at Troy. "What were you saying about New Jersey?"

"The doctor said that there is a great rehab center in North Jersey for people who have had an eating disorder. The doctor thinks you'd benefit from going there."

"For how long?"

"Until you get better," Gabriella told her.

Taylor sighed and let out a few more tears. "I don't want to go. I mean, I'll miss you guys too much." Taylor leaned against Chad. "I'll miss Chad too much."

"You have to go, Tay," Jason spoke up. "We don't want to see you suffer. We'll miss you like crazy, too, but we'll feel better knowing you're getting the help you need, okay?" Jason was still holding onto Kelsi.

"But New Jersey is so far away . . . "

"Please, Taylor," Kelsi begged. "We'll write; we'll call. But, like Jason said, we'll all feel better knowing you're getting help." Kelsi looked at her friend. "Can you do this one thing for us?"

Taylor nodded her head. "I can."

Chad kissed the top of her head. "That's my girl," he murmured. Suddenly he remembered what the lawyer had told him. He had to talk to Taylor. Alone. He looked at his friends. "Hey, can you give us a minute? I need to talk to Taylor alone."

"Sure, man," Troy said, following Zeke and Jason out of the room.

Gabby took Chad's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Take care, Taylor," Gabby said to her best friend.

When she left, Taylor turned to Chad. "What's wrong?"

Chad had to fight hard to keep his voice steady.

"It's something the lawyer told me . . . "

Did you like it? Plz R&R!

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