Mistakes
Hey guys, I am so sorry for not updating sooner, just when I had a few chapters written, my brother managed to get a virus on the computer and I lost everything, but I've finished the story now and the computer's finally fixed, it's just going to take some time to get all of the updates typed up, anyway, once more I'm sorry for the wait, but here's chapter 13, so please read it and tell me what you think!
Chapter 13
Pressing the end call button on his phone, Troy let it fall to the ground as his heavy head fell into his shaking hands, everyone in the crowded front room watching the young man closely, as a sense of relief flooded the room with the slight nod of his head, "She's safe," he murmured, a small smile breaking out on his face, "She's safe," he repeated softly, running one hand through his mop of hair, before glancing back at everyone else once more, "She's with Gabriella, apparently both of them had the same idea of heading for Aunt Sophie in Nebraska, but Gabriella's car broke down, and for some reason and some stroke of luck, where she stopped on the road was where Lilly-Ella was."
"She's safe?" Taylor questioned, standing up from her position on the couch and walking towards Troy, a grin forming on his face as he nodded, picking Taylor up and swinging her round, both of them laughing with relief.
"Thank G-d for that," Ryan breathed out, as he hugged Troy quickly, running his eyes up and down the blue eyed man, "I was worried that you were going to lose your mind."
"I did lose my mind Ry," Troy smiled softly, glancing at the faces of all of the people who had crammed into the room and realising that even though the majority of the people in the room 'hated' him at the present time, they had all genuinely come through for him and were there for him when he needed them. Troy's eyes gradually drank in the features of everyone in the room, his stare falling on the mocha eyes of his ex-best friend, both men holding each other's gazes for only a minute, before they were both pulled together in a hug, Troy silently thanking Chad for being the one to get everyone organised over the course of the night, where Troy himself was falling apart, and get teams together to search for Lilly-Ella, pulling away, both men smiled once more, as Chad patted Troy on the shoulder once more, and everyone in the room grinned at the reconnected best friends, despite the large bruise forming on Troy's face, where Chad had punched him earlier in the evening. "But, I know that Gabriella will take care of Lilly-Ella until the morning, so for now, she's safe, and that is all that will ever matter to me."
"Right, well then I'm staying here until tomorrow Troy, and you're not getting an option," Ryan grinned impishly at Troy, as the blue eyed man just chuckled softly, shaking his head slightly, as the past years flashed through his mind, where Ryan had decided to take on a full 'big brother' role to him, "And I somehow have a funny feeling that the majority of people in this room are going to want to stay, so it's a damn good thing that you bought a big house," Ryan grinned again, as the laughter roared through the room, and everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.
Kelsi smiled tenderly, her gaze flickering over to the two teenagers now sat on the couch, Sassy's head resting against Matt's shoulder, both of their eyes flickering softly, a contented smile playing on their lips at the feel of both belonging to some sort of family for the first time in years for Matt, and the first time in her life for Sassy.
Looking back up at all of the chatting, beaming adults, finally getting to know one another again after sixteen long years, Sharpay currently holding Troy in a death grip as Zeke and Jason laughed at him, Kelsi beamed herself, before clearing her throat, causing everyone to glance at her, as she motioned with her head to the dozing teenagers on the couch.
Sharpay smiled softly as she released Troy, "Yeah, we should probably get them home, I can take them if you guys want, I mean you guys were out searching all night, and you just had me sitting by the phone in case she called, so it's only fair," Sharpay watched all of the others debating it in their own minds, as Troy walked slowly over to the sleeping pair, attempting to rouse them from their sleep.
"Come on guys," Troy smiled affectionately, gently shaking the two teenagers who he had grown so close to over the past few weeks, "Sharpay's gonna take you home."
Hearing those words slip from Troy's mouth, Sassy's head immediately snapped up, her emerald eyes turning sharp as she glared at Troy and shook her head, "No. No way am I leaving, I need to see that Lilly-Ella's fine, with my own eyes, she's the only family I feel that I have," Sassy's voice cracked, and everyone I the room couldn't help but feel their hearts break a little for the tough girl who suddenly seemed so vulnerable, "And if you try to make us leave, I'll just get Matt to drive us up to the lodge that they're staying in, I mean, it's not like I have any parental supervision at home anyway," Sassy's glare hardened once more, her eyes flickering around each of the adults in the room, Matt nodding in agreement with her.
"Troy ran his hands over his face, sighing in aggravation, "Fine, you can both stay here, but Matt, I want you to phone your grandparents and let them know where you are, and Sassy, I want you to come help me in the kitchen a minute please, there's something that I want to run by you."
Both teenagers nodded, Matt gratefully accepting the phone from Zeke, the two of them wandering into the hallway for some privacy, Sassy glumly standing and following Troy into the kitchen, everyone she passed giving her a reassuring smile, as she herself was positive that Troy would call her out for being a 'bad influence' on Lilly-Ella and ban the two from seeing each other after tomorrow, all thanks to Sassy's attitude.
Stepping into the kitchen, Troy turned to face the blonde who was meekly following behind him and smiled softly, "Look Sassy-"
Before Troy could get any further, a little voice cut him of, "Mr Bolton, I know that you think that I'm a bad influence on Lilly-Ella, it doesn't surprise me," Sassy sighed softly, and Troy raised his eyebrows in shock, but Sassy was still watching the ground, and continued without once looking up into the sapphire eyes that resembled those of her friend so closely, "But please don't make me stop seeing her, she's changing me into a better person, and I promise that I'm trying, but Lilly-Ella's amazing, and she's brought me Matt as well, I never even had one friend before, but now I have two who are more like a brother and sister to me than just friends, so please don't make me leave them."
Seeing tears mark the kitchen floor, Troy moved closer to Sassy, and comforted her quietly, "Can I say something now please?" He questioned, and Sassy nodded softly, "I wasn't going to ask you to stay away from Lilly-Ella Sassy, you're one of the best things that has ever happened to her, you're bringing her out of her shell," Sassy's head shot up to look at Troy, her eyes growing as wide as saucers, his hushed chuckle filling the air, "What I was going to say is that I know that you and Lilly-Ella have become like sisters, and I was wondering, if you wanted to move in here permanently, over the last few weeks Sass, I've already started to think of you as another daughter, you're here so often anyway, and I hate the thought of you going back to that huge empty house, alone and unhappy, so if your parents give the go ahead, what do you say?"
"Seriously?" Sassy asked in shock.
Troy laughed once more, "Serious as serious can be Sassy."
"I would love that," a slow grin spread over her face, "I would live here like always, with Lilly-Ella and you?"
"At least until you go to college, and if you want to stay around here for college, you would be more than welcome to stay," Troy smiled at the growing join on the young girl's face, stumbling slightly as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sassy squealed, the two of them laughing as he twirled her around, turning to the laughter coming from the doorway, and grinning at everyone else stood there, Troy motioning for all of them to come and grab one of the mugs of hot chocolate that he had just finished making, before they all retreated back to the living room once more.
"So Troy," Kelsi smiled softly as he looked up from his conversation with Matt and Sharpay, "How the hell did you manage to raise such a well adjusted, sweet child at eighteen? I mean I still don't feel ready to raise a child now at thirty two, but I'm slowly coming round to the idea," Kelsi beamed as she patted Jason's knee, he who had just turned incredibly pale, as everyone roared with laughter.
"I'm not going to lie to you guys, it wasn't easy, especially in the beginning," Troy sighed softly, placing his hot chocolate in the table in front of him, his eyes clouding over with the not so happy memories of Lilly-Ella's early childhood.
Chad sighed softly, glancing at his old friend guiltily as he backed up slowly, colliding with the table behind him and sending a small oak patterned box tumbling to the floor, the lid flying open as it did so, a haunting melody filling the entire room as everyone stopped to stare at the box, Troy's head snapping up as one specific vivid memory suddenly filled his head and thoughts of his missing little girl once again clouded his mind.
Flashback
"Come on Lilly-Ella, Daddy's tired baby," Troy moaned as he dragged himself out of bed, shuffling across to the crib that was situated right by his bed and gazing down at the howling baby through sleepy eyes, "Shush Lila, I'm here sweetie," Troy whispered, gently stroking her curls as her big, baby blue, tear filled eyes gazed back up at him, her howls quieting slightly as she started to whimper.
Sighing slightly, Troy bent down and picked up the two month old, cradling her in his arms as he moved across the tiny room, and bent down beside her little oak music box, which he had found in a local store right after they had moved to L.A., stars engraved into the top of it, with a heart surrounding the words 'Daddy's little girl', as he gently wound up the music, cradling Lilly-Ella's head too him tenderly as the music started to drift out from the box, and Troy started a gentle waltz around the room, singing the words to his little baby as her whimpers continued to soften.
You're the end of the rainbow,
My pot of gold,
You're daddy's little girl
To have and hold.
A precious gem
Is what you are,
You're daddy's bright
And shining star.
Smiling at her, Troy gently swayed them around the room that made up their entire 'apartment', completely ignoring the fact that the place was bare to furniture apart from his bed, a crib and a chest of drawers to hold all of their clothes.
He beamed at his baby girl, as she stared back up at him, raising one hand to his chest, her little fingers running up and down it as he laughed softly, continuing to dance them around as Lilly-Ella slowly began to calm down, the tears no longer spilling from her eyes, as she watched her father in fascination, his singing soothing her instantaneously.
You're the spirit of Christmas,
My star on the tree,
You're the Easter bunny
To me.
You're sugar you're spice,
You're everything nice,
And you're daddy's little girl.
Troy frowned slightly as he had to change some of the lyrics, deliberately leaving out 'mommy', but the happiness shone through on his face as he thought of their first Christmas together, coming up in a little under two months. Although he had no money to his name, Troy was determined to make his baby's first Christmas a special one, the only problem being that he was in a strange city still, he still hadn't managed to navigate around L.A. and he'd been there for two months, he and Lilly-Ella lived in an incredibly bad neighbourhood, so much so that no one went outside after nightfall, and his parents had refused to help him out money wise. Even though they loved Lilly-Ella from the moment that they had set eyes on her, and often sent her presents, mainly stuffed animals, they still refused to help Troy out with money or help directly, as they claimed that Lilly-Ella was his responsibility, not theirs, they had raised their son, and were done with having kids.
You're the end of the rainbow,
My pot of gold,
You're daddy's little girl
To have and hold.
A precious gem
Is what you are,
You're daddy's bright
And shining star.
Still dancing, Troy grinned as Lilly-Ella's eyes once more drooped, he skirted around a wet patch in the floor, glancing up only quickly to the leaky roof that had supposedly been fixed two weeks ago, but stood here, dancing and singing to his infant daughter, the entire world seemed to float away, the grey walls and grey worn through carpet with the draughty windows letting in every ounce of cold air vanished, only to be filled with vibrant colours and warmth as Troy continued to hold his little one close to himself.
You're the treasure I cherish
So sparkling and bright,
You were touched by the holy
And beautiful light.
Like angels that sing,
A heavenly thing,
And you're daddy's little girl.
Noticing Lilly-Ella sleeping soundly in his arms once more, Troy walked over to the music box and shut the lid; perching on the edge of his bed as all of the memories of the past few months came flooding back, tears springing to his eyes.
Troy watched his infant daughter sleep as he held her tightly to his chest, tear tracks making their way down his cheeks and splashing onto the bed covers below, every so often, one would hit the miniature pink bundle in his arms and Lilly-Ella would wrinkle her nose slightly in her sleep.
"I love you so much my baby girl, I really do, you are my everything Lila," Troy whispered, one finger gently stroking the baby's cheek and his tears continued, his voice breaking, and his chest heaving up and down as he started to sob, "I just don't know if I'm what's best for you, and I only want you to have the best, my little princess," Troy's sobs hardened, as he raised the baby to his face, and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, "But I promise you, I will find you a nice family who can do everything for you, it's the least I can do, my baby girl."
Still sobbing, Troy gently moved the pair of them backwards on the bed, rocking Lilly-Ella slightly as she started to stir, before lying down himself, holding the baby close to him as he joined her in the world of slumber, the tears on his cheeks still multiplying.
End Flashback
"That was at my lowest point," Troy muttered softly, staring at the ground, clasping and unclasping his hands as he did so, "I got to just outside the local social services building the next day, but then, I looked at my baby, and I…I…I just couldn't do it, she was my little girl, she is my little girl, and I couldn't just leave her hanging," Troy's voice broke, and he buried his face in his hands, remembering possibly the worst night of his life, as he felt two arms wrap around him, and glanced through slightly red eyes to see Taylor sat at one side, her arms tightly around him, and Ryan at his other side, one hand clasped comfortingly on his shoulder.
"You never told me that Troy, and I wish that you had," Ryan sighed softly, cutting Troy off when he opened his mouth once more to talk, "I know that you felt that you couldn't, but I came back into your life two years after that, and I would have loved to have been the first to tell you that you made the right decision completely. I mean, I saw the way that that little two year old girl looked at you and you at her, I've never seen so much love between a parent and child before, you two are just so close, it's the same right up to this very day, Lilly-Ella doesn't care if you have a lot of money, and can give her the world, all she cares about is that you are here, with her, and tomorrow, she will be right back where she belongs again, with you, home."
"Yeah," Troy whispered, realising that unlike when he had that tiny baby, he was no longer alone in raising her, he had people who loved both him and Lilly-Ella back in their lives now, "Home."
Well guys that was it, please review and tell me what you thought, once more I am so sorry for the delayed update, but now it's only a matter of trying to get all of the chapters typed up and posted, but I also managed to get a few oneshots written while my computer was down, so please look out for those and review them as well!