Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.
A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! Hope you guys are all enjoying your summer!
Last Time…
Sharpay pressed the end button and looked up around the group. There was a mix of emotion in the air: relief, concern, anxiety, helpless.
"Now what?" Chad wondered.
"Now we wait." Sharpay answered simply.
Chapter Twenty Seven – A Miracle
One month. It had been exactly one month since Sharpay had called Kate to ask for help. It had been one month since the gang had had contact with Gabriella.
And it was driving Troy insane.
The waiting and the not knowing were the worst parts. Troy pestered Sharpay every day, asking her if she'd heard anything from Kate. It was the same answer every day – no. However, Troy wasn't the only member of the gang who consistently asked Sharpay about Kate. He just asked the most frequently.
The other awful part was that Troy had no contact with Gabriella at all. He had no way of knowing whether or not she was alright. He'd had terrible nightmares of standing hopelessly while he watched Gabriella suffer endlessly. He'd wake up panting and sweating, frantically searching for his phone only to realize that making contact with her would be impossible. Those were the nights he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. He'd turn on his light and his computer and he would write Gabriella an e-mail he knew she would probably never see. Then, he'd log onto his Facebook and look through his pictures of Gabriella and their adventures together. Troy would catch himself chuckling at a memory or staring a picture for a little too long. Before he knew it his alarm would be beeping loudly and he would have to start getting ready for school.
Kate had said it might be 'a while' before she could find Gabriella's grandmother, but what the hell did a while mean? Was that a few weeks? A few months? A few years?
Troy wasn't sure how much longer he could wait. There had been many nights, especially recently in which Troy had seriously considered driving to North Carolina himself. The problem he ran into was figuring out what he would do once he arrived there. Instead he stayed in Albuquerque worried, anxious and hopeless.
--
The gang was scattered around cafeteria after school. For various reasons each teenager had ended up staying after. The cafeteria wasn't silent but there certainly wasn't the usual loud chatter that was present during lunch time.
It was only when the quick clicks of heels could be heard that the quiet aura was broken. Soon Sharpay came into sight, strutting as fast as she could (Sharpay Evans did not run) into the cafeteria. She marched up to Taylor, who was conveniently sitting with Kelsi, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Find everyone and tell them to meet in the drama room. Now." Sharpay instructed.
Taylor looked up from her Chemistry work, confused, "What's going on?"
"I'll explain in a bit. Just do it." And with that Sharpay turned on her heel and walked out of the cafeteria.
Taylor looked back to Kelsi, who simply shrugged and gathered her stuff from the table, before she stood up. Taylor rolled her eyes and followed suit. Both girls walked around the cafeteria to let other members of the gang know that they would be meeting in the drama room momentarily.
10 minutes later the gang was gathered in the drama room talking loudly and angrily, all extremely confused. Suddenly Sharpay opened the door and walked inside the room. Immediately seven sets of eyes turned and started firing questions at Sharpay.
"What are we doing here?"
"Why couldn't be just stay in the cafeteria?"
"I was working hard and you interrupted my concentration!"
"Why won't you just tell us?"
"Why'd you have to pick the drama room, it smells weird in here!"
"Yeah, and there are creepy figures in here!"
Sharpay, growing impatient with the constant questions, backed up slightly and opened the door slowly before she slammed it shut, causing a loud bang to ripple through the room. Silence fell over the gang instantaneously.
"Thank you. Now that I can hear myself think I can explain what's going on," Sharpay took a breath and smiled widely, "I have a number." She said proudly, holding up a slip of paper. A gasp of happiness filled the room as the teenagers realized what this meant, before more questions were fired at Sharpay.
"What's her name?"
"Did you talk to her?"
"When did Kate call you?"
Sharpay held up her hand, looking sternly at the group letting them know it was time to be quiet again.
"Her name is Mariana Rivera Ortiz.I haven't spoken to her yet, Kate just called me no more than 15 minutes ago," Sharpay explained. "I was thinking that we should all do it together," she suggested.
"Now?" Kelsi clarified.
"There's no time like the present," Ryan offered.
"Woah, woah, wait a second!" Taylor held her hand up, "What are we even going to say to her?"
"We're going to tell her exactly what's going on," Troy said firmly.
"The sooner the better," Zeke agreed, nodding for Sharpay to make the call. She was just about to start dialing when Chad gasped,
"Wait! If she's from Spain, won't she speak Spanish?"
Sharpay clapped her hands, "Good Chad. You know some geography," she mocked sarcastically.
"Wait, for once my man does have a point. What if she doesn't speak English?" Taylor questioned.
"There are 4 people here who take Spanish," Sharpay reminded Taylor, "I think we'll get by."
"Just dial the number Sharpay," Troy instructed, growing slightly impatient. This seemed like his only glimpse of hope at getting Gabriella back safe in his arms and the questions were just getting in the way.
The questions ended and the only sound that could be heard within the room was the sound of the dial tone of Sharpay's Blackberry.
Ring…Ring…Ring…
"Hola, Rosa está hablando. ¿De parte de quién?" (Hello, Rosa speaking. Who is this?) an older feminine voice spoke politely.
"Hola, soy Sharpay. Podría hablar con Señora Ortiz," (Hello, I'm Sharpay. Could I speak with Mrs. Ortiz?) Sharpay asked, putting on a flawless Spanish accent. While Sharpay's Spanish grammar was usually flawed, she was able to speak the language with an accent like a native born Spanish speaker.
"Mariana? Claro que sí. Un momento por favor." (Mariana? Of course. Just a moment please)
Sharpay looked at her friends and smiled happily. They were getting somewhere. They were finally getting somewhere. She looked at Troy, who looked as though he had just seen the light at the end of the tunnel. It was only then did she wonder why she was the only one doing all the talking. Sharpay loved that fact that, in some ways, she held the power to getting Gabriella back. She felt important and needed, which was exactly how she loved to feel. On the other hand though, she felt it was important that other people be involved in speaking with Gabriella's grandmother. Maybe she should bow out gracefully and let Troy talk with Mariana. After all, Troy did know more about Gabriella than any other person in this room.
If you thought about it, what they were about to do was a little bit ridiculous. They were going to attempt to convince an elderly woman that her grandchildren were in danger half way around the world and that she was the only one who could help. It was going to take someone who knew Gabriella inside and out to convince Mariana.
"Troy," Sharpay whispered, "You're talking." Her voice was quiet but that didn't take away from the army-like tone it had. Before Troy even had a chance to respond a soft, kind voice came over the line.
"Hola."
"Hola Señora Ortiz, me llamo Sharpay. Mi amigo Troy necesita hablar con Ud. sobre tu nietos," (Hello Mrs. Ortiz, my name is Sharpay. My friend Troy needs to talk to you about your grandchildren) Sharpay explained before she passed the phone to Troy.
"Hola Señora," Troy greeted.
"Tú conoces mis nietos; Gabriella, Lucas y Lily?" (You know my grandchildren; Gabriella, Lucas and Lily?) The older woman asked in disbelief.
"Sí, muy bien," (Yes, very well) Troy assured her.
Mariana gasped quietly, "Aye. Podría hablar con ellos?"(Could I talk to them?)She asked excitedly.
Troy sighed, "Ahora mismo? No. Pero con tu ayuda en el futuro, sí." (Right now? No. But with your help in the future, yes.)
"Yo no entiendo. ¿Qué está pasando?" (I don't understand. What's happening?) Mariana asked, her voice laced with concern.
"La situación es muy complicada. Trataré explicar a tú con mi español limitado." (The situation is very compicated. I'll try to explain to you with my limited spanish)
"If you're more comfortable speaking English, we can do that," Mariana offered with a thick Spanish accent.
Troy's face lit up with surprise. He had been fully expecting to have to explain the complex situation in Spanish. This was going to be worlds easier in English.
"It'll be much easier for me. Will it be alright for you?"
"Aye, don't worry Troy. My English is fine. I taught myself ages ago."
Troy couldn't help but smile; already he could sense a similarity between Mariana and Gabriella.
"You are most definitely Gabriella's grandmother," Troy murmured just loud enough for Mariana to hear.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you," Mariana responded quietly. "Now, tell me about what's going on with my grandchildren."
--
Three Days Later…
There was something about French class that always seemed to let Gabriella's mind drift to a different place. It could be the fact that she had French last period or that her class always seemed to be reviewing grammar points she had already mastered. Whatever the case, her mind was far from irregular conditional verbs.
Her mind had wandered to its usual place. Albuquerque. It seemed like it had been forever since she'd walked the halls of East High happily or danced joyfully around the field in Meade Memorial Park. Giving up contact with her friends had been exceedingly difficult, it broke her heart. Even though she'd become immune to the pain provided by bruises, scratches and cuts, the pain of a broken heart was so much more severe.
Gabriella sighed and thought about what her friends would be doing at this very moment. They'd still have a few periods left in the day because of the time difference. She could picture Taylor involved in an intense debate in English class while Kelsi furiously took notes, much too shy to share her actual opinion. Zeke would be concocting something delicious in international foods class. She could see Jason's confused face as he sat in Math class. Sharpay had her free period so she would be, undoubtedly, looking over her next musical's script with Ryan. Chad and Troy would be sitting in history cracking jokes to match those of the easy-going teacher.
She was thankful she could hear the laughter of her friends as they sat around the lunch table discussing their latest adventure. What worried her was that she was losing some of her other sense of her friends, most prominently, Troy. She could no longer remember the way his hands felt intertwined with hers or the way they gently caressed her cheek. She wasn't able to be comforted by his lingering scent anymore.
She closed her eyes in one last valiant attempt to remember his touch or his scent, but she had no such luck. Instead all she heard was the blaring sound of the final bell.
After gathering all her things from her locker Gabriella made her way outside to the front of the school to find her father's car. It was parked in its usual spot, right in front of the school. As she got closer to the car she noticed that Lily wasn't in the back with Lucas.
Concerned, she slid in the back seat instead of the front. Lucas looked absolutely terrified. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The car shot forward as soon as Gabriella shut the door.
"Where's Lily?" Gabriella asked anxiously.
"Your idiot of a sister fell off the fucking playground and hit her head hard," Tomas spat angrily.
"We were playing tag on the playground and Jeremy tagged her a little too hard and she lost her footing. It wasn't her fault!" Lucas defended.
"It doesn't make a difference. I still have to pay the bill because the school took her to the fucking hospital!"
Gabriella head's was spinning. Was going to the hospital a good thing or a bad thing? Obviously she wanted to make sure Lily was alright. She was well aware that a head injury could be really serious. However, the hospital was full of doctors who were trained to spot domestic abuse. One of the doctors was bound to see the signs; the bruises, the cuts, the scratches. Gabriella wasn't entirely sure how it worked at the hospital if a doctor suspected abuse, but she could only imagine that she, Lily and Lucas would be taken away from their father. Was that a bad thing? No. But it could be. As she had feared before, the risks of anyone finding out were too great and Gabriella was terrified of those possibilities.
Apparently her father had figured out the catastrophic events that could follow because of this hospital visit.
"We are going in and getting her out. You two say anything and I promise you your life will end," Tomas warned wickedly.
The rest of the car ride to the hospital was silent. Gabriella tried to comfort Lucas, who was obviously worried about what was to come, but the tension in the air was nearly unbearable. It was going to take a miracle for this not to be a disaster.
Finally, the car pulled up to Charlotte Hospital's entrance. Turning off the engine, Tomas turned back to look at his two children,
"Remember what I said," he reminded them.
Gabriella and Lucas followed their father into the hospital. After finding out which room Lily was in, the three made their way through the halls of the hospital until they came to the right examination room.
"You two stay out here," Tomas ordered. Lucas and Gabriella sat down in chairs just opposite the entrance to the room.
Tomas pushed open the door to the room just as a doctor was introducing himself to Lily.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Montez. My name is Dr. Fisher," the tall dark-haired man held out his hand for Mr. Montez to shake.
"It's nice to meet you. When can I take my daughter home?" Tomas asked shaking the doctor's hand.
"In a little bit. We're just waiting on the results of the CT scan, your daughter took quite a fall," Dr. Fisher explained, "While we're waiting though, I'd like to do a physical examination just to make sure everything is in order."
"I don't think that'll be necessary Doctor. Lily seems to be perfectly fine," Mr. Montez disputed calmly, motioning to Lily, who sat on the examination table.
"With all due respect, Mr. Montez, I think a physical examination would be beneficial to our evaluation of Lily. Besides, it is standard procedure," Dr. Fisher told Tomas. He was slightly surprised that this father seemed so anxious to get out of the hospital. "If you would just step outside." Dr. Fisher opened the door.
Mr. Montez walked towards Lily and pretended to hug her.
"Don't you dare say anything," he whispered darkly before he walked out of the room.
Dr. Fisher shut the door, before he turned back to Lily and smiled warmly.
"Before I forget to introduce her, this is Jessica. She's an intern here at the hospital and she'll be assisting me." Dr. Fisher motioned to the brunette, who stood near the corner of the room with a clipboard in hand.
Lily smiled slightly at Jessica, too afraid to show too much emotion.
Dr. Fisher made his way over to the table,
"So Miss Lily, I heard from your school nurse that you fell off the playground, but I never got the chance to ask you. I'm going to poke and prod you a little bit while you tell me what happened." This was a way to distract Lily while he examined her.
Lily breathed a little, so far she liked this doctor, "Well, some of the teachers let us have extra recess today because we just finished taking these tests Duke is administering for research. They were long and some of them were hard, so that was our reward. A bunch of kids and I were playing a huge game of tag," Lily explained, quite happily.
"Lie down for me," Dr. Fisher requested. Lily did as she was told and lay down on the table. "So what happened next?"
"Well, we were playing on the structure because it's more exciting that way. I was running past the top of the rock wall and Jeremy tagged me. Except he got me a little too hard so I lost my footing and the next thing I knew I was falling," she recalled as Dr. Fisher gently pressed on her stomach. Lily winced when he pushed down near the edge of her abdomen.
"Does this hurt?" Dr. Fisher asked, slightly surprised.
Lily's eyes widened as she realized her reaction probably wasn't the best idea, she shook her head, "No," she whispered.
Dr. Fisher nodded, but looked up at Jessica silently telling her to make note of it. "Do you remember what happened after that?"
"I remember hitting the ground and then everything went black. The next thing I knew Mrs. Kelly, the school nurse, and my brother were kneeling next to me. Then they brought me here."
"You have a brother?" Dr. Fisher questioned, as she motioned for Lily to sit up again.
Lily nodded, "Lucas is my twin brother. I also have an older sister named Gabriella."
As the doctor lifted up the back of Lily's shirt, so he could listen to her breathing, he noticed bruising and scars that were certainly not congruent with Lily's fall. They looked much older than some of the cuts on her arms, which had been caused by the fall. He was concerned; these looked to be injuries sustained from bashing into a wall or something.
"And do you get along well with them?" Dr. Fisher asked curiously.
"They're the best brother and sister a girl could ask for. I don't know what I would do without them," Lily answered sincerely.
Dr. Fisher smiled half heartedly; the genuine love for her siblings was lovely to see, but there was something terribly wrong in the Montez household. "Ok Lily, I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm just going to get the results of your CT scan. You can relax here, your brother and sister may even come in if you like, I think I saw them outside the room."
Lily nodded and Dr. Fisher motioned for Jessica to follow him out of the room. He needed her to get the CT scan; he had a phone call to make, a phone call to the Charlotte Police.
Within 15 minutes an investigator was sent to the hospital. Detective Campbell met Dr. Fisher and together they walked to the examination room that Lily was in.
As the pair approached the room they came across Mr. Montez sitting opposite the door.
He looked up, "Who is this?"
"This is Detective Campbell from the Charlotte police. She would like to ask Lily a few questions," Dr. Fisher explained.
"What's going on? Lily just fell, why are the police involved?" Tomas asked, playing innocent.
"Mr. Montez," Detective Campbell began, "Dr. Fisher noticed some of your daughter's injuries were not the result of the fall."
"What are you suggesting?" Tomas asked defensively, standing up.
"Dr. Fisher is concerned that these injuries may be the result of abuse, Mr. Montez," the detective answered bluntly.
"You cannot be serious! I would never hurt my own daughter!"
"I'm simply following protocol. If that's truly the case then you have nothing to worry about," Detective Campbell answered smoothly, "I would just like to speak with Lily alone."
Giving in, Tomas nodded and Detective Campbell crossed the hall and knocked twice before she entered the room.
Gabriella, Lucas and Lily were seated together on the examination table. When the door opened they looked curiously at the woman in the suit, who stood at the door.
"If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to talk to Lily alone," she requested.
Gabriella nodded and squeezed Lily's hand before she led Lucas out of the room.
Pulling up a chair, Detective Campbell sat opposite Lily.
"Hi Lily. My name is Sarah. I'd just like to talk to you," she explained kindly.
Lily nodded shyly. Now she was terrified. Who was this woman? Why did she want to talk to her?
"Tell me about yourself Lily. What's your favorite thing to do?" Sarah asked, trying to gain trust with the young girl.
"I really like art. Painting is my favorite," Lily answered quietly.
"That's great! Do you take classes?"
Lily shook her head, "I used to, but then when we came back to North Carolina, I had to stop."
"Why's that?" Sarah questioned.
Lily paused for a second, trying to come up with a lie. Telling Sarah the real reason would undoubtedly get her in trouble. "I didn't want to take classes anymore," she explained finally.
"Oh. Do you still paint in your spare time?"
"Only sometimes."
First red flag in Sarah's head, Lily was obviously hiding the real reason she stopped taking classes.
"So, what do you do instead?"
Lily fiddled nervously with her hair, "Not much really. I hang out with my brother and sister a lot."
"What about your parents?" Sarah probed.
Lilly gulped, "Uh, I haven't seen my mom since I was 4. My dad is, you know, like a dad." Lily tried her best to keep everything short and sweet, maybe Sarah wouldn't ask any more questions.
Sarah's eyes softened, "I'm sorry to hear about your mother. Tell me more about your father though. What do you guys like to do together?"
"On weekends we play games," Lily offered, hoping it was enough to stop Sarah's questions.
"What about during the week? Does he ever help you with your homework?"
Lily shook her head, "Not really, that's my sister Gabriella's job."
"Dr. Fisher told me that you're very close with your siblings, but do you ever fight with them?" Sarah asked, trying to work her way to finding out where the bruises and cuts had come from.
"I guess we bicker, but we don't really have anything to fight about," Lily admitted.
"Do you and your siblings ever fight with your dad?" Sarah questioned softly.
Lily quickly shook her head, "No."
The indirect method wasn't working so well. Sarah would have to try just asking the question more bluntly. She scooted her chair a little closer to Lily and gently placed her hands on Lily's knees.
"How'd you get those bruises on you back?" Sarah inquired gently.
Lily looked down at Sarah and for the first time noticed something shiny clipped on to her black pants. It was a badge, a police badge. Lily panicked as she realized that Dr. Fisher had seen the bruises on her back and connected the dots back to her father. That's why her father had been so adamant about her not saying anything to the Doctor. She was going to be in so much trouble because the police had been called.
"I fell," she answered curtly. Sarah tried to keep her face even, she'd been in this situation before. Kids were often too afraid to say anything and then it was nearly impossible to make a conviction. Dr. Fisher had noted to Sarah that the bruises and scratches and been the worst he'd seen in a long while. There was something serious going on in the Montez household and Sarah could feel Tomas Montez slipping away, but she refused to let that happen, not this time.
"Lily," Sarah coaxed gently, "If there is something bad happening at home, I can help you. I can help make you safe. I just need you to help me and tell me what's going on."
Lily fought back tears, she didn't believe Sarah. Where were they going to go if they were taken away from their father? What if he came and tracked them down? They'd never be safe.
"Nothing is happening," Lily whispered, "My dad loves us."
Just then there was a commotion outside and then the door was yanked open. An elderly woman stood in the doorway, with nurses trying to pull her back. Lily could see Gabriella behind all the nurses with her hand over her mouth in shock and glossy eyes. She could see her father yelling at some of the doctors to get the woman out of the way.
The woman's soft eyes met Lily's and immediately she recognized her from pictures Gabriella had shown her.
It was her grandmother.
Jumping off the table, Lily ran into the woman's arms. She didn't care that the pressure of the tight hug was irritating the bruises, she was just happy to be in the arms of her grandmother.
Gabriella watched from behind the nurses as Lily stayed wrapped in their grandmother's arms. She had tears falling from her eyes. Her grandmother had just given her reason to be hopeful. Her grandmother was the solution.
Her grandmother was a miracle.
A/N: And there you have it. Things are going to get pretty intense for the Montez family – just a heads up.
I'm sorry if the Spanish translations aren't perfect. If anyone has corrections please PM me!
Thank you for reading! Please review!