Hey guys! It's been a while since I have posted anything, but this is something I wrote several months ago and never got posted. There's only one more chapter after this one unless you want more, then I may be able to write some more to go with it. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

I missed her…I missed her like nothing else. Thankfully she still allowed me to see Elizabeth as often as I wanted when I was able to in between recording and doing shows. She even brought Elizabeth to a couple of local shows. Elizabeth had grown up listening to me sing and loved getting to go to the shows. I had always hoped that Gabriella would finally quit her job at the doctor's office and come on the road with me, but she never did.

Now I was sitting in a big empty house, a place I never thought I would have to be - alone. I never thought I would have to live another day without her. I thought we were okay.

I had gotten really busy with my tour and hadn't had as much time to spend on the phone. With her working, she hadn't been able to stay up on the phone like we used to. By about the third month that I had been gone, our phone conversations were beginning to trail off. Every time I was on the phone with her, it seemed as if she didn't want to be on there. After a couple of weeks of feeling like that, our phone conversations eventually just dropped off.

Finally, after not talking to her for a couple of weeks, I was able to go home. I got to a stopping point in my recording and told Steven I was done for now. I needed a break and I needed to see my family.

I knew Gabriella was away taking care of Kelsi and couldn't wait for them to get back. However, while I knew Gabriella was away, I wanted to try to get started on a project that had come to mind before I went on tour and had taken shape in my mind over the past couple of months...a project that would end up being the perfect gift for Gabriella. I decided that since Gabriella was gone, it was the perfect time to bring in an expert. I had a room I wanted remodeled in our house just for Gabriella. I called in an interior designer, one who had come highly recommended by a friend of mine.

She came by the house and took a look at the room. We sat down and wrote down some ideas that I had for the room. She took the ideas and left. I walked her to the door, excited for this project to get started. I had a smile on my face as I stood at the door, about to close it when I noticed Gabriella and Elizabeth getting out of the car. I suddenly got nervous. I had been so excited to see them, but now as I looked at my beautiful wife, I wasn't sure what to do. We hadn't talked in so long, I was afraid it might be slightly awkward. I was determined not to make it that way though.

Elizabeth came running up to me and wrapped me in a big hug. I picked her up and swung her around, making her giggle, before putting her back on the ground.

"I missed you so much, Baby Girl!" Elizabeth just kept giggling. I put her down and looked back over to Gabriella. "Elizabeth, why don't you go on up to your room so your mommy and I can talk," I said. She ran into the house.

I watched Gabriella closely. Something about the way she was standing there made me really nervous. I had hoped she would at least act excited to see me, but she stood several feet away, not moving, no expression on her face, but lots of questions in her eyes.

I took a tentative step towards her. "Hey baby, I'm so glad you're home," I said, meaning every word. I was so excited to see her. I just wanted to hold her and touch her.

"Who was she?" she asked. I knew who she was talking about, but I wasn't sure how to explain it to her without giving away the surprise. "Who was she, Troy?" she asked a little louder when I still hadn't given her a response. "Are you cheating on me?"

This question caught me off guard. I hadn't even thought about it appearing that way. "Baby, calm down. I'm not cheating on you," I said. "I would never do that. Don't you have any more trust in me than that?"

"Well I'm not sure I should, Troy. You definitely lied to me. You told me you would still be in Los Angeles. What should I think?"

I was determined I was going to make this right again, but I wasn't sure how to explain who the woman was. With the thoughts that were going through her head, would she believe me?

"Baby, believe me, it's not what you think," I said, walking closer to her still until I was standing right in front of her. "I thought you would be happy that I was home early…" I reached out to touch her face but she stepped back out of reach. That was like a stab in the heart.

"Don't touch me. I can't believe you, Troy. I loved you," she said. Loved. Did that mean she didn't love me anymore? "And then you betray me like this. What? You thought you could have her out of OUR house by the time I got back?" She was fuming by now. I had to fix this, I had to calm her down.

"Gabi, please. You have to believe me."

"Why don't you start by explaining to me who she was? Did you meet her while you were on tour?"

"No…a friend introduced me to her. But she doesn't mean anything to me. You gotta believe me," I begged.

"You keep saying that, but I'm sorry. I'm not buying it. Why won't you just tell me who she is?"

"She's just a woman. I was just talking to her." I looked at her, pleading with her to believe what I was saying. I could still see the anger in her eyes. "She's helping me out with something."

"What is she helping you with?"

I was begging her not to make me answer that question. I didn't want to lie to her...but I wanted to surprise her. I wanted this to be my anniversary gift to her. "She...she's just helping me with something I can't do myself," I finally responded truthfully.

She shook her head at me. "I'm sorry, Troy. I can't believe you."

She walked past me into the house. That night and each night for the next week, she slept in our guest bedroom. I hardly saw her. She kept herself distanced except for when she tried to talk to me about the woman. But not only did I not want to tell her about the surprise, but more than that I had a feeling she wasn't going to believe me no matter what I said. So I just didn't say anything at all. It was killing me knowing she wouldn't trust what I said, but considering my record, what did she have to trust me with?

By the end of the week, she was out of the house. I had been at work all day. I came in to a quiet house that evening, hoping that since it was the weekend, we'd be able to get past everything and spend some quality time as a family. However, what I found shattered my heart into even tinier pieces than it already was. She had left me a note on the counter telling me she had taken Elizabeth and moved into an apartment. She told me I could call and talk to Elizabeth any time I wanted to and that I could see Elizabeth when I wanted, but that she wouldn't be back in that house. She told me she couldn't live with someone who hid things from her and who she couldn't trust.

Now, three months later, she had stood outside my door once again to pick up Elizabeth. I had taken some time off since Steven had told me I was too distracted. During my time off, I told Gabriella I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Elizabeth so she agreed to leave Elizabeth with me during the day while she went to work.

So here I sat, just minutes after she took my daughter. I was alone in a big, dark house with nothing to do and no one to talk to. I was still going through with the project though, hoping that one day Gabriella would get to at least see it and hopefully appreciate it.