Chasing Innocence | ✓

31 | dreadful learnings

It's the first time I've sat in the firm without the breath of a nearby heater. Spring is nearly upon us, the air growing lighter as the sun warms my skin.

The expansive windows with the view that never fails to take my breath away doesn't calm my nerves today.

Davina has called Brax and I in for a meeting. A meeting that is equal parts unexpected and worrisome.

Brax sits opposite me, staring at the palms of his hand on the table. He meets my gaze, blinking once. We don't speak.

I hear Davina before I see her. The clunky sound of her signature patent heels knock against the concrete flooring. She pushes the double doors open effortlessly. There's a lightness to her steps, accompanied by a grin that almost seems to split her face in half.

"Do I have news for the both of you!" she laughs, covering her red lips as she takes a seat at the head of the table.

"So, it's good news then?" I prompt.

She nods eagerly, her eyes turning towards Brax. "We did it," she smiles. "You're a free man, Braxton Patridge. The trial has been thrown out of court."

I turn to stare at Brax. A look of pure relief flushes across his face and to my absolute horror and delight, he offers Davina the barest of smiles. A slight tip at the corners of his mouth. An earnest smile, no trace of malice coating his expression.

"How?" he asks.

Davina leans forward, clasping her hands in front of her. "Well, the police were given a tip about a man named Matthew Daniels — yep, you were right from the start. They found incriminating evidence in his house. The murder weapon. Forensics confirmed it to have traces of Dylan Bryor's blood and the finger prints of Matthew Daniels' all over some type of steel rod."

It worked. All the danger, all the lies; it actually meant something. My chest lightens, knowing that in the end, despite breaking the law, it has allowed the truth to come to light.

It means that Brax is innocent.

All my previous doubts about him begin to disappear. I feel a sense of guilt that I'd ever believed him to be anything but innocent, but I remind myself that we'd barely known each other.

"Matthew Daniels' body was also found at the scene," Davina says, gravely. "There are no suspicious circumstances. Meaning he must have committed suicide. I can imagine a note may have been found at the scene, likely expressing his guilt..."

All thoughts halt in my brain. A heavy fog seems to coat my mind as I blink rapidly, staring at Davina's mouth as it continues to move. I can't hear anything.

My head seems to move in slow motion as I turn back to Brax. His face has grown emotionless again. He knows I'm watching him.

Matthew Daniels dead. Dead.

Davina smiles, laughing at something as she speaks with Brax. I stay silent, piecing together my thoughts until they become coherent again.

Did Brax already know about Matthew? Did they all know, or would this be something new?

I frown, staring at my lap. Nothing is making sense...

The man I'd seen with the sinister grin and malicious intent, the man who thought he could have me because I'd approached him innocently, had decided to end his own life.

My stomach coils and I have to hold onto the table as a sickening thought begins to form.

When I'd been in the darkest place of my life, it became so challenging and unbearable that even my best attempts at hiding from my demons didn't work. The people around me could see I was different, they just weren't sure how to help me.