Olivia

My body had begun to physically shake as I fought to keep all of my emotions contained. A full-blown anxiety attack was sure to come if this went on any longer. To have to stand up here and feel like I felt so full of sadness and anger and have to keep it together anyway made me sick to my stomach. 

Certainly, I looked like a fool in front of the entire courtroom. It was humiliating to have the judge throw out a suggestion that I could have been the one to start the fire that put my whole life up in flames.

That made perfect sense.

I stood behind the tall wooden podium beside my lawyer, who still seemed to be as confident as ever despite the way the trial was going. His staggering confidence didn't help boost mine at all as the words slipped from the judge's lips repeatedly. They didn't have sufficient evidence.

As if I wasn't proof enough. I should have been enough, but as usual, I wasn't. I was just as insignificant as ever.

"To proceed with arson charges, Mr. Knight will have to confess to the accusation, or more investigation will need to be done by our arson and crime investigators." Judge Howard sighed before pushing his glasses up on his face. "And I'm going to assume option one isn't an option at all." Daniel scoffed in response.

My eyes began to burn as tears pooled in them. I felt Daniel's eyes burning into me as he stared from the other side of the courtroom. I could only imagine the type of disgusting smirk that he was wearing as he sat there enjoying himself, knowing that once again, he'd pulled on over my head. He'd get to bully and control me as usual.

He'd get his way, and it was so satisfying to him, and I was so sick of it. This was supposed to be it for both of us. He was supposed to get what he deserved, and me, I was supposed to be free.

For Daniel to get away with this all and belittle me for the millionth time was pure comedy for him...I knew it. If he could erupt into laughter in this courtroom, I'm sure he would have, without a doubt. He loved every single second of what was happening and how it made me feel.

He never loved me, but he loved to hurt me. He thrived off it. That was apparent to me now.

"It's not uncommon for trials like this to go on for weeks, maybe even months." Judge Howard warned as I blinked back my tears before they could fall.

Months? Would I have to go through this for months? I could hardly make it through this session which lasted only an hour. I was already set to throw up a white flag. Drawing this out would most definitely destroy whatever's left in me.

"One moment." Judge Howard stated to the courtroom before turning his attention to one of the Officers who had made his way up to the stand. He was once guarding the back door, but I was too consumed with my thoughts to even notice he had moved.

I watched in confusion as the officer made his way to the back of the room once more. He proceeded to open the door allowing a man dressed in all black with arson written in giant white letters on the back of his windbreaker-type jacket inside.

My heart felt like it would jump out of my chest as I watched him hand something over to the judge and exchange a few words with him. The fact that I didn't know what was going on and whether it would hurt my case even more made me want to cry. In all honesty, Daniel's family had probably sent someone back to the scene to dig up some nonexistent dirt on me.

My anxiety had peaked at that moment.

"It's been brought to my attention that some new evidence was found early this morning at the scene of the apartment complex." Judge Howard stated, his eyes now glued on Daniel and his Lawyer. "This is your torch and your bank statement reading that you bought about a gallon of gasoline only half an hour before the fire started, Mr. Knight."

"Your honor, with all due respect, new evidence is not supposed to be brought about in this way to slander my client. It's supposed to go through an appeal court first." Mr. Kim nearly barked, clearly annoyed that things were taking a left turn on his end.

I, however, was beginning to see the light and the pounding in my chest slowly calmed as I realized that this was it. This was the evidence we would need to get Daniel locked up where he belongs. Maybe, just this once, I would win.

"With all due respect, Mr. Kim." Judge Howard snapped, holding up a piece of tan paper. "If the evidence made it into this courtroom, that means that it's made it through all the necessary laws and steps to be expedited here."

Mr. Kim swallowed hard before stepping back and letting the judge continue with what he was saying.

"There are also two witnesses waiting outside to testify against you, but that won't be necessary at this point, considering the status of this case."

I could hear my parents and Cassie sigh out with relief behind me. A smile pulled at my lips, but I kept it restrained. I bet the silly little smirk Daniel had on his face was gone now.

Pressing both hands together, I interlocked my fingers so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I stood there nearly on my tiptoes, waiting for the judge to speak, to hear the words I so badly needed to hear, the words that would rid Daniel from my life forever.

"The defendant is guilty of the crimes as follows, count 1, domestic violence in the 2nd degree and a set punishment of the maximum of three years in prison. Count 2, arson in the 1st degree, and a set punishment of life in prison. Count 3, attempted murder in the 2nd degree with a set punishment of 10 years in prison, the defendant must begin serving his life sentence immediately."

And with that, Judge Howard slammed his mallet onto the wooden bench, and everyone rose from their seats as he exited the room. My parents and Cassie rushed over to me engulfed me in a group hug, cheering and congratulating me. Still, my attention was focused on Daniel, who was being escorted out of the courtroom by the same officers who brought him in.

He was looking back at me, directly in my eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I wasn't intimidated by him. He no longer had control over my mind and body, and I was free. I could live my life however I wanted to.

As he walked out of sight, I finally turned my attention back to my loved ones who were so happily celebrating around me. I wrapped my arms as tightly as I could around my best friend as she stood before me with tears in her joyful brown eyes.

"Thank you, Cassie, for never giving up on me," I whispered to her, nearly breaking down into tears. She was the only friend who stuck around for me, the only friend who refused to leave even when I tried my damndest to push her away because of Daniel. I had given this poor girl a hell of a time, but she stood right beside me regardless of my actions.

Cassie sniffled into my shoulder as she held onto me as tightly as she could. I could feel her hot tears dampening my blouse, causing me to let out a small sob, one that wasn't from sadness but absolute bliss.

"I'd never give up on you, babes. You're everything to me. Ever since we were little, you've been everything." She cried out, looking me in the eyes.

"You saved my life, Cassandra," I stressed, pulling her back into another tight hug, never wanting to let her go.

Without my best friend, who even knows how I could have made it through this roller coaster alive. Even when she didn't know 100% of what was going on between Daniel and I, her friendship was enough to keep me going, helping me remember that at least one person on this earth cared.

Cassie squeezed me even tighter than before without saying anything. She was so full of tears that the words just wouldn't come out. She backed away from me as my parents engulfed me in a huge hug causing me to laugh.

It was one of the first genuine laughs I've had in the past year of my life.

"We love you so much, princess." My dad whispered before placing a kiss on my head. "I'm so happy for you and me because if he'd gotten away with this, I would have killed him and ended up on trial myself." He stated with a wacky smile.

"Daddy, stop." I giggled as my mom pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I love you guys too, more than you know," I assured them. "And I'm sorry for cutting you guys off," I whispered, feeling myself grow teary-eyed once more. "I should have never, ever done that to you guys."

"Princess, don't start with that. We're going to move on from it, okay?" He asked, rubbing my back.

I glanced over at my mom, who looked at me with a broken smile. I knew that I had hurt her the most. I had indefinitely broken her heart by distancing myself from her. My mom and I were the best of friends ever since I was born, and then Daniel came alone, and I allowed him to destroy it. I'd regret those two years for the rest of my life.

I don't think things will be back to normal between my mom and I for a very long time. She's not the type to let things go so quickly, just like me. We try and try, but the pain lingers, and every now and then, it takes over us. My mother's trust and forgiveness were something I needed to work very hard to retrieve.

"It's okay, baby." She whispered, stroking my cheek with her soft hand, catching me off guard. I nearly broke down as I placed my hand over hers, giving it a tight squeeze. "I promise we'll get through this." She assured me, putting my mind at ease just a little. She knew exactly what I was thinking.

Cassie walked back over to us and draped her arm around me as we exited the courtroom. I held onto the arm she had around me as we walked and chatted a little more about how much better things would be and how relieved we both were.

As exhausted and drained as I was from today, I don't think I could be happier. We thanked my lawyer, who was just as happy for me as my family was before he had to take off to handle other things. Mr. Ronald was excellent, and I was honestly a little sad to see him go. He was a massive support system for me this week while preparing for today.

Amid our conversation, I felt two light taps on my shoulder, causing me to turn my head to the side to see who could be trying to get my attention.

My eyes widened, and a huge smile grew on my face as I saw no other but Jason standing there with that cheesy grin on his face that I was starting to love. He chuckled at my reaction as I spun around to face him.

His brows were lifted on his forehead, and his arms were open to me. "I can't get a hug?" He joked, causing me to shoot him a shy smile before embracing him tightly.

From the looks of it, he was currently on duty as he was dressed in his long-sleeved FDNY t-shirt and turnout pants which were covered in ashes.

"What are you doing here, Jason?" I asked, pulling back from the hug and slightly stepping back away from everyone.

I was happy to see him but so shocked at the same time. Jason just seemed to be full of surprises.

He ran his hand down my arm gently. His touch sent my entire body into a shock wave of tingles.

A small smile tugged at Jason's lips as he spoke, "Who do you think went and dug up that torch?"

I covered my mouth with both hands. My eyes grew with shock. "Y-you did that?" I asked, shaking my head. "Jason I-"

"I told you it would all be fine, didn't I?" He asked, and I nodded in response. "One thing about me is that I mean what I say, Olivia Owens." He grinned, taking a step closer to me so that he was just a few inches away.

I couldn't help but pull him into another hug, but this time I'm sure I about squeezed the life out of the poor guy.

"Jason, thank you." I cried out, burying my face into the crook of his neck. Jason's strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist as he effortlessly lifted me from the ground for a moment to deepen the hug.

"It was my pleasure." He whispered. His cool breath tickled the skin of my flushed neck as he spoke, sending shivers down my spine.

"How did you do that, Jason? Aren't you busy?" I asked, looking up into those beautiful blue eyes of his as he set me back on my feet. "Couldn't you get in trouble?" I asked, feeling guilty.

The last thing I wanted was for more problems to arise, especially with Jason.

"Olivia, it's done." He stated, grabbing both my hands and holding them in his much larger ones. They were so warm and strong, God he was making me want to melt right where we stood.

"I carried you out of that burning building that day, and I saw you, how terrified and hurt you were, I needed to do it." His voice was low as he spoke. "I know what he did to you, and I wasn't going to stand for it. I couldn't."

"Jason-"

"No, it's okay, Olivia, you don't say anything else about it." He pleaded, giving my hands a tight squeeze. "Please, I needed to do it."

I nodded my head and gazed up into his eyes once more, but they caught me off guard this time. They looked stormy and sad, different from the usual electric, sky-blue happiness I was used to being met with.

I had a feeling that there was something much deeper going on with Jason than what he was admitting about the situation, but I decided to drop. As badly as I wanted to know more, it wasn't the right place nor time to question him as he seemed to be growing upset.

"Did you get your flowers?" Jason asked, cocking his head to the side.

My smile returned at the memory of finding the bouquet of beautiful, velvety white petals outside of the apartment this morning.

"Jason, I couldn't believe you did that." I sighed out, shaking my head at him. I watched as he vibrated with laughter, his eyes twinkling just a bit. "You made my morning," I admitted feeling my body grow warm.

"That was the point, sweetheart."

My heart nearly skipped a beat. He called me sweetheart.

"I did." He laughed, causing me to turn the brightest shade of pink that was humanly possible.

Did I just say that out loud, right in front of him?

"Don't sweat yourself." He laughed, brushing his damp hair back from his forehead.

"I didn't mean to say that I just-I ugh." I sighed out, burying my face in my hands, wanting to vanish into thin air.

"Olivia, stop." He coaxed, pulling my hands down and tilting my chin up to look at him. "It was cute." A slight blush soon flushed his cheeks, making me smile, he was adorable, and there was no more denying that.

I felt as if I would just dissolve under his gaze any moment now. Something about this man made me feel so weak in the knees, but in a good way. In the way, that made me want to melt right into him, and I didn't know what it was. I hardly knew him, but I knew him enough to know that I was crushing.

"Thank you again, Jason, for everything."

"It was my pleasure. I've gotta go back and cover the station, though, so I'll leave you to enjoy your victory with your family." He nodded, pulling me into one last hug, which I so gladly accepted.

"I'll see you around, sweetheart." His hands grasped mine gently on his own once more.

Catching Jason and myself for surprise, I found myself lifting onto my tiptoes and placing a gentle and quick kiss on his cheek. The dark brown stubble on it tickled my lips as I did so.

"See you around, Jason," I whispered.

Jason blinked rapidly as a smile pulled at his lips simultaneously. He pulled back a bit, dropping my hand from his as he looked like he wanted to say something but was too scared to do so. Instead, he turned on his heels and went on his way, and I couldn't help but watch him as he did so.

"What was that about?" Cassie asked, now right beside me. I flinched, causing her to laugh at the fact that she had caught me completely off guard. "That Jason seems to care about you, Livy."

"He's something else," I stated, looking down at my feet and feeling my cheeks flush once more. "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I want to go and celebrate this day with my parents and my best friend."

Cassie smiled back at me before linking our arms together. "I'm so happy to see you smiling again." She whispered as we all regrouped and began to walk out together.

"Who was that boy?" I heard my dad ask as he came up beside me before I even got a chance to reply to Cassie.

"Yeah, he was handsome, Liv." My mom chimed in, giving me a wink.

I'd honestly almost forgotten that I was in the same general area as my parents, so the questions made me nervous for some reason. "Oh um, he's one of the firemen that helped me get out of the apartment." I nodded, swallowing hard.

"Honey, you should have told me I could have thanked him!" My mom cried out, shaking her head at me.

"He's more than just the fireman that helped her out." Cassie chimed in, sending me a wink. I rolled my eyes at her before pinching her arm slightly, causing her to shrug. "It's true."

"Partially true." I corrected her.

"Mhm," She hummed, shaking her head. "You keep telling yourself that, babes."

"I will." I shrugged as we walked out into the cold evening air. "Can we get pasta?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Sounds good to me." My mom smiled, looking over at my dad, who nodded in agreement.

"Cassie knows the best pasta places around. She'll have to decide which one." I smiled, poking Cassie in the side, causing her to groan.

I knew it was partially because I wouldn't fully admit that I had real feelings for Jason, but she'd have to wait on that one. It was too soon, and she knew that, yet she persisted in nagging me.

"Let's go to the one on 5th street." Cassie smiled as we headed over to the parking lot. "We'll meet you guys there!" She cheered to my parents, who then went their separate ways from us.

My phone went off just as I had plopped down onto the cold leather seat of Cassie's car. Of course, it was Jason's name that lit up the screen as well as my face as I opened the message.

My shift is over tomorrow morning. Let's do brunch again if you're feeling up to it.

A smile grew uncontrollably as I replied to him, Sounds like a plan.

Jason had sent a message back almost instantaneously. Looking forward to seeing you sweetheart.