"Ta-tap-tap-tap-crash!" Troy heard a steady, loud drumbeat coming from his son's room. He went to tell him to stop. Troy already had a headache from his screechy wife screaming at him. He was regretting marrying her. He had that though about 15 times a day.
"Peyton, stop playing! Please!" Troy yelled through the door. Luke Bolton came out of his room as Troy's new wife, Charlee Travison, walked down the hall, towards Troy.
"Pay, dear, don't stop! If you want to practice, go right ahead." Charlee said to the 13-year-old boy.
"Don't call me Pay." Peyton said coldly before retreating into his room.
Charlee stepped forward to hug Troy, apparently her way of apologizing for this evening's fight. However, Troy didn't appreciate her nails digging into his back.
Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton had broken up during their senior year in high school. Later in Troy's Medical School, he had met a woman named Lyndsey. They were married 2 years later. In 6 months, Lyndsey was pregnant. She had the baby, a little girl, and named her Scarlett. 6 months later, Lyndsey was pregnant again. This time it was a little boy they named Peyton. 6 months later, Lyndsey decided she couldn't handle the pressure of 2 young kids and a husband who couldn't get his business off the ground. At that time, Troy was an aspiring psychiatrist. Anyway, Lyndsey took off with most of Troy's money and possessions, but leaving the kids for her ex-husband. He called his old high school friends, Taylor and Chad Danforth and explained his dilemma. The Danforths invited Scarlett, Peyton, and Troy to cash at their place while Troy tried to find a job and a place to live.
Well, Two years later, Troy and the now 2 and 3 year-old children were still at the Danforths. Not that Chad or Taylor minded. In fact, now they had a child of their own, so Taylor quit her job and stayed home with the three children while Troy went job-hunting. Chad just hated seeing his best friend come home every night, miserable. So Chad tried to cheer Troy up. He set Troy up with a friend of Taylor's cousin. Troy and the girl, Annie, hit it off great. One year later the two were married and living on their own. 5 years into the marriage, Annie was pregnant. 9 months later Troy had a baby girl named Lacey. Then, in about 4 years, Annie was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver. Soon, Troy, who was now a professional psychiatrist, decided that he needed a break from the stress of his life. Leaving Lacey, Peyton, and Scarlett with the Danforths, Troy ran to Las Vegas. One night while he was there, he met a woman at a bar. The two fell in love, and got married that very night. Troy was now thinking that that was the worst decision of his life.
Right now Charlee, Troy, and the three kids were living in an apartment in East Little Rock, Arkansas. They were very close to the Danforths. The kids had been raised by Annie, Taylor, Chad, and, of course, Troy. They didn't want another person in their lives. Lacey was now 5 and Peyton and Scarlett were 13 and 14. Scarlett's opinion of her new mom was that she was a 'snooty, arrogant, bleach blonde, skanky, snotface'. The more Troy learned about Charlee, the more he had to agree. Even though, as Chad had said, 'she was hot.' That earned both troy and Chad a slap from Taylor.
Anyway, back to Charlee squeezing the living daylights out of Troy, thinking she was being affectionate.
"Char, I know we want Peyton to like you, but we have to set limits!" Troy said while prying Charlee's claws from his torso.
She rolled her eyes, blew a stray hair out of her face, and huffed down the hallway, back to whatever she was doing. Troy turned around to see Scarlett and Lacey peek out their door, then roll their eyes and blow hair out of their face, imitating Charlee. He had to laugh and go hug his two favorite girls. As the girls went back to their rooms, Troy knocked softly on Peyton's door.
"Can I come in, buddy?
"Is Charlee there?" Peyton responded chillingly.
"No, It's just me," Troy replied while opening the door. Peyton was lying on his bed, tossing a basketball in the air.
Troy caught the ball. Peyton jumped up and the father and son started a mini game of horse using the hoop Troy had installed against Charlee's will. Peyton stole the ball from his dad and threw it toward the hoop. It missed, rebounded, and flew toward Peyton's dresser. With a crash, it hit a shelf and everything fell to the ground.
"Troy?" Charlee screeched. "How many times do I have to tell you not to play basketball in the apartment?"
Troy rolled his eyes and, for his son's sake, stuck his tongue out in Charlee's general direction. Luke laughed and the two walked through the place to get the broom and the dustpan. They got to Charlee first, though.
"What broke?" Charlee asked in an exasperated tone. "Did you get hurt, Pey, darling?" She wrapped her talons around Peyton's muscled body. Troy knew this was a bad idea, and not just because there was a muscle flexing by Peyton's jaw (Troy and Peyton's sign of anger).
Peyton escaped from Charlee's grip and screamed, "I hate you, Charlee!"
He missed the look of sadness on her face as he ran out the door, slamming it behind him.