Mistakes

Hey guys, thanks for all of your reviews from the last chapter, anyway, here's chapter 14, I hope that you like it, and please review to tell me your thoughts.

Chapter 14

Early the next morning, the door to the Bolton household swung open, and excitable Lilly-Ella stepping through, with an extremely nervous Gabriella following after her daughter, although she couldn't help but laugh at the childish behaviour that Lilly-Ella had displayed all morning, desperate to make sure that her Dad and her friends were ok.

"Dad! Hello, anyone home?" Lilly-Ella yelled, and Gabriella once again started laughing, not having expected such a loud voice from her petite daughter, as the scarping of chairs and running feet were heard.

Troy sprinted into the room, skidding to a halt as both he and Lilly-Ella stared at each other for a good five minutes, before she hurtled into his arms and he wrapped them securely around her, closing his eyes in thanks that she was truly safe, "Don't you ever, ever do something like that to me again Lila, I have never ever been more scared in my life baby girl," Troy muttered, holding Lilly-Ella's face between his hands as he looked her directly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Lilly-Ella whimpered, burying her head in Troy's chest as she started to cry once more, Troy closing his eyes as he pulled her tightly to him, gently rocking the pair of them, kissing her head, before pushing her away and gently tucking her hair behind her ears, wiping away her tears softly and smiling at her, Lilly-Ella's shoulders still shaking slightly with sobs.

"Don't be sorry Lila, I'm the one who should be sorry, I should have been honest with you, especially as you're getting older, but to me, your always gonna be my baby girl, so it's gonna take some adjusting to, alright?" Troy asked, beaming as Lilly-Ella giggled softly through her tears, nodding slightly, "Oh, and by the way, thanks to you, I was stuck with these bozos all night long," Troy rolled his eyes, laughing as a yell went up from behind him, Lilly-Ella shrieking with laughter as Matt, Sassy, Joe, David, Taylor and Ryan suddenly grabbed her in a hug, the seven of them all laughing as they fell into a heap on the ground.

Troy gently stepped back, still chuckling as his head swivelled towards the raven haired woman now stood next to him, as he studied Gabriella, Troy noticed that she hadn't changed much, she still scrunched her nose up as she laughed, her eyes still lit up in the same sort of way, only there appeared to be something that he couldn't quite tell rimming her eyes, hurt maybe?

"Thank you Gabriella," He whispered softly, and immediately, she stopped laughing, the other people in the room being drowned out as she stared at him, confusion etched upon her face, "You kept her safe, you looked after her when G-d alone knows what would have happened to her if she had stayed out there all alone," Troy smiled fleetingly at her, before turning back to everyone else, the gang now trying to help Taylor, Chad, and the younger five up from the floor, unsuccessfully, as they kept tumbling back down on top of one another, still laughing.

"Of course I kept her safe Troy," Gabriella murmured quietly, and his head snapped back around to look at her, "She's still my daughter, Troy, even if I haven't been involved in her life, but to be honest, that thought kills me more than anything, to think of the experiences that o could have had with her if I would have just been around for you both."

"It isn't too late to create memories with her Gabriella, she's a great kid, and she's exactly that still, a kid, one who still needs both of her parents," Troy laughed as he watched Matt toss a screaming Lilly-Ella over his shoulder, heading for the swimming pool, "But you were right yesterday, Gabriella, I should have stuck around to find out what was going on with you, I should have known that you wouldn't leave us like that," Troy sighed softly, looking at the ground, before her voice once more brought her out of his trance once more.

"Yeah, I think that you were right Troy," Gabriella exhaled, "I had no right in blaming you, none at all. You just did exac-."

"Yo, Hoops, come on, we're gonna have a games tournament on your Wii, cause your daughter seems to think that she's some sort of Champion," Chad grinned excitedly, running back into the living room as Lilly-Ella's screams of "I am a Champion" flowed through the house, followed rapidly by her laughter bouncing off of the walls.

"Yeah, ummm, I should really get going home too," Gabriella smiled softly at Troy, her hand reaching for the door knob, confusion etching itself back into her features as a bigger hand suddenly clasped around her own.

"Stay," he whispered softly, his tormented azure eyes staring into her equally tormented chocolate eyes, "Please stay Ella, everyone wants you here, it's a great chance to get to know your daughter more, Lilly-Ella wants you here," he whispered both of their eyes widening as he called her the nickname that she hadn't heard in sixteen long years, "I want you here."

Troy turned and walked towards the living room where he could hear everyone arguing over who was going first, his thoughts cemented on his ex-lover, still stood at his front door, a smile gracing his features as he heard footsteps behind him, holding the door open for her, she ducked underneath his arm, blushing slightly, and Troy couldn't help but wonder, was he falling for her yet again, and how was that possible after everything that they had bee through?

I hope that you guys liked it, please review and tell me what you thought, and the next chapter should be up on Friday or Saturday!