* * *

"I think I'm going to go see her." I said the words before I could stop them. I knew this was something I had to do. I needed to see her.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked in confusion.

"I'm going to go see her." I responded calmly.

"After everything she has done, why on earth would you think I would let you near her?" He asked.

"I need to see her, Jaxon. I know what she's going through and I just want to talk to her." I said calmly.

"I warned her to stay away from him, you know." Jaxon added.

"You did?" I asked.

"Yeah, ages ago. When I first found out I went to her and told her to stay away from him because he's dangerous. She didn't listen. Sometimes they bring it upon themselves." He said as he shrugged his shoulders before leaning back in his seat.

I turned slightly to face him, "Once you pick up Alena and drop us off, I'll make some calls to see if I can see her today."

I watched as he looked into my eyes for a seconds before letting out a sigh. He leaned forward to give me a soft peck on the lips before leaning back in his seat, "How about we drop Alena off and I'll take you to see her."

"Really?" I asked as I smiled at him.

"I don't feel bad for her but I understand your need to do this, so yeah I'll take you." He said.

I smiled at him as I leaned into him to give him a kiss before whispering, "Thank you."

As he drove to Penelope's house I rang Brittany's Mum to see if she could put me down to see Brittany today, thankfully Bianca was able to come through with her number. It's safe to say that Brittany's Mum was shocked one her of "friends" wanted to see her, which had me believing that no one has actually gone to see this girl yet.

The rest of the ride home I kept having pretend conversations in my head with Brittany, I tried to prepare myself for what I wanted to say but I came up with nothing. I wasn't going to panic though, I had faith that the moment I would see her I would know exactly what to say.

"You ready?" Jaxon asked.

I looked around to notice that we were now in front of the clinic, I was nervous all of a sudden.

'Why the hell are you nervous?'

I let out a sigh before nodding, "Yeah I am."

I unbuckled my belt before noticing that Jaxon wasn't moving. I turned to look at him before asking, "You're not coming in?"

He shook his head, "No, babe. This is something you need to do and I support it but I'll wait outside."

"Ok. I won't be long."

As I walked into the clinic I was hoping Brittany's Mum had put me on the list in time for me to see her. It was at this point that I realised that if it was meant to happen, my name will be there. If it's not meant to happen, they will reject my visit. I watched as she looked through the computer to see if I was on the approved list.

I waited until she smiled at me, "This way, Avery."

I smiled back as I followed her through to the visitors lounge. She pointed towards the direction where Brittany was, she was sitting at a table but was facing the window. As I got closer to her I noticed her signature hair colour was gone, her hair was now chocolate brown and cut to her shoulders.

As I got closer to the back of her, she spoke up "I wondered how long until I saw you again."

I walked past her to sit on the chair across from her, "Hello, Avery." She added

"Hey. How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"Because of the perfume you are wearing. What brings you here? To gloat?" She said, crossing her arms across her chest.

It was at this point I knew exactly what I had to say, not just for her but for me too.

"I came to say that I forgive you and I know you'll get through this."

I watched as her eyes widened slightly before blinking twice, what I didn't expect to see was tears fall down her face. She let out a whimpered cry before placing her hands over her face. I got up to move my chair next to her and place a hand on her back.

"I'm so sorry for everything." She forced the words out in between her cries.

"He just seemed so nice and genuine. He cried about how he missed you and just wanted to make it right with you." She said as she grabbed tissues to wipe her eyes and nose.

She turned to face me before continuing, "I did not know he was going to go to that extreme. When I found out what he did to you, I couldn't face you. I wanted to talk to you but I got scared and just kept up the facade of being a bitch. I was obsessed with Jaxon and let that be my weakness and Noah knew and fed off it."

I hadn't expected the truth session from her, she had left me stunned and speechless as she sat here opening up without hesitation. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I debated on what to say, there was no point in hashing out on past actions. I knew what was done, was done. She needed to get better without people holding grudges on her.

I grabbed her hand to hold it and looked into her eyes, "Don't beat yourself up for it. Noah is good. He's dangerously good at getting his way. Just focus on yourself and get better. I did mean it when I said I forgive you and I do."

Brittany smiled before hugging me which shocked me slightly.

"Thank you, Avery." She whispered.

"Get better. I'll see you soon." I whispered back before breaking away from our embrace. I left shortly after that once we said our goodbyes. I felt at peace with Brittany and was glad that I did this. I smiled as I opened the exit doors and noticed Jaxon relaxing on his front bonnet, one leg crossed over the other while on his phone.

He looked up at the sound of my feet and smiled at the sight of me, "You ready?" He asked.

"Let's go home."

* * *

It's been two days since I went to see Brittany. One thing I hadn't expected though was getting a phone call from Jaxon last night, telling me the police have fast tracked Noah's court hearing for today. I don't think I had any intention of going, mainly because I didn't wanna see his face. But, as soon as Jaxon asked if I would go with him, I couldn't say no. I knew I had to be there for him. So, here we were standing in front of the court room ready to go in. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shitting myself, I was. I was terrified and this hearing wasn't even for me.

I squeezed Jaxon's hand in encouragement, "Lets do this." I whispered.

He smiled before lifting my hand to kiss the back of it, "Thank you for being here." He whispered back.

He took a deep inhale before exhaling out, I waited for him to get mentally ready for this challenge they were about to face. Today would determine if Noah would stay locked up before the actual court case or if he would make bail. Their lawyer had high hopes but there was doubt as well. His mum squeezed his shoulder, indicating for us to go in. He held tighter onto my hand as we followed her and their lawyer into the court room.

His mum followed their lawyer to sit at the front while Jaxon and I sat in the first row of seats behind them. They made the decision to keep Jonathon at home, Lisa chose to stay with him because she didn't want to see who was responsible for her dad's death. As we sat down my eyes kept moving towards the door where I knew Noah would be coming out from, I let go of Jaxon's hands and rubbed them against my thighs. I knew I had no right to be nervous, it wasn't my case but I felt for Jaxon and his family. But, I also knew Noah wasn't going to go down without a fight. My breath got caught in my throat as I saw him handcuffed, being escorted by two guards. He had slightly longer hair and a slight beard forming.

I watched him as his eyes moved around the room like he was looking for someone, until his eyes landed on me. We both stared at each other as he was taken to his seat. I swallowed the lump as he kept his eyes on me, I tried to look away but I couldn't.

"Ava, you came to see me." Noah whispered.

"Focus on something else before you regret it." Jaxon whispered back immediately, through gritted teeth.

"Order! Mr Maysberry, control your client." The judge voiced out, anger in his voice.

I let out a shaky sigh as I turned my head to face the front. Jaxon leaned down closer to my ear to whisper, "You're safe. I won't let him come near you."

I looked up at Jaxon before smiling wearily at him. I didn't have the strength to say anything back. From the corner of my eye I could see Noah staring Jaxon down, but I didn't have the courage to say anything so I kept my mouth shut and pretended I couldn't see him. The less attention I gave him, the better it was for us.

"The people move to have Mr Daniels in custody until his due court case, your honour." Bianca's lawyer spoke up. I watched as he stood up to address the judge.

"There is no evidence that Mr Daniels was actually driving, your Honor. Noah holds no threat to this town and the people in it." Noah's lawyer jumped in as she stood up as well.

"Why is Mr Daniels in this town?" Judge Marin asked.

"For a vacation. There is no vendetta for him to be here, just wrong place at the wrong time." She responded, waving her hands up in mid air.

My eyes remained on Noah who looked all too relaxed in his chair as he looked around innocently. His eyes caught mine for a second before he gave me a quick wink and then refocusing to the front. My blood immediately began to boil, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs because he knew he was going to walk free. His lawyer bluntly lied about not knowing anyone, the judge even heard him address me and still it wasn't getting brought up. Something told me Jaxon's family did not have such a strong case against him. The idea of Noah walking free made my heart begin to beat fast. My palms began to sweat, letting go of Jaxon's hands I lightly rubbed them against my thighs again.

I watched for the next two hours as the lawyers debated with each other about the case, threatened each other with evidence they both had to win the case. It was rather amusing and a typical "my horse is bigger than your horse" conversation. My heart jumped into my throat when the judge hit the gavel, ordering the court in complete silence.

"Mr Daniels is hereby released on a $70,000 bond, pending trial."

With that said, he picked himself up and left as Bianca's lawyer tried to intervene. My eyes immediately landed on Noah as he smirked at me while they handcuffed him. He kept his eyes on me until they pulled him away to take him back to his cell. There was still a part of me that hoped Noah's parents would not pay the bond because of what had happened to me, but then again their loyalty didn't lie with me.

I waited patiently as Jaxon hugged his mum who looked visibly devastated by the decision made. I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes for a second, all of a sudden they began to wear heavy on my face. I opened my eyes when I felt a soft tap on my shoulders. I looked up to my right and there stood Noah's parents.

Immediately I got up to give them a friendly hug, "Hey Mr and Mrs Daniels. I didn't see you earlier." I said as I smiled weakly at them.

Mrs Daniels looked nervously at her husband before she looked at me, I watched as her throat bobbed up and down shakily.

"We just wanted to apologise to you. We hope you understand where we are coming from with the decision we make regarding Noah." Mrs Daniels whispered.

Realisation sunk in and the frown involuntarily appeared on my face. I knew exactly what they were referring to and I can't say I was too surprised. I let out a soft sigh before nodding slightly at them. They gave me a sad smile before walking out the court room, I watched as they held hands. Just as they were leaving Mrs Daniels looked over her shoulder to give me a small wave before disappearing out of sight.

"What was that about?" Jaxon asked as he picked up out jackets so that we could leave.

"It's their way of telling me that they are going to bail Noah out." I responded, letting out a sigh of frustration.

"Are you serious?!" Jaxon asked, anger evident in his tone.

I looked at Jaxon and his mum who appeared upset by the news. It angered me that they would bail him out, they knew what he did to me, they were remorseful and yet here they were bailing him out. I was not going to let Bianca and her family suffer anymore and I sure as hell wasnt going to let Noah win this. It angered me that he's always had life on a silver platter and now he was going to get away with this bullshit? Not on my watch.

"What is going on in that little head of yours?" Jaxon asked.

I looked into his eyes with pure determination, "I'm going to press charges against Noah."

* * *

A/N: I'm trying to get back into weekly updates! Especially because we are almost at the end. I'd love to finish so that I can start on the next ones. What should we write about next? Any ideas?

Next Chapter: Avery gets a surprise visit, but from who? Jaxon faces issues with his race. That's right, we have another race scene coming up.