𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗

𝗝onah handed her a coffee and turned to walk beside her; they departed from the cart and walked down the long halls of the Courthouse. It occurred to her then that she never really took the time to draw in all the beauty of this place. From its ceiling to floor high glass walls, to the carefully selected tiles fitted to match with the brown complexion of the interior design. It was a pretty place, and it was odd to her. Beauty is something relative, it always has been – it lies within the eye of the beholder. She wondered what her partner thought about it all.

That's a dumb thought.

He's a man; he hardly has a knack for taste.

"Did you hear me?" Jonah snapped her from her head.

"No. I wasn't listening."

He groaned and rolled his eyes, "At least you're honest."

"Always am," she replied, dusting off her familiar seat before sitting down.

She had claimed this seat for herself since the startup of the trial again. It was comforting – to have a place all to herself. Somewhere that no one else would reside in. She normally never had one. She was an outlier. Had been. It was nice.

Yes, nice.

Nice to have a place.

"Can you pay attention now?" Jonah asked, sitting next to her.

"I suppose," she replied, pulling the lid off her coffee.

"I have been thinking for a while—"

"That's rare," she snorted, blowing on her drink.

"Shut up," he groaned, leaning back against the wall, "Do you always have to be a smartass?"

"Yes."

"Why? Does it make you feel better?"

"Yes," she repeated, nodding and laughing.

Jonah rolled his eyes, "Whatever. The point is, I've been doing some thinking. After everything I discovered about Rueben and Rayne and the idea of them working towards a mutual goal, I have been beating myself up. I was stupid to place him on trial like this without taking the effort to really think it through; and if he's guilty, Lilliana's killer is going to be on the loose. That, and Emmet will surely have my head," he rubbed the back of his neck, "But, if it turns out he's not guilty, I'm going to propose that we work alongside them."

Auden spit out the sip of coffee that just passed her lips. She reached a hand up and wiped her mouth as she gaped at her partner. He sat next to her, platinum hair falling in his face, expression cold as stone. If there was any a time she had to believe he was being serious, it was now.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Probably," he sighed, "But what other option do we have?"

"I'm sure we can think of something else," she sneered, looking into her cup. The brown liquid rippled as she shook it slightly, "I'd rather shoot myself in the back of the throat than spend another minute alongside Rueben and his pack of fucking imbeciles."

"Auden, seriously, grow up."

She drew her head back in surprise, "Excuse me?"

Jonah shook his head and looked away from her, "Y'know, I put so much time and effort into trying to make you a good cop, but you consistently piss me off. You're immature, you have zero filter, and you have this insufferable ability to only focus on the smaller picture. All you give a damn about is yourself," Jonah climbed to his feet, "—you have no regard for the life that actually matters; Lilliana's."

She was about to contest his words and stop him from walking away from her, when a laugh and a flash of that familiar, dark red hair stopped her in her tracks.

Auden turned her head, gripping her cup tighter as she took in the sight before her. Mason and Blake were walking back into the Courtroom designated for Rueben. Mason looked like he was laughing at something he said, while Blake shoved him gently in the shoulder. When she finished, she leaned on him and he placed an arm around her, holding to her waist.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched them; they looked as happy as ever, as if they were still together. And it seriously pissed her off. How could she ever stand beside that loopy idiot and pretend like he didn't drag a dagger through her pathetic little heart.

She sneered. It didn't even matter. At the end of the day, she would probably do the same thing to her. Blake wasn't wife material. She wasn't mother material. In fact, she was worth nothing. But Mason was all the same. He was nothing.

Fuck.

Everyone in that group was nothing.

It didn't matter if Jonah thought she put herself above others mindlessly; that was hardly the case. She knew she was better than them in every way. And if it took proving them herself to make them open their stupid eyes – then fine.

That's what I'll do.

Auden stole one last look in their direction. As they smiled and disappeared into the room, her lips curled angrily. There was one thing in this world she couldn't stand, and that was incompetence.

Lucky me.

I'm surrounded by it.

She rose to her feet and jogged down the hall, catching up with Jonah.

"Okay, you're right," she breathed, looking up at him, "I tend to only look at the smaller picture. I'm sorry. I want to follow in your steps, as a leader above all. I'm ready to do it too. Just tell me what you want, and I'll be there for you."

Her partner smiled down at her, easily accepting her lame apology.

It didn't really matter if she were being honest though. Maybe she was suckering up to him because she wanted to see this through. Or maybe she was suckering up because she wanted to get closer to Blake. To have her, and to break her.

I guess I'll find out.