Chapter 11

June 21st 10:33 P.M. Bolton Home

I don't exactly know what has happened to me. So many things have changed so quickly that things could be missed in the blink of an eye. It's only been what, 3 weeks, a month, and I've become a boyfriend, a son, and a father all at once, the last one being the most important. I knew the moment I found out that Belle was my daughter that I couldn't imagine life without her. At least I don't want to. It kills me to know that she had spent the past 4 years fatherless and I vow to never let that happen again. She's my little girl and always will be till the day I die; even then she'll still be mine.

I couldn't have imagined a better father's day either. Sure I wasn't allowed to see her for a good part of the day, but to have gotten the chance to hear her say 'I Love You Daddy' was just, I don't even know. Words cannot even come close to describing the feeling of having your daughter tell you she loves you. Sure she's said 'I love you Big Blue' but daddy is such a stronger word.

I sat in the living, staring, again, at the woman of my dreams. I think it will take just a little bit longer to get over the fact that she really is back in my life.

"You're staring again." She giggled at me.

I snapped out of it and smiled up at her. She had made her way in front of me, standing between my legs and holding one of my hands.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop if you like."

She smiled down at me again. Wow, her smile could light up any room. "No, it's o.k. I love it when you stare at me. It makes me feel beautiful."

I chuckled. "You're always beautiful. You know that right?" I couldn't help but get concerned about that.

She giggled. "I do now."

"Alright love birds. There are people in the room with you." I turned my head and saw both of our parents sitting on the opposite couches. I heard Brie giggle and I blushed. "Awe, he blushes too."

"He's always blushed. I must say, he is cute when he blushes being a 25 year old!" My mom was always trying to find a way to mess with me. Since our parents have known each other for soo long, this comment didn't bother me.

"Come on now girls. Don't pester my son because he blushes like a girl." There ya go dad. Help out your son. If you didn't catch it, I was being sarcastic.

"I'm sorry Troy. I shouldn't embarrass you like that." My mom was having a hard time holding in her giggles. I smirked up at Brie who had a "Let's sneak out of here" expression.

"Uh uh, you two are staying down here with us." Both Brie and I busted out into laughter. "You see, I told you, I know my son better than you do. It's a father's instinct to know what your son wants and thinks."

"Well, what exactly were they saying? What makes you think the two of them wanted to go upstairs?" I smiled at my mother. "I'm here for you hunny." I just kept smiling. I didn't want to ruin this once in a lifetime argument.

"Well…" My father twisted in his seat. My mom, Brie and I both giggled. When he shifted in his seat, that meant he was about to go on a long rant about whatever it was he knew. "When a man wants something from his woman, he'll give her a certain look. A woman will do the same thing." He turned and looked at me. "When the two of you were dating in high school, I had picked up on this secret mind reading thing you both had. You would be sitting in the kitchen when you would cough loudly and she would look back at you. You wouldn't look up at her but tap a secret rhythm on the kitchen table. She would smile and head into the bathroom. After about a minute or so, you would put your stuff away and walk upstairs. Another minute would pass and Gabriella would walk out of the bathroom, smiles and all, and walk into your bedroom. The door would then shut and lock."

Brie had made herself comfortable in my lap, her legs across mine and her head buried into my shoulder to hide her embarrassment. I had my head hidden in her hair to muffle my own laughter. We had no idea that he had caught onto our secret codes. If I had tapped on the table 3 times, that meant I wanted to talk. 4 times meant I wanted to make out and continued taps meant I wanted much more than that. If she got up and went to the bathroom, that meant she wanted too to, or if she went into the living room, that meant I had to try harder. It became my most favorite game. I had long forgotten about that game.

"What?! How did you figure out that they had a code?" My mom sounded a bit annoyed that she hadn't picked up on our secret code.

'Well, I witnessed it happen one day, the only reason I had noticed it was because he had coughed pretty hard. The very next day, in free period, I may add, the same thing happened and they both left the gym. A rumor went around later that day that the two of them had been caught making out in a janitors closet."

I suddenly chocked on a strand of Brie's hair. She squeezed onto my shoulder tighter. This conversation was no longer appealing to me. It seemed my father knew more than we had taken on.

I closed my eyes and tried my best not to open them when I heard my mother shout my name. Yes, I am 25 years old, but I could only guess the news that your son had made out in a janitors closet would be shocking as well.

"Troy Christopher Bolton! That is just disgusting and unsanitary!"

"Lucille. Leave the poor boy alone. I only wish I could have had the fun the two of them had had, and probably still are having."

"What are you saying Jack?! That we don't have fun?!" Brie's mom had her head down, as if she was trying to disappear from her very spot while Brie and I sat in each other's arms, counting down the moments till we could safely leave. Obviously I wanted nothing to do with this conversation anymore.

Maybe I should have some fun with this. I turned my head and coughed lightly in her ear followed by 3 clicks of my tongue. She pulled back and smiled at me. She then decided to get up off my lap and headed towards the bathroom.

"You see! They just did it!" My father was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Jack?! She just went to use the restroom!" My mom shot back. I looked over at Brie's mom and noticed her staring at me with interested eyes. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to leave anytime soon. They were watching my every move.

Instead, I stood up and made my way into the kitchen. Maybe I could sneak away when they started arguing again, which, If I'm correct, has started up again. I could hear my mother's voice followed by a load groan. "Lucille, come on! You know you loved that! At least you did 3 weeks ago!"

"I liked that 3 years ago!" I shook my head. I really didn't want to know what they were talking about, even if it was obvious.

I gave it a good minute or so before sneaking into my bedroom, only to find Brie already there, sitting on my bed.

"Well, that wasn't embarrassing." Sarcasm was evident in her tone. I chuckled and slowly made my way over to the bed and sat down beside her. She curled up on my lap again and wrapped her arms around my shoulders and sighed. I'm not quite sure why I wasn't speaking right now, maybe because I was savoring the events of the day, or maybe she just made me speechless? I don't know, but I sat silently, holding her. "Things are going to be so different when we go back home. Belle's calling you daddy and she'll be starting pre-school in the fall." She sighed again. "Wow, I can't believe she's already in pre-school. Where did the years go?"

I cringed at the thought. I thought the past couple of months had been moving fast, but to imagine the past 4 years. I closed my eyes, wishing, somehow, the past could have changed and I could have been a part of the past 4 years.

She squeezed my shoulders. "I'm sorry Troy. She has you now and that's all that matters."

I just nodded and held her tighter to my body. She was right. I shouldn't dwell on the past; I should revel in the moment and just take the time to appreciate her love now.

I felt Brie's breath on my neck as she sighed. "What are we gonna do Troy?"

I was slightly taken aback by this question. "What do you mean?"

She pulled away from me so she could have a better look at my face. "Basketball season starts in like 2 months, right?" I nodded. "Well, what are we gonna do? About living and things like that?"

I looked down, thinking hard about her question. "Well, I figured Belle and you would come back to L.A. with me. My apartment is huge. Big enough for all of us, and more if needed." Sure we hadn't talked about having more kids, but, the thought was still in the back of my head. I looked back up to meet her eyes.

"Troy…" She looked away. "Belle and I have made a life back in Wisconsin. All our friends are there. I don't want to take her away from that."

"Brie, she's only 4. She won't remember." I couldn't leave them there. That was not an option.

She shook her head and hopped off my lap. "I don't want to leave." That was the last thing she said as she walked out of the room.

I wasn't finished though. I wanted to get this settled now. If we were going to go to L.A., we need to start getting ready now. There's no time to wait. "Brie, we need to figure this out, now." I stood up and started to follow her out of the room.

Before she made it completely out of the room, she turned and looked at me. "Troy, this is my life now. I've spent the last 4 years trying to figure things out and now I have. Why would you try to take me away from that?"

"Brie, I'm not trying to take you away from anything." I tried to grab her hands but she just pulled them away. I could feel myself start to get angry. "Jesus Brie. It's not like you'll never see them again. We have telephone and e-mail. What's the problem?" My voice was starting to rise with my anger. Why didn't she want to move in with me? It has to be more than just because she doesn't want to live in L.A. It's a whole lot of bull shit.

She started to get angry as well. I could see it in her eyes. "I'm not taking Belle away from her friends. She likes it here and I like it here!"

"Well, you're not leaving me!" I started to shout.

"I was never going to leave you, Troy! We were going to stay here while you went back to L.A. for basketball. You have a private jet; fly over anytime you want!" She started to shout back.

"I'm not leaving you there!"

"Well, you're gonna have too!" With that, she turned back around and stormed out of the room. Why was she being so selfish? She knew I wasn't going to give up basketball, but she also knew I wasn't going to give her and Belle up also. It seemed so simple to me. I would ask her to move in with me and she would simply say yes. Then, we would move back to L.A. and live happily ever after. It seemed so simple, till now.

I sighed loudly in defeat and plopped down on my old bed. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were before college? Life was so much less complicated in high school. You didn't have to worry about places you were going to live, and we definitely didn't have a kid to worry about either. I love Belle, more than you know, but now Brie and I are arguing over where we're going to raise her. This is just becoming more and more complicated. At least Belle's calling me daddy.

"Something wrong?"

I jumped a little before taking my glance off of my toes and staring up at my father. I wanted to slap myself in the forehead for having shouted, letting the whole house in on what we were arguing about. Everyone, of course, knew that living conditions would be an issue, but no one, probably, had assumed the issue would come up on Father's Day, of all days. Father's Day, like most holidays, should be peaceful and relaxing, not tense and dramatic.

The look on my father's face read one of many things, understanding. He understood why I was upset and understood why Brie was upset. He understood each of our concerns for our daughter and understood what he needed to do as a father and a friend. Another look I got from his was one that read "I'm going to give you some advice and you're going to take it!" I let out a breath I had been holding in since Brie walked out and looked back down at my feet. There was a small blue stain on my shoes where Belle had accidentally dropped a piece of cake, clad with blue frosting.

"You heard." It wasn't a question. If he was standing here in the doorway, it obviously meant he had heard and wanted to talk. The expression on his face also gave that away.

Without making a noise, he took a step into the room and stopped next to my dresser. I looked up and noticed him picking up an old picture, one of my school pictures, maybe sophomore year. I was wearing my very first Varsity Captain Basketball jersey. It wasn't one you wait an hour sitting in a stuffy photography waiting room for, it was one taken by my mother during my first game as a captain. It was the perfect picture with me up in the air, the ball barely off my fingertips as I try and shoot for a three. The number 14 and the letters that spell out BOLTON are clearly visible in this back shot.

"I'm not going to talk for long, especially because you've heard this sort of lecture before." He sighed and placed the picture back down on the dresser. Turning to me, he forced a small smile and sauntered over, placing himself next to me at the foot of the bed. "You're 25 years old, and being 25 years old means a lot of things, some you've already learned. One, you take on the full load of being an adult. Two, you're only 5 years away from being 30…" I find myself chuckling at that. "Three, you most likely will take on the responsibility of being a father, well, that's already taken care of, and four, you spend every day trying to figure out the right things to say to keep the woman you love in your life where she belongs."

I look him in the eyes, slightly confused. The knowledge that he has on Brie and I's argument is as much as my own, but the sound of his voice when he said that last part made me almost…nervous? He almost sounded as if he had been through this before. Did mom leave him? Did he leave mom?

He must have seen my puzzled expression because he turned to me a little more and sighed. "Troy, no one knows this except your mother and I, but, she almost left me when I was your age." My eyes went wide with shock. I had only guessed, I never would have thought I would be right. "She…she thought that I had given up on you and her and I hadn't. I was 25 years old with a wife and kids. Colleg0e hadn't gone the way I had expected and I still wasn't sure if this was the life I had wanted." His eyes flooded with worry. "I love you and your mother and If I had the chance to go back and change things I wouldn't..." He let himself calm down. "But at the time, the amount of responsibility was too much for me.

"I came home one day and found her standing in the living room with some suitcases and you in your car seat, ready to leave. In that moment, I realized that what I had was all I needed. Nothing else mattered as long as I had both her and you in my life." He placed a shaky hand on my shoulder. "I know now that Brie has already left you once, and now the knowledge that a child had left with her has reached you and I would hate to see her leave you once again.

"I should know that making a decision on behave of your kids is harder than you think. I understand that you want Gabriella and Belle to move back to L.A. with you." He shifted slightly uncomfortable. "But…I also understand why Gabriella wants to keep Belle where she is." He sighed and stood back up. "I know you were probably expecting a straight answer on what you and Gabriella should do, but, I can't be the one to give you an answer. Even now, I can't even come up with one myself if I was in your shoes." He walked over to the door and stopped, turning back to look at me. "I know you well enough to know that you will make the right decision, whatever it may be, for you and your new family." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving me even more confused than I was before he even said a word.

June 22, 2:36 A.M. Bolton Home

"Mommy?"

I slowly opened my eyes letting the bright moonlight in through my heavy lids; the events of last night running through my head. We had argued, Troy and I, about where Belle, Troy and I would live after this summer. It seemed so simple to me. Troy found us and now he will stay while he can and when he has to leave for basketball he'll leave and come back with his private jet, Of course I want him to be home with us, but I refuse to let him quit basketball. It may sound completely ridiculous, but I feel that basketball will ultimately save our family, don't ask me how, I just believe it. L.A. is not the ideal place to raise a child, the small town of Baraboo is. Everybody knows each other in Baraboo and everybody is friends in Baraboo, it's that small. Belle is friends with her entire pre-school class and I would love to have it stay that way. My mother and I moved enough when I was younger and I don't want that to happen with Belle. I simply will not move her from place to place.

I looked up at the sound of my new name and realized that I was on the floor. After Troy and mines argument, I must have, instinct, made my way into her room and decided to lay on the floor next to her bed since her bed was too small to support us both.

She was now laying on her back next to me, wide awake. "Yes baby?" I turned my head to meet her eyes. It still amazes me how it was possible that someone could have even more blue eyes than Troy.

"Are we going to live with Daddy?" Her voice was so soft in innocent that it killed me to know that the answer might end up being no. Well, how could I even answer this? I don't think I could tell her that her daddy would go back to L.A. and I don't think she would take it too well to begin with. Troy and her have become inseparable, how could that bond come to an end?

The truth is the best in any situation. "I don't know baby."

She rolled over and snuggled up against my side, a small arm attempting to wrap around my waist. "I hope so. Me loves Daddy too much not to."

I still find myself smiling as she refers to Troy as Daddy. Sure it's what he's supposed to be called, but still. It fits perfectly. The memory of his face when she said those 4 words; those four very powerful words, I Love You Daddy, will forever be engraved in my head. He looked so happy, like nothing could ever make more thrilled than that very moment, and I don't blame him. I would have given everything to hear my daughter call me mommy if I was in that same situation.

Then I frowned. How could I take her away from her father? Why do I have to be the one at fault? Why do we have to move for Troy? Why can't Troy move to us?

I slowly sat up and lifted Belle into my arms. It's too early to answer any of these questions. And Yet. They all have to be answered and soon. "Belle, Daddy loves you too. More than you know. He will make the right decision for both of you."

"And mommy?" She asked, peering up at me with those ocean blue eyes.

I forced a smile. "And mommy."

15 years ago

Both of us sat silent in the car, me looking straight ahead at the winding road and him out the passenger window. I had known that something was wrong the moment he had swung open the door and jumped in without even waving to Chad, his best friend of 9 years.

A good 5 minutes went by before the silence was too much to handle. "Hunny, what's wrong?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the road ahead.

"Nothing?" He snarled at the window.

I frowned and sighed. "It sure doesn't sound like nothing." I reached over with my right hand and moved some of his hair out of his eyes. For some reason I had allowed him to grow out his hair.

He instantly turned to me, his eyes glazed over with potential tears. "Mommy, Chad told me that I could never play basketball because I was too short." He turned back to the window. "I told him I bet I could but he just laughed at me along with Zeke and the rest of the guys." He turned his glance from the passing world out his window to me." What do you think?"

I could say that Chad was just jealous of his basketball skills or that Chad could be right since most basketball players were over 6 feet tall but I didn't. "What do you think?" I asked him.

He turned to look at me in the car and studied my facial expression as if I knew the answer but was hiding it. After a good while he sat back in his seat and smiled. "I think anything can happen."

Believe it or not, only two weeks later, he started having a growth spurt growing 5 inches. This is no joke, he grew extraordinarily fast, towering over Chad by the middle of the summer. Sure Chad caught up, but it took him the rest of the year. To this day, Troy is still taller than Chad.

Present Day

June 22nd 5:22 A.M. Bolton Home

I sat in the kitchen, clutching my, what was hot but now semi- warm, coffee and staring out the window. After a talk with Troy, Jack had come into the room and climbed into bed, wrapping an arm around me. It has been years since he has done this and I wasn't complaining, but with this small gesture I knew something was wrong.

"Jack, what happened?" I asked as I positioned myself better against him as we both lay in each other's arms.

"Do you remember the day you left, with Troy? I searched all over town for you until I finally found your car in a motel parking lot?"

Of course I remembered that day. That was the day that Jack had officially got down on one knee and proposed to me. He also begged me to come back to him and that he had changed for the better with my disappearance, though I had only been gone for a few hours.

"Yes, why?" He was starting to scare me.

He sighed and held me tighter. "With everything that happened that night, with me of course and the thought that I had lost both you and Troy, well, I couldn't bare it. If Troy looses Gabriella…"

I cut him off. "Jack, we've known them for so long. If I know Troy and Gabriella, they will work this out." I turned in his grasp so I was facing him dead on. "Troy always makes the right decisions. He won't let her go, trust me. I've watched him with Belle, he will not lose her."

He closed his eyes and turned to his back, forcing my head to his shoulder. "I know, but what If this is the one time he messes up?"

There's always a fear that your kids will fail. Even when you know that they can't, like when they study day and night for a simple spelling test and after that week of studying they could spell those words in Spanish. Maybe you know that there's a 90% chance that they will take 5th in the 300m dash but you just can't help but feel that they will win the gold. It's up to the kid to decide if they really fail or not. Maybe he studied day and night for his spelling test, but in the end he only pretended to study? Maybe he made everyone think he was going to take last place, but in the end takes the gold? In the end, it doesn't matter if you're standing in the crowd cheering him on as he slips into last place, he has to make that final push to get exactly where he wants to be. If he wants to be in first, well he'll just have to use that last bit of energy to push him in front of all the others and pass through that ribbon at the finish line.

I apologize again for the extremely long wait. Like I said, I just moved back and am in the middle of getting settled in my two new jobs. Yes, I just got them today!!! YEAH!! Any who, updates will come slower, but I will try my best to update as soon as possible!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! I LOVE and APRECIATE it when you tell me how I'm doing. Thanks for at least making it this far in my story!! SuzzieD