AN: Tralalalala, singin' in the rain! Okay. So there's only 1 more chapter after this, the epilogue. This story, kinda like Time Will Tell, just kinda trickles off at the end. There's no real huge climax or anything.

And speaking of Time Will Tell, for those of you who read it and would like a sequel, I have a title: Life Goes On. The title may change, but whatever. I don't really have a plot yet either but, knowing me, someone will die. :-)

Title: Tales of a Broken Man: The Troy Bolton Story
Rating: T
Author: MadiWillow
Summary: A memoir on the life of famous NBA basketball player, Troy Bolton.
Genre: Drama/Tragedy
Chapter: Memories Remain

Memories Remain

A little over week later, the day marking the five weeks since the murders, I got a call from the Captain telling me that a bail hearing was scheduled for Bailey at 1:00 p.m. Maria, who'd been staying with me for a week, and I decided to attend.

We got there five minutes before it was due to start, and the Captain told us that Bailey's lawyers were requesting bail under the circumstances that Christina was insane and her word wasn't to be trusted. I remember feeling my stomach drop; I hoped the judge wouldn't fall for that.

When Maria and I got there, we saw Christina was in attendance as well. We sat next to her and I noticed that she was a wreck. Her eyes where puffy and red from, most likely, constant crying and she wasn't wearing any makeup. She gave me a small smile before the hearing started.

After the judge entered, Bailey's attorney stood up and started speaking. "Your honor, the counsel representing Bailey Martin would like to request bail under the circumstances that there is no real evidence in the case against my client."

The prosecution attorney shot up and countered, "Your honor, the Los Angeles Police Department had found three separate samples of DNA evidence against Mr. Martin, in addition to the murder weapon recovered from under the suspects bed and a confession from the suspect to the suspect's sister."

Bailey's lawyer fired back, "Your honor, it seems substantial to point out that, according to my client, Miss Martin is very unstable and that there was, in fact, no confession of any kind."

The judge spoke up, "That still leaves the murder weapon in question that was found under Mr. Martin's bed."

"Your honor, my client claims to never have played golf before in his life and does not own any golf clubs," the defense attorney answered.

"Your honor, according to Mr. Martin's previous records, Mr. Martin has been an advent golf player for the past three years. And according to Mr. Martin's sister, the suspect owns around seven golf clubs."

The defense attorney said, "Your honor, this goes back to Miss Martin being unstable-,"

"Even if Miss Martin is unstable," the judge interrupted. "Then where did the murder weapon come from?"

"Your honor, Miss Martin was in fact the one who murdered Gabriella and Isabella Bolton, not my client-,"

The prosecution attorney roared in protest, "Your honor, we have confirmed word that Miss Martin was at the movie theatre with her friend, a Miss Jessie Peoples, at the time the murder was occurring. Mr. Martin, however, has no substantial alibi to explain where he was during the night's events-,"

"Alright, I've heard enough," the judge slammed his mallet against the desk. "Bail denied. Bailiff, please return Mr. Martin to his cell. Next case."

I looked over at Christina, who was once again crying, and she glanced at me. "I can't believe my own brother could say that stuff about me. He's probably trying to get back at me for turning him in..."

"Well, at least he was denied bail," I said, trying to cheer her up.

She gave me a watery smile. "Yeah, I guess."

That night, the murders were on the news again. Maria and I watched as they showed a clip of the attorney's arguing before switching it off. The two of us stumbled into bed, although neither getting much sleep.

Nothing extremely important happened in my life for the next few months, except my retiring from basketball. The training season started a couple months after the bail hearing, in the middle of July, but everything about the sport had lost its spark, so I resigned from the team in August. I knew what a life-altering decision it was, especially after my father yelled about it over the phone to me after ESPN reported it, but I didn't care. Basketball just wasn't important anymore without Gabriella.

I got a job at a bank, working regular hours, from 9 to 5. I wasn't paid nearly as much as I was in the NBA, but I was only supporting one person now.

Maria had returned back to San Diego shortly after the bail hearing and was diagnosed in September with lung cancer, never having having smoked a day in her life. I flew down for a weekend to be with her, but the truth was that I couldn't get enough time off and she wasn't allowed to come down here. I'd already taken off a few days in August to see Jason and Kelsi's baby daughter, who they'd named Gabrielle, so I'd used almost all of my vacation days.

I started to get back into the flow of life as time went by. I never stopped thinking about Gabriella and Isabella, though, and I visited their grave sites every week. I usually brought flowers, but sometimes I came without gifts, just to talk. I would talk to them about life, and sometimes would find myself sobbing when I remembered what should have been Isabella's first birthday passed.

Engraved on their gravestones were their names, date of birth, and death. I hated having to look at Isabella's and see how little she'd been alive for. Also engraved on Gabriella's stone were the lyrics, "There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach," which were a set of lyrics that we'd sang together in a musical, and on Isabella's gravestone, the lyrics, "I've finally found what I've been looking for," which were from another song that Gabriella and I had sang together. It was also Isabella's favorite song.

I also kept in touch with Christina. She was extremely traumatized and paranoid about her brother, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, fearing he was coming for her. I allowed her to call me in the middle of the night to talk to me, to cry, to gush about her worries and nightmares. She allowed me to do the same with her, if ever I had terrible nightmares about the murders.

Bailey's trial finally started, on November 15th, 2018. He was being charged with two counts of third-degree murder and, if convicted, could possibly face the death penalty, which he pleaded not guilty to. Luckily my boss allowed me to work from home at nights, so I could attend the trial every day.

Maria was finally able to get permission from her doctors to be treated down here so she could attend the trial whenever possible. She stayed with me and I helped her around the house, doing various things for her, including driving her to the hospital for chemotherapy treatments. I even tried to help out with her medical payments, but most of the time she refused to take money from me.

The trial lasted six months. Christina, the key witness, was on the stand for a month, being re-questioned over and over again. The defense tried to find a flaw in her story, convinced that she was unstable or guilty herself. But she was able to give an accurate statement, and flawless story, and I'm pretty sure she was what closed the case.

The case, like the murders, was widely televised. People magazine did weekly updates on it, and I was constantly getting calls from various TV shows to interview me; I finally accepted one. I spoke on Nancy Grace's show, as she was constantly doing stories on the murders. I managed not to cry on camera, but as soon as my interview was over, I broke down.

My friends flew down whenever possible to attend the trial, but because of work, none of them could attend to whole thing.

I gave a statement in the court and, as luck would have it, it occurred on April 10th, the one-year anniversary of Gabriella's and Isabella's death. I'd written down a speech, but once I'd stood up to recite it, I started to speak from my heart. Corny as they may sound, it's true. I didn't need a speech.

Maria sat to my right, silently crying, while my parents sat on my other side. Ryan and Riley were in attendance as well, and were seated behind me.

"I met Gabriella in high school, when I was only fifteen," I started. I still remember every word of what I said, and not because every magazine printed the story and every news station and talk show showed me reciting it, but because it was one of the most touching, and hardest, things I've ever had to say in my entire life. "I loved her more than anything, but, thinking realistically, I don't think anyone ever thought it would go past high school." I remember sneaking a glance at my father. "But it did. Coincidentally, all of our friends from high school ended up staying together and getting married." I took a deep, shaky breath. "I loved Gabriella, and our daughter, Isabella, more than anything else in this world. I shouldn't be here. You know where I should be right now?" I looked at Bailey and didn't lift my gaze from him, even after he looked away from me. "I should be on the road with the Lakers. They're in Oregon right now, getting ready for a game tonight. I should be there right now, warming up, while thinking about when I can get the hell out of there to spend time with my beautiful wife and our 21-month-old daughter. That's where I should be. I shouldn't be here, speaking at their murder trial, crying myself to sleep every night, visiting their graves every week."

I paused and took a deep breath, willing myself not to break down. All the anger and other emotions I'd been feeling for this man were finally starting to pour out of me, and at the time I wasn't sure if they even made sense. I was just talking.

"Why did you have to do it, Bailey?" It was the first time I'd ever asked him that, even though I'd been wanting to for so long. I'd dreamt about it for months, and now I was finally doing it. "Why? You ruined so many people. I'm a ruined man because of you, and I'm only twenty-nine. Exactly one year ago today, they were both still alive, but they didn't know they only had a few hours left to live. They didn't know that somewhere, a man was plotting to break into their house and murder them. I don't care if that wasn't your overall plan, you still did it. You still ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it a thousand times, mercilessly. But no, you didn't just ruin me. You ruined my parents. You ruined my mother-in-law. You ruined all our friends. My friends children are still asking where Isabella is. They want to play with her. They don't understand she's dead and won't come back. And in a few years, they'll forget her completely."

There was a long silence. I was still staring determinedly at Bailey until he finally looked back at me. And as I stared into his eyes, I saw that he wasn't sorry at all. He was just sorry he'd been caught.

"I've never, personally, been for the death penalty before," I growled. "But that was until I had the two more important people in my life ripped so violently and suddenly away from me. And now? I'm all for it. I hope justice is served for what you did. I hope you're found guilty and sentenced to death so you can burn in hell for all eternity."

I sat back down. I could no longer control my emotions, for I leaned forward and started to cry silently into my hands. My parents, Maria, Ryan, and Riley all leaned towards me and patted me on the back, all of them crying softly themselves and telling me how great I'd been.

A month later, May 16th, 2019, Bailey was found guilty of both charges and the jury recommended the death penalty. The trial to determine if he ended up with life or death was held from June until September, and the judge ultimately sentenced Bailey to death.

Maria passed away in October of that year, after suffering from lung cancer for over a year. I didn't know why she let go so easily, but now I realize that she didn't have any more reason to live. Her husband had died when Gabriella was a baby, and now her only daughter and grandchild were dead. What more did she have?

I was with her as she passed; it was what she wanted. I was the last person left in the world that she loved, she'd said, and requested for me to be with her. I remember holding her hand as she died.

The only reason she'd hung on as long as she did was to see justice served. She'd stayed alive long enough to see Bailey sentenced rightfully to death for Gabriella's and Isabella's murders, and now she could go join them in heaven.