16. | enough pity parties

The uncomfortable silence nearly suffocates me as I feel glued to the spot, Lexi by my side.

"The way who looks at Brooklyn?" He repeats his question. My father looks at us with a raised eyebrow and arms folded. I really don't need this happening right now.

I mirror the way he's standing and glare at him, almost looking as if I'm challenging him. Maybe I am. Maybe I am finally speaking up against him, properly. "You don't have to know every single detail of my life. It's really not any of your business, I'm an adult." I do not stutter.

"Adult or not, you're my daughter, therefore it is my business."

"I'm not doing this right now." I say, geniunely not in the mood for all this, just because he overheard us talking about Ethan.

"We are, Brooklyn. " He's growing angry. "Does this have something to do with—," His accusing tone begins, but I cut him off before he gets to mention his name. "What if it does?"

"What do you mean what if it does? He's a murderer."

"He isn't. " I answer calmly, "I'm not the only one between us that knows this. Right now, only you know the truth behind mama's death. Soon, everyone's going to. So you better stop questioning me because God knows I should be the one questioning you."

I got him just where I want him. Like expected, he doesn't answer but his mouth twists. His hands fist.

Finally, I get to be the one to get under his skin. I know he feels threatened by me for the first time in a very long time, and that is exactly how I need him to be.

Threatened people do stupid things. Threatened people cannot do the threatening, because they're busy trying to cover up whatever they are being threatened with.

That's how I'm going to continue messing with his mind until I find out exactly what the story is.

I laugh, giving him an irritating final blow and take Lexi's hand. We walk past him and enter the bedroom. I immediately close the door behind me, locking it. I can feel my heart pounding within my chest, in a good way. This feels nice.

"Holy shit Brooks," Lexi looks at me almost admiringly, "if I'd ever stand up to my parents like that, they'd give me up for adoption, even after this age." She jokingly shudders at the thought and sits on the edge of the bed.

I give her a weak smile as I join her. "To be honest, the version of me from a few months ago wouldn't dare to either. But then again, your parents aren't liars about one another's death and possibly harmful, are they? " I laugh it off while Lexi just swiftly rubs my shoulder.

Joking about trauma's, great way of coping.

"Now that we're talking about it again and you've been mentioning how you will find out the truth, do you have a plan? Like, how are we going to pull this off?"

Silently adoring the fact that she immediately used we instead of you, indicating that we're in this together, I let myself fall onto the bed. Laying on my back, I stare at the ceiling as I think of how to answer her question.

How am I going to pull this off? Saying something is an easy job, but actually pushing through does bring some difficulties with it.

I have to admit I've been so confident lately, but now that I'm thinking about it, I might have slightly overestimated my abilities. How on earth am I supposed to expose secrets that not even the judge and jury were able to receive. There must be a way, but what way?

"Honestly Lexi, I'm not quite sure yet. My best bet is on Reed, but like I've told you before, he told me he isn't prepared to talk yet. Even if I do dislike him because of how he treated Ethan, I cannot jeopardize his safety." She nods at this and seems to be brainstorming with me.

"Wait..." She begins, gaining my attention. "What if you visit Ethan's family? Hear their side of the story."

Slowly, I begin to find this idea very appealing. It makes sense. Perhaps they know things that Ethan has been withholding from me for whatever reason. The more I know and hear from all sides of the story, the more I'll come closer to figuring it out. "I mean, yeah. That's actually a really good idea."

After a few seconds however, reality dawns on me. "I'd have to get Ethan's consent first. You know, to visit and talk with his family..." Lexi rubs her eyes at this, letting herself fall onto her back right next to me.

"Well, there's only one way to find out right? Just ask if it's okay with him whenever you two have a conversation. I'm sure he'll be okay with it." She reassures, mainly because she, too, does not want this path to close before we even had the ability to wander on it.

I don't have many leads, so this could be very helpful. If only Ethan would be okay with it. I don't want to go behind his back. If I do, I'd ruin it all.

How am I supposed to save him if he doesn't trust me anymore? That's not going to work.

I'll make sure to have a conversation with him tomorrow and ask him then.

After a few minutes of thinking and googling around on my phone, I throw it on the thick carpet next to the bed.

"I have so much shit to do." I let out an exaggerated groan.

The recovery, the court and my internship overall have required so much time, causing me to be immensely behind on schoolwork. I'm pretty sure I've missed some assignments, which was okay because I was in recovery and they gave me more time. However, I still need to do and hand them in. It's been weeks.

As far as the school knows, I have no excuses anymore. In their reality, I don't have a murder mystery to solve and free a wrongfully convicted human being.

Lexi, on the other hand, is doing great in school. She's perfectly on schedule and I admire her for it.

"Before they make me drop out of college due to how behind I am, can you please help me and pull an all-nighter with me?" I sigh as I turn to my side and look at her. "I have barely touched anything and even though psychology is not your major, even your presence motivates me."

At my words, Lexi straightens herself and pulls me up to sit as well. "I've been waiting for you to mention your schoolwork." She grins, her eyes glistening with plans that she's coming up with right on the spot.

"I'm getting us a lot of caffeine and some of your sugary cravings, whatever I can find in this canteen and the vending machines. Hell, we're going to finish all of your missed assignments and visit campus tomorrow. I have to visit my mentor and ask him something. You'll have the opportunity to speak with your professors as well, if you feel the need to."

I haven't been to school in months, so that sounds like a reasonable plan.

"You," she glances at me without letting me interrupt her speech, "just stay calm while I'm gone and don't try to kill anyone, especially not your dad. I'll be back in like 10 minutes tops." She jumps up from the bed and waves me a quick goodbye as she unlocks the door.

"You're literally the best." I laugh as I feel my eyelids getting heavier. Suddenly, the idea of taking a quick powernap before she comes back sounds very appealing to me.

"Oh, tell me something I don't know." is the last thing I hear her say before the door shuts and I drift into a swift sleep.

Like she stated, Lexi comes back with coffee, some muffins and a bunch of chocolate. We work all night to finish my assignments and we eat so much, for a second I think becoming obese overnight is possible.

To my surprise, we really did manage to pull this off and finished all of it from 9pm till 7am, typing until our fingers felt sore. An immense relief washes over me as I hand them in online and shut off my laptop.

After that, both of us fall asleep, only to wake up at 9am. 2 hours of sleep is good enough to last me another day.

I've slept worse and way less.

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Rubbing my red-rimmed eyes, I take my bag from the backseat and start walking towards the school building with Lexi by my side.

The campus isn't that packed. There are students scattered on the benches and some are sitting in the grass while engaged in conversations. I'd be lying if I say I didn't miss this. Once I finish my required hours of internship, I'll be able to spend more time on campus again.

"Don't look right away but there's a really cute guy looking this way, at three o'clock." She whispers in my ear. I force myself to not look at him immediately.

"Looking at you, you mean?" I smile, "I mean, I would too." I nudge her in her side in a playful manner as we continue walking. He'll come chase her anyways, they always do.

As we enter the hallways, Lexi speaks up. "I need to ask my mentor something about my next project, want to join?"

"I really need to use the bathroom," I tell her, the amount of water I drank this morning causing me to bloat. I should have peed before leaving, but I always make the same mistake. "I'll meet you here in 5 minutes, yeah?"

We split our ways as I hurry into the nearest bathroom. After finishing I take a look in the mirror and examine my bare face. I splash some water into it and put on my round glasses, which I sadly neglect most of the time. Another toilet flushes as a girl I've never seen before comes to stand next to me.

"Hey." Her chirpy voice sounds as she starts washing her hands. She looks at my reflection for a mere second as if she recognizes me.

It doesn't surprise me though, because the whole event and the court were all over the news and in the papers. She must have seen pictures of me.

Her pitying glare causes me to cringe a little as I mumble a quick "Hey." back and quickly leave the bathroom. I'm sure she has no bad intentions, but the last thing I need is for people to pity me.

I've thrown myself enough pity parties already.

Distracted by my thoughts and hurry, I crash against something, or rather a someone, causing them to spill a drink on the ground. "I'm so sorry." I mumble as I crouch to take the cup and throw it in the bin.

"It's okay," his voice speaks, I look up to see a pair of honey brown eyes boring into mine, "But are you?"

I give him a confused look as I stand back up. Before I can answer, he obviously feels the need to explain. "I mean, are you okay?" He stands up as well.

I nod, "Yeah. I'll get some paper towels." As I want to turn around to actually get some and clean the spilled drink, he speaks again. "It's okay, Brooklyn."

Surprised at this complete stranger knowing my name, I give him a questioning look. How does one even remember the name of someone they've only seen through a paper or on the news? I know I wouldn't.

"It's Brooklyn, right?" He repeats, seeming to notice my surprise.

"Brooklyn?" I hear Lexi's voice from behind me as she exits the classroom and joins me. "Oh, hi?" She laughs nervously as she sees the guy. He lets out a swift chuckle.

"It's okay though, happens all the time." He glances at me again. I don't know what it is, but something in his gaze makes me try to control the shudder building under my skin. Not a good shudder. Not the one I get when Ethan touches me or mumbles my name.

I'm obviously becoming a little paranoid lately. I don't blame myself for it though. It has nothing to do with me having a weakness. If my own blood is likely to betray me and work behind my back, it's actually brave for me to suspect a reason behind everything in my life.

A few questions threaten to leave my mouth and I have to bite my cheek to keep it from coming. Lexi and the guy are already engaged in a conversation about getting a drink somewhere. He's obviously flirting with her, but the eerie thing is that he has glanced and met my eyes throughout their small talk.

Too many times for it to be a coincidence.

Lexi obviously gives in and types her phone number into his contacts. He reassures me that he'll get the janitor for the mess and gives Lexi a flirty wink. We turn our backs to him and start walking towards the exit.

Screw my professors, I'll send them e-mails with my questions. I just want to head back to the prison, to Ethan.

After today, I've got no more time to lose.

The second we seem to be out of his earshot, Lexi links our arms. "It was the guy from before." She chews her lip in excitement.

"The one you said was looking at us when we were walking towards the entrance?" She answers me with a nod as I notice a slight twinkle in her eyes. I mean, yes, he's very good looking. He was also mannered, continuously reassuring me that it was alright.

He also knew my name immediately. He didn't have to think for a second. It wasn't just a coincidental memory, he knew me. And the chilling part is that I have absolutely no clue who he is, not even the slightest clue.

Not wanting to ruin Lexi's excitement, I make sure not to make my doubt noticeable. When I learn more about whatever just happened means and if he has any wrong intentions, I'll tell her. Now is just not the right time.

"Oh and—," Lexi nervously begins, "He wanted to go on a double date."

"Wait, what? With who?"

"Him, his friend, you and me. "

Wonderful.

"And you said yes?" I get slightly annoyed by her blindness when it comes to a good looking guy.

"Don't get mad." She pouts, "He just really insisted that you'd be his friend's date, joining us. It'll be a friendly one, don't worry. You and I both know you're into Ethan. I just didn't want to say no to Noah."

So, his name is Noah. Still, not a single bell ringing.

Making myself shrug off my annoyance towards her acting selfish, I approve. I hate how I always give into her just because I love her, sometimes putting my own values aside.

I guess you could say I'm weak towards the ones I love. That I will not deny.

"Fine, let's meet him and his friend." Lexi hugs my side at my words as we stride towards the car. "I'll make sure to tell Ethan this was all your doing."

And he's not going to like it, at all.

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A/N; let's see how poor ethan is going to react to "his" girl going on a double date with someone else. someone who's identity is yet to be revealed. prepare yourselves for an ethan filled chapter 17, and an ethan pov (!!!) chapter 18. see y'all soon <3

thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed.

please don't forget to vote & comment, i really enjoy reading every single one of them.

— lyra b.