"In just a moment, we will have the jury leave and come to the final decision on the case."

Shit.

They couldn't be done yet, could they?

"We will be taking final statements from both sides lawyers,"

We didn't have any strong evidence against him. All we had was medical bills. We had no DNA proof. We needed more time.

Joanne was called to the stand.

"This is one of the most important cases I have ever fought for." She started, looking around at everyone in this room. "While important, it was also very difficult. Domestic abuse cases always are." She looked at Tim. "But this case is much worse than just domestic abuse, isn't it?"

I felt like my stomach was twisting.

"This was also attempted murder. And, first degree at that. He had it out for William Solace. He had planned to go out there and kill him." Joanne turned away from Tim and to the jury. "This man, he's not only a murderer or only an abuser. He is reckless. Carefree. Entitled. He doesn't care about anything but himself. He is selfish."

"The things he has done to his daughters, his step-son, and his own wife, and even others- is disgusting. He's put multiple people in the hospital, and there's no telling how many more may be put in because of him if we don't lock him up. He's a danger to others."

"I know this is a hard case to come to a conclusion on when you're not there, but the bruises and the medical bills should be proof enough. This man is a menace. Locking him up would be for the greater good."

Joanne was dismissed and Tim's lawyer was put in her place.

I spared a glance at Tim while he watched his lawyer walk up to the stand. He was smirking. I hated that damn smirk. It was so cocky. It was like he knew he was going to win.

And what I hated the most, was that he could.

Tim's lawyer started slow clapping. "Really touching, doll, truly, but unfortunately, I think we have a final piece of evidence we uncovered just last night, that is going to prove this man innocent." He looked over at the judge. "Your honor, may I?"

He had to ask permission because of the fact all evidence should have already been shown. Today wasn't the day for revealing things.

"Proceed."

Shit.

"Henry," the lawyer's voice sounded awful. I was tired of hearing it. "Come up for me please,"

Some guy stood up from the audience. When I got a better look at him, I realized who he was. My heart stopped. Will noticed my shift in mood and looked down at me with concern. I only shook my head. This wasn't about me. All I had to do was just sit here and watch as the man who traumatized me walked up to defend the man who had shot me, knocked Will out, broke Naomi's rib, and hurt the twins. How hard could it be?

"This is Tim's good friend, Henry."

"I've never seen that man a day in my life," Naomi whispered.

"I haven't either, could they really be that close of friends." Sydney said. They weren't really talking to me, but I couldn't help but overhear.

"I thought the only close friends he had were Ted and Audie." Will said, leaning over me a bit so Naomi could hear him and he wouldn't have to raise his voice too much.

I started bouncing my leg as Henry began talking. "Tim? Oh, he's a great guy. He'll always give you the shirt off your back if you needed- no not even needed- if you wanted it. So, when he called me up after Naomi had fallen, obviously I was more than happy to give back to him and help him out."

You'd think I would try my hardest to not listen to Henry's voice, but it was oddly the opposite. I couldn't help but listen to every single word that came out of his mouth. Every last syllable he spoke.

I couldn't help but stare directly at him as he spoke. Watch his eyes as they moved around the room. Watch how his lips moved with each word.

It was hell.

"So, he calls me on the phone, freaking out, talking about how his wife just fell down the stairs and how he's now alone with the girls, and he's scared, because sure he seems like a big, indestructible man, but when the people he cares about are hurt, sometimes that can go away, so he called me, freaking out, and needed to get to the hospital. So, I'm an Uber driver, and so I was already in the area. So I go, and I pick them up."

That didn't make sense.

I've been in his car. Sure, I was drunk off my ass, but I've been in it.

It couldn't fit five people, especially since one was injured and probably couldn't sit up.

Of course it didn't make sense. He was lying.

"So, we got to the hospital, and I was sitting with him, but had gone to the bathroom right when they arrived, which is probably why they didn't see me as a witness. But, when I came back, Will was being carried away, and Tim was devastated. Sure, he had to throw a punch, but he did it for the greater good." He said, throwing Joanne's words back at her.

"Lui non c'era," 'he wasn't there.' I mumbled under my breath.

If he was really there in the aftermath I would have seen. I was focused on keeping the girls safe, so I looked around. I watched as the entire place cleared out. This man was not there.

Tim had no friends there.

"We then walked away from the situation. The girls had already been taken away, because, while Tim isn't a violent man, it was a very violent situation.Tim'll be one of the first to admit it. Anyone may be a little antsy with what was happening, so removing the girls was the best at the option."

"Non è vero." 'That's not true.'

I was with the girls till everything was clear. Tim was the one who was taken away.

"So, when the girls were gone, Tim and I were talking,"

"Sta mentendo." 'He's lying.'

"Nico? What have you been saying?" Will asked, clearly picking up on my mumbling. I wanted to answer, but I was too busy listening to the words Henry was saying.

"And he was mentioning how and why the things happened, how they were even at the stairs, how she tripped over him,"

"Non era nemmeno lì." 'He wasn't even there.'

"Nico, are you alright?" Will whispered to me.

"Non era nemmeno lì." 'He wasn't even there.' I repeated, slightly louder. "Sta mentendo. Non c'era." 'He's lying. He wasn't there.'

"Neeks. English."

"Will, he wasn't there. I know for a fact he wasn't there, and si sposarono fino all'ultimo giorno per poter girare le riprese." 'they waited to the last day so we could pull footage.' "That's why they didn't. We don't have any proof if he's lying or not. That's why they waited till the last minute."

"Are you sure? There was a lot going on-" Will said, trying to follow along despite the language changing.

"He wasn't there. They waited till today because we can't prove it. We have nothing saying he was or was not there."

"Tim was a mess, he was distraught, he's stepson was now going into surgery, his wife was already there, his daughters were now taken away, he was left with nothing-"

"Smettere di mentire!" 'Stop lying!' I yelled, still staring directly at Henry.

"Neeks, they can't understand you," Will said, almost amused, but in a morbid type of way, but honestly more confused than anything.

"Oh. right. Um." Usually when you make a declaration, you didn't have to repeat it, so now I was feeling a bit awkward. "Stop lying," I said, staring directly at Henry.

His shock turned into an 'Oh shit' expression when he recognized my face.

"You weren't there. Stop lying." I said.

"Mister di Angelo sir, do you have any evidence?" The judge said.

"For one, I think if we pull up the one bit of video footage we do have from the hospital, you'll see that the girls weren't ever taken away, they stayed with me the whole time."

"It was hectic. I could have just mixed up my story a little, it did happen a while ago, the gitls weren't with Tim, that's the main thing."

"I would have known if you were there."

"If you don't mind, may I ask you a question?" Henry said, a smirk on his face.

I stayed silent. Henry walked closer to where we were all sitting. He jutted his thumb right, pointing to Will. "So, is this the guy?"

"No unrelated questions please," the judge said.

"Oh, Your honor, this is a very related question."

The judge sighed. "Proceed."

I've come to the decision I do not like this judge. They let a lot of things slide.

Henry got closer to me. "Wanna tell them why you'd know if I was there?"

"Do you really want me to?"

Henry sat straight up again and took a step back and looked around the room. "Well, why should I care. If they find out how you know me, how we met they might realize your relation to the family is a little different, wouldn't you think?" He said.

Was he really trying to threaten me?

"You really think that's gonna work?" I stood up, not exactly on his level, but still better than allowing him to tower over me while I sat. I looked over at Tim. "Not sure how you found this guy, but I think you really just screwed yourself."

I looked at Will and he looked very concerned. The way Henry had worded everything made it sound like he was an ex or a hookup. I gave him a smile, hoping that would let him know it was nothing like that.

"A little while after the accident, Will and I got in a fight of sorts." I started, looking around the room to address everyone. I looked back at Tim's face. His smirk was gone. I looked over at Henry. He was in disbelief. He must have really thought I wasn't going to say anything.

"Causing us to split up for the time being." I was trying to use words that didn't explicitly reveal that we had been dating, for the same reasons we didn't just say we were together in the first place. "Obviously, losing someone important to me, sent me into a not great place. I'd go over to my friend's house- who was going through a similar situation, and we'd drink and talk about it, he was a friend from work, so I'd go home with him, and take an Uber back."

"What was the exact relationship between you and Will at that time," Henry asked, wanting to get the power back. In the end, whether I was dating him or not, I was still a friend of his family. The fact he really thought that would win them any points kind of blew my mind.

"Doesn't take a genius, Henry." I said, staring at him with nothing but anger. This man had caused me so much pain, and he was still trying. "So, one night, I called an Uber. Now, I can't remember where I was, if I was with my coworker, Jason, that night, or if I had just gone to bars. Sure, it was irresponsible of me, but at the time, I couldn't care."

"Alright, we get your point, you think I'm lying- how does this have anything to do with it-" Henry said, and I could tell he was starting to get nervous.

"Well, I'm telling them how I know you, like you said, right?" I looked over at the judge. "You see, Henry was my Uber driver that night. He sounded very nice. He seemed caring. He only wanted me to get home safe. Or so I thought. Later it was revealed that he is indeed a great actor."

"I don't recall ever driving you anywhere."

"Really?" I said with disbelief in my voice. "Five minutes ago you basically blackmailed me with the fact that what happened did happen, and that sharing that information would be bad. Didn't you. Your honor, am I wrong?"

"Please proceed, Mister di Angelo."

"He drove me to my apartment. Walked me up to my room. Helped me get situated. Then he kissed me."

"Neeks." Will said, it was a whisper, I knew he knew where this was going now. I moved my foot to tap against his as a little way to say I was alright.

I heard him give a shaky breath and lightly tap my shoe back.

"I said no." My voice was now shaky. "You didn't care. You forced yourself on me. You left me with memories that will never go away. I see your face more than I want to. I close my eyes some nights and all I can see is you. Don't you think, if you were there that day, I would know?"

"The hospital incident happened before, how would you-"

"Henry, I'd know." I said, my expression blank. "Which means, I also would've known if you were Tim's 'good friend'. I believe you're being hired. After all, you're an Uber driver. Can't imagine money's doing great right now. You need the extra cash. And you're one hell of an actor."

I looked over at Tim. He lost his cool. It looked as if he was getting angry.

"So, did you really bet this entire thing on the fact I wouldn't say anything? You've both screwed with us enough." I sat back down. "Hell if I wasn't going to say anything,"

"This is... certainly is interesting..." The judge said. "But I believe the Jury is ready to discuss their decision. We will be on break until then."

The first thing Will did when people started getting up was hug me. "What the hell, Nico?" His voice was soft as he whispered it into my ear. It was like a 'why didn't I tell him the details sooner?' type thing.

"Calm down," I said, slightly laughing. "That was their plan, they thought I wouldn't say anything, but now they know he's a liar, if anything this is great,"

"I don't know if great is a word I would use, I'm sorry,"

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault." I tapped his chest with my hand. "Let's get out of here though, I don't wanna spend anymore time in here than I have to,"

"Okay, let's go," He took my hand and we walked out, trailing behind his family.

When we got out Henry and Tim were being chewed out by their lawyer. Clearly, they realized how bad it just got.

We walked outside and I was thankful for Naomi and how she chose to not mention the story I just had to recall.

Everyone was feeling tense. Sure, I proved Henry was a liar - but that didn't mean the jury wouldn't still side with them.

Plus, what was my word to them? Anyone could have said that. It just sucked that mine was the truth.

We got the announcement to be back in the courtroom in ten minutes. So, Will and I decided to run into the bathroom real quick before heading back.

When we got in there, we were greeted with my favorite person in the world, Henry. Please note the sarcasm.

"You really think you did something, don't you?" His voice said once his eyes laid on me. "But nobody believes it. Seems too perfect, coincidental." He walked up closer to me, pointing his finger accusingly, holding it inches from my face. "What did that do? Maybe won you over some people, but it's up to majority vote. We have the evidence."

"Alright." Was all I said, then turned around to walk out the door. I didn't need to pee that bad anyway.

"Just gonna walk away? You're scared aren't ya? Scared of some guy? Pathetic." He turned towards Will. "Got yourself a real warrior don't you? Should've stayed separated. That one's not worth your time."

I looked over a Will and anger was rushing over his face.

"Will." I said, warning him to calm down. "He wants you to get upset. Just calm down."

Will's eyes searched mine. I don't know if you remember, but I'm pretty sure in the past I've said something about Will not having anger issues, and more of just had a lot of feelings, but this would be the third person he was ready to fight or blow up at, so maybe that statement was a bit false.

"Why don't ya hit me? Huh? From what I've heard, it was something your father was quite fond of-"

Will went to swing, but I brought by hand up, catching his fist in my palm. "Take one more step and you'll end up in court-mandated anger management. He's doing it on purpose, you know it's not true. Let's just go."

Will dropped his arm and I grabbed his hand.

"It's alright," I said watching as he clearly calmed down.

"Disgusting." Henry said. "Fucking queers. It's sick."

We were both used to homophobes, and we had each been called a long list of colorful names, so that really didn't affect us too much. However, it was a weird statement coming from him. "How the hell is he gonna be homophobic? Pretty sure he swings- y'know what, it doesn't really matter." I started, but decided to just drop it. People who force themselves on other people don't think like normal humans. There was no use questioning him.

I looked over at Will, who was holding my hand tightly. I felt like I knew a lot about Will, almost everything. But, something I didn't know too much about was his dad mainly because he didn't like talking about it. I knew about the situation, why he never said anything about his mom being with Tim, but not about his dad as a character.

Clearly, Henry did.

And it wasn't good.

"You're not like him,"

Will took a deep breath and gave a slight smile. "Thank you," And while he could have been just talking about what I had said, it held more. Like it was a thank you for the entire situation.

I squeezed his hand. "Of course," I said, smiling.

Eventually, we were called back in.

The jury walked in after us, they all wore really great poker faces. It was obvious, right? We were the good guys. It was us. There's no way they couldn't believe us.

It was times like this I really wouldn't mind believing in God.

At least then I'd have someone to talk to, someone to pray to that they realized the truth. But, unfortunately a mix of religious trauma and bigoted-beilevers led me to be agnostic.

"The evidence was pulled," The judge said. "This man was in none of the videos. Having friends, or paid actors, as a witness, lying in court, domestic abuse, child neglect." He gestured to the jury. "Timothy, you've been found guilty and will be facing 60 years to life in prison."

Pure joy was felt. My hand flew to Will's, and I looked over at Naomi. Her face was so relieved.

We won.

The judge went on about what Sydney and Naomi won.

And holy shit it was a lot.

Tim was like... rich rich. Filthy fucking rich.

Naomi alone got enough money to pay off her house, and continue paying bills for... years to come. She got land in different states, like vacation homes, all rights to their home, their car, and the twins.

Sydney also got a fuckload of money, land, and a fucking boat, along with all rights to their home, car, and Mason.

That was going to be a crap ton of legal work, but it would be done later. For now, Tim was ending up in jail, and even Henry was getting in trouble for lying in a courtroom. However, at most he'd probably get a slap on the wrist due to the fact they never made him do the oath thing. Figures.

When we walked out of the courtroom, Tim had some colorful language to yell as he left. Henry was standing with Tim's lawyer. I flipped them both off as I walked out the door, reaching for Will's hand.

When we got in the car, Naomi and Sydney bombarded both Will and myself with thank you's, them both wanting to give us some of the money.

We both declined. I know I didn't do it for the money, I did it for the family I had grown to love.

We skipped dinner, all of us too excited to eat, and headed straight home instead. Sydney and Mason were ready to be back in their own home and out of Naomi's guest bedroom.

We all said our goodbyes and made promises to still see each other. These strangers I had just met became some of the people I cared the most for.

Afterwards, we all got the girls ready for bed, saying our goodnights. I held the moment close. I wouldn't be staying over nearly as much now. This could be the last time I help put them to sleep for quite a while.

Once they were down, Naomi thanked us both one last time, and went off to bed.

Will and I "saved some water" again if you know what I mean, and then we both got dressed for bed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, watching me with a look in his eyes that made my stomach turn, in a good way, as I dried my hair with a towel. Finally not being able to handle the putty-like feeling in my stomach any longer, I turned to him. "What?" I laughed, tossing the towel I was using onto the chair.

"I truly admire you, you know that?" He said it like it wasn't a big deal. But it fucking was. Made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack.

"I- what? I mean, why? What?" I stutter, my brain practically breaking. "Stop being stupid," I say, laughing lightly.

"Do you really still see him sometimes?" He asked, his goofy, sickeningly lovey look morphed into more of a sad one.

"Oh, yeah," I sigh, a sad smile on my face. "But," I walked closer to him, taking both his hands in mine. "He's just one asshole,"

"Badass,"

"What?" I said, almost laughing.

"You're just badass,"

"I don't know what you're talking about,"

"You should give yourself a lot more credit,"

"You're so stupid," I laughed.

Will pulled me down slowly and reached his head up, our lips meeting in a kiss. "There's worse things you could call me," He chuckled slightly once we pulled away, shutting up once I leaned back in.

"Mhm, like what?" I said, almost mumbled, leaning down to kiss him again.

We pulled away again. "I don't know," He said, smiling into the next kiss. "Could call me a bitch or something,"

We went back in for one more soft kiss. "Ma sei una cagna, non ti preoccupare, sei una buona cagna però," But you are a bitch, don't worry, you're a good bitch though.

Will made a choked noise. "I don't know what you just said, but I don't care because that was really fucking hot,"

I laughed lightly, putting my hands on both sides of his face and then basically squishing his face. "Vedi, cagna buona," See, good bitch.

"I do beel like you're inbultining me dough," He said, words messed up because of the hold I had on his face.

"Depends on how you wanna take it,"

Will just laughed and made kissy lips at me. I let go of his face and leaned down to kiss him again. "Now, let's go to bed, I'm tired,"

Will grabbed my waist and pulled me down. I let outa yelp and flailed my hands to catch myself from falling on him completely. "Cagna!" Bitch!

"Oh, my god, that's what you were calling me!"

"You figured it out," I laughed.

"I probably should've figured it out sooner,"

I found this fucking hilarious and nodded my head, cracking up so much my eyes began to water. "Yeah, probably,"

I kissed him again, longer this time, smiling happily. "I fucking love you, cagna,"

"Stop calling me a bitch!" He laughed, playfully rolling me off of him.

I kept laughing and just got closer to him. Throwing my leg and arm over him, reaching out and kissing him on the cheek multiple times. "I guess I'll stop," I said, still laughing.

"You think you're so funny, don't you," He said playfully. He even rolled his eyes for extra effect.

"I don't think, I know I'm funny,"

"Yeah, yeah," He laughed, rolling over to me, and moving to where he was hovering over me. He dipped his head down and kissed me, one hand on my hip, the other by my face holding him up. "Sure you are,"

"What? I am!"

"Yeah, of course, you're hilarious."

I rolled my eyes. "If I didn't love you so much, you'd be really annoying- y'know what, scratch that, you're still really annoying."

Will softly smiled, and it was so loving that it caused those butterflies to start fluttering in my stomach again. "I love you, too, Death Boy,"

i hate editing stuff. like i'll write the chapter in 3 days, and then take thirty to edit it dlkfhdsjkbfskdj but trust me, if i don't edit it, the chapters suck even more than they already do so like it's worth the time but fsjdfhjdsk 

anyway stay safe y'all, especially if your schools are opening back up. just bc the government said they care mroe abt ur grades than ur health, doesn't mean u should, please please p l e a s e don't get reckless. we made it this far.