Today, two weeks after the incident, is the day of Ethan's court. The day in which they will most likely finally decide on a sentence after him being in prison for three years while his case kept developing.

Several minutes slowly pass while I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Doubting about the way I look, I let out an annoyed sigh as I decide to not change it all for the third time this morning.

I'm wearing a soft beige-colored suit, with a black turtleneck underneath it. I put my brown locks up in a low bun and went with my usual natural make-up look, a slight rosy blush covering my cheeks and nose, bringing a little color to my visibly drained face.

I slowly trace the healed little cut and my slightly vanished bruises on my chin and jaw, which were the result of me falling down onto the ground after getting stabbed.

I let out another frustrated sigh, not because of the fact that I've been through a lot of pain and recovery. It happened and I am doing okay now, considering myself very lucky.

I'm sighing because Ethan is, once again, not so lucky. It completely baffles me how he got blamed, how they're trying to somehow prove that he did this to me while Michael is still strutting around the prison unpunished for what he did.

I tried talking with my father about the matter, but he did not have it, at all. He did not want to hear a word of it and shoved me away whenever I tried to explain it to him.

When he threatened to move Ethan to a prison in another state, I didn't speak about the subject again, silently enduring the remaining days till his court.

What my father, the judge, the jury and even Ethan himself don't know yet, is that Lexi and I have been making a plan of our own during my recovery.

We've gathered evidence which prove that someone tempered with the footage of the camera behind me that day. Cole has helped us out a lot and I can't help but notice that he doesn't only befriend Ethan, he acts like his protective older brother and it's wholesome.

Besides the proof, to everyone's surprise, I will be there to testify. I, one of the alleged victims of Ethan, will be there to tell them that he did not do it. Neither did he threaten me or force me into speaking up for him.

I haven't even prepared what I want to tell everyone in the court room, I'm just going to spontaneously begin and let my genuine appreciation and care for Ethan take it over from me.

"I love this look on you," Lexi's face appears above my shoulder, looking at me through the mirror. "You zoned out again, didn't you?"

"Yeah, " I chuckle guiltily, "I did. Are you sure though? I really want to look... court-like? I don't even know what I'm saying but you get it."

She giggles at this as she grabs a shoulder bag and hands it over to me. "Stop overthinking, please. Ethan's going to be so happy to see you and we're going to succeed helping him out."

I nod at this as I turn around to face her. "That's honestly the only thing that matters right now."

"He sure is. " She grins as she starts walking towards the door holding her purse and coat, earning a slap at the back of her head from me.

"Ow!" She yelps but continues nevertheless, "It's adorable honestly, I've never seen you develop feelings this quickly and this badly. Don't even try to deny it at this point."

Blushing at her choice of words, I follow after her, walking down the steps. "And lucky me decided to do that for someone who will most likely spent his entire life in prison. Isn't that lovely?" I mumble as we step out of the house, locking the door behind us.

With Lexi's quick driving style, and my urge to always leave the house way too early, we reach our destination approximately half an hour before the actual court.

I look around at all the cars in the parking lot and notice the prisoner transport vehicle, which means Ethan is here as well.

"C'mon, let's not linger here. I'm sure you'd do anything to see Ethan before they call him into the courtroom." She winks at me, opening the car door. I do the same and straighten my suit as soon as I'm out of the car.

To say I'm nervous would really be an understatement. I feel extremely apprehensive because there will be a judge, a jury, a crowd , my father and attorneys from both sides watching me, my every move and everything I say.

Sadly, I am not able to prove Ethan's entire innocence. Not only because I have no insight in his other case, but I feel better letting him take more time to tell me all that whenever he feels ready. Till then, I trust his attorney, just like he does.

"If we get a chance to see Ethan before it, you know what the plan is, right?"

"Yes Brooks, I do." She answers as we stride towards the giant building's entrance.

Completely ignoring her answer, I begin to ramble the plan. "So I'm going to try to find him in the buil—,"

"—ding, but there will be guards watching him all the time so you'll try to get to him one way or another. After that, you're going to tell him the plan. During that, we have to make sure no guards and especially your father, do not spot you two together. Everything will work out, you'll most likely ride into the sunset with him, marry, make cute babies and live happily ever after," she beams in a rather mischievous manner and holds my face in her hands, "Yes Brooklyn, I know the plan. You've engraved it into my brain, remember?"

"You were mostly correct, " I softly chuckle as we start walking towards the building in a slow pace, "I'll just ignore the part about me marrying Ethan."

"So you're not denying that you'll be making babies?" she says, her grin growing even bigger, "Nice."

"Lexi!" I scowl with a suppressed laugh and tug at her arm, dragging her with me. "C'mon, we're on a mission Lexi. No more time for joking."

"Okay, okay. Lexi on a mission, I get it." she whispers as she follows me down the hallway.

To my advance, my father's car wasn't in the parking lot. He must still be lingering somewhere on the prison grounds so I just have to make sure I don't run into him before the actual court. He has no idea of my plans, he doesn't even know I'm here and I need to keep it that way.

We both walk and look around the building for about five minutes to find any guards that would indicate they're with or near Ethan. I stop walking when Lexi starts walking in a slower pace, moving her legs in an uncomfortable kind of way.

"What's wrong?" I ask, turning to her.

"I have to pee so badly because of the beginning nerves." She innocently chews her lower lip, "Is it okay if I go? I'll be back in a few minutes."

I nod and watch as she runs to the nearest bathroom.

A few minutes pass quickly and Lexi still hasn't returned. Realizing that I really have to hurry up if I want to speak to Ethan, I send her a text to wait for me and save me a seat in the courtroom. I stride down the hallways and spot a few guards outside the male bathroom.

Ethan must be in there.

Silently praying that those aren't guards that I've met before, I suck in a deep breath and try to come up with a good excuse while walking towards them.

"Excuse me, my little brother has been in there for about twenty minutes and he's still not back. Can I check in on him real quick?" I ask with a kind tone.

They look at each other and the tallest one raises a questioning eyebrow at me. "Are you sure he's in here?"

"Yes, I am." I quickly reply, putting a hand on the door.

"There's an inmate inside, so one of us will join you to escort your brother out of here. We didn't notice anyone before, or we would have let him out before we brought the inmate in." He explains, but turns around at the sound of another male voice.

"Gentlemen," Cole turns around the corner, walking towards us, causing my mouth to fall slightly open.

How is it that this man always ends up saving me?

"I will escort the lady in and out."

With that, the other guards do not say another word and nod, letting us both in.

"You somehow always save the day. " I whisper with a smile, walking inside. We both look around the bathroom to spot Ethan in front of the mirror, raking a few fingers through his hair while being uncuffed. I slightly chuckle at the sight and thought of him caring for his appearance, even in this kind of situation.

At the sound of our footsteps and my soft chuckle, Ethan abruptly turns around. His frown immediately sooths as his lips flutter open to let out what seems like a relieved sigh. "Brooklyn?"

Greeting him with a beaming smile, he strides towards me and in an instant a strong pair of arms pull me towards a hard chest, embracing me in a hug that radiates warmth.

After a second of hesitation, I wrap my arms around his torso as well. The tightness of the hug nearly makes me wince in pain, but I chew my bottom lip to suppress it.

The worry of him feeling my heart nearly burst out of my chest fades away as I lay my cheek on his and hear the sound of his heartbeat. Either I'm imagining things or his heart is really beating at the same rate as mine, almost as if in sync.

After a few minutes, I let go of him and realization hits me. This is the first time we've been in an actual embrace because before, the handcuffs kind of made it impossible for us to.

"I can't believe you're actually here, standing in front of me." He whispers, putting a single lost strand of hair behind my ear, slightly grazing my cheek in the process of doing so. Trying not to get lost in his touch, I look him in the eyes and nod. "Can't let them blame you for hurting me, can I?"

"You know I wouldn't. " He mirrors my smile as he takes a small step backwards and greets Cole with a nod.

His gaze falls upon me again and yet another frown forms on his forehead, apparent beneath the locks of blonde hair. "Cole told me about your recovery, every single day. How—, how are you now?"

Smiling at his words, I answer his question. "I'm okay now. The stitched area is a little bit sore and sensitive but it's almost healed completely. "

"I've been really worried. " He mumbles, "And you're here today, because? " He continues to question, looking rather caring.

"Because Cole, Lexi and I have a plan. We're going to prove your innocence."

His expression changes as he softly takes ahold of my chin with his right hand, grazing his other fingers along my jaw again. "God, what did I do to deserve you—," He whispers while chewing his bottom lip and looking over to Cole, "—You guys. How did I deserve you guys? How could I ever thank you?" He repeats and finishes his rhetorical question, probably unaware of the unhealthy effect he has on my heart rate.

"It's the least we could do." Cole answers because I can't seem to, "We're going to prove your innocence, starting with the added case of Brooklyn's stabbing incident. After that, we'll prove your entire innocence. "

With that being said, we realize it's about time we leave this bathroom. Finally realizing I do not have a little brother, Cole makes sure the guards leave the bathroom door, assuring them he has been assigned to escort Ethan to the courtroom. Obeying him, they quickly leave.

"It's going to be okay. " I whisper to Ethan while Cole handcuffs him. A smile lingers on his lips as they exit the bathroom before me. I wait a few more minutes to make sure I am not seen by anyone and finally make my way to the courtroom, three minutes before it begins.

Now, we can finally begin carrying out the actual plan: prove that someone has tempered with the evidence and perplex everyone in there with me, the victim, standing with Ethan, the alleged culprit.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

A/N; i hope there are no grammatical errors. it's 3 am and i'm sleep deprived lmfao.

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.