Aria was discharged from the hospital two long weeks after the accident. Having signed the final paperwork, she went to have dinner with her friends and parents, where they began to plan a small costume party that would be held on Saturday evening.

After dinner, Keon went over to Aria's house to spend the night with her, as she had told him she didn't want to sleep alone.

"How do you feel, sweetheart?" he laid down on her bed and wrapped his arms around her body.

"To be completely honest, I still feel some pain in my broken ribs, especially the bottom left rib," she grimaced. "But other than that, I feel totally fine."

"I'm glad to hear that, love," he kissed her forehead. "You do know it's a miracle that you survived and made a speedy recovery, right?

"I do. Dad told me how severe the accident was, and..." she sighed. "It's a miracle that I'm alive. I'll be forever grateful to God and the doctors for saving my life out there."

"I'm grateful too. I feel more than lucky to get to spend this time of my life with you," he caressed her face.

"Likewise," she held his hand.

After chatting about random topics for hours, they fell asleep in each other's arms. They slept peacefully until three in the morning, when Keon awoke to find Aria trembling. His heart skipped a beat as he immediately looked at her, noticing a lone tear fall from the corner of her right eye.

"Angel, wake up," he gently nudged her, trying to arouse her from what seemed to be a nightmare. Three minutes went by before she opened her eyes suddenly.

"Fuck!" Aria rolled onto her back. "Hunter..." she whimpered. "No."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Keon embraced Aria's body, nuzzling her neck and giving her small pecks. "Angel, listen to me," he caressed her cheek. "It was just a nightmare. Just breathe, love. Breathe in, and breathe out. Let's do it together."

He had her mimic his breathing pattern until she regained her composure.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah," she sniffled. "Thank you, bear." She sighed sharply and looked at the ceiling in exhaustion. "It's horrible. I had a nightmare where the accident occurred, except that Hunter was with me. I survived, but I practically watched him die in the act. It felt as if I had lost him once again."

"That's horrible. I'm glad it was just a nightmare."

"So am I," Aria gently squeezed his hand. "But I feel a lot better now, thanks to you."

"Perfect," Keon smiled tenderly. "Let's try to get some sleep now."

"What if I get another nightmare?" she looked at him in fear.

"I'll still be here to make you feel better."

"Thank you... can we cuddle?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," he pulled her body close to him.

"I love you."

"I love you more, angel," he kissed her forehead. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."

"You too, bear," she giggled softly before closing her eyes.

The first thing Keon saw in the morning was Aria in a deep sleep, still in the same position she was in after he comforted her a few hours earlier. He carefully brushed her hair away from her face, admiring her gorgeous features. I could get used to having you be the first thing I see each morning, he chuckled silently. He continued to run his fingers through her hair while watching her sleep, until she woke up a few minutes later.

"Good morning, sunshine," he smiled.

"Good morning," she yawned. After that, they shared a quick kiss.

"How did you sleep?"

"Much better than before," she smiled slightly. "The best sleep I've had in a hot minute."

"I'm happy to hear that. Shall we get out of bed?"

"We shall."

Saturday arrived sooner than expected. Keon and Aria were eager to attend the party dressed as Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen, especially since they had gone on a frantic shopping spree just two days earlier to find the perfect costumes.

"Keon, this is perfect!" Aria giggled in delight, looking at herself in the mirror. "I love how this costume looks on me."

"You look beautiful as always," he kissed her, before whispering into her ear. "But you'd look way cuter in a bikini."

"Stop," she laughed out loud and playfully pushed him away. "And you look hot as hell in that Miles Morales suit. It fits you perfectly."

"Thank you, thank you," he moved closer to her. "Just remember to scream bloody murder if you need help," he licked her ear. "Gwen."

Aria gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. "How dare you!" she tackled him to the bed. "Never do that again, you hear me?"

"What's gonna happen if I do it again?" he licked her ear once again.

"I'm gonna attack you with a million kisses."

"Nice try. That's not a punishment to me and you know it!"

"Why you little-" she pecked him all over his face, before being interrupted by Marianne, who had entered the room without knocking.

"Aria, the guests are- whoa!" Marianne quickly turned away after seeing Aria on top of Keon. "Just... finish doing what you were doing before coming out of your room."

"We weren't doing anything," Aria shook her head.

"Uh huh, sure," Marianne pursed her lips together. "Anyway, the guests are beginning to arrive. Go greet them in the living room. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"See you later, Mom," Aria kissed her cheek.

The two were greeted by Leah and Dorian the moment they entered the living room.

"Nice costumes," Leah grinned. "You two would've been amazing in Into the Spider-Verse."

"Thank you," Aria giggled. "I'm not surprised that you and Dorian chose to dress up as Harley Quinn and the Joker, given that you two are as unhinged as they are."

"Hey!" Dorian shot right up. "The only reason why I wanted to dress up as the Joker is because I wanna laugh like him all night long," he proceeded to laugh maniacally until Leah raised an eyebrow at him. "You're right, Aria, it's also because we're as unhinged as they are."

"I'm always right," she smirked.

Keon laughed out loud, before turning to Devon and Amy. "And you two? Y'all seem to not have gotten over high school yet or something?"

"I dunno, maybe," Devon shrugged. "She wanted to dress up as a cheerleader, I wanted to dress up as a football player, so we ended up using our old high school sports uniforms to avoid spending money on costumes."

"Great idea," Keon nodded. "I like it."

A minute after that happened, Aria heard Estelle, Scarlett, and Daniella talking about everyone's costumes. When she turned back to look at them, she noticed that they were dressed up as the Mean Girls.

"Your costumes are so fetch!" Scarlett smiled sweetly.

"Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen," Estelle rolled her eyes. "It's not going to happen!"

"Wait a minute, it's The Plastics!" Amy chuckled. "Mean Girls is my all-time favorite movie."

"I've never watched it," Keon admitted, making the girls look at him in shock.

"You're telling me you've never watched Mean Girls?" Aria widened her eyes. "What a disgrace!"

"Keon, I'm pretty sure you live under a rock," Daniella shook her head in disbelief. "It's one of the most iconic movies of our time!"

"Stay in character, Dani!" Estelle elbowed her. "I mean Karen!"

"Yeah, I'll admit it. I do live under a rock," Keon guffawed.

They spent a few minutes talking about random things until Ronan and Austin walked in; the two of them were dressed as Batman and Robin.

"Hey," Austin pointed at Dorian. "I think I know you two, Batman is always looking forward to beating your ass."

"Silence, Robin!" Ronan slapped the back of Austin's head. "Although you're right, so, I don't know why I slapped you."

"A lot of people look forward to beating my ass," Dorian cackled.

"I'm one of them," Ronan balled up his fists.

"So am I," Keon did the Spider-Man pose.

"How are you gonna kick my ass, Miles Morales?" Dorian lifted his hands. "You aren't even a part of my universe!"

"Oh, but I am," Joe showed up in a police uniform, holding up a fake law enforcement badge. "You're all under arrest for getting this party started without me."

"It's not my fault you were late," Dorian cackled.

"Stop laughing like that," Leah playfully smacked his shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't dress up as the Joker for nothing!" he pouted.

The gathering went on smoothly after that moment. The guests spent most of their time eating an insane amount of snacks, playing soda pong, and talking about what they did during the week; it was clear that they were all having a blast.

However, Joe felt nervous during the evening. Aside from battling his own personal demons, he was also trying to forget his feelings for Scarlett. He was usually able to push his negative emotions aside, but for some reason, he was having much more difficulty doing so at this time. In addition, seeing Scarlett in such a good mood made him think of the old days when they were a couple and there was hardly ever a day when she was unhappy. She looks beautiful as always, he thought to himself.

"Hey," he walked over to Scarlett at one particular moment. "I just wanted to tell you that I love your costume, and that you look very pretty."

"Thank you," Scarlett told him in a neutral tone. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Thanks," he smiled awkwardly and left rather quickly. He then went over to Dorian and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Joe, what happened?" he turned around.

"We need to talk. Alone," Joe motioned for Dorian to go with him to the backyard.

"What's wrong?"

"Sit down, Dorian," Joe sat down on one of the benches. "I need to tell you a story."

"Go on."

Joe sighed sharply. "I met Scarlett in the summer of 2019. Leah introduced me to her at a high school party in Doral, since she was a new girl in town and one of her closest friends. She immediately caught my attention, 'cause she was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my life. Still is, but that ain't the point. Anyway," he cleared his throat. "I began to make small talk with her, and we had already become friends by the time I left the party. As the weeks passed, I noticed that she was interested in me as well. So I began to flirt with her, and within a few months we were already a couple. I swear, I felt like the luckiest man on Earth during the months I spent with this girl. Her endless happiness was contagious; you would catch me cheesing every time I saw her smile... her perfect fucking smile..."

"Why did you guys break up?" Dorian frowned. "It seems like you two had a quite healthy relationship."

"Because of my stupid ass," Joe looked down at the ground in despondency. "I got drunk at a UCF frat party in Orlando almost two years ago. My roommate belonged to the Iota Phi Delta fraternity, and there was a birthday party being held for one of his closest friends. For some damned reason I began to flirt with the sister of one of the frat members, which quickly escalated to French kissing. And just my luck, Scarlett suddenly appeared out of the blue to surprise me, because it had been almost two months since we last saw each other due to college."

"What happened after that? Other than her breaking up with you?"

"She began to sob; hard. I remember my heart breaking into a million pieces once I realized the huge mistake I had just made. I tried to reason with her, tell her that I was drunk, that I didn't mean to break her heart. But she didn't want to hear a word. She cussed me out and left immediately."

"Shit, man," Dorian shook his head. "How did you hold up?"

"I hit rock bottom. I was absolutely devastated. Even though she didn't want anything to do with me, I still loved her either way. However, I saw her again during winter break, and we slowly began to become friends once again. I didn't mind being just friends; in fact, I preferred to have her as a friend than not have her in my life at all. Everything went quite well until she began to go out with Cash. I know he was not to blame for my breakup with Scarlett; but fuck, man, to see one of my best friends going out with my ex-girlfriend... it hurt me a lot. Seeing her happy made me kinda happy, but it also broke my heart to see her with another man. Another man who wasn't me. I never told anyone that I was still trying to get over Scarlett. It was my darkest secret, until we fought at the parking lot last month."

"I can't imagine how much it must've hurt."

"It truly did. Fuck, as stupid as it sounds, it made my blood boil. I fucking lost my marbles," Joe looked up at the sky, and then back down, furrowing his eyebrows. "I lost a couple of screws the day I met you. Not because of you, of course; but because of something else. You remember how Cash told us he was planning on asking Scarlett to be his girlfriend?"

"Yeah... what about it?"

"Well," Joe trembled, never removing his gaze from the ground. "When Cash told us that, even though I tried my best to be happy for him, I was actually pissed. And when I tell you I was pissed, it's because I was pissed to a whole new level. I lost my mind that night. I spent the rest of the week buying supplies... supplies such as a sharp razor... some rubber gloves as well. And on the day Keon went on his first date with Aria," he swallowed hard, his trembling beginning to intensify. "I called Cash, told him I was gonna stop by to hang out. But when he opened the door, I immediately gave him a hard kick on the nuts. Since he was incapacitated, all I had to do was drag him to the bathroom... and I... gawd, I can't believe I'm about to tell you this abomination. I slashed his neck with the razor. Dorian, my stupid, insane, unhinged ass fucking slashed his neck and wrists with the razor, doing it repeatedly until I made sure he was dead. I filled up the bathtub with water, and then I locked the door on my way out. I kept living my life as if I hadn't done anything, making everyone believe he had committed suicide. I can still hear his cries of pain from the moments before he died..."

Dorian stared at Joe, his eyes widened to their limit. He was flabbergasted, appalled, and repulsed at the fact that one of his close friends was a murderer. Knowing that Joe was to blame for Leah, Keon, and other people's grief over Cash's death enraged him to no end.

"Joseph, you're telling me that you fucking murdered an innocent man?!" Dorian stood up and shouted.

Joe could not answer. Even though his mouth opened, no words seemed to come out of it.

"And to top it all off, you made everyone think that he committed suicide..." Dorian paced around the backyard. "You single handedly made so many people suffer unnecessary pain over his death. You lied to all of them. How could you live with yourself after doing such a thing? Tell me! How?!"

"I don't know..." Joe's voice trailed off. "Like I told you, I literally lost my mind."

"I can't stay silent," Dorian slowly shook his head, pointing at Joe in anger. "I'm gonna tell them the truth, man. I can't defend you for doing such an aberration. I'm gonna tell Leah, I'm gonna tell Keon, I'm gonna tell Scarlett, I'm gonna tell everybody the kind of monster that you are!"

"Dorian, I-"

"Save it," Dorian glared at him before sprinting back into the house, interrupting the conversation that was taking place in the living room. "He's a monster! Joe is a monster!"

"What are you talking about?" Daniella inquired.

"Dorian, please," Joe raised his hands.

"Tell them the truth, you bastard," Dorian snapped at him. "Or I will."

"Well," Joe said, trying to summon the strength to tell his friends what really happened the night Cash died. "Gawd, there's no easy way to say this, you guys will hate me either way. Cash didn't commit suicide that night. I murdered him."

And at that exact moment, Keon's heart stopped. He realized that all his suspicions were true; Joe had actually murdered Cash. For a long time he wondered if he was losing his mind thinking such a thing, but now he had finally discovered the truth. It was a rollercoaster of emotions; he was appalled to know that Joe had betrayed everyone and murdered an innocent man. However, he was not surprised, because that's what he had been suspecting all along.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it was you all along!" Keon screamed.

"Why?!" Devon stood up, shooting daggers with his eyes. "Why did you do such a thing?! What made you think that killing him would solve your damn problems?!"

"I don't even know, okay?!" Joe sighed sharply, massaging his temples. "I was not in my right mind."

"For sure you fucking weren't!" Leah sobbed in rage. "Instead of working on your issues, you decided to murder someone who wasn't even at fault for anything! You're so full of shit! You should rot in jail!"

"Why did you take it out on him, anyway?!" Scarlett snapped. "He never did anything to you!"

"I was drunk!" Joe insisted.

"Oh, really, Joe?" Dorian scoffed. "Because that's not what you told me at the backyard, you fucking liar."

"Son of a bitch," he threatened him, before Devon shoved Dorian out of the way. This further aggravated Joe, who grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "Listen here, you little shit, don't mess with me unless you wanna end up buried alongside Cash, ya heard?!"

"Devon, no!" Amy screamed in fear.

"What gives you the right to say something like that?!" Keon charged towards Joe, but Dorian quickly pulled him aside to avoid making the situation worse. "I'll handle it, go get some fresh air," Dorian told him.

"Let's go upstairs, girls," Ronan and Austin walked upstairs with Amy, Scarlett, and Estelle.

"I'm calling the police," Daniella went to the kitchen with Leah.

"And I'm going outside," Keon grumbled.

"I'll go with you," Aria followed him. "We'll talk about this soon," she mouthed at Estelle, who nodded her head.

Keon sat on the ground, struggling to process what had gone down inside the house. As much as he suspected that Joe had murdered Cash, a part of him hoped that it was all just an intrusive thought. A sudden feeling of nausea caused him to begin hyperventilating.

"Hey," Aria sat down next to him. "Bear, can you hear me?" When he didn't respond, she kneeled in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Keon, breathe with me. Breathe in, breathe out... just like you taught me."

He tried to mimic her breathing pattern, feeling a peaceful aura surrounding him. Bringing peace was one of the things that Aria did best; and it was one of the many aspects Keon loved the most about her.

"Better?" she asked after a while.

"Much better, angel... thank you," he hugged her tightly.

"I bet you're pissed."

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Anyway, did they take him away already? I overheard Dani say she was gonna call the cops."

"Let's go inside and check."

After going back inside, Keon and Aria found out that the police arrested Joe right away. They were also told that a psychological autopsy would be performed on Cash, to see if there was any possibility that he had actually killed himself; and it could take more than a week.

"What even is a psychological autopsy, anyway?" Aria asked Daniella.

"It's basically a process in which they will evaluate the state of Cash's mental health at the time of his death," she explained.

"How are they gonna do that if he's already dead?" Keon inquired.

"By taking a look at his medical records, notes, social media posts, and things like that," Devon told him. "They're also gonna interview his family and closest friends."

"Oh boy," Keon widened his eyes.

Keon's interview with the forensic psychiatrist happened around two weeks after the party. In spite of the fact that everyone would finally know what really happened on the night Cash died, he was terrified about the types of questions that would be asked.

"Good morning, Mr. Chappelle," the psychiatrist greeted Keon when he entered the office. "Are you ready for this interview?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The interview lasted one hour. To his surprise, it was not as scary as he expected it to be. He was asked questions about Cash's personality, lifestyle, and overall mood, as well as his typical behavior and habits. The psychiatrist was very interested in the case, and Keon left the office feeling confident and hopeful that the truth would finally be revealed.

The trial was held one month after the interview. Keon was greatly enraged by the mere sight of Joe. He appeared to feel guilty about what he had done, but Keon felt he was acting that way to avoid being imprisoned; and Cash's family seemed to think the same way.

"Mr. Chappelle, would you please describe what you saw when you arrived at the scene of Mr. Hampton's death?"

"The first thing I saw was his corpse inside the bathtub, which appeared to be filled up with water. He had several cuts on his wrists and neck, and most of the blood was still fresh by the time I arrived at the scene."

"Do you recall seeing any kind of weapon?"

"Yes. A razor was placed next to the corpse."

"Did you find anything of interest at the scene, such as a suicide note?"

All of a sudden, everything came together for Keon. He immediately remembered that Cash never left a suicide note, and concluded the absence of this note would likely land Joe in jail.

"There was no suicide note at the scene, ma'am."

"Thank you. No further questions."

Joe took the stand after each witness statement, offering excuses to make Cash's death seem like a murder in self defense. He even claimed that Cash attempted to strike him with a curtain rod, even though the object did not bear his fingerprints. Needless to say, things were not looking good for Joe.

"Members of the Jury, on the Case of Hernandez vs. the State of Florida, what do you say?" the judge inquired at the end of the trial.

"Your Honor, the members of this Jury find the defendant guilty."

The judge dismissed the jury and proceeded to pass the verdict. Joe ended up facing up to thirty-five years in prison, as he had been found guilty of first degree murder. Keon was relieved that Joe would finally be held accountable for his actions; yet he was also devastated at the fact that nothing would bring Cash back to life. You can finally rest in peace, Cash... the whole world knows the truth now. I love you so much, he thought, feeling a puddle of tears forming in his eyes.

"Aria, we did it," Keon ran towards Aria at the parking lot, pulling her in for a tight hug.

"What was the verdict?"

"Joe was found guilty, he's facing up to thirty-five years in prison."

"How are you feeling about that?"

"To be completely honest, I feel shitty. I really hoped that Joe hadn't committed such an atrocious crime. At the same time, though, I'm just glad that he will finally be held accountable for what he did."

"I can only imagine, Keon."

"No amount of time in jail will bring Cash back to life. But I'm satisfied with the outcome of this case."

"So am I, bear," Aria interlocked her fingers with Keon's, squeezing his hand lovingly. He then embraced her and kissed her softly, feeling his tears brush against her face. The kiss marked the end of a crazy chapter in his life, as well as a fresh start in a new normal.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Thoughts?

This was a helluva long chapter! Did y'all expect Joe to confess? Or did you think it would be revealed in another way?

Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know that this is the second to last chapter. The next update will mark the end of this book. I can't thank you guys enough for all the love and support you have given me throughout this journey. It warms my heart to know that so many people have the opportunity to read Keon and Aria's love story 🥺✨

Until next time. I love y'all, hope you're ready for the final chapter... 💖

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