Author's Note: I was so excited about my last chapter, that I decided to go ahead and post the fifth one! :) Please review and let me know what you think! :)

Broken Paradise
written by missefron15

Chapter 5

Previously on Broken Paradise…

Troy reached for his gun and pulled it out, "Who the hell are you?" he shouted to the figure in the dark. The small figure slowly stepped out into the darkness and Troy was shocked at what he was seeing.

"Troy…" she whispered.

He couldn't believe his eyes… "Ella?"

::

Her face was badly bruised like someone had beaten her to death. She had bruises everywhere and she looked a mess. Was he seeing things? "Ella?" he whispered once again, lowering his gun from her.

She gave a small smile but cringed when a cut on her lip spread. "Hi Troy." She spoke louder this time. She was holding herself because she was freezing. Troy noticed this and immediately took off his jacket and placed it on her small frame.

He opened his apartment door and ushered her inside. "You're dead…I'm seeing things…" he whispered as soon as he closed and locked his door.

Gabriella looked at the man she once loved. "I'm not dead." She whispered.

Troy rolled his eyes and got the hot chocolate down from the cabinet and started to make her a cup of it. He knew she hated coffee so he always made her hot chocolate instead. It was her favorite when he made it with no marshmallows but only vanilla and whip cream. "I can clearly see you're not dead." He remarked.

Gabriella sat down slowly and winced as pain shot through her abdomen. "I faked my own death, Troy." She whispered.

Troy stopped and stared into the brown orbs he'd grown up loving, "Why the hell would you do that Ella!" he shouted. He stopped making the chocolate and looked at her.

She looked at him, "I had to get out…I couldn't do it the normal way or I would've gotten fired."

Troy sighed and looked at the girl he once loved…still loved. "I need to call the police…no I need to call my boss."

Gabriella's eyes panicked. "NO!" she screamed. Troy was taken aback by her tone of voice.

"What the hell has gotten into you Gabriella!" he shouted.

She looked at him and sat there. This was a bad idea. She should have never done this. She hurt the most important people in her life because of her mess and now he was mad at her. He was more than mad, he was furious.

"Troy…I can't go back. Please you have to help me…" she cried, tear pouring from her eyes and down onto her cheeks.

Troy looked at her and saw the tears. This was not the Gabriella he once knew. This was a whole different girl. The girl he knew was strong and brave with the exception of her past. Why was she so afraid? He sighed and finished her hot chocolate and sat it down in front of her. "Do you know how worried your grandmother is? And to top it off, you haven't spoken to her in a year! What is up with that Gabriella?" he spoke angered.

She sighed and picked up her cup and started to drink it. "Henry." She spoke softly.

He almost didn't hear her, "Henry? Henry Marshall?" he asked.

She nodded, "How'd you know his last name?"

He sighed, "My mother had me look into him."

This time she sighed and looked into his cold ocean blue eyes that always made her heart melt into a million pieces. "I met him when I started to intern at the hospital. We hit it off. But we had a secret relationship because he was a resident at the time and he wasn't allowed to date interns. Well when I became a resident a year later and he an attending, we came out to our co-workers and the chief of surgery was actually okay with it." She spoke going into her story.

Troy sat next to his ex and sighed, "Continue please," the inner FBI agent in him spoke.

"Anyway, another year goes by and I introduced him to Nana. Well when I introduced him to Nana, your parents were there and he didn't understand who they were until Nana told them they were my ex's parents. He didn't like that one bit, Troy. That night he started to hit me." This angered Troy even more. No one hits his girl. His girl? She wasn't his girl anymore…he shook the thought away and let her continue.

"We saw Nana again and then after the last visit, he told me to never speak to her again and I couldn't get out, Troy. He was buddy buddy with the chief of surgery and one remark to him and I could get fired. I had to stay because I was there to be a doctor because of my grandfather. I wasn't going to give up on my dream…" she spoke, tears coming down on her pale cheeks.

Troy sighed, "Why fake your death?"

She looked up at him with glazed eyes, "Because it was the only way out."

He nodded and looked down. "Who helped you?"

"My friend Ryan and Taylor. They are residents at the hospital. Troy they think I'm really dead. Ryan gave me the drug and then Henry and I started to fight and he hit me, he started to beat me up really bad. I didn't feel it though."

"Let me see." He told her.

"See what?" she asked confused.

"The bruises." He said quietly.

She hesitated. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ella." He whispered placing a hand on her arm.

Ella.

She loved it when he called her that.

She slowly stood from where she was sitting and lifted up her top. Troy let out a low whistle. He wanted to bash this guy's head in. Her abdomen was black and blue. Old bruises were in yellow and new ones were purple and black. He lightly lifted his left hand to touch her stomach and when he did she cried out in pain. "Fuck," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Ella." He told her.

"Don't touch them. It hurts, Troy." She whispered.

Troy was about to say something when he saw his phone light up with a new voicemail. He must have left his phone on silence as well when it was turned off. He picked it up and saw it was Chad. He looked at Gabriella and sighed. "Go take a shower. I will find you some clothes." She nodded. "Bathroom is on the left down the hall." He told her and she took off.

He called his voicemail and listened in on what Chad had to say. "Dude…your mom called me. Where the fuck are you? She said Gabriella's body is missing and that Rose called the police and called the LA FBI looking for you. And that Marshall guy is missing. No one can find him at all. The police think he might have something to do with this. Call me back ASAP." Troy hit the number 7 on his phone and it deleted the message. He went on to listen to his other messages that were from his parents, Keith Montez, Rose Darbus and the top of the iceberg, Joanne, Gabriella's mother.

He sighed and went to his bedroom to get Gabriella a pair of his boxers, tank top and a hoodie. He went to the hall bathroom and opened the door slightly to see that she was in the shower and then he placed the clothes on the counter and then closed the door again.

He then proceeded to the kitchen and grabbed his phone to call Chad. After the first ring, he answered. "Where the fuck are you?" was Chad's answer.

"Home," Troy muttered into the phone.

Chad sighed, "Did you get my message?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling you back," Troy told him.

Chad was sitting down at his desk just finishing his last case and sighed, "Dude, how you holding up?"

Troy didn't know how to answer that. The girl he loved he thought was dead was taking a shower in his hall bathroom at this very moment. Everyone was flipping shit when he knew the truth. "I uhh…I don't know….I don't think I'm going to get a flight home." He told his partner.

Chad was appalled. Troy's ex-girlfriend died and he wasn't going to go home? That son of a bitch. He was going to have to kick his ass. "What the fuck?" Chad shouted.

Troy sighed, "Some things are left in the past, Chad." And he hung up. He didn't want to hang up on his best friend and partner in crime but Chad couldn't know about Gabriella being here at all.

Chad couldn't believe Troy just hung up on him. That was it. He packed his shit up and got into his car and headed over to his best friend's apartment to settle this guy out once and for all.

Troy sighed as he placed his head into his hands. He couldn't believe that she was alive and not dead. He was so grateful that she wasn't dead but the fact that she had to fake her own death to get out of an abusive relationship was beyond him.

He ran hand through his brown messy hair and looked at his phone and saw he had a text from his brother.

I can't believe this….

He couldn't believe it as well and now he was going to have to lie to his family about Gabriella. He sighed and noticed he'd be sitting there for a couple of minutes staring at the text from Cade.

Yeah, me either. Tell mom, I'll call her back later. Something came up and I have to take care of it.

He texted back and hit send and then received a text back.

What is so important that you can't come home for the funeral of YOUR ex-girlfriend? That's messed up, bro.

Troy sighed and he figured this might happened with one of his family members.

I'll be there, Cade. But they have to find her body first.

He texted back and waited for his brother to text back and when he didn't, he got a text from his sister.

Nice going jerk. We didn't know Gabi's body was missing. Now Cade is flipping shit. Thanks a bunch, brother of the year.

Troy could just imagine all the sarcasm coming from his sister's tone in that text message. He sighed and just replied once more before putting his phone away for the night.

I'm sorry, I didn't know.

He didn't bother to look at the last text message that Caroline had sent. He sat there with his head not resting on the back of his couch and he reached for the remote sitting next to him on the couch. He might as well have a distraction. He turned his TV on and saw that the movie, "The Goonies", was on. This was his favorite movie of all time.

"I love this movie," he heard her voice. He turned his head around and his blue eyes went towards her broken body. He saw the bruises everywhere now. All over her thighs and legs and her arms. She hadn't put his hoodie on yet and he could see the outline of her black bra under his tank top. She shuffled her feet as he looked her over and moved out his line of sight.

She went and sat next to him and watched as Mikey told the other kids to help him wrap Brand's workout equipment around him so he couldn't get up. She laughed when they did it and looked to see Troy still staring at her. She sighed, "It's really weird to have you staring at me."

"It's really weird to hear you laughing," he spoke softly.

She cracked a soft smile and then turned towards the movie. He sighed and turned towards the TV himself and started to think to himself. What was he going to do now? How was he going to pretend that he didn't know Gabriella wasn't dead? How would he react when he gets another call from Rose wanting his help? He just didn't know what to do.

He heard banging on his door and sighed, "What now?" he muttered and heard Gabriella giggle. He stood up from his couch and made his way towards his front door and opened it to have his best friend and partner walk in like nothing was wrong.

"Dude you are a fucking dipshit! I mean come on! You never hang up on me! Plus your family needs you right now and instead you are sitting in your dipshit apartment and you're with a fucking girl! Wait what?" he asked looking at the brunette staring at him wide eyed. Chad looked her over and saw bruises all over her arms, neck and legs. Geez…. He thought and then looked at her once again. "Why do you look so familiar?" he asked a loud.

Troy sighed and shut his front door and locked it. "Chad this is my ex-girlfriend, Gabriella Montez. She faked her death," he told his best friend and went into the kitchen to retrieve him and Chad a beer.

Chad was starstrucked. She faked her own death? "You're dead…" he whispered.

She sighed and looked passed him at Troy who was taking the beer caps of the beers for him and Chad. "I faked my death. I had to." She replied shortly to him. She didn't know this man, so why should she share her story with him?

Troy saw her edging away from him as soon as he stood in his living room again. He handed Chad a beer and the looked at Gabriella. "Ella, this is my partner in crime and best friend, Chad Danforth. You're safe with me and him knowing. He won't tell, okay?" he asked. While he was talking he'd managed his way over to her on the couch and sat beside her and held her hand.

Chad saw her calm down a little as Troy talked and touched her. He went and sat on the chair right next to the couch they were sitting on and continued to look at them. "I'm really confused, dude…" he whispered to Troy.

Troy sighed and looked at Gabriella, "You want me to explain it to him?"

She sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Sure," she whispered and turned her head to the Goonies.

Troy looked at Chad, "Where do I begin?"

"Take me a little back, when y'all first met and shit," Troy nodded.

"Well we met when she was born, really. I'd just turn three and her parents brought her home and I didn't really pay attention because it was just a baby. Well when I was seven, I saw Gabriella in another light. She was this pretty little girl and she was always fun to be around. But I was seven and didn't know what I was feeling," Troy spoke talking about their childhood.

Gabriella smiled a little bit into his story and listened to him continue, "Anyway, when she was twelve, her parents left her. Her mom and dad had already gotten a divorce a year prior and turns out her dad was gay."

"Your dad is gay?" Chad asked a little uneased.

She turned to him, "Yes he's gay. Is that a problem?" she snapped. She loved her dad just the way he was and she loved Drew. Even though she didn't know him or Keith that well anymore, she still loved them. But she can't say the same for her mom…

Chad looked at Troy and he had this look, 'DON'T MESS THIS UP' look and Chad sighed, "Nah, it doesn't bother me."

Troy smiled and looked at Chad, "As I was saying, I remember she was sitting on her roof the night her parents both left her in the custody of her grandmother who was also my drama and homeroom teacher. Anyway, we talked and it was the first time I ever saw her in a new light. I mean I was this fifteen year old kid and I was seeing her in another light. It was strange, once again. By the time she was fourteen, or fifteen, and I was eighteen, we started to date." He spoke softly.

Chad looked as his best friend's eyes glazed over at the talk of her. He saw her looking at Troy with such admiration and love. Their relationship never really ended well, he could tell.

"What happened, then?" Chad asked.

Troy sighed, "Well a few months after Ella graduated high school, I had applied to train for the FBI but it was in LA, but I couldn't go until I reached the age of 21. So right after my 21st birthday and Ella started college, I was gone. We stayed together for about a year after I left and the distance was too much so we broke up. It hurt our families pretty bad; my siblings love her as their own blood sister. My parents were shocked and disappointed that we broke up…and Rose…well she was just Rose," he commented and got a punch from Gabriella.

She winced at the sudden movements and her hand went to her ribs. "Fuck," she swore. When she swore it meant she really meant it. Troy knew that for a fact. He looked at her with such concerned etched into his blue crystal eyes.

"Ella?" he whispered.

She looked at him with glossy eyes, tears falling onto her face, "It hurts really bad," she whispered.

"What's wrong with her?" Chad asked, getting concerned.

Troy looked at him, "That Marshall guy has been beating on her." He spoke and then turned his eyes back towards his ex-girlfriend. "You okay? You want to go lie down?" he spoke softly.

She looked at him and nodded, "Yeah…but you only have one bedroom. I can sleep on the couch…" she trailed off and Troy immediately shook his head no.

"Nope…Gabriella you are taking my room. No ands or buts." He remarked and helped her stand up.

It took about five minutes for her to stand and he whisked her off towards his bedroom. He pulled back his neat covers and sat her down. "Do you need anything?" he asked softly, kneeling down to her level.

She shook her head, "No, I don't need anything." She whispered.

He nodded and helped her get into bed and stood up. "I'll check on you in a little bit to see how you're doing," he told her.

She nodded and then spoke, "You're always saving me." She told him as he was leaving the room.

He looked at her, "Somebody's got too."

She smiled softly, "I like it when you're my savior. It just makes everything better," she told him and he turned the light out.

"I like to be your savior too." He remarked and closed the door. He sighed and went back towards the living room where Chad was.

"Sorry," he told Chad.

Chad shook his head, "its okay man," he whispered. After a few minutes in silence Chad looked at Troy, "Dude what are you going to do? You can't hide her out here. What she did was a federal crime. She can't fake her own death and lead people to believe she's dead, that's immoral and wrong. She needs to get help."

Troy didn't like what Chad was saying, "Chad…don't start this shit with me. I'm going to do everything in my body to protect that girl. She's my life even though we're not dating anymore, she was everything to me," he told his best friend.

Chad shook his head, "You need to call the chief then. Explain to him what's going on. She did something really bad, Troy."

Troy snapped, "Fuck you Chad. She faked her death because of that bastard Marshall. If anything you should be helping me put that Fuckward behind bars. I am not going to let her get fed to the wolves after all she's been through. That girl is strong and beautiful and I will not let anything happen to her. I want that Marshall guy hung to dry, Chad."

Chad sighed and looked at his best friend defend the love of his life. He didn't want to be a part of this scandal. He would get hung by everyone he knew. It just wasn't right but this was his partner in crime and best friend in the entire world since training school. He had to do this for him. Now or never. "What do we need to do?"

Troy smiled, "Thanks Chad." He whispered.

"You love her, I get it now." Chad replied and smiled.

"I do love her….I really do." Troy spoke.

Gabriella smiled at the loud voice of Troy saying he loved her. It meant a whole lot too her and all she wanted to do was, "I love you too," she whispered and sleep engulfed her.