Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the lack of update! I've been super busy! I've been trying to help my mom with her custody issue for my nephew and niece and tomorrow we have a home study, so hopefully it goes well! By the way, I'm making a playlist for this story and when I get all the right songs in order, I'll let you know when it will be available for download! Onward to chapter 8!

Broken Paradise
written by missefron15

Chapter 8

He stood there in a mess. How could he forget her birthday? How come she didn't say anything to him? She always loved celebrating her birthday…

Flashback

"Troy!" he heard her yell. He kept his eyes firmly closed with a small smile on his face. He heard her sigh and felt the bed shift.

"Troy Dylan Bolton! I am going to murder you!" she yelled again.

He ended up laughing and rolled over and saw his girlfriend sitting on her knees on top of his bed. "What are you doing, Ella?" he asked.

Her brown eyes met his ocean orbs. "I needed you to wake up," she whined and he smirked. Troy grabbed Gabriella from her upper arms and pulled her down on top of him.

"Well, I'm up." He whispered against her lips and then captured them with his plump pink ones. She sighed against his lips and kept moving with his movements. She pulled back after needing a breath of air.

"I'm glad you are up." She smiled and sat up and then stood on top of his bed. What she did next made Troy startle in laughter.

She started to jump on his bed. "It's my birthday!" she squealed.

He sat up in laughter. "Why are you jumping on my bed?" he asked quite amused.

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. "Because it's my birthday and I can jump on your bed if I want too, jump if I want too, jump if I want too, Ohhh I can jump on your bed all dayyy…" she sang an old song with her own lyrics that only made Troy burst into laughter and haul her down on top of him.

His blue eyes looked into her soft brown orbs. "Happy Birthday, Ella." He whispered before capturing her lips with his own.

End of Flashback

He must have been lost in his thoughts because when he looked up there she was standing by the hallway with her arms crossed with a puzzled look on her face. He smiled at her and took a few steps towards her. "Happy Birthday," he whispered.

She looked at him and nodded. "Thank you," she spoke against her soft lips. He stood in front of her and then grabbed her softly into his arms.

"Happy Birthday sweet girl," Troy pressed a sweet kiss on her shoulder and smiled. "Happy 26th birthday." He kept her in his arms and didn't let go.

To Gabriella, this was the best present she could ever ask for. When she'd come from the bathroom and saw him looking down at the ground, she had guessed that he must have been thinking about something. When he told her happy birthday, it sort of caught her off guard. She knew it was her birthday but she didn't want to make a big deal about it. She was a year older, big whoop.

But when he told her happy birthday three times and kissed her shoulder, she was in the right place to spend her birthday. Spending a birthday with Troy Bolton would be like a little kid on Christmas seeing the brand new bike under the tree. It was exciting and wonderful to be with him. She needed this.

When she pulled back and smiled at him. "So what are we going to do today?" she asked quietly looking deep into his blue eyes.

He had to think for a moment before smiling. "Don't worry, I got it all covered. Get dressed and we'll go." He told her and she gave a short smile before grabbing her little backpack and taking it with her to the bathroom to change.

Chad stared down at the paperwork in front of him. The paperwork that was filed when Lynn Matthews went missing. He was confused. Lynn Matthews, Henry Marshall's first wife disappeared shortly after supposedly finding out that her husband was cheating on her with his second wife, Martha Cox. He looked up and typed in Lynn Matthews into the computer trying to find a little more information out on her.

He typed in her birthdate and then he realized that Lynn was exactly ten years younger than Henry. He went back into his paperwork and noticed that Martha was ten years younger as well. He noticed then noticed that Gabriella was ten years younger as well.

Was this Henry Marshall's motive? Get them ten years younger and keep them around for two-three years and then divorce them? Something was adding up. He divorced Lynn when she found out he was cheating, well that's what the divorce paperwork said, Chad had found online, surprisingly.

Chad looked into her filed and noticed that something was whited out under her medical records. He grabbed his office phone and dialed her physician. It took three rings before he heard a voice.

"Hello, this is Dr. Chelsea Barnes, how may I help you?" Chad heard the woman's voice.

Chad cleared his throat before speaking. "Hello, Dr. Barnes, this is Chad Danforth, I'm with the FBI out in Los Angeles, California and I was wondering if you had a moment to spare, I have a few questions about one of your patients, Lynn Matthews, or she may have went by Lynn Marshall at the time, seeing as she was married then." Chad spoke waiting for the doctor to answer his question.

He heard her have a large intake in breath and then let it out. "Mr. Danforth, I do remember Lynn. She was a good friend of mine…Uhh, she went by Lynn Marshall when she got married but changed it as soon as they got divorced." Chelsea spoke.

In retrospect, Dr. Chelsea Barnes was sweating bullets when it came to Lynn Matthews. Her friend has been missing for almost six years and she was quite sad to see that she hadn't shown her face. Chelsea swiped her short blonde hair behind her ear as she sat behind her desk. "Mr. Danforth…why are you investigating Lynn now, after almost six years?" she had to ask.

Chad didn't really know what to say. He sighed, "Dr. Barnes, Henry's current girlfriend, Gabriella Montez, passed away two days ago. From what I know from the Albuquerque Police Department, Marshall has been arrested for her murder and my good friend used to date Ms. Montez and wanted me to check out Marshall's past, including his ex-wives."

Chelsea sucked in a breath and looked around her office. "He murdered his girlfriend?" she asked quietly.

Chad sighed, "Well he confessed to beating her and that's what caused her death including her going into cardiac arrest." He told the doctor wistfully.

Chelsea sighed, "Mr. Marshall…was very abusive, Mr. Danforth. Lynn would always come to me after he hurt her badly. I would stitch her up and not even say a word because I was not going to sit there and judge her. I'd come to know her greatly and I wasn't about to doubt her actions towards Mr. Marshall." She told the federal agent.

Chad paused looking at the medical records, "Can you tell me your opinion on her disappearance?" he asked the doctor hoping to hear what she had to say.

Chelsea didn't know what to say to him. She had been quiet all this time and now someone was giving a damn about her missing friend and if he could find her…maybe her piece of mind would grow better. "Mr. Danforth… I believe Mr. Marshall…I believe he got rid of Lynn." She spoke quietly.

He was confused. "What do you mean, Dr. Barnes?" Chad asked clearly confused but pen in hand ready to write down whatever she had to say to him.

She sighed. "Mr. Danforth…Lynn was fourteen weeks pregnant when she went missing…" she trailed off.

Her smile was all the way up her ears. He could tell she was extremely happy to where he had taken her for her birthday. "Do you like it?" he whispered huskily into her right ear.

She turned to him, her eyes going wide with amusement. "I love it, Troy!" she whispered and turned back around to the sandy environment they were on.

Troy smiled. He'd called in a favor from a buddy of his and gotten the beach secluded for the day. He had a cute little red and black plaid blanket laid out on the ground with a picnic basket sitting right in the middle and little cushions to sit on, so their butts wouldn't go numb. The sand was a bit cold seeing as it was winter time, but it was also warm here in Los Angeles. He would let her go in the water though, because it was extremely cold this time of the year.

He grabbed her small hand in his large one and took her down to the beach where their little picnic was set up. He helped her to sit down, seeing as she was still sore from the beating that Marshall guy had given her. The thought of Henry made his toes curled. He hated the SOB that did this to his girl.

There he went again saying, his girl.

But in all senses…she was his girl. She always was and he would never forget that. He grabbed a couple blankets that he had brought on his own and placed them beside the both of them before taking a seat across from her and opening the picnic basket. He smiled. His friend got everything he asked for.

"Why are you smiling?" her soft voice spoke. He looked up and noticed her hair was whipping a little around her face and she looked peaceful.

He gave her grin, "I have all your favorites." He whispered before pulling all her favorite foods out.

Gabriella was shocked that he'd gone to all this trouble for her, but she knew he loved her and wanted her to have the best birthday even though he didn't know she knew he still loved her like no other. She watched as he pulled mac n' cheese out of the basket. "I love mac n' cheese," she whispered and she saw him grinning at her.

"I know," he whispered and pulled out a bag of her favorite chips.

"Hot Cheetos!" she shouted and once again his face was lit with the biggest smile. "Is there milk too?" she asked wistfully looking into his blue orbs.

"Of course, I can't let you have hot Cheetos without your milk, now can I?" he asked and pulled a little travel mug that was still cold from the milk that was inside of it. He didn't understand why she loved eating those two things together but he wasn't going to judge her.

"Next you are going to pull out…hmmm…peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!" she spoke trying to see if she was right.

He laughed and nodded, "Well that's my favorite especially with the honey flavored peanut butter. I also got you some sesame chicken with some fried rice, and last but not least chocolate covered strawberries." He told her laying everything out. It was a weird combination of foods but it was all her favorite things to eat.

She felt like crying. He always knew what to get her even when she was down in the dumps or it was a special day to celebrate. She looked up, "What about apple juice?" she asked, feeling a tear slip.

He smiled pulling her favorite juice out. "I got that too."

She laughed but it felt like a sob because she was tearing up. She smiled, "Thank you so much, Troy…" she whispered not knowing what else she could say to him.

Troy looked at her. "You've been gone for nearly seven years of my life and I wanted to make this one day of your life special because today is your day. It's your birthday, Ella…" he whispered feeling the tears sting in his eyes.

She nodded at him with a hopeful smile on her face. "And I love every single thing about it." She whispered and then looked at the mac n cheese. "Can we please dig in?" she laughed.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course."

Keith stood in living room looking out one of the windows and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down and saw his mother, Cora looking up at him with a small smile. "Son, your father and I are going to head on home. He's not feeling too well." Keith looked into her hazel eyes and nodded. They hadn't really been there for Gabriella in her life, but sent her money every year for her birthday and or holidays.

Sure, they loved their granddaughter, but they weren't very social people. He nodded at his mother. "Okay, Ma. Tell Pops I hope he feels better and I'll see ya'll later on this week, okay?" he whispered to his aging mother who just nodded and gave her only son a kiss on the cheek and wished him a goodnight.

After his parents left, he felt the presence of another person in the room. He thought it was Drew but when he turned around he was staring into the green eyes of Lewis Tyler, Jo's husband. "Oh, I thought you were Drew," he whispered and turned back around towards the window sill.

Lewis gave a short laugh and nodded and stood a little away from Keith and looked at the window as well. "I'm sorry about everything you're going through, Keith." He muttered and looked on as the streetlights were starting to come one.

All day they had worried and worried as police came and went asking more and more questions about Gabriella and if she could fake her death. Rose had gotten another opinion from the Chief of the hospital saying that it was more than likely that Gabriella faked her death but she couldn't have done it on her own.

Henry Marshall was sitting in a jail cell with charges against him for assault and battery on Gabriella and maybe they might charge him with murder if they can't find her body.

Keith nodded and looked at Lewis, "I'm sorry you guys had to come down here for no reason." He muttered back.

Lewis looked at Keith in shock. "We came here for a reason, Keith."

Keith looked up, "Yeah for Gabriella….but in the back of my mind….Jo would have never come back if was for any other reason. She left this life behind when she and I divorced and left each other including Gabriella. Now I'm no saint…" he trailed off and looked back out the window. "I left my daughter too…but I always called and visited every chance I got even if wasn't much."

Lewis kept listening as Keith went on. "I love my daughter very much, Lewis." Keith told this man. "I don't ever regret having her in my life like Jo did. I knew a few years after Gabriella was born that Jo was unhappy but never said a word about it. We kept going and then I knew I didn't love this woman anymore…Hell…I was attracted to men. I kind of knew I always was but I didn't want to admit it to myself let alone my family."

Lewis sighed, "Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly.

Keith looked up, "I want you to understand that Jo is happy…with you and her new life….shes not happy here, Lewis. She never has been. I love Jo, I do…I can put on a front just as much as everyone else…but she doesn't need to deal with this. I think it would be best if you and Jo took the boys and went on home. I'll take care of everything." Keith finally admitted.

He'd kept this down deep from the moment that Rose and Jo had a talk. He'd seen the ways that Jo had looked at Lucille and he knew that she still wasn't happy. She was jealous of this life because she resented every single bit of it. This wasn't a very big town and all the life she had in it a long time ago had been sucked out of her. She had a new life and she needed to just leave this one alone. Gabriella may be her daughter, but she never called…never wrote….never visited.

Lewis' eyes grew wide but he kept quiet. Since being here, the boys had been so confused and he was uncomfortable being here as well. He could also tell that Jo was seeing old memories and she had finally gotten over this whole town and her life behind. It might be selfish of Jo and him but Keith was right. They didn't belong here and they needed to leave. "Okay," he told Keith.

Keith gave a tight smile and held his hand out. "I'll keep you guys updated if anything changes," he told Lewis who nodded taking the information in.

Lewis walked away from Keith feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He walked into the kitchen and saw that Jo was sitting there with a frown on her face. "What's wrong, Jo?" Lewis asked coming towards her and sitting right next to her.

Jo looked up. "I heard every word Keith said," she spoke quietly and looked at into Lewis' green eyes. "And he's right. When I left here thirteen years ago, I wanted to leave the past in the past and start over. And I did start over and now I have the most perfect boys and you in my life…Keith was more a part of my daughter's life than I was. I just wish I could have been a better mother for her…but I wasn't happy."

Lewis nodded, running a hand through Jo's soft hair. "I understand, honey." He whispered and leaned forward to give her forehead a kiss. "I'm going to pack the bags and we'll leave as soon as I'm done. Book us four tickets." He whispered and got up to go get the boys and their stuff ready.

Jo sat quietly and felt someone come into the kitchen. "You're leaving?" she shot her head up to Lucille Bolton's voice.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

Lucille sighed and sat across from her old friend, Joanne. "I was checking on Rose and seeing if Keith or y'all heard any news from Jimmie." She spoke her motherly side worried sick over what was going on with Gabriella and if she was alive out there somewhere.

Jo looked into Lucille's eyes and she could see it. "How do you do it?" Jo asked her.

"Do what?" Lucille asked clearly confused.

Jo sighed, "Care for my daughter and mother when I clearly can't?"

Lucille sighed and looked at Joanne and couldn't figure the words to tell her. "When Troy brought Gabriella home as his girlfriend….I knew she would be a permanent fixture in my family's life. Jo…Gabriella and I grew close, yes. Rose and I grew close as well, seeing as I lost my mother to cancer when I was quite young. I knew Gabriella was struggling with what was going on in her life and she needed guidance and she didn't know how to ask Rose for it…so she came to me."

Jo nodded and continued to let Lucille talk. "Jo, when Gabriella got her period, she came to me instead of Rose because she was scared to death that she was dying. She was thirteen years old." She spoke quietly.

Jo thought about that. That was a year after she'd left her daughter for a new life. "When Gabriella had her first kiss, she came to me about it, Jo. Rose knew soon after seeing as Gabriella ran everything by me first before telling her grandmother." Lucille spoke and crossed her legs and kept looking at Joanne.

"When she was fifteen and admitted to me that she liked Troy, I told Troy to act on his feelings because the girl liked him back. Of course he asked Rose's permission before he asked your daughter out but Rose and I both agreed it wouldn't hurt seeing as Troy was older. When they became a couple…there was light in her eyes, Jo. Troy treated her with such care and oh my goodness, Jo, my son loved her so much…he still does, honey. She was happy when she had stability in her life." Lucille spoke.

"What about Keith?" Jo asked quietly.

Lucille smiled. "Gabriella kept in touch with him, Jo. She needed one of her parents and I e-mailed back in forth with him and Drew over the years to keep them updated so they would know what to get her for her birthdays or holidays. I tried to e-mail you but you never responded to my e-mails. Rose was happy to see that Keith kept in touch…but I could also see that Rose missed you too."

Jo lifted her head up at the remark. "I know about the e-mails….I just wanted to forget everything in this town, even if it meant forgetting my daughter, mother and ex-husband and my friends." She told Lucille.

Lucille nodded and took a drink of the glass of water she had in her hand. "Jo, Gabriella was okay…and she doesn't resent you. I know she doesn't. You just needed to figure yourself out before you could be able to talk to her. It took you thirteen years too long though, I might say and I can still see that you are still unhappy here."

Jo nodded. "I hate it here. I just don't like it."

Lucille nodded. "I know."

Jo sighed and stood up. "Tell my mother, I'm sorry." She whispered before going to find Lewis and book their flight back home.

Lucille sighed. "Oh lord…" she whispered.

Gabriella watched the water ripple as wave's waves kept coming forward onto the beach. She smiled, feeling content at where she was in the exact moment. She shivered and felt Troy place a blanket over her body and gave him a small smile. She also felt him get behind her and wrap his arms around her small frame.

They'd been out here all day just enjoying the beach and talking about what had been going in their lives except the part of her life where she was nearly beaten to death every time she tried to go to bed or she'd say something wrong…or just something that would make Henry mad.

She laid her head back against Troy's chest and sighed in content. "I feel so safe here in your arms, Troy." She whispered to him. The stars were starting to come out and she thought they were gorgeous.

Troy smiled and laid his chin to rest on top of her head. "I feel safe that you are with me too, Ella." He whispered and then kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you earlier," she whispered after a few minutes of silence.

Troy shook his head but forgot that Gabriella couldn't see him do it. "Don't apologize. All that matters is that I have you now and your safe and sound." He whispered to her and kissed the side of her neck.

She loved when he did that to her. He was always so sweet and sincere to her. Never using her or tossing her aside. "Troy…I still love you." She told him softly and turned so she could look into his eyes.

Troy felt tears building in his eyes. He couldn't thank this woman right now in his arms enough for the things she had done and now she had just given him everything he could have ever wanted back. He leaned down and their noses were right against each other and they were looking into each other's eyes like the world was ending tomorrow. "I still love you too. Always and forever, my sweet Ella," he murmured before leaning his lips onto hers and capturing them together. She sighed in content and immediately kissed him back.

She felt his tongue begging for entrance into her mouth and she let him in, massaging her tongue with his. After what felt like forever, they pulled back, breathing quite heavily. "I love you so much," he breathed to her and smiled.

"I love you too," she whispered and captured his lips again.

Sorry to leave ya'll here! But I just wanted it to end nicely!

Next chapter we see a little more Chad discovering Marshall out and a lot more Troyella love…plus a little drama here and there

-Ash