A/N: Sorry for the wait! Here's Chapter 3!
Beautiful Bruises
Chapter 3: Secrets
"All I see are dark grey clouds
In the distance moving closer with every hour
So when you ask 'was something wrong?'
Then I think 'you're damn right there is but we can't talk about it now.
No, we can't talk about it now.'"
"Zeke. It's so nice to see you again, man. How have you been?" Troy asked, pasting a smile on his face and clapping hands with his old teammate.
Zeke smiled happily. "I married the girl I had a crush on since forever, and she's perfect. I'm also CEO of Layla's Love." Zeke explained as he wrapped Gabriella in his arms and swung her around.
Troy resisted the urge to barf.
"Layla's Love? The company that makes all those fancy clothes for girls and donates half of the proceeds to children's cancer research?" Troy asked, surprise etched across his features.
Gabriella giggled as Zeke tickled her.
"That's the one! We've even begun selling clothes for teens, prom dresses, petites, and plus sized women. We opened up three new stores across the United States in the past month, all of our clothes are made in the United States, and on top of that we're only a few thousands of dollars away from reaching our million dollars donated to charity." Zeke gushed and Gabriella playfully swatted him away from her.
"Stop bragging. This isn't about you and your success." Gabriella joked. Zeke rolled his eyes playfully.
"Our success, silly." He corrected and Gabriella made a scrunched up face at him.
Troy felt discomfort and maybe even some jealousy but he bit his tongue and smiled widely.
"Well thanks for the session, Dr. Montez." Troy thanked gracefully before he turned and started to leave.
Gabriella and Zeke shared a look. Gabriella nodded her head in Troy's direction and Zeke sighed before jogging after him.
"Troy, wait!" Zeke called out, and Troy turned around to face him.
"How are you doing, man, really? Why are you in here?" Zeke asked, concern in his deep brown eyes.
Troy swallowed guiltily. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell him the truth. He would tell Gabriella, and she would never look at him the same way.
Zeke's eyes burned with intensity. Troy knew that Zeke used to be the kindest friend he had, hell for Troy's eighteenth birthday, Zeke baked him crème bruelee and some kind of flambé.
Sure, the kitchen had caught on fire but Zeke had meant well. He never meant anyone harm, at least not when Troy had known him well.
Not much could have changed, right?
Just as Troy was about to open his mouth and finally confess the horrible truth, he was tapped on the shoulder.
He turned around to see Gabriella, and he felt his heart stopped.
Would that happen every single time that he looked into those big chocolate eyes?
Oh crap, she was talking to him.
"I'm sorry, what?" He questioned and Gabriella laughed.
"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked him. Troy shook his head, too embarrassed at his sudden puppy love.
Gabriella suddenly reached forward and jerked up his chin. She was astonished at his chiseled cheek bones and jaw line but he wasn't her husband so she didn't care.
She was no cheater, whether he was cute or not (okay definitely cute), she was dedicated.
Gabriella glanced into his eyes. His pupils were dilated. She pressed two fingers to his neck and glanced at her watch. His heart beat was accelerated.
"Your pupils are dilated and your heart rate is elevated. Are you sure you're alright? I may be a psychiatrist, but I still had to go to medical school." Gabriella explained when she saw the questions on his face.
"Yeah well, you're a great one, Gabriella." He complimented and despite herself, Gabriella blushed.
Someone coughed and the duo turned to see Zeke standing there, smiling.
"Sorry, I was just clearing my throat." He smiled sincerely and Gabriella softened.
She waltzed over to him and kissed his cheek, the young Hispanic woman knew how much her big strong man craved affection.
"Anyways, the front desk told me you had a visitor, Troy. That was why I came over here, not just to mother you to death." Gabriella teased and Zeke and Troy both laughed.
Troy thanked her before he walked towards the family area and he saw a lovely blonde woman covered in bruises. Bruises that he gave her.
He sat down on the couch in front of her, a coffee table in between them. On that coffee table were numerous papers.
Troy knew what was coming.
He looked at her, tears in his eyes.
"I don't want any of your money. I don't want any part of you. But, I don't hate you. I loved you to the point of where after all the beatings and rapes, I would still wake up and cook you breakfast as you cried about how sorry you were and how much you loved me only for the same thing to happen the next time you got upset. I deserve more than to be your punching bag." Sharpay said through gritted teeth.
"Sharpay, please. I'm in here for you. To get better for you." Troy pleaded but Sharpay just shook her head, tears streaming down her clear face.
"No, Troy, get better for you." She whispered, stretching her arm out and placing her hand over his.
"I will always support you-" Sharpay suddenly halted mid-sentence, her eyes focused on something behind Troy's head.
"Is that… Musty Muff Montez?!" Sharpay harshly asked.
Troy sighed. "Don't call her that, and Sharpay, we're adults now. Let the petty high school-!" Troy started but Sharpay's cry of rage interrupted him.
"Oh, so you're sticking up for her now?! Did you come to this facility for HER?! And it's not some petty high school drama! That bitch deserved it then and she still deserves it now!" Sharpay screamed as she stood up and charged in Gabriella's direction.
Gabriella saw her coming a moment too late and she barely evaded the punch that was aimed at her left temple. Gabriella caught Sharpay's hand and forced it behind her back.
"LET ME GO!" Sharpay demanded as she lashed out with her other hand.
Gabriella caught that one as well and with a well-placed kick, Sharpay was flat on her stomach, with her arms being held behind her back by Gabriella.
It all happened so quickly.
"That muff is still musty, Montez!" Sharpay sneered as security guards yanked her out of the rehabilitation center.
Zeke tried to comfort his wife but she refused.
"I can't believe that that happened in front of you. Please go home!" Gabriella begged before turning on her heel and running.
Zeke placed his hands on his hips, exhaled, and then tossed his hands up into the air before storming out of the building.
Troy gathered up all the papers that lay sprawled on the table before running after her.
He found her (after thirty minutes, life was not some well plotted out movie) cowering in the corner of the same therapy room that they had been in earlier that day.
Her tears had long dried, and she sat just staring at the wall, completely unaware to his presence.
"Your wife is a piece of work." Gabriella choked out and Troy jumped. He guessed she wasn't completely unaware to his presence after all.
"Soon to be ex-wife." Troy said, waving the papers in the air.
Gabriella sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that" and Troy shrugged as he sat down on the floor beside her, resting his back against the wall.
Troy hadn't been near a woman since he had gotten to rehab and it had been a few weeks. Without a word he moved closer to her and placed his head on her shoulder.
Tingles erupted up and down both of their spines.
Attraction was a dangerous thing. That one moment when you look someone in the eyes and feel a pull towards them, was dangerous. You could not fight attraction and sometimes it proved lethal.
After a lengthy silence, Gabriella spoke.
"She deserves to hate me. The reason my mother and I moved to Albuquerque was to be closer to her family. Her father paid for the whole trip, an apartment, and anything we needed, at least until he passed away." Gabriella said quickly and Troy's head was reeling.
"Why would he do all that though?" Troy asked, although deep inside, he already knew the answer.
"Because he was my father too."
…
Zeke slammed the front door shut, locked it, and ran up the stairs to the computer room.
Troy Bolton was going to be an issue, he could tell.
As Zeke logged in, he felt panic rise into his system. Why were documents up on his computer? Had he left them up or had Gabriella found him?
She wouldn't have been so kind today if she had found them, right?
Just to be safe, Zeke transferred all of the files to a junk drive, hid it in the safe, and deleted all of the evidence from the computer.
He loved Gabriella and he needed to help support her.
She could never know the truth.
…...
As soon as Sharpay walked into the house, he was waiting.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as he ran towards her… and pulled off her coat.
"So, I got thrown out of the rehabilitation center." Sharpay confessed.
The person stopped removing her coat and stared at her.
"Um… why?" They asked as they finished peeling off the expensive mink coat.
"I saw Gabriella Montez." The blonde bombshell sneered and the other person scoffed.
"Fuck her." He snarled and the two high fived.
He adjusted his coat in his arm before he hung it up neatly and placed her on a seat in the foyer before removing her high heels.
"Did you tell him?" He asked and Sharpay shook her head.
"No, Ryan, I couldn't. He can't deal with it right now." Sharpay admitted and Ryan shot her a glare that could kill.
"It's not about him, it's about you and his baby's future! So, tell me the truth, why didn't you tell him?" Ryan countered, placing the shoes by the door for the maid when she returned the next morning.
"BECAUSE I WILL NOT HAVE HIS BABY! I GOT PREGANT FROM HIM RAPING ME! HE. RAPED. ME! I LOVED HIM AND HE-HE-HE-!" Sharpay suddenly burst into tears.
Her brother had her in his arms in a moment, and he felt anger and hatred swell within him, but Sharpay didn't need that right now.
"I know we can't talk about this now. Everything is happening so quickly and it feels like you're alone, but you will always have me." Ryan comforted.
Sharpay only sobbed louder as she clutched his shirt in her hands.
All she could see were gray clouds, maybe one day light would shine through, but not for a while.
A/N: I LOVE writing dramas. Sorry for all the drama though at the same time, this turned out to be a LONG chapter. Thank you so much for putting up with me and reading. Love ya'll! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!