On the Brink of Reality

Prologue

Flashbacks…

"Troy Nathaniel Bolton, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in the Holy Estate of Matrimony; to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her as long as you both shall live?" the priest asked the young man in front of him.

The young man smiled as he looked at the priest and his smile became bigger as he looked as his wife to be. Then he looked back and said "Yes Father, I do." with conviction.

The priest smiled and then turned to the young woman beside the young man and looked her in the eye. Then he repeated his question.

"Sharpay Elizabeth Evans,, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in the Holy Estate of Matrimony; to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

The young woman had tears in the corner of her eyes from pure joy as she glanced at her husband to be and choked back her sob. Then she faced the priest and said with pure exaltation, "God yes! I DO!" the priest looked a bit scandalized but he cleared his throat and continued…

"The rings please…"

The ring bearer came forward and held the two gold rings in front of the couple. The young man with brown hair and blue eyes picked up his ring as with the young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. They turned to each other.

"With this ring I thee wed in love and truth and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." said the young man as he slipped the ring on the finger of his bride. The young woman slipped the ring on the young man's finger as she responded, "With this ring I thee wed in love and truth and with all my worldly goods I thee endow."

"Inasmuch as Troy Nathaniel Bolton and Sharpay Elizabeth Evans have this day consented together in Holy Wedlock and have given and pledged their troth each to the other in the presence of this company, by virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Hawaii, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife." intoned the priest and grinned.

"You may now kiss the bride…"

The crowd whooped and cheered as Troy Bolton locked lips with his new wife, Sharpay Evans-Bolton. When they both pulled away, he carried her bridal style across the carpet and into the awaiting yacht by the small dock in the Evans vacation house in Hawaii.

He passed by his parents and his in-laws who were all beaming at him as they watched the new couple head forth to their cruise that was to be their honeymoon.

The ship blew its horn and the crowd entered the yacht for dinner. When party hour was over, the crowd went back to solid ground and shouted their goodbyes to the new couple.

It was a dream come true…

~***~

"Isn't he wonderful Troy?" whispered Sharpay as she cradled their newborn son, Jacob Bolton. He was a perfect mix of his parents with the ash blonde hair from his mother and the ocean blue eyes of his father. His traits are yet to be revealed when he gets older.

Troy looked as his son and smiled kissing his wife's cheek.

"Yeah, he is…" he agreed.

The parents stared at their infant son who was asleep in his mother's arms.

~***~

"Happy birthday to you!"

"Happy birthday to you!"

"Happy birthday, happy birthday…"

The crowd inhaled deeply before continuing in a very loud chorus,

"HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU!!!"

The crowd cheered as the blonde haired, blue-eyed boy of seven blew out the seven candles in his triple chocolate cake. Then he smiled as his parents showered him with hugs and kisses and the crowd took pictures along with the professional photographer the Bolton's hired for the occasion.

"Alright, who wants to open his presents?" cheered a man with steel gray hair and sharp brown eyes. Vance Evans handed his grandson a big box with a blue ribbon atop. The boy giggled excitedly and ripped the gift wrap and squealed in delight as he got a remote control airplane.

"Do you like it darling?" asked a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Derby Evans was eyeing her grandson with fondness.

"Yes grandmother, thank you!" cried Jacob as he tried to rush away with his new toy.

"Whoa! Not so fast there young man!" said Troy while holding his son in place.

"Or you won't be able to open all your presents!" Sharpay finished with a kiss on her son's cheek. Jacob's eyes grew wide with delight, "MORE presents?!" he cried joyfully, "YAY!" he cheered. His parents smiled and Troy motioned for his parents to come over.

"Hey there kiddo, here's what we got you!" Jack Bolton handed a square box to his grandson as Lucille Bolton smiled. Jacob also tore away the wrappings and his eyes and smile grew wide with delight.

"You got me a soccer ball! I always loved soccer!" the little boy exclaimed in delight. Lucille noticed the hidden hurt behind her husband's eyes.

"Don't you worry hon, it may not be basketball-but at least it involves a ball…" she placated.

"And now, from your favorite uncle and aunt; drum roll please…" Ryan Evans announced waltzing into the room with a box in his hands. Jacob spotted his favorite uncle and jumped up and down with excitement.

"Ta-da!" his uncle cried and opened the box with flourish. Inside lay a Wii and the boy jumped and gave his uncle a bear hug. Ryan was shocked and he tried to keep his balance while Kelsi, his wife, got the box before any damage happened to the game console. Ryan was able to hug his nephew after that.

Just then, Chad and Taylor entered the scene and the little boy jumped down from his uncle and immediately hugged them. They were his godparents and he loved them so much.

"Hey there Cob!" Chad called to his godson. Chad, being Chad, gave that nickname to his godson.

"Hey there too UnkaChad!" replied Jacob and then turned to his godmother,

"Hi Aunt Tay!" he cried and his godmother scooped him up for another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey there birthday boy!" she cooed and brought a box from behind her back.

As always, the little boy ripped apart the wrappings and the living room of the Bolton mansion was now filled with gift wrap.

"A TOY CAR-COOL!!!" cried Jacob and hugged his godparents once more.

"Not just a toy car, it's a REMOTE CONTROL CAR!" Chad cried and Jacob grabbed Troy's hand and dragged him to the car.

"Daddy can I play with it now?!" he demanded with puppy dog eyes. Troy looked at his son and chuckled softly.

"Man, you're as demanding as your mother!" he cried earning a soft punch in the shoulder by Sharpay.

"Later darling, four down and one more to go!" she told him. Jacob looked at her with those blue eyes and Sharpay felt like she was melting again. Her son had Troy's eyes and it made her weak in the knees again.

"Who's the last present from, mommy?" he asked in an angelic voice as he batted his eyelash.

"Our present!" his father cried and held out his hand to his son.

"It's outside…" he whispered and Jacob eagerly grabbed Troy's hand as they headed towards the backyard everybody following the father and son.

Sharpay opened the double doors that led to the huge backyard of the Bolton mansion. Troy led his son across the veranda and down the steps toward the bicycle that awaited his son. Jacob gasped in shock and ran back to hug his parents and ran back to his brand new toy. He ran a hand over it and jumped on its seat and started pedaling away.

His family watched him having fun with smiles on their faces. Troy had his arms around Sharpay's waist from behind and was watching his son having the time of his life. Life couldn't get any better…

He has a job anyone would die for; he owned Bolton Court where NBA basketball games are held. His wife was the Queen of Broadway and he had the most perfect kid in the world.

"How long before the other kiddos come in?" he whispered into his wife's ear.

"Three hours from now…" she replied, leaning her head against Troy's chest.

"Better get ready…" he cooed and called to his son.

~***~

"Are you seeing anybody?" Sharpay hissed as she glared at her husband. He glared back with bloodshot eyes and frowned. It was 2 in the morning and they were having an argument in the foyer.

"No. I told you I was working." he replied hoping she'd let him pass. He badly needed to sleep.

"Work? You're always working Troy! 24/7 you're at the office!" she yelled, hands on her hips.

"Is that a bad thing?!" Troy yelled back in frustration and the two started fighting once again. Jacob watched through the crack at his door as his parents voice grew louder and louder.

"Troy, I want a divorce." Sharpay stated some thirty minutes after their row.

"Gladly!" Troy growled. Right now, he couldn't stand being with her, couldn't stand the sight of her. It was high school all over again. He sighed and headed upstairs when Sharpay called out to him, "I'm taking Jacob with me!"

He turned around and hurried to where Sharpay was and glared at her; she glared back.

"No!" he snarled, his blood starting to boil.

"He will not grow up with you! You are always working, how are you going to take care of him?" she snapped.

"I'll make time!" Troy spat. Sharpay snorted darkly.

"So now you'll make time? I hate hollow promises Troy!" she yelled at his face. Troy was having a headache from all the yelling. It was quickly escalating into a migraine and Sharpay's new rants about his parenting skills are not making things better. Before he knew it, he slapped her hard to shut her up. Silence engulfed the house.

Troy stared at his wife in shock. She was suddenly on top of the stairs, a hand on her cheek which was red. Troy looked at his hand and looked back to see his son who was hugging his mother who was sobbing.

"I…I…I'm sorry…" he choked and went up trying to reach out to her but she backed away.

"Save it Bolton!" she hissed and Jacob hugged his mother tighter, there were tears in his eyes. Troy's heart broke as he realized what he'd done. He was so immersed in his job he forgot his family and took them for granted. But it was too late…

"I'll see if you get to see Jacob during the weekends." Sharpay said curtly and took their son to his room.

Troy looked around the empty hallway knowing his life was shattered…

~***~

Jacob Bolton awoke with a start.

His head was throbbing in pain and the room he was in smelled of vomit and urine. It was disgusting and he wrinkled his nose and tried very hard not to puke. He looked at his surroundings and noticed that he was sitting on a threadbare mattress in a dingy room.

It all came back to him.

His dad took him to Central Park that night to see the stars. He came straight from work because Sharpay needed to get to a late night rehearsal. Since his father was exhausted, he fell asleep while laying on the grass and Jacob decided to look around. That was an incredibly stupid decision… he thought.

He got farther and farther away and was quite lost when a pair of strong hands grabbed him and he kicked and lashed but his efforts were futile. He was hit on the head and he blacked out immediately…

He sat up straight in the mattress. He was kidnapped! After a decade of living a perfect life he was kidnapped! His heart started beating wildly as he thought of escape. Why did this have to happen to me?! He wanted to yell. A sudden noise caught his attention when he heard a door open. He glanced and his jaw dropped open in shock as a man with tattoos all over his arms came onto him. The burly man gave him a glare and smirked.

"Shit Tom, look what Benny bagged now!" he called out. Immediately a thin man with greasy hair came in and yelped with happiness.

"This is a lotta dough Marcus!" he yelled fingering Jacob's face. The boy slapped his hand away.

"Why, who's that?" Marcus asked gruffly. Tom snatched Jacob by the scruff of the neck and held the boy an inch from Marcus. Jacob could smell the alcohol and tobacco from the man's sour breath and his stench also told Jacob that he needed a bath.

"This here," he indicated Jacob, "is the son of the Bolton tycoon whose basketball court we sleep against and Sharpay Evans, whose hot ass I wanna taste!" he barked his voice filling with lust and becoming husky at the mention of Jacob's mother.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Jacob ordered kicking Tom. The thin man cried out at the foot that lashed at him and Marcus immediately punched the boy. Jacob fell and felt the blood rushing from his nose. Just then the door slammed shut and the three males looked around to see another burly man approach them.

"Don't mess him up." he growled as he glared at his two companions who seemed to quiver in fear. Jacob saw a tall black man who had very big muscles and dark eyes.

"Yes sir." Tom whispered timidly and Marcus nodded his agreement. The two hurried out of the room. Benny looked at the boy with cold eyes and handed him a kerchief. Jacob wiped the blood of his face.

"I won't harm you unless you do anything stupid, got that?" he growled. Jacob nodded in fear.

Boy, if I ever get out of here, I ain't doing anything stupid anymore, Jacob thought as he watched the black man walk away and slam the door…


Please review! :)