This my entry to the second theme of the ZAAngeles writes off! The theme is 'Things aren't always what they seem'. I hope you enjoy it! More intense drama that I've ever written before and kinda long…sorry about that! Don't forget to vote for it when the poll opens up in April!
~TG~
Twenty nine year old Gabriella Bolton was sure that her life was as close to perfect as it could possibly be. She lived in a stunning home just outside of Albuquerque, was married to a wonderful man and had a beautiful one year old daughter.
She had recently returned to work full time, teaching maths and science at a Middle School just ten minutes drive from the pristine gated community where her large six bedroom home was located. Her husband Troy, worked equally as hard as the CEO of a large advertising company that managed several other small companies.
Their daughter Annabelle was nothing less than perfect, she was a wonderful mix of her mother and her father. With long flowing brown curls and bright blue eyes, to Troy and Gabriella she was the child they had always dreamed of having.
Gabriella was looking forward to tonight, it would be the first night in months that she and Troy and spent alone together. Annabelle was staying with Troy's parents, so Gabriella and Troy could spend the evening doing whatever they wanted to do.
As she approached the gate she smiled at the man that operated the barrier. George had become an important part of their lives; welcoming them in to their home by lifting the red and white striped barrier every time they returned from their long busy days.
"Good Evening, George!" She called as she drove past his small office, waving quickly before she turned the corner and sped down the road that lead to home. She couldn't wait to get out of the car, she had to admit it was a comfortable car, but the idea of snuggling in bed was far more appealing.
As she turned onto the road, she was confronted by an image she never thought she would see. Police cars and policemen, dozens of policemen roaming the street that she thought had been safe.
'Something must have happened, I hope no one is hurt.' She thought to herself as she continued down the long road. Despite their being ten other houses on the road, theirs was fairly isolated and further away from the main road than any of the others. It provided them with the privacy and secluded lifestyle that they had craved throughout their college lives.
Panic began to erupt within her as she approached the house; outside of her perfect beautiful family home were five police cars and several uniformed officers.
Despite being in the middle of the street; Gabriella turned off the engine and dashed out of the car and towards the house, not caring how many officers tried to halt her attempts to enter.
"What's going on?" She called panicked, looking around her at the detectives searching through their belongings and leaving them strewn across the floor of their usually neat home.
Her eyes frantically searched for Troy, he would have sorted this out if he had known. There was no way this kind of mistake would have been made if Troy had been there, she was sure of that!
"We have a warrant to search your property in connection with a murder in Los Alamos five days ago." A detective presented the warrant to Gabriella, leaving her to read it as she continued to search the draws and cupboard that boarded the hallway and living room.
Gabriella could feel her heart beating through her chest; dizziness was overtaking her body and she was sure that if she allowed herself, she would have vomited and later passed out.
"There must have been some kind of mistake, you've got the wrong house! Where is my husband?" Gabriella asked; she had to find Troy, he would know how to fix this.
She began searching the house for Troy; running from room to room as she desperately looked in every room that Troy could possibly be in. As she entered the their bedroom, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Troy was led face down on the bed, his hands cuffed behind his back with an officer tightly holding onto him.
"Troy! What's happening?" Hysterical tears began to run down her face as she watched Troy turn his head towards her, his eyes radiating pain as he watched his wife break down.
He shook his head and tried to shrug, his restricted movements preventing him from achieving what he had set out to. He was as clueless as she was, all of a sudden the police had burst into his home with little explanation as to why.
"Baby listen to me, this is a huge mistake! But we have to let them do what they need to do and they will realize they've made a mistake. They're going to take me to the precinct to ask me some questions, but I don't want you to worry okay? Everything is going to be okay and I'll be back before you know it. I love you." Troy spoke calmly as the officer lifted him from the bed and forced him towards the door.
Gabriella's sobs became screams of fear and shock as she slid down onto the floor, her perfect world was falling apart around her and she had no idea how she was supposed to deal with it.
"Miss, you need to come with us." A kind female detective spoke as she helped Gabriella up, directing her towards the door as another office boarded up the glass door that they had smashed to enter the house.
The cold wind that whipped the trees outside was causing Gabriella to shiver harshly as she approached the car.
"Are you going to be able to drive downtown Miss? Or would you prefer one of my officers to drive you?" The female detective asked soothingly, placing her hang on Gabriella shoulder and smiling at her kindly.
Gabriella wasn't sure what the right answer was, shock had dulled her thoughts and all she could think of was making sure that they proved Troy was innocent.
"I think I can manage. I need to see my daughter first, is that alright?." Gabriella replied dully as the detective nodded; quietly Gabriella slid into the SUV and closed the door, stepping on the gas and heading to the Bolton's family home.
She seemed to be on autopilot most of the drive, barely concentrating as the tears streaming down her face clouded her vision. She pulled up on the Bolton's driveway and took a deep breath, did they know? Had they been called? Or would she have to relay the whole nightmare to them when she entered their warm comforting home?
Unlocking the door with the key that they often used she entered and closed the door quietly behind her, leaning against it and closing her eyes before building up the courage to proceed further.
"Sweetheart? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" The kind voice of Lucille Bolton filled her ears, soothing her slightly as she concentrated on her breathing.
Lucille had been a huge part of her life ever since she had moved to Albuquerque in sophomore year of High School. Her father had suffered a heart attack and sadly passed away when Gabriella was just seven, forcing her mother to leave the small town in Ohio that constantly reminded her of her late Husband. The move had changed Gabriella's life, not only had she met Troy, but her mother had also met a man whom she had fallen in love with.
Hong Tan was an affluent Chinese business man who had worked closely with Mariska Montez. It hadn't taken them long to build a relationship that quickly turned sexual. Gabriella had been heartbroken when her mother announced she had found love again, she despised the man who appeared for have forced himself into her life and taken over. When Mariska became pregnant, she and Hong decided the best place to raise their child, was his native China.
Gabriella had refused to move, she had aggressively insisted that she would never leave Albuquerque. It was then that Lucille had offered to allow Gabriella to live with them, taking her into their home and raising her for the remainder of her teenage years, while her mother emigrated with her new love.
Returning back to reality Gabriella looked up into Lucille's worried eyes, more tears rushing down her cheeks as she realized that Lucille had no idea of the evening's events.
"Troy's been arrested." She whispered, hoping that Lucille had heard her quiet words so that she didn't have to repeat them. Acid began to build up in her throat and she choked harshly, allowing the horrendous events to spill from her stomach.
Lucille gasped alarmed, rushing to Gabriella's side and embracing her tightly in her comforting arms.
"Gabriella sweetheart, what's happened? Jack! Come here quickly!" Lucille called out for her husband, fearing that this would be a situation that would require the whole family to pull together.
Jack Bolton was a loving, kind and gentle man; he had retired young from his job as a high school Basketball coach and focused on raising the young family that were the center of his world.
"What's going on?" He asked as he witnessed the scene before him, his wife cradling his daughter in law tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Gabriella looked up at the voice; letting go of Lucille and quickly rushing towards Jack, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she continued to sob.
"Apparently Troy has been arrested! Gabriella, why don't we go and sit down and you can tell us what's happening?" Lucille suggested, guiding the young woman towards the comfortable living room and helping her to sit down on the large couch.
Quickly, Lucille glanced at the baby monitor, all of a sudden thankful for the fact that it had a camera and that she was able to observe baby Annabelle sleeping peacefully.
"Come on Sweetheart, what happened?" Lucille prompted, rubbing Gabriella's back and encouraging her to continue the explanation to why she had turned up at their house in shock.
Gabriella took a deep breath, sorting through her thoughts so that she was finally able to coherently explain the situation at hand.
"I got home from work and there was police everywhere, when I got into the house they were pulled everything apart and searching for something. A detective shoved a warrant in my hand and told me that there had been a murder in Los Alamos and there was evidence that linked it to our house. They've arrested Troy because they think he did it….they think he killed someone!" Hearing the words out loud forced Gabriella to break down all over again, tears choking her as she tried to hold them back but failed.
Lucille and Jack recoiled in shock, their son had been arrested for murder? There had to be some kind of mistake! Troy was their good child, nothing like either of his siblings who often caused them trouble and grief.
"What happens now?" Jack asked, wondering what the process was and how they were going to navigate themselves around it without completely falling apart.
Gabriella shrugged her shoulders as words failed her, she had no idea what was going to happen but she hoped that the terrible nightmare would soon be over.
"I have to go down to the precinct to answer some questions." Gabriella replied numbly, knowing that she couldn't stall much longer, soon she would have to leave and face the nightmare head on.
Lucille looked at Jack worriedly, there had to be a way to fix this.
"I'll drive you there Gabi, it wouldn't be safe for you to drive like this. Come on," Jack suggested, holding his hands out to help Gabriella up and pulling her under his arm as she stood and began to walk towards the door.
As she got herself into the car, Jack said a quick goodbye to Lucille and promised to fill her in when he had some more information.
Lucille watched the car pull out of the driveway, what had happened to her world? Out of her two sons and her daughter, Troy had always been the best behaved, the best achiever, the most family orientated.
'Maybe things aren't always as they seem…' She thought to herself quietly.
~TG~
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever." Gabriella whispered to herself as she paced backwards and forwards around in an interview room at the Albuquerque Police Department.
Nobody had told her what was happening, or where they had taken Troy. Once she had arrived, she had been guided by a detective into the dark gloomy room and informed that someone would be with her shortly.
Pacing was the only thing she could do to fill the time, seconds passed like minutes and her mind began to focus on whatever it could possibly be remember. She wasn't sure how many times she had repeated the Lord's Prayer but focusing on the words she knew so well seemed to help calm her worried mind.
"Are you religious Mrs. Bolton?" A male detective asked as he entered the room; watching as Gabriella continued to pace, her eyes pointed down to the ground and a blank expression painted across her delicate features.
She sighed as she contemplated the question, was she religious? She had been brought up a catholic but she couldn't remember the last time she had been to church or even thought about God.
"No…no I'm not, not anymore," She whispered in reply as she continued to pace around the room, not once looking at the detective who was beginning to question her.
How could her perfect life have gone so terribly wrong? When she had left for work this morning, Troy had kissed her goodbye and told her he loved her…now if found guilty, he could be facing life in jail.
"Can you remember where your husband was five days ago?" The detective asked what seemed to be the million dollar question. Gabriella was sure that most wives would lie, but why should she lie when deep down she was sure her Troy was innocent?
She looked deep into her mind, remembering exactly what had happened five days ago. Thankfully for her, she had been blessed with an incredible memory, one that was not only helping her career but now apparently her home life would benefit too.
"It was the day before Annabelle's first birthday. Troy had a business meeting in Santa Fe; he called home at three to say he had finished and that he would be coming home soon. He was going to pick up Annabelle's cake on the way home. He had spare time, so he dropped in on his brother before making the drive home." Gabriella relayed the information to the detective, biting on her nails as she clarified the information over and over in her mind to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
She watched as the detective wrote down her response to the questions, she hoped that with the important question answered she and Troy would be able to go home…but it didn't seem that way.
"Why would Troy go and visit his brother unannounced? How do you know that is definitely where he went?" The detective probed, observing Gabriella becoming more and more agitated as her perceived perfect life was put into question.
Gabriella sighed again, this time sitting down at the table and resting her head in her hands. She was tired, exhausted in fact and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and wake up from the nightmare she had found herself in.
"He lives in Los Alamos, I know that he definitely went there because at five his brother called me to say he had left, and at six forty five Troy called me from the cake shop to say that he had picked up the cake and would be home soon. Half an hour later he was home, tucking Annabelle into bed. I don't know what else you want me to say." Gabriella insisted, her mind beginning to doubt itself as she observed the unconvinced look on the detective's face.
She didn't like where this was leading, for as long as she could remember she had had Troy by her side and the sudden reality of losing him and never getting him back made her want to be physically sick.
"Troy and his brother, are they close?" He asked, prying further into the mystery brother who lived in the very town where the murder had taken place.
He had seen this situation many times before; loving husband cheats on his wife and then murders the evidence, spinning his wife a story before returning home like nothing had happened. Nothing about this case made him feel like it was anything other than what it seemed.
"They're twins, identical. Riley has always been jealous of how successful Troy is; he didn't even finish high school. But my Troy, he works so hard to make sure we have a comfortable life. Corey works in Home Depot." Gabriella was sure this information was irrelevant, why wouldn't they just let her see Troy so she could finally understand what was going on.
The detective frowned; he hadn't known that Troy was an identical twin, this new information made using DNA evidence much more difficult. With DNA alone, he would never be able to prove which of the brothers had committed the crime.
He needed to know more.
"Mrs. Bolton, has your husband ever cheated on you?" Gabriella almost choked as she listened to the detective's words; she was amazed that he had had the nerve to ask her something so ridiculous.
But as she began to consider them more closely a thought came to her mind, had Troy cheated on her? How would she know if he had?
Quickly she shook of her thoughts, punishing herself for allowing her thoughts to get the better of her.
"Of course he didn't cheat on me! Troy would never cheat on me!" Gabriella fiercely insisted, standing up and resuming her previous routine of pacing around the room in an attempt to block out the room around her.
The detective pulled out a set of pictures from his file, pausing for a moment before placing them down on the table for Gabriella to look at next time she walked past the table.
"This is Karalee Suzell; she worked as a prostitute in Los Alamos. Five days ago, she was beaten to death and dumped in an alley three blocks from her home. Your husband's DNA was on her body, unless he comes up with something very convincing, he's going to jail." The detective spoke bluntly to Gabriella as he watched her slump against the wall and fall to the floor, tears began streaming down her face and sobs echoed through the room.
Had Troy really cheated on her with a hooker? Had he really gone to Los Alamos the day before their daughter's birthday and paid for sex before committing murder? The scene playing in her head sounded crazy but she was a scientist, she knew that DNA couldn't lie.
"Can you please let me go home now?" Gabriella asked exhausted, looking up at the detective for the first time as allowed her emotions to flow from her body. Defeated; exhaustion was beginning to take over her body, and with or without Troy she needed to be home in bed.
Wordlessly the detective nodded, showing Gabriella where to go and watching as she was tightly embraced by her father in law.
He shook his head solemnly; he sure hoped that this case wasn't everything it seemed.
~TG~
Troy Bolton lay down on the hard bed of the cold, smelly cell and closed his eyes tightly. What had his life become all of a sudden? How had one incident in time, created such a huge drama to unfold before him?
Everything about his life had become uncertain; would he still have a job tomorrow? Would he still have a wife, a daughter and a home to go to when it was all over? He was sure Gabriella would have left by now, she had always been easily convinced of things and the thought of her believing that he was a murderer sent chills down his spine.
They had taken everything; his clothes had been bagged for evidence, the contents of his wallet had been spread across a table, even his wedding ring had been sealed into a plastic bag tightly with red evidence tape.
He knew there must have been some kind of horrific mistake; he just hoped it wasn't a mistake that would cost him everything that made life worth living.
"Mr. Bolton, would you come with us please." The voice of a male detective broke Troy from his thoughts, as the large heavy iron door was opened, allowing cool air to rush inside.
Troy stood up slowly, the plastic fabric of his forensic suit restricting his movements as he made his way to follow the smartly dressed detective into another room.
"We have spoken to your wife; she tells us that you have a brother in Los Alamos. Can you tell us what he does?" The man asked, curious to see whether Troy would give the same answer as Gabriella had given just minutes earlier.
Troy chuckled briefly, what did his brother do? Born identical, life had carved a very different path for each of the brothers.
"Not a lot. Mom has always described him as the lazy one, only doing as much as was required to get by. Currently, he works for Home Depot moving decking between the store and the delivery trucks." Troy responded, chuckling again as he imagined his mother's commonly used phrase to describe his brother.
Riley had never been an achiever; he had never learnt to swim, never played a sport, didn't graduate high school and was not even keen on working. Lucille Bolton was never sure what it was that made her sons so different, she assumed it was just their personality differences that had made one an over achiever and one his own level below what would be classed as an underachiever.
"Has he ever been in trouble with the police?" The detective asked, curious to know whether the DNA was truly Troy's or whether they could be a possibility of it being that of his brother.
Troy thought back over the years, scanning every occasion that he had been in trouble and trying to remember if the police has ever been involved.
"He's broken the law but never been caught. This has happened before you know? I was arrested, finger printed and had my DNA taken for something that he did. I swear to you I didn't kill that girl!" Troy insisted, becoming more desperate than ever to get out of the horrible plastic suit and home so that he could snuggle with Gabriella tightly in his arms.
The detective nodded, standing up and showing Troy back to the cell that had been home for the last seven hours. A picture was starting to build in front of him, perhaps they had been wrong, and perhaps it wasn't Troy that had killed the girl after all.
He needed to find Riley Bolton, and he needed to find him soon.
~TG~
Gabriella had packed up everything she needed and left the house. She couldn't be there; everything remained her of Troy and how he had cheated on her and committed a hideous crime.
Her mind was convinced now; he had to have done it. He had never enjoyed spending time with Riley, so why would he randomly visit him? This was how it seemed to her; he had finished work and gone to Los Alamos, had sex with the hooker and killed her to cover his tracks. It made her feel sick, she had welcomed him back into their home, just hours after he had done something so terrible.
Her mind had told her she was never wrong, she had trusted her instincts up to now so perhaps it was time to trust her head. She couldn't be there when and if Troy came home.
She had collected Annabelle from the Bolton's home, packed up their things and put them all in the large SUV that she shared with Troy.
She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, all of her friends had moved away long before now and there was no way she could go to stay with one of Troy's friends.
As she continued driving a large mansion appeared on the horizon, she never thought she would find herself here, but where else could she go?
As soon as she had parked the car inside the open gates, she grabbed Annabelle from the baby seat and approached the door. She was understandably nervous, why should the owner of such a grand home ever help her? Gabriella had never offered her any help, so it wasn't even like it could be payback for an earlier good deed.
Only seconds after Gabriella had rung the doorbell that the huge while wooden door swung open, revealing a tall, slim blonde lady.
"Gabriella?" She asked, question and confusion lacing her voice as she stepped aside and allowed the shaken and shocked woman into her home.
They had never been friends; Gabriella had had everything she always wanted and she couldn't help but have disliked her for it. Times had changed though; she had moved on with her life and had seemingly forgotten everything that had happened all those years ago.
"Sharpay…I didn't know where else to go. I know you probably still hate me, but everyone has gone and I couldn't stay at home!" Tears began flowing down Gabriella cheeks once again as she hugged Annabelle tightly to her chest.
Sharpay had to admit she was confused, the last she had heard Gabriella had the perfect life. She and Troy had got married, were living in a beautiful house and someone had only recently sent her a picture of the adorable baby that had been welcomed into the world.
"Forget about all of that, what's going on? Where's Troy?" Sharpay asked concerned for Gabriella's safety, she knew how protective Troy had always been on her, and she was sure Gabriella wouldn't be out alone and distressed unless something terrible had happened.
Gabriella sighed as she sat down, trying very hard to calm herself down so that she could explain what had happened. She was sure Sharpay could give her good advice; she wasn't a friend so she wouldn't be bias and she certainly had no loyalty to Troy.
"Troy's in jail, he cheated on me and then he killed the girl." Gabriella spoke bluntly, watching as Sharpay spat her coffee all over the plush living room as the shocking words sunk in.
In had been years since Sharpay had seen Troy, but she had known him since kindergarten and she was more than sure that he would never be capable of such a crime, not only that but he had fought so hard for Gabriella in High School, there was no way he would be so stupid.
"Gabriella listen; Troy didn't do this, I am sure of it! He wouldn't do this! How do they know it was definitely him?" Sharpay asked, rubbing Gabriella's back soothingly as she pushed the strangeness of their current situation to the back of her mind.
Never in her life has she imagined she would be comforting Gabriella Montez, who was technically Bolton, on her couch encouraging her to go back to Troy.
"DNA evidence doesn't lie Sharpay." Gabriella spoke simply; rocking Annabelle gently in her arms as she began to stir, what would she tell their baby girl when she asked why she didn't have a daddy? She couldn't tell her about the horrific crimes he had committed…she was going to have to lie.
All of a sudden a rare spark of intelligence shot through Sharpay's mind. She loved watching CSI and she specifically remembered an episode that featured identical twins…with identical DNA…Troy was an identical twin!
Suddenly everything made sense to her, everything Gabriella had been saying to her and everything she had experienced through school with the Bolton brothers was finally making sense.
"No, no, no, Gabriella you've got this all wrong! Come on, you're the scientist here! Riley and Troy will have identical DNA! It wasn't Troy that did this, it was Riley!" Sharpay exclaimed hurriedly, desperate to convince Gabriella that her beloved Troy had not done any of the things she thought that he had.
Gabriella's ears pricked up quickly, maybe Sharpay was right? Maybe Riley had committed this crime and it was a case of mistaken identity? She hoped with everything she had that Sharpay was right.
She had wished so hard that this whole nightmare wasn't what it seemed to be.
She had to go home…and she had to find Riley.
~TG~
Troy was exhausted, uncomfortable and desperate for a shower. If nothing else, he was thankful to finally be walking the street of Albuquerque.
Twenty four hours had passed since he had been arrested and removed from his home without warning, and twenty four hours had passed since he had seen or heard from Gabriella.
His world had been turned upside down, his brother had been arrested and charged with the murder of a hooker and he had no idea if his wife and daughter would be waiting for him.
Riley had turned up in Albuquerque; he was arrested by Albuquerque Police Department and questioned. He had denied everything, but when they matched wood chips from the body of the girl, to those they found on Riley the case was closed.
He couldn't believe his brother would do something so horrible, something that ended the life of an innocent person. Where had his life gone so wrong? Troy was just thankful that he had taken a different path.
With the contents of his wallet returned to him, Troy caught a cab back to his home. As he approached the house, he noticed the car in the driveway.
Gabriella was home; did that mean she had been waiting for him all this time?
As he opened the door he was greeted with the scene of freshly baked cinnamon buns, his favorite item from Gabriella's repertoire of baked goods.
She had not only waited for him…but she was welcoming him home? What had be done to deserve such an amazing woman in his life?
"Troy? Is that you?" Gabriella called through the house; she had had no idea when he would finally be released so instead of waiting at the police department, she had decided to make the house perfect for when Troy arrived home.
Troy smiled; everything was falling back into place, his whole world was contained in this house and he was finally home.
"Yeah Babe, it's me" He replied smoothly as he walked into the kitchen and embraced his wife from behind. It felt so good to have her back in his arms, twenty four hours had been too long and he wanted nothing more than to just be with her.
Gabriella smiled, she cursed herself for letting her mind overtake her heart but she thanked god that Sharpay had reminded her what was right. She made a mental note to thank her somehow.
"Thank God you're home!" Gabriella whispered as she turned around in Troy's arms and research up to press a kiss to his lips.
"I love you," Troy whispered as he kissed her again, forgetting everything that had happened and embracing the beautiful moment that he was currently in.
"I love you too," Gabriella whispered back, snuggling herself deep into his protective, warm embrace.
Nothing else in the world mattered. The world had righted itself once again and everything was going to be okay.
All that ran through Gabriella's mind was, 'Thank God things are not always what they seem!'
If you have enjoyed this story, please please go and vote for it when the ZAAngels poll opens on April 5th! Peace out!