The Sweet Escape

Disclaimer's in prologue.

Thanks for the reviews. It keeps me writing.

Warning- This chapter is where it gets violent. This is where the flashback from the very beginning of the prologue makes sense.

It was the dinnertime in the Evans house, and Sharpay couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Sharpay noticed that her father drank a lot. Ever since dinner started, he kept mixing a liquid from a flask into his Coke. Sharpay looked down at her plate. She had never seen food this weird.

"This turducken is delicious, dad," Ryan said, taking a big bite of the unidentifiable meet. "Who knew turkey and duck would taste so good together?"

"I'm glad you like it son," Derek Evans said. He took a long sip of his drink. "What do you think of it, Sharpie?"

"It's good," Sharpay smiled, taking a bite to prove her point. As she gulped the meat down, she silently thanked her mom for years of acting lessons. "And my name is Sharpay."

"Did you kids have a good day at school?" Derek asked.

"My day was good," Ryan replied first. "Coach said I was going to be made captain of the baseball team."

"Awesome!" Derek's loud voice boomed through the tiny kitchen. It made Sharpay jump in her seat. "And you?" He stared at Sharpay, waiting for her reply.

"It was alright," Sharpay admitted. "I miss my old school, but I think I met some people who seem nice."

"Well, don't think about the expensive preppy school anymore!" Derek snapped. "My daughter is not a rich snob anymore. She's a Wildcat!"

"I wasn't a snob!" Sharpay yelled. She looked over at Ryan, who had a wide-eyed look on his face. Sharpay turned back to face her father, and gulped. Maybe yelling wasn't a good idea, she thought.

Derek took a long swig out of his flask, and then stood up. He walked over to Sharpay's chair and grabbed one of her thin wrists. Dragging her into the living room, Derek shoved his daughter into the wall. He yelled more insults to her and her past life. He pushed her around a few more times, and then left the room, leaving a hysterical and confused Sharpay up against the wall.

Shortly after Derek left, Ryan came into the room. Without saying anything, he sat next to his sister.

"Is he always like that?" Sharpay asked, wiping tears from her eyes. "All I did was correct him for saying I was a snob. I didn't even say anything else."

"Sharpay," Ryan said her name slowly, as if what he was going to say was going to be deep in meaning. "He gets like that when he's drunk. Usually, he just yells. I don't know why he went to hurt you, but he always yells. It's a normal thing. It's tough, but normal."

"Thanks, Ry," Sharpay smiled and hugged her brother. Even though it was awkward for both of them, he hugged her back. "I wish we had lived together sooner. I mean, it was fun at my old house, but it got lonely."

"It gets lonely anywhere, Sharpay," Ryan said. "Dad's gone a lot, and chances are, he won't remember hitting you. It probably was just an accident."

"Thanks," Sharpay wiped her eyes a final time, and got up. "I have homework to do. Yuck. And them I'm going to go to bed. Don't forget to wait for me tomorrow."

Ryan laughed. "I won't. And I'm sorry about that, by the way. How did you get to school?"

"This kid named Troy Bolton was driving past our house and he took me," Sharpay explained. "He was nice."

"Oh, I know him," Ryan said, getting up off the floor.

Sharpay left the room, leaving Ryan to think about what happen. He had never seen his dad be physical with anyone. Ryan knew he would yell, but hurt someone, especially his own daughter? But suddenly, he remembered something.

"Daddy?" three-year old Ryan Evans was confused. He had gone past his twin sister's room and saw her crying and bleeding. "Why is Sharpie hurting?"

"She's fine," Derek smiled as he picked up his son and hugged him. "Don't worry about her."

"She's sad," Ryan said, softly.

"I said not to worry about her," Derek repeated, getting angrier. "She did it to herself."

Ryan stood in the room, thinking. He could vaguely remember someone being abused by his dad. Ryan ran up to his room and started searching his closet. He finally found a box that said "Ryan's Memories" in blue script. He opened the box and pulled out a picture read 'Summer, 1993 – Sharpay and Ryan, Beach' on the back. He turned the picture over and saw two three year old smiling. The little boy looked normal. The little girl had scars and bruises all over her small body.

Yeah, the timeline is still going slow. They are still on like March 19th. I think the next chapter will cover more time.

If you haven't figured out yet, the story flips between Sharpay, Ryan, and Troy for the point-of-view (even though it's all third-person).

Mm, Reviews are fun. I love to read them. (: