I don't own anything.
A/N: Alright its another week and that means its time for another update. First off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; lilmissmonique, dreamer 3097, chaylorXtraylorlover101, HelloLish, kuropie, Sciencefreak2007, AyaneC, corbinsbabygrl1, mzwendy85, Phelycia, MermaidRam85, look at the stars, TraylorxChaylor, SmileBubsx. and Favor1234. I hope everyone enjoys this new update I know its long but still hope you all enjoy and please Review.
Baby S
Chapter Eleven
Groaning slowly sat up in bed as he reached out blindly for his wife, he slowly blinked his eyes opened as he realized that he was alone in their bed. Rubbing a hand over his chest he slowly searched the room with his eyes. Tossing back the covers he moved so that he was sitting on the side of the bed. Reaching out towards the end of the bed he picked up the black tank top that he had discarded the night before and slipped it on. Now clad in his silk black pajama bottoms and tank top he headed towards the bathroom. Opening the door slightly he peeked inside hoping she was in there getting ready for the morning, to his disappointment she wasn't in there either. Shaking his head he glanced over at the clock and realized that it was well after eight o'clock in the morning. "Dang, she must be downstairs. Why'd she let me sleep like this?" he muttered as he headed out of his room. The house was eerily quiet as he padded downstairs occasionally stretching as he did. Entering the kitchen he paused as he saw Ian Rowell his daughter's boyfriend quietly talking on the phone while sipping a cup of coffee.
"Yes…well I love you too and no we're fine…ma there's no need. Makayla and I are just fine." He whispered softly in a soothing voice, Troy smirked and leaned back against the doorframe and watched as he tried his best not to laugh. "No ma, the Boltons they're good people…," Ian stated as he jerked his head up finally noticing his Troy standing there in the doorway watching him with a smirk on his face. Taking his eyes away from the other man, Ian returned his attention to his phone call. "Look ma I gotta go…yes mama I'll call you back later…alright love you too." He stated as he hung up the phone. Troy waited till he sat the phone down before pushing himself off the doorframe so he could enter the room fully.
"So are you're a mama's boy, huh." He asked trying his best not to smile; Ian chuckled at the term and shrugged his shoulders for a moment before speaking.
"I'm both…I'm a mama's boy and a father's dream." Troy rolled his eyes playfully at that statement as he walked over to the counter while the coffee pot was; pulling down a mug he poured himself a glass while looking over his shoulder at Ian.
"Only child huh…I should have known."
"Yeah…I guess." Ian stated with a awkward smile not really sure if he should venture into the topic of parents, especially considering the memories that it might bring up for Troy. Luckily for him, Troy didn't continue with the conversation; however a rather awkward silence fell over them. Wanting to break the silence that was getting to him, Ian spoke up. "So you like your coffee black huh?" Turning around Troy looked at him while leaning back against the counter. He stared at him silently while lifting the cup to his lips to take a slow sip. Lowering the cup he smiled and spoke.
"It builds character…only real men drink their coffee black." Ian looked down at his cream and sugar filled coffee and sighed. Troy couldn't hide it any longer he tilted his head back and laughed at his expression. Walking over to the table, he pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. "Just kidding…hand me some of that cream and sugar." Troy muttered evoking laughter from Ian.
"I don't you said only real men drink their coffee black." He replied with a laugh as he pushed the desired items across the table.
"I did drink my coffee black…I didn't say real men had to drink the whole cup." Troy replied with a laugh as he spooned off certain amounts of sugar and cream into his coffee.
"I'll have to remember that." Ian replied with a small smile as he looked at Troy. After a few moments another awkward silence settled over them as they both enjoyed their coffee. Unable to take it any longer, Ian lowered his mug and asked Troy the one question he had wanted to ask him last night after he had left.
"You alright?" Troy looked up at him surprise written all over his face as he finished his question, his face held that one emotion and then immediately went blank, seeing this quickly unnerved Ian who just sat back and shook his head as if trying to come up with something to say. After a while he spoke up, "Of course I would completely understand if you don't want to talk about it man." Troy sighed and lowered his mug.
"No…I didn't mean to…yeah, I'm alright." Troy replied softly, he lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned back in his chair and took a slow look around. "Where is everyone?"
"Out…they said they were going out for breakfast," when Troy narrowed his eyes in confused Ian quickly added. "They're bringing it back. The car was packed so I decided to stay here besides I'm pretty sure Makayla wanted to spend time with her mother and siblings, lord knows she needs the time, and I certainly didn't want to intrude. I could never imagine having that many siblings man…it's just wow. I mean one minute she's like an only child and now she had all the siblings she could ever ask for and," he paused and looked at Troy who was watching him curiously. "And I'm rambling."
"Don't worry about…are you nervous or something." Ian raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head.
"No…no…why do I look nervous?" Ian asked as he looked at Troy, who just smiled and lifted his coffee mug to his lips. Lifting one hand up he lowered his pointer finger down towards his thumb.
"Just a bit," he replied before taking a generous sip of his coffee, but seriously you probably wouldn't have been intruding…my kids are quite welcoming just like me and their mother…well to be completely honest you might have a problem with T.J. he takes after me…he's quite protective of his mother and his siblings, just like me. I'm protective of my wife and all my children." He replied as he took another sip. Ian nodded his head and in agreement.
"That's to be expected." Ian replied without thinking, he immediately jumped as his words hit the air between him and Troy. Narrowing his eyes Troy openly glared at the younger man as he set his cup of coffee down hard on the table causing some to jump out and onto the table soaking one of the placemats.
"What did you say?" Ian hastily pushed back his chair and set his cup of coffee down as well, shaking his head he muttered a soft sorry and headed towards the door. Troy was up instantly and blocked his only path towards the exit. "No don't leave let's discuss this…what did you say Ian?" Sighing Ian lowered his head. He couldn't believe he had said that out loud, oh how it must of sounded to Troy. Truth was he spent almost the entire night up thinking about what had happened to Troy and Taylor, and wondering if he and Makayla had been put in the same situation could he have pulled it together like her father had. He liked to think that he was on par with Troy Bolton, but everything he looked at the man he felt as if he was lacking some type of character quality…something that distinguished Troy from him and pretty much the rest of the men in the world. He couldn't think of anyone that had gone through what Troy had been through and survived to tell about it in the comfort of their own multi-million dollar home. He couldn't imagine what he would do in that situation; he only hoped that he could be as strong as Troy had been. Lifting his head he looked into Troy's eyes and spoke.
"I said that you being protective of your children…well considering…considering all that's happened to you and Taylor that would be a given you know…I mean …it's expected for you to be extremely protective of your children, I don't blame you man." Troy relaxed as he finished his statement before sighing.
"I'm sorry I just get uptight when…" he trailed off and Ian immediately knew what he was talking about. Troy stepped back and shook his head. "I just get uptight when someone mentions how I take care of my children, you know."
"Why? You're doing great with the, if you ask me?" Troy looked at him for a moment before sighing.
"I know I know…it's just that sometimes I feel like I have to take care of my family because I couldn't do it when I really needed to you. My past haunts me and motivates me every single day."
"Why do you let that happened? I mean man look at yourself, your past…it's just that your past and if you want to know the truth that's what I spent all last night trying to figure out. If and God forbid it…if Makayla and I were to go through the same situation I was hoping that I could handle it like you did."
"Don't say that." Troy muttered with a shake of his head.
"And why not…come on man you came out of that entire messed up situation quite beautifully if you ask me." He replied his voice picking up with awe and excitement. "I mean you went to college, you played professional ball, and you married the woman you loved…and you know what there are a lot of men in the world that can't even say that."
"Say what?"
"That they married the woman that they love…and then you started an expansion team right here in New Mexico for the NBA, you're a success man. You went against the odds and you won…you won." Troy eyed him for a moment before shaking his head.
"It would have never happened if it hadn't been for Makayla's adoptive parents." Troy replied calmly as he walked back over to the table. He flopped down heavily as if an invisible weight as holding him down. Keeping his eyes on the table, Troy lifted his coffee to his lips and took a lazy sip. Ian watched the man silently before moving back to his chair and sitting down.
"What do you mean? How did Mr. and Mrs. Jones help you get to where you are." Troy lifted his head and sighed.
"Just what I meant…I wouldn't have been nowhere near where I am now if it wasn't for them." Ian studied him for a moment before Troy just shook his head and stood up. Ian followed him with his eyes as he made his way towards the kitchen door. Troy paused and looked at him over his shoulder. "Come on I'll show you before everyone gets back alright." He stated before he turned and walked out of the room. Ian quickly hopped up and followed behind him. They walked through the house silently until Troy came to a stop and opened the door to the basement. Stepping back he made a gesture as if he was welcoming Ian and smiled. "After you." Ian looked down into the dark room before turning around to look at Troy.
"Oh Uh uh…you just told me that you were quite protective of your children and well my spidey sense is going off right now…I'll walk in behind you." Troy studied him for a moment before bursting out into laughter; Ian smiled at the older man.
"Man you are something else…no wonder my daughter is with you." He exclaimed as he lifted his hand up to wipe his eyes that had swelled with tears while he was laughing. "Don't worry I promise you I won't hit you with a shovel or something besides…all my tools are in the garage so after you." Ian gave him another look before stepping forward; he gave him one more look before heading down the stairs. Troy followed chuckling every once in a while especially whenever he thought about what he younger man had said before. Once Ian stepped foot on the bottom floor he reached out for the light switch and turned it on. His eyes immediately zeroed in on a small shelf that was literally covered in photos of Makayla from age three on up, her at award ceremonies, her at prom when she had taken that Jimmy London her ex-boyfriend and the one man that Ian truly hated in the whole world, plus a great deal of other photos. Turning around he looked at Troy and crossed his arms over his chest to hide his nervousness. This was what irony was all about, he had just got finished telling his mother that the Boltons were good people and now here he was in their basement looking at a shelf full of Makayla's pictures. Troy watched him for a moment before shaking his head. "Relax." He muttered as he walked by him and over to the wall. He looked it over for a moment while Ian spoke.
"Yo, man you got some serious 'plaining to do." Troy nodded his head and turned back around to look at him.
"Don't worry I plan to…but most the story is going to have to wait until Makayla gets back here alright. I can't rehash this stuff twice. I just wanted to let you know that if it hadn't been for Makayla's adoptive parents helping get out of poverty then I guarantee you I wouldn't be the man I am standing before you right now."
"Besides wanting to be the best husband I could be to Taylor…these pictures were my motivation. My motivation to do better, Mr. and Mrs. Jones kept us updated from time to time at first when Makayla was growing up it was monthly but as she got older it became every other month." He replied softly as he tuned around to look at Ian who was studying him slowly.
"So you met the Jones when Makayla was like what-."
"Taylor and I met them when Makayla was three." He replied softly as he looked back at the picture. "I guess the pictures tided us over…you know every month we got an update from them and we knew that our little girl was alright."
"If you saw her when she was three why didn't you try to get her back."
"She was better off with them then with us…it was one of the most difficult decides I ever had to make."
"Did you two have jobs?" Ian asked in confusion, he couldn't imagine Troy leaving his daughter with the Jones after finding her. Troy sucked his teeth at the question and sighed before speaking up.
"Look what I'm about to tell you is very…very upsetting to me. I'm still ashamed of this alright," he paused and when Ian shook his head he continued. "After we graduated from high school Taylor and I had a little money saved up…it was about three thousand dollars, and we also have some retail jobs at some local shopping stores. Well we were determined to find our daughter so we hired a private investigator to locate her…and well we had to pay him for the first three months…since it was such an old case, but he assure us that he would be able to locate our daughter in three months, and that's exactly what he did…but instead of telling us he continued to live for five more months. Paying him a thousand a month killed our expenses and it got us kicked out of the small apartment we had been living in, and that is when we hit rock bottom. We had to sleep in our car. I can still remember it now, our first night…
"Look, I don't care about your reasons as to why I'm not getting my money…all I care about is that I'm not getting. Now I've been a good guy I've let you both slide on not paying me my money but I've gone to long without getting a single dime so I'll make this simple I want you out of this apartment by five." Troy looked at the older man in shock, moving towards him he held out his hands in a pleading manner.
"Mr. Davis please just give us more time…I'll…I promise you well have the money." Mr. Davis paused in the doorway and shook his head.
"I already rented the place out…you have until five." Troy shoulders slumped as the door closed. He turned and looked at Taylor who was watching him silently from their small sofa. Walking over to her he placed a hand on her shoulder and then pulled her to him.
"I'm sorry." He whispered brokenly as he pulled back and looked back down at her tear streaked face. Lifting his hands up he brushed her hair back and then kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry." He didn't know how much more disappointment Taylor could take, and sometimes he wondered if she believed that marrying him had been the worst mistake of her life. "We'll find a place."
"Troy we don't have any money…all the money we have goes to that investigator or for gas so your car will run. We don't have any money to go and try to get a new place."
"Well maybe just for tonight we can stay at a motel."
"The only ones we can afford are roach infested." She replied back with a shake of head as she crossed her arms over her chest. They stood there in silence for a few moments before she shook her head and turned her back to him. "We might as well get started packing I do not want our things on the side of the street." Troy lowered his head for a moment his chest tightening with the pain of knowing he was failing his wife.
"Yeah I guess we should." It was a Saturday, and Troy thanked God that he and Taylor didn't need to take a day off especially since they needed every last bit of money they could get their hands on. Following his wife into their small bedroom he helped her pack up whatever merger belongings that they had. They didn't talk, they just packed, and it was that silence that slowly stabbed Troy every time he took a chance and looked at his wife. She would sometimes look at him as well, but her face was usual blank with emotion. Finally unable to take it any longer Troy spoke up. "Do you want to leave, Taylor? Believe I would understand." He whispered brokenly as he looked at her from across the room. Taylor lifted her head up and studied him for a minute before shaking her head.
"You're my husband I don't want to leave you." She stated truthfully as she turned to face him. "Am I upset? Of course I am but I love you Troy and I don't believe there is anything you can do that can make me turn my back on you." Troy lowered his head and sighed.
"You are to good for me."
"No…no I am not." She whispered as she walked over to him. "I was quiet because I didn't want to start a fight…I didn't think we needed to get into a fight and say things that neither of us really wants to say." Troy slowly nodded his head as he looked at her.
"Seriously."
"Yes…I'm serious, Troy I'm not angry at you…I'm angry at the situation but no you, never you.. Come on let's get packed so we can find a place to stay for the night." Troy nodded and started packing again. If they weren't so stubborn they might have called their parents but neither wanted to go crawling back to them asking for help, so they were on their own and they would find a solution to this problem on their own. They left shortly before five all their belonging stuffed into the truck of his car. They then spent the remainder of the afternoon riding around trying to find a place for them to stay at least for the night. They had just been rejection for the eight times. It was nearly eight o'clock and they were both hungry.
"Troy, let's go get something to eat." Taylor replied as her stomach released a loud rumbled. He nodded his head and headed towards Wendy's so they could make use of the dollar menu. After purchasing their food, Troy drove them to a park where they sat out on the picnic table and ate. Picking up one of the fries he popped it into his mouth and stared over Taylor's shoulder towards his car. Noticing his intense glaze Taylor speaks up.
"Troy what is it?" He looked at her and then lowered his head for a moment before replying brokenly.
"Let's face it Taylor…we aren't going to find a place that's booked, so we might as well…" he trailed off and looked down at the table the food in his mouth losing its flavor and turning his stomach. Taylor studied him for a minute before whispering.
"You think we should sleep in the car?"
"What other options do we have, look its about," he paused and looked at his watch. "It's about nine o'clock at night. We don't have the money to stay at the Hilton…we've tried all the motels we could afford and all of them were booked." He muttered bitterly. All of them were booked thanks to a local soccer tournament that had brought teams in from all across America. Their luck just wasn't working. Taylor watched him for a few more minutes before nodding her head.
"Alright." She whispered. They finished their meal in silence, she occasionally looked up at him as he forced his food down unwilling to waste a single dollar. After they finished Troy slowly got up as if he was heading towards a funeral. Taylor watched him silently as he opened the trunk and took out a blanket and a pillow. He looked over at her and sighed.
"I'll drive us to a truck stop in the morning, so we can get cleaned up behind work." He stated as he went about preparing the backseat. "You sleep in the backseat and I'll stay up front."
"No we can share the back, Troy."
"No, Taylor…look don't fight me on this, I'll feel better if you just take the back alright." She slowly nodded her head and sighed. Getting she tossed her food away and walked over to Troy as he stood outside the car. Wrapping her arms around his waist she rested her cheek against his back. She closed her eyes and whispered out the one thing she thought he needed to hear.
"I love you, Troy…I love you." He bowed his head for a moment before whispering back.
"I love you too." They stood there for a moment before he turned around and looked down at her, Taylor could see signs of anguish written all over his features as he bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Go on you better get some sleep…I'll wake you up in the morning." He replied softly as he looked at her. Taylor nodded and climbed into the car once she was settled Troy closed the door. Going around to the driver's side he hoped in and lowered the seat. He looked over at Taylor, who seemed to immediately fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow finally alone or as alone as he was going to be he raised a hand to his face and started crying unable to continue taking the pressure that had been weighing on him all day. Lifting his head up towards the ceiling of the car he silently wished the weigh that had been pressing on his chest since the moment they had been thrown out of the apartment would just kill him.
As soon as Troy finished his story a silence fell over both him and Ian. Troy became silence as he tried to fight back the usual feeling of hurt that came with that memory. While Ian looked at the man before him and again wondered what he would have done if the situation had been reverse and the couple in that car had been him and Makayla? He silently wondered if he would be brave enough to handle it. Troy rested his hands on his hips while he looked at Ian silently for a moment. "It was a hard time back then, Ian…a real hard time." Ian nodded his head for a moment before speaking.
"Why couldn't you two really find good jobs…minimum wage isn't that bad." He stated, Troy nodded his head for a moment before answering.
"You gotta understand…what little savings we had we gave to that private investigator who took us for easy money and that's exactly what we became to him. Easy money, and we waited for so long feeding him his monthly fee, and back then for Taylor and I a thousand dollars was a wallet killer, before that ever happened we were flat broke living off of love and dreams. Cause you gotta understand back then the country was in a recession and well with people being left go left and right no one had to hire a couple of kids with no degree. So we took whatever jobs we could get, and most of those paid below minimum wage."
"Damn." Ian whispered softly as he looked at the only man. "I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for you."
"It was…," he paused and shook his head. "It was hard especially for me. Sometimes at night I would look at Taylor…I always let her have the backseat you know, no matter how many times she tried to make me sleep back there with her. I always let her have the backseat. I would sit up front and drift in and out of sleep, during that time I had nightmares you know and they all had one single theme to it, and that time was of Taylor leaving me. It could be her leaving me of her own free will or her leaving me for another man. They were always the same you know and during that time…I just couldn't figure it out…I just couldn't figure out why she stayed with me. I mean I know she loved me, but I also knew I was letting her down. I was failing her." Ian shook his head in disagreement and looked at Troy for a moment.
"You didn't fail." Troy chuckled bitterly at his statement and shook his head.
"Of course I did…I trusted a crook of a man that took all our money and at the same time forced me and my wife to live out of our damn car. For nearly a whole year my wife's bed was the damn backseat of a 1999 Toyota Camry. Oh and down forget the morning…in the mornings I drove to the nearest truckstop just so we can take showers and get cleaned up for the day. So don't sit there and tell me I didn't fail." Troy exclaimed his voice rising angrily as he looked at Ian who just stood his ground and looked at him quietly.
"Are you serious?" Ian snapped. "Failure…is completely giving up, and judging from the way you're living now. From the way your children look at you…all your children and then from the way your wife looks at you well all I can say is this…I wish I could fail like you." Troy narrowed his eyes at him. "You didn't fail, Troy…failure would have been continuing to live out of your car, but you didn't and that's why Taylor didn't leave you because she knew deep down that you were going to continue that. Marriages are for better or for worse. You two just got hit with the worse of it at the beginning, but that doesn't mean you failed so stop saying that alright." Troy sighed and shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"Oh I understand all right…I get where you're coming from cause let me tell you something if that had happened to me and Makayla. I would have never been able to live with myself-…"
"So you do understand." Troy cut in, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "For the longest time I couldn't even look myself in the mirror and it took me even longer to really look Taylor in the eyes." Ian squared his shoulders back and looked Troy deeply into his blue eyes. Their glazes held one another for brief moment before Ian stated with a hint of pride in his voice.
"But you can now." They continued looking at one another silently just as the door upstairs opened up, almost immediately Taylor's voice sounded from the top.
"Troy…Ian are you two down there," she paused and then spoke again. "We're back and we bought breakfast." Ian looked over at Troy who seemed to relax almost immediately at the sound of his wife's soft voice.
"Just a minute baby," he turned to Ian and spoke softly. "Please keep this between you and me…I couldn't face my daughter if she knew." Ian saw the pleading look in his eyes and slowly nodded his head, he glanced at the pictures and then back at Troy.
"Are those pictures from the private investigator?" Troy shook his head and then looked at Ian pointedly wanting him to promise to not to tell Makayla what he had just shared with him. Ian however ignored the look and continued with his current line of questioning. "Don't you think they're a bit to personal to be from a private investigator?"
"They are. Don't worry I'll tell you about them when I tell Makayla and I'm sure she'll be able to figure it out." Ian nodded his head satisfied with that answer for now.
"Alright fine…I can accept that…and I won't tell Makayla about what you told me. If she needs to find out about that she needs to hear it from either you or your wife. It isn't my place to tell." Troy sighed with relief.
"Thank you…come on let's go up there before Taylor comes down here after us." Ian paused and looked over at Troy.
"Wait she doesn't know about this?" Troy turned and looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
"Of course she knows…I keep nothing from my wife." Troy replied as he motioned for Ian to head upstairs. They both were met in the hallway by Makayla and Taylor who both looked at their respective partners and smiled.
"Glad to see the two of you bonding." Taylor replied as Ian and Troy looked at one another before shaking their heads. Makayla beamed brightly as she looked between Ian and Troy.
"Oh come on it's a good thing, right Dad, besides you and Ian really need to get to know each other." Ian glanced over at Troy and saw his chest swell with pride, Troy lifted a hand and rubbed it over his neck and shrugged.
"I guess, Makayla. But we were just talking." Troy replied with a smirk before nudging the younger man. "Right Ian?"
"Of course." Ian replied unable to keep the smile off his face. Taylor just rolled her eyes at what she saw before sharing a glance with Makayla.
"See that's how we know you two have been down there bonding, you're too comfortable with one another." Taylor stated with a smirk. "Come on…we better hurry you know how T.J and Nate are…if you want some food you guys better come on." Troy's mouth dropped as he looked at his wife in shock.
"Wait let me get this right. You," he paused and pointed at her. "You left food," he paused again for dramatic effect. "You left food with T.J and Nate…alone. Food with T.J and Nate alone." Taylor giggled at his antics and shook her head.
"I told Aisha and Jasmine to watch the food." Troy rolled his eyes and shook his head playfully as he looked at his wife.
"Are you kidding…all they had to do was promise to give them some boy's number and they would have handed over the food without a second thought. Believe me Aisha and Jasmine are like some politicians they can be bought…easily." Makayla and Ian laughed at his description of his daughters.
"Baby I can't believe you just said that." Taylor exclaimed as she looked at her husband, Troy shrugged his shoulders and gave her a look.
"What it's not like it isn't true…besides I've done it before," Taylor gasped at his admission and frowned. "What I needed some information, now come on let's go before all that's left is crumbs." Taylor gave him a look that seemed to say that she would get him later, while Troy just chuckled and latched his arm around her waist and headed towards the kitchen. Ian watched and smiled before looking over to Makayla who had moved to his side.
"So what happened between you two?" she asked.
"Just some man talk, baby…we were getting to know one another a little better. You've got a good father Makayla." She nodded her head and then looked back at him.
"Why'd you stay here this morning?"
"I wanted to let you have time with your siblings and mother without me being there, besides I had fun with your father he's a cool guy." By the time they made it into the kitchen Troy had wrestled T.J away from the last of the biscuits and shooed him out of the room. T.J. and Nate left muttering about how their parents were trying to starve them to death. It was at that moment that Makayla and Ian entered the room.
"Starve you to death, boy you eat me out of house and home." Troy called back after T.J's retreating back. Ian smirked as he watched Troy focus in on his daughter who was eating at the kitchen table. "Now what did they promise you that you would give away your father's only food."
"Nothing." Both of them said at the same time doing nothing but rising the suspicion of their father as well as their mother.
"Girls…" Taylor began; Aisha sighed and looked over at Jasmine before speaking up.
"T.J promised us that he would get us to go out with Devon and William and-."
"Oh hell no." Troy exclaimed as he looked at his two daughters. "Have you lost your minds?"
"You know they have." Nate replied as from his position by the sink as he sent a smirk at his sisters who were sending glares in his directions. "And you know both of them are seniors." He replied in a teasing tone as he turned to his father. Troy looked at him and then back at his daughters his face drawn up in horror. He turned around to Taylor who was trying her hardest not to laugh at the expressions that were rapidly appearing her husband's face.
"Baby…this is not funny…it's serious."
"I…I…know." Taylor gasped out between laughs as she looked at Troy who seemed like he was about to explode. He turned back to his daughters and spoke.
"You two are lucky I don't have towers in this mansion, but I should have some built, in fact I have enough money to make it all happen, and I'll lock you away… for the rest of your lives." He replied sharply causing Makayla, Ian, Nate and Taylor to burst out laughing. Taylor wiped her eyes and walked over to Troy wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Baby calm down nothing is going to happen, besides you know T.J is not going to do that he's just as protective of them as you are." Troy relaxed for a moment as he looked down at his wife before lifting his head up.
"Troy Jr. get in here right now." He bellowed, a minute later his eldest son entered the room his cell phone attached to his ear.
"Yes Dad."
"You are not to give-." T.J waved his hand in the air and shook his head.
"I wasn't planning too…in fact I never did. I just wanted the food." He replied as he pressed his phone to his chest hoping to drown out the conversation.
"T.J you promise." Aisha exclaimed.
"Get real, sha…like I would give you a senior's number…you're my sister." He stated as he turned back to his dad. "Can I go now…this is a real important phone call."
"Yeah, Dad it's probably from Destiny." Nate replied with a knowing smirk as he pushed off the sink. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she actually went out with you after you told her. "You know you want to go out with me cause it's your destiny," he said in his best impersonation of his brother. Bending over he laughed and shook his head. "That had to be the worst pick up line of the century and then she went out with you."
"She liked my sense of humor."
"But that wasn't a joke. You were actually quite serious…it's only a joke now because she believed it was and you certainly don't want her to think differently." Nate replied with a chuckled, as everyone else started laughing, T.J blushed and shook his head.
"Go ahead laugh it up…but she's my girlfriend so that must mean I have charm right." He asked looking over at his father, Troy smiled and nodded his head slightly amused by the story his other son had told.
"Right, so go on and have your phone call with Destiny." T.J smiled and left the room. Nate sighed and walked over to the table and grabbed a biscuit before his father even realized what he was up too.
"Gotta go." He called out as he left the room after effectively dodging his father who had made a grab for him. Aisha and Jasmine then stood up as well. Troy looked at them as they both picked up their plates.
"And where are you going?"
"In to the living room so we can watch that new dance movie." Jasmine replied as Aisha nodded from behind her. After they left the room Troy looked down at the rest of the food left and sighed.
"We spend money on food and they can't even eat with us…some kids they are." He muttered good naturedly as he pulled out a chair for Taylor and helped her sit down before looking across the room at Makayla and Ian. "Come on I know you two are hungry and just wait until tonight Taylor is going to go all out, my baby can cook." He replied with a bright smile as he rubbed his stomach for emphasis.
"Geez, you're just like T.J and Nate." Makayla stated with a giggle as Taylor nodded her head in agreement. Troy shook his head and pointed a finger at himself.
"No…I'm not like my sons…you see the different is I have money and I can eat whatever I want. When they eat they're eating my money."
"I feel you man." Ian replied with a smirk as he took a bite out of his biscuit.
"What are you talking about…you're eating my money too." Troy replied as they all started laughing. The rest of breakfast was a pleasure affair mixed with talking and a whole lot of laughter. Once they finished a quiet mood fell over them, Troy pushed himself away from the table and sighed. "I guess we better go downstairs so we can finish the story." He asked sending a look over at Taylor who just nodded her head. Taylor knew that Troy needed to get everything out in the open, all the things he was willing to tell his daughter. Ian looked at Troy for a moment before standing up and helping Makayla out of her chair while Troy did the same for Taylor. Together the group of for headed for the basement that Troy and Ian had left not to long ago. Once they were at the bottom, Makayla gasped as she saw the same pictures that Ian had seen earlier turning around she looked at her parents and then back at the pictures.
"How did you get these?" Troy looked over at Ian.
"Here's where you get the answer to your question," he said to Ian who just discreetly nodded his head while Makayla continued to stare at her parents. Troy sighed and looked at his daughter before saying. "Your adoptive parents gave them to us." He whispered as he looked at his daughter whose mouth dropped opened in shock as well as Ian.
"Wait so you knew them." Troy looked over at Taylor and she immediately spoke up as she stepped away from her Troy's side and moved closer to her daughter.
"Your father and I hired a private investigator to find you…we were going to get you back no matter what and we did find you with the Jones and well that's when we met them." Makayla shook her head in shock for a moment before glancing between both her father and mother.
"Wait so you knew where I was the entire time." Makayla exclaimed unable to hide the hurt that was in her voice. Troy and Taylor shared a look before nodding their heads. Lifting a hand to her mouth Makayla's eyes watered with tears as she looked at them. "I thought…I never thought you guys actually came to look for me."
"We did." Troy replied trying his best to keep calm, she looked at him and shook her head.
"Then why didn't you take me with you." Troy lowered his head and sighed.
"Because at the time we couldn't take care of you…we couldn't even…we could hardly take care of ourselves, Makayla. We did what was best for you…and that was you staying with the Jones."
"It seems like you've done fine for yourselves."
"That's because your parents helped us…we would never be where we are right now if it wasn't for your parents…and as for the pictures. When ever we couldn't make it out there to see you during honor ceremonies or graduations…and dances well…they sent us pictures. It helped us…it motivated us to be better, so that when you finally met us you'd be proud of us and not ashamed of us." Troy stepped forward quickly and grabbed Makayla's hands. "You are our daughter and we love you, Makayla…we did what was best, and you staying with the Jones well that was what was best for you at the time" She looked up at him her lips trembling with unshed tears. Troy lowered his head and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug. "We did what was best for you." He whispered needing for her to believe what he had Taylor had told themselves for years. Reaching out he pulled Taylor into the hug as well. After a few moments, Makayla backed out of the hug and looked up at her parents.
"Tell me."
"Tell you what, sweetie," Taylor asked as she looked at her daughter for a brief moment. She looked up at her parents before glancing back at Ian who gave her a slight nod as he watched the scene quietly from the side. "Makayla just tell us."
"I want you and Dad to tell me about…about when you found me and why you left me with the Jones." Taylor and Troy shared a look before Troy cleared his throat.
"Very well…we'll tell you everything, Makayla and we won't stop until our story is finished," he paused and looked over at Ian before speaking. "Your mother and I paid a private investigator to look for you and well have several months he contacted us with your information and your mother and I dropped everything and took off for New York…
A/N: Well let me tell you guys something this chapter was so long I had to cut it in half and it's still pretty long. I hope you all enjoyed the interaction between Ian and Troy as well as the brief family scene…next week is going to be mostly flashback and then you'll have the entire back story for Troy and Taylor.
P.S. Don't forget to review…I wanna hear from you guys.
Baby S