As practice came to a close that afternoon, Troy observed Gabriella and the twins. Jasmine and Imogen seemed to cling to her a little tighter and now he understood the circumstances. It broke his heart to know that any of them had to live through what they did. He smiled slightly as Lachlan came to sit beside Jasmine – obviously having finished practice – and hugged the little girl to his side. Chad slapped his back – bringing him out of his thoughts – and they walked over to them. When Chad sat down beside Imogen, Gabriella felt that her sister was comfortable enough for her to be able to greet Troy, kissing his cheek.

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "Sorry, I'm kinda sweaty."

She shook her head and leant into him. "It's fine, you just finished practice." She leaned up and whispered. "We'll have to wait until everyone leaves, they need to know that I've told you the truth. He nodded in response and kissed the top of her head.

"What are we waiting for G?" Lachlan asked.

"We all need to talk about something and it has to wait until everyone else leaves."

When the gym was finally empty, they looked at Gabriella expectantly and she sighed. "Ok look, I'm just going to be honest and tell you guys straight... I told Troy."

Chad narrowed his eyes. "Told Troy about what Gabriella?"

She inhaled sharply – being called by her full first name was never good – he wasn't going to like what she was about to say. "Everything, I told him everything."

Chad saw red. "What the hell Gabriella? What the hell were you thinking? We agreed before we came here that no one was to know what was going on."

"Chad, you know that what we were going through when we first moved here isn't like what's going on now, it's so much worse now that Austin is involved."

"Yep that's right, just keep feeding him more information why don't you Gabriella." Chad yelled and was only pulled from his rage when Imogen whimpered, squirming to get away from him. "Imi I -" He softened his voice but it was too late, the damage was already done.

Imogen ran into Gabriella's arms, gripping her tightly as the older girl lifted her. As she looked over to Lachlan and Jasmine, she saw that the older twin had climbed into her brother's lap and the boy was holding her tight to reassure her. Gabriella sighed, speaking softly. "You certainly did always have Dad's temper... I know you're mad and you have every right to be but don't raise your voice. You know it reminds us all too much of the fighting and it scares the girls." She sighed. "Look Chad, I know this wasn't part of the plan but this may become more than we can handle and god forbid something happens, I feel more comfortable knowing at least one person knows. Now I'm not saying we should be telling anyone we're close to but you know we can trust Troy, he's my boyfriend and your best friend."

Chad sighed. "Look I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to get angry and I did not mean to yell. I just - Gabs, this is something you should have talked to me about before you told him, we've always made all our decisions together about what was best for Locky and the girls."

Troy spoke up. "Gabriella didn't mean to tell me, if that helps, I kinda pushed her into it. She looked exhausted and I was wondering why and I noticed she had makeup around her eye. She became kinda panicked when I wanted to take it off and I found out about her black eye. I guess you can figure out what happened from there."

"Look Troy -"

"No please let me finish. I get it Chad, I may not understand exactly what you guys are going through but I can understand why you would want to keep it a secret and not have the school know about it. Apart of the deal when Gabriella told me was that I had to keep it to myself and basically let you guys handle it, which I can understand as well, but I told Brie and I'll tell you as well, I want to be able to help you guys as much as I can. If there is anything I can ever do for you guys, I'll do it and my house is always open whenever you need. Look Man, you know you're my best friend and Brie is my girlfriend, Locky is such a cool kid and I adore the two girls. Your secret is safe with me and I'll only be in the background if you guys need me, that being said though, if there is anything I can do, I want to do it."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, thanks Captain, I'm sorry for going off." He turned to his siblings, looking particularly at the twins. "Look guys, I know you don't like the yelling and I know I scared you but I didn't mean to. It's my job to protect you guys and I'm trying to do everything I can to be able to do that. The best case scenario would be for me to get a job and get you out of that house but with Austin and Mom showing up whenever they please, I don't feel comfortable with you guys in the house by yourself while I'm working for the money to get you out of there."

Lachlan spoke up. "Chad we get it, we know you want to protect us, just like Gabi and I do and just like the girls don't want to see anyone get hurt. Last night, it killed me that Austin laid a hand on Gabi or Imi and when I saw that he gave Gabi a black eye, I was fuming. I get that you feel like because you're the oldest that you have to protect us all, but that isn't always the case. It's like they say in basketball, a good captain knows when to lead and when to step back and let others take the lead. Sorry Big Bro, but sometimes, you're gonna have to let Gabi and I take the lead."

Chad slid along the bleacher and wrapped Lachlan in a brotherly hug, rubbing Jasmine's back. "I get that Bud, I know I have to loosen the reigns a little bit and I don't give you guys enough credit for knowing what to do. I'll try my best." He turned to Gabriella. "I'm sorry for yelling at you G, I didn't mean to do that and I'm glad if you were gonna tell anyone, that it was Troy."

Gabriella nodded. "You know I love you guys, we all trust Troy and he's the only one I'd be willing to tell." She said, leaning into his embrace as he kissed her forehead.