"Oh my God!" Katherine screamed.

"Don't hug her yet," my mother warned. I blinked myself awake, my hands automatically reaching for my bullet wound. However, my fingers were met with nothing but a hospital gown and rough, new stitches.

"H-Hello?" I groaned.

"I get to hug her first," Mom said. I immediately felt arms envelope me and tears fall onto my cheek. The familiar grasp of my father joined the hug, and I felt like I could fall asleep in their arms and be safe forever.

"Where's Dakota?" was the first thing I asked.

Beeps of monitors and rushing of feet down the halls were my only response.

"She's dead, isn't she?" I muttered. I stared at the ceiling as my parents withdrew from me.

"The police caught her, Avery. I'm so, so sorry, baby," Dad replied.

"Is she dead?" I restated. Instead of everything being a blinding red, the world consisted of a pale blue. It reminded me of Dakota's hair. I frowned.

"They're performing surgery. They say she's gonna make it," Mom elaborated. I didn't know whether to be relieved or not. I sighed regardless.

"Can I have a minute alone, please?" I requested. My parents exchanged worried glances. "Please?" They both then kissed me on the forehead, took each other's hands, and waited immediately outside the room. Katherine stood by the door frame. "Hey, Kat."

"Hi, Avery," she replied softly. "Feeling okay?"

"I...I think so. What'd the doctors say?"

"You'll be okay," she answered. "Well...the gunshot will heal, at least."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Avery...thank you. Thank you for not leaving me." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Avery, I lied. I'm so, so sorry. I put you in danger. You almost got arrested because of me. I just wanted it to be over, Avery. I put you second to me being happy, and I'm a monster, I-"

"You're welcome, Kat. It's fine. I don't care that you did what you did." I laughed a bit, but stopped. It hurt to be happy. "It's over, right? I didn't get arrested, you're alive, we're okay for now. You're not a monster." When she was failed to be convinced, I lied to her. I had to. If Katherine didn't stay around, then I would have nobody left in the world that knew what I was going through because of Johanna. "I might have even done the same thing. We just wanted it to be over, right?" Katherine wiped away her years. "Can you go just for a few minutes, please? Just for a little bit?" Katherine vigorously nodded her head and made her way towards the exit without another word.

I would've brought my knees closer to my chest to sob into them, but every minute movement my legs performed sent shock waves of pain throughout my body. I settled for shutting my eyes and letting the tears sneak their way out.

"--and then he called me and practically begged me for an interview; can you imagine? Yancey goddamn Bellford asking me, out of all people, for an interview! So, I fucked with him for a little bit--told him I had some juicy info about the case that only we had our hands on. I made a bunch of fake shit up, naturally. He ate it up. Wish I could've seen his face when I hung up the phone laughing. Kid, I'm telling ya--oh, you're awake! Welcome to the land of the living, kid!"

"Pierce, how long have you been here?" I groaned into the pillow. Everything hurts.

Tapping the glass of his watch, he replied, "'Bout two hours. Your parents just left to grab some coffee."

"What time is it?"

"Two in the morning," he replied with a shrug. I turned over so that my chest faced the ceiling and my eyes met his.

"You stayed for that long?" I whispered.

"Of course I did, kid. I'm the only one who doesn't have a damn curfew around here. Katherine was here until midnight, but her old man picked her up--he said 'Hello' to you, by the way. Liam and Jane stopped by--that's what the roses over here are for." He handed me the vase that was resting on the table by his chair. I caressed the stem of the rose, watching out for stray thorns that threatened to prick my finger on the way. "Landon was on the phone with your mother for about twenty minutes. And Johanna..."

"What about her?"

"Medically induced coma. Something wrong with her respiratory system, I think. I visited her, too, y'know."

"She say anything before they put her under?"

"She smiled at me. Told me that I helped ruin her life. Told me to tell you that she's sorry, and she always will be. Load of shit, huh?" He laughed at his joke, pacing himself only when he realized that I didn't join in on the fun.

"So I got you out of jail like I promised, right?"

Pierce grinned. "That you did, kid. That you did. When I asked Eliza about it, she said that she had no idea what I was talking about. I guess you convinced her to let me off." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the infamous tape. "Eliza gave this back to me. I think I'm going to run over it a few times and throw the rest in a fire." Fire, fire, fire--I flinched. "Johanna confessed, by the way, so no more accusations or assuming everyone is guilty. No more of this shit." He sighed, reclining into his chair. "Not your lawyer anymore."

"That's good. I was getting sick of you, anyway," I replied with a chuckle. Pierce smiled sadly. "Hey, don't be upset. Just joking with you."

"I know, kid. It's just that...you remind me of a little girl I used to know," he replied, tapping his foot against the tile of the floor. "She was quiet too, you know? But real funny and sweet when you got to know her. And she was all mine."

I gingerly reached my finger out to Pierce. He took my hand in his as I wiped away dry tears. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Pierce. I didn't know."

"Thank you, Avery."

"And you're not allowed to do any of that shit anymore, okay?" I scolded. "No more guns. No more starving yourself. No more."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"I'm serious, Pierce. Cause you'll have people that'll miss you this time around." We sat in silence for a few moments. "I tried to pray while they wheeled me in here. I was conscious for just a second. But I couldn't get the words out. I couldn't bring myself to lie."

"Lost your faith, kid?" I curtly nodded my head. "Yeah, me too. A long time ago. But if there's nothing left for us, then I don't get to see my Rosemary. So I force myself to believe until it's easier to digest."

"I might have to try that. I dunno if it'll work after all of this, though," I said. Pierce nodded his head. We knew each other all too well.

"You made me believe in something, Avery," Pierce mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. "You made me believe that I could be better. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome. You were right, Pierce. I shouldn't have trusted anybody. Everyone lied."

"Hey, don't say that. Don't let me infect you. Open yourself up or else you'll end up a sad sap like me," he replied with a chuckle.

"You didn't infect me. Everyone else did," I replied. "I'll open up, eventually. Hopefully. I dunno. I don't wanna think about it."

"Yeah, let's change the subject. I, uh...I started my AA meetings," Pierce said, scratching the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly.

"Really?" I jubilantly replied, wincing when the pain of my smile caused my stomach to ache.

"Yep. Everyone's a real stick in the mud over there, though. Except Angela--she's the lady in charge of Avedon's. She's something."

"Pierce has a crush!" I mocked.

"Dakota's got a crush! Dakota's got a crush on Amy!"

"Would you shut up, Avery?" We both laughed. I wrestled the memory to the ground.

"Eh, maybe. We'll see." His phone lit up and began to buzz. "Pierce Prescott," he answered. "No, I...not now. It's two in the damn morning!--well, I'm somewhere important, thank you!" Pierce rested the phone on his leg and let the caller on the other end continue talking. He rolled his eyes, grinning when he caused my giggle. He picked the phone back up. "Yeah, yeah. Yes! Oh my God, you're the worst. Yeah, I know, me too. Buh-bye." He placed the phone face-down on the table.

"Who was that?"

"Eliza. She was bitching that I didn't 'fill out the proper paperwork' when I left the station earlier. I'm never gonna let her live this shit down, kid. She really thought I did it, the little traitor. Anyway, she just called to tell me that Mr. Masefield wants me to represent him."

"Are you gonna do it?"

"Yeah. He's not his father. He deserves better than the cancer that that man inflicted on the world. He needs better than Johanna goddamn Creonte to show him the way the world works. My only condition is that he writes a five-page--minimum--essay about why he's sorry to you and to Katherine"

"Really?"

"Really. I think he could fix himself, maybe. And also, I'm a complete ass; I just had to do it!" I laughed with him until my mom came knocking on the door.

"You two are much too loud," she whined, taking a sip from her mug.

"Hi, Mr. Prescott," my father greeted as he entered the room.

"It's Pierce," my lawyer replied as he stood from the chair. "You've got a good kid, Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Make sure she doesn't get in any trouble while I'm gone--representing her is a pain." My mother glared at him, clearly missing the joke. Dad smiled until Mom elbowed him in the gut. "Catch you all around. See ya, kid." Pierce offered me a devilish grin as he walked past my parents and finally exited the hospital.

"You two are a weird dynamic," Mom remarked. "Lawyer and client. Wouldn't expect you to become friends with him."

"Yeah, same here," I agreed. "You guys can go home, you know."

"You know, I think that's the dumbest thing you've ever said," Mom replied, rolling her eyes. Dad patted me on the shoulder and nodded.

"Honey, that was pretty dumb," he added. "Of course we're gonna stay here, Avery. We're parents. It's our job."

"Is...is it weird that...I'm not really that upset right now?" I whispered.

"I mean...of course, Avery. You're still processing everything," Mom said.

"I'm...I'm just done, Mom. I'm just tired of everything."

"Avery," Dad began, clutching onto my hand and rubbing my shoulder, "you've been through way more than any teenager should ever go through. I thank God every single minute that you didn't end up like Carson. You deserve better than what happened to him. You deserve better friends. You deserve better than what Eldbourne can give you."

"I...I know, Dad." Tears began to spring from the corners of my eyes. "Am I supposed to miss someone that I've never even met before?"

Mom smiled sadly. "It's okay to miss Carson, Avery. He's a big part of your life now."

"No, not him. Dakota was my best friend, but she wasn't real. I've never met Dakota Roberts. I met Johanna Creonte," I whispered. "And she broke my heart." My mother gazed at the floor as tears began to fall from her face. She loved Dakota, too. She would always care for my best friend in the world.

"I...I just want to go back," I sobbed, clutching the blanket that was swathed over me and covering my face with it. "I just want go back. I just...I just...I want everything to be okay."

"You're gonna be okay, sweetie, I promise." I couldn't tell which parent promised me the impossible statement. I willed myself to sleep as echoes from the past tortured me. My parents' words swirled around the darkness of my mind as I let my tears run dry and my throat grow tired. I promise. I promise. I promise.

I promise.

If I had to admit it to myself, wheelchairs were kinda fun. All I had to do was have solid arm strength and the love of sitting. I basically crossed off both needs.

There were two cops positioned outside of a patients' room. I rolled myself by them and peered into the room. "Sorry, ma'am. You can't go in there," the cop on the right warned.

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "Just wanted to stop by."

"Wait--are you Avery Carter?" the cop on the left inquired. I softly nodded my head. The cop rummaged through his pocket, withdrew a crumbled piece of paper, and handed the note to me. Go say what you need to say - P, read the note. I grinned to myself. "Mr. Prescott pulled some strings with Officer Smith. He was pretty adamant about letting you in."

"Yeah, I'd imagine," I replied. The cops stepped aside as I wheeled myself next to Dakota--Johanna (I had no idea what to call the new girl lying in the bed). I was relieved that she was in a comatose state, unable to apologize to me or curse me to Hell. "Yeah, Dakota. Or Johanna. Or whatever you want me to call you. I don't know if you can hear me..." I heaved and gripped the handles of my wheelchair. "I don't know if I want you to be able to hear me or not. I think...I think this is the last time I'll ever see you. I don't wanna see you ever again, if I'm honest." I smiled at her as tears trickled down my cheek. "My best friend died in the fire last night. All Johanna Creonte was to me was the monster who murdered Carson Harris. The monster that I feel unbelievably sorry for. I guess it's up to you who you wanna live the rest of your life as.

"Just looking at you...looking at you makes me want to curl up in a ball and die. Looking at you makes me smile and think of late night movie binges that ended in us laughing and crying and sharing secrets.

"I guess I met some good people, thanks to you. Katherine is really a great girl. I guess I helped Landon out, which is nice. I don't really need Liam, but I know he'll be here for me. He left me some roses, after all. And Pierce, no matter how much everyone else hates him, really helped me out. He's a good guy, even if he lied to me. It's okay, though. Everyone lied to me. Mostly you, obviously.

"Look...I guess what I should say is...I love you. And I hate you. I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I hope I never do again. You're the knight in shining armor that ended up being the deadly dragon. My best friend and my worst nightmare.

"I hope you think about what you've done. I hope you think what you've done is worth it. I hope that when you rot in prison, you find some solace in the fact that your family is sleeping soundly. Or maybe you'll stay in a coma from the rest of your life. That's okay too, I guess. You're already dead."

I thought I saw her face twitch in perhaps either a response or in recollection. "I...I hope it was worth it, Johanna. Bye, Dakota."

There were reporters in the hallway that were awaiting my response to the murder. Camera lights began to blind me as I attempted to escape them. I was halfway down the hall when a question piqued my interest.

"Avery, are you satisfied that the killer has been brought to justice?"

Without turning, I shook my head and continued down the hall.