Damon being with Kendal for the last three days gave her a lot of time to think through things. If nothing else, she was willing to hear him out that night. She had a lot to say, but it almost seemed like the old Damon was back for a minute. The one who stood beside her at Jake's apartment and made love to her in Jamaica. Maybe all the pressures of getting back to work trying to be everything for everyone changed him. Her being his step-sister and his fiancée had to have weighed heavily on him.

"I'm not a victim," she mumbled before walking into the courtroom. The place was packed with students from the look of things. She didn't know many of them, but something told her that word had gotten around. Everyone loved a good train wreck, no matter who was involved.

Kendal sat near the back of the room, his face blank and eyes haunted. Bethany made her way over to him and sat down in the seat beside him.

"Hey. I'm so sorry about your loss." She slid her arm into his and pressed her cheek to his shoulder, not caring who was watching. It would seem that having to watch Jake and Krista tear each other apart during the court hearing that day wasn't the only pain she'd have to live through. Having Kendal there only made matters worse. He was required to testify, but he was in no shape to be anywhere.

"Thank you." He glanced down at her. "The funeral is tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there." She sat up but kept her arm wrapped around his.

"I will be too." Damon moved in and sat beside her, shocking her a little. He had to have been there with Kendal.

"I thought you were going to the office today," Kendal leaned around her and whispered softly.

"No. I wanted to be here for you and Beth." Damon glanced over at her and damned if her heart didn't skip a beat. Between his dark hair that curled up on the sides to his warm brown eyes, she found herself wanting to drown in him. With so much sadness all around her, he seemed to be the warmth she needed.

Funny how quickly that could change.

"I'm glad you're here." She sat back and turned her attention toward the front as he slid his arm behind her and gripped Kendal's shoulder tightly.

"I'll always be here for you, Beth," he whispered but kept his eyes on the front of the room.

There was truth in his statement.

The judge walked in, and everyone stood but Jake. He hadn't gotten to the point where he could stand or walk without help. Too much nerve damage. The door opened on the far side of the room, and a guard brought Krista out wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. Bethany realized that it had been a few weeks since she'd gone to see her old friend. The girl had lost far too much weight. Her cheeks were sunk in, and the dark circles under her eyes left her looking like death.

"Shit," Kendal murmured and shook his head. "She looks so much like Mandy."

"You wanna get out of here?" Damon leaned around her and glanced up at Kendal. "Just say the word, man."

"No." Kendal turned his gaze toward Damon. "Thank you though."

"You?" Damon glanced down at Beth.

"Yeah, but I don't have a choice. I have to testify today." She let her eyes move around his impossibly handsome face. There were so many things she wanted to tell him. I miss you being the first. It wasn't time to reconcile just yet though. They had to set a few things straight between them as family, then friends and if they could make it to the last round, lovers.

"I'd take it from you if I could." He reached out and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip as his eyes filled with foreign emotions.

"Somehow I believe that." She smiled and pulled his hand from her face. It was too much to have him touch her. It felt too good. Too right.

"Promise me that you guys are going to talk after this." Kendal turned to look down at Bethany and back up to Damon. "You're both driving me crazy. Life is too short for this shit."

"We are." Bethany reached over and patted Kendal's arm. "I promise."

"And you should talk with Dana sometime soon, Kendal." Damon's voice wasn't nearly as soft as Bethany thought it should be. It was obvious that Kendal was still trapped in a dark place due to his sister passing.

"She's going to be my student in a few days, bro. I can't do that. You understand."

"Nope. I don't." Damon sat back. "I think love is far more important than your career."

Bethany held her tongue as a million comebacks burst through her mind. Damon had forced her to put her engagement ring in a box when she came to work so that they wouldn't upset the delicate balance of how everyone at work felt about her. He was far more willing to give up everything for his career than Kendal seemed to be.

"Bullshit." Kendal leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "You're not the one to be giving me this advice."

"All right, but I'm saying it because I love you like a brother." Damon shrugged. "Take me and Beth for instance. I fucked up big time with her at work. I tried to separate who we were when we were there and when we weren't. It caused her to feel like I was embarrassed that she was mine, right?"

Bethany nodded and turned to look up at him. "I know why you did it, but the reason doesn't matter. It hurt me."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. I was wrong." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I would take it back if I could. I don't give a shit what anyone thinks anymore. It's nothing but a lie anyway."

"So it's that easy? Just disregard the rules at UT and start dating a student?" Kendal barked a little too loudly. A few people turned around. He lifted his hand and apologized. "Sorry."

"No, man. Either tell her to drop the fucking course or stop teaching that type of accounting. Look at the options and stop pigeonholing yourself. You deserve love more than anyone else I know besides Beth. Fight for it, Kendal. Fight for it like life would stop without it." Damon patted Kendal's back. "We're going to figure this out. I'm not letting you mess this relationship up."

"There is no relationship." He glanced over at Damon with a sour look on his handsome face.

"You guys talk about this later." Bethany put her hand on Damon's thigh and glanced up at him, giving him a stern look. Only he could shut down the conversation. Kendal was too out of it to do anything more than react with whatever punches were thrown his way.

"Okay. You're right." Damon's eyes moved across her face slowly, holding her captive as if he had some sort of power over her. Sadly enough, he did.

The warmth of knowing that maybe not everything was lost between them caused her stomach to tighten. There was no one she wanted beside her, above her, all around her but the handsome asshole watching her so closely.

How did we let things fall apart?

She finally pulled her gaze from his and glanced up toward the front to find Krista turned around, her eyes locked on Bethany. Unsure of what to do, Beth did the only thing that seemed natural to her. She held her friend’s gaze, trying like hell to push as much sympathy into her expression as she could. They'd been friends for far too long for Beth to deny Krista anything. Her breakdown and not taking her medicine was at the core of what happened between her and Jake. Where some of it was her fault, some of it had to be blamed on her illness.

"I'm sorry, Beth," Krista mumbled. No sound came from her mouth, but Bethany could make out the words.

"Me too," she whispered back and blinked back tears.

Had the moment really come to have to get on the stand and testify against her best friend? Even with all the shit Jake had been through, he didn't want to see Krista put away either. There was nothing to do but tell the truth of all the events that they would be questioned on, but damn if everything they had to say didn't leave Krista painted as a monster.

Hopefully her lawyers would be able to bring into the picture that she was a sick woman and her medication was the only thing that kept her from snapping. That was their only hope of saving her from prison for the rest of her life.

"You okay?" Damon whispered softly against Bethany's hair. The warmth of his breath and the dark scent of his cologne left her feeling far too emotional.

She leaned into him, taking comfort from his closeness even though it was the wrong thing to do. "Yeah. I will be when this is over."

After the opening statements were delivered by the attorneys, various people were called up to the stand. Bethany chewed on the side of her cheek, waiting her turn as the sickness in her stomach grew. Damon continued to hold her as the morning progressed, but with each new testimony, the situation for Krista grew more and more dim.

"The defense would like to call..."

Bethany faded out as fear raced through her veins.

"Beth. They called you up, baby." Damon pressed softly on her back.

"Oh. Okay." She got up and walked to the front, ignoring both Krista and Jake. She tried not to think too much about how badly her knees were shaking. She turned and faced the bailiff as he held out a Bible. "Lift your left hand and repeat after me."

She did as she was told and took her seat afterward. Everyone was looking at her, and for the first time in a long time, she thought she might have a panic attack.

The DA started to pepper her with questions, and for the first few, she stumbled over her words, not able to think clearly due to the intensity of the situation. She turned her attention toward Damon as he smiled warmly at her.

Something about the calm in his face caused her to release the breath she'd been holding.

He mouthed for her to breathe, and she nodded, forcing air slowly into her lungs. Everything calmed inside of her, and she felt her mind clear and her pulse slow a little. Him being there changed everything, which was enough proof for her that their relationship was far from over. He'd come to support Kendal no doubt, but she couldn't deny the way he watched her. It wasn't his normal domineering glare, but something softer. The strong man that demanded life to bow at his feet still very much lay underneath his loving demeanor, but he was holding back.

He had to be doing it for her.

"Did Krista often miss her medication? I mean, someone with a tendency to go off the deep end and stab someone multiple times in the chest if she didn't take her meds would most likely make sure she stayed on a schedule, right?"

"Leading the witness." Krista's lawyer stood, and Bethany shifted her eyes over to her old friend.

The woman that sat slumped over with tears running down her face wasn't the girl Bethany knew. She was broken because of all that had happened. Bethany turned her attention to Jake, only to find him crying as well.

"I retract the statement. Let me rephrase it."

Bethany forced herself to pay attention. The trial would be over soon, and Krista would get the help she needed, and Jake would fully recover. The horrible event would forever be a part of their past, but everyone would move on.

We have to.

Bethany was dismissed much to her relief. She walked back toward the row where Damon and Kendal sat and moved in to sit between them again.

"Great job." Damon kissed the side of her head, surprising her a little. Too bad she didn't have the emotional energy to make more out of it than she needed to.

"Yeah, thanks to you calming me down." She glanced up at him, letting her eyes linger on his lips a little too long. Why was lust so easily resurrected in the midst of tragedy? It was almost as if she were searching for something to warm herself against, and he was the perfect fire in the middle of the darkness around them.

"That's funny." Kendal leaned around Bethany. "I've never heard a woman use calm and you in the same sentence."

"I kinda like it." Damon smirked and glanced back up at the front. "I can be many things."

Can you be mine again? Bethany forced herself to pull her attention from the handsome man beside her and turned back up toward the front as Kendal was called to the stand next. Funny how quickly true tragedy could put everything into its proper place. Damon wasn't the enemy that she was fighting against.

Their past demons were.