READ BEFORE YOU READ THE CHATPER!
(A/N: I posted pictures of Talon and Lyle at the bottom of my profile. Just copy and paste them into your browser. :) Now, this is where the story begins to pick up and things start to come together. By the looks of this, it shouldn't be too long before you find out who Gabriella's murderer is. Maybe 5-10 chapters. :) Gabriella's perspective will soon change, too. :D)
Now you can read. :)
All the things I still remember, summers never looked the same. Years go by and time just seems to fly, but the memories remain. In the middle of September, we still play out in the rain. Nothing to lose but everything to gain. Reflecting now on how things could've been, it was worth it in the end.
Now it all seems so clear, there's nothing left to fear. So we made our way by finding what was real. Now the days are so long, last summer's moved on. Reach for something that's already gone…
Troy gently rocked back in forth in Lyle's rocking chair, watching Lyle's eyes as they fought an endless war to stay open. Blinking, he made an honest effort to fight the sleep off. But, sleep won in the end. He was tired. Lyle had a long day, from drinking bottles, sleeping, changings, listening to music, sleeping, playing with Talon, and back to square one. It was his bedtime. There was no reason to argue that.
At the moment he closed his eyes, Troy silently stood up. Talon stepped into the room, and Troy automatically shushed him. Talon grinned, placing his fingers on his lips as if to copy Troy. He tiptoed in and gently shut the door behind him. He waited quietly for Troy to give him the signal to talk.
Troy placed Lyle in his crib gently. He covered him with a light blanket, turned on his lighted fish-aquarium, and turned off the overhead light. He turned to Talon and pointed to the door.
Talon opened his mouth to complain, but Troy quickly shushed him up again.
He stood there with his arms folded and a pouting face.
Troy opened the drawer and grabbed Talon's pajamas, a diaper, his slippers, and a bath towel. Talon automatically got excited and bolted out of the room, happy to get a bath. Troy chuckled a little and shut the drawer, walked out of the room, and shut the door.
"Tubbie?" Talon said excitedly.
Troy chuckled. "What do you get every night, Talon? A haircut?"
"A tubbie!" He grinned and ran towards the bathroom.
"You are one crazy kid." Troy chuckled and walked towards the bathroom. When he got there, Talon was desperately taking off his clothes, although he couldn't, and was whining because he wanted to be in the tub so badly.
"Okay, okay!" Troy set the things down and knelt down by Talon.
Once Troy got him in the bathtub, and he was content, he set the toilet lid down and sat down. He could only sit on the hard floor for so long. As Talon messed with bubbles and many toys, Troy got his phone out as he heard a text coming through.
His mom.
So how's everything going?
Troy texted back.
Busy. I just put Lyle to bed and Talon's in the tub.
Oh. Sounds like fun. How is Lyle doing?
Perfect. He's the perfect baby. Doesn't cry much at all. He starting to smile and laugh now like you wouldn't believe. And Talon loves Lyle to death. He's so interested. He wants to know why he cries, why he needs bottles, when he goes to sleep, wants to be in the middle of everything.
That's how you were every time someone brought a baby over. You were into everything. Wanted to know how everything worked.
Well I guess Talon takes after me more than I expected.
You got that right.
Troy chuckled.
Well, I have to get Talon out of the tub and into bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow, mom. Love you and goodnite.
He turned his phone off and stood up. "Hey Talon, how about you sleep with me tonight? How does that sound?"
Talon was battling sleep, just like Lyle had just minutes before. His eyes were droopy and he could barely sit up.
Troy grabbed a towel, wrapped him in it, and carried him off to his room, where he dressed him and threw his slippers in the corner. His towel went in the laundry basket.
While Talon climbed into bed, Troy walked back into Lyle's room. He wasn't asleep, of course. He was staring at his fish tank in awe, like he had never seen it before.
"Alright, I know you're just dying for me to pick you up." Troy said, causing Lyle to look over at him. A little smile came across his face, and he stretched his legs out as if to make an excuse up for why he wasn't sleeping. But Troy knew better than to follow his cutesy little tricks. He reached over the crib and pulled him out of it.
"You know what sucks?" Troy said, holding Lyle up to his face. "Talon doesn't look too much like his mommy, who I loved very much, and you look a lot like me, but you look like your mommy too, who I don't like at all."
Lyle was adorable. He was even cuter than Talon when he was just tiny. Lyle had light brown hair and round eyes. They were curved a tiny bit at the end, but made him look cuter. His eyes were getting pretty dark, but he still loved them, although they weren't Troy or Talon's blue.
"Why don't I just take you to bed with Talon and I?"
Lyle's lips curved into a tiny smile, and he stared at his daddy with beaming eyes.
"You're going to have girls all over you, Lyle." Troy chuckled a little and grabbed a few of Lyle's things out of his crib. He also grabbed the bottle that sat on the dresser. "But I have to teach you how to be a lady's man, first. Just like Talon. You two will have girls fighting for you, if you guys inherit my good looks."
Troy heard a slight knock at the door while he was tucking Talon and Lyle into his bed. He jolted upwards, knowing that something had to be wrong. It wasn't a police knock, which was loud and obnoxious. It wasn't a normal person knock, which was exceptionally normal, nor was it a child's knock. It was an anxious knock, like someone was frightened or scared.
He glanced at Talon. "Keep an eye on Lyle. Make sure he doesn't roll off the bed."
He nodded.
Troy left the door open while he rushed to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open.
Nobody was there.
He looked left and right, up and then down…
He found nothing other than a baby carseat with a newborn baby in it.
"Jesus Christ." Troy shook his head. "Those fucking prostitutes insisting I'm their kids' father." He said to himself.
He sighed and picked the carseat. He carried it into his house, when he set it on the couch.
"Is this thing even real?" He said to himself. The baby didn't move. It didn't even look like it was breathing.
He touched the cheeks.
They were warm, a little too warm.
After a minute of searching around for notes or phone numbers along the pockets of the carseat, he heard a tiny whine, and the baby stretched its arms out.
"Orphan… " He sighed. "People are so idiotic. I would never leave my kid at someone's door."
He sat there for a minute, wondering what he could possibly do to find who this baby's parents were and return it. Hopefully, the father would take it.
Troy suddenly heard the baby's stomach growl slightly.
"I wonder how long it's been since you last ate." Troy stood up. "I've got newborn formula in the kitchen."
He made the baby a bottle and picked it up out of the carseat.
He noticed a couple sheets of paper.
He set the bottle down and pulled the papers out of the carseat. He opened the first one, which was a note.
Troy Bolton-
I hope I never see you again. Unfortunately, after a couple drinks at the bar, we slept together and made this baby. Well, I don't want it. I need to start fresh and live my life the way it was supposed to be lived. You take care of the baby because I know you'll love this baby just like you love Talon and Lyle. I have a DNA test to prove you're the father, so don't freak out and think that it's just someone tricking you.
He raised his eyebrow and took the second piece of paper.
It was a DNA test. It didn't have the mothers' name, but it did have Troy's.
He looked back at the DNA test.
On the back, there was a last note from the person who dropped the baby off.
PS: If you decide not to take care of this baby, and you decide to just dump the baby in someone else's hands, then what happened to Gabriella will happen to Talon and Lyle.