Evelyn twirled a few strings of pasta before putting it in her mouth. She chewed it slowly and she was encompassed in silence. Her parents sat with warm smiles on their faces, her mom's hand placed over her father's.

Her father leaned in for the last piece of garlic bread at about the same time Evelyn did. Evelyn chuckled nervously before putting it on her plate anyway. 

"You can have half if you want," she offered half-heartedly. 

"That's not necessary," her father replied, smiling heartily. 

Evelyn had been counting down to the minute their meeting ended before her parents arrived. To her, it was a long overdue conversation that would only end in tears, be it tears of joy or sorrow. She wasn't sure if they could have a conversation without awkwardness ensuing. 

The minute her parents walked in, however, everything changed. There were no hugs and kisses and no reminiscing of the few fond memories they shared. They only focused on the moment and that was more than what Evelyn had hoped for. 

Even though the last ten minutes passed in utter silence as they all munched on their food, it wasn't the awkward kind. She didn't feel the need to speak every minute to feel less foreign, and she realized she'd never need to. 

Although their bond grew weaker and weaker every year she grew older, they were still her parents and she loved them. They didn't need time to keep their relationship afloat for it would never sink. A parent's love is unconditional. 

If only I'd realized that sooner, she thought bitterly. 

It pained her to know that they could have given each other years' worth of love if she had tried to understand the reason behind their sternness. She decided to put away these feelings, even if it was only for an hour or two. Today was the day for new beginnings and she was not going to waste any more of her precious time. 

"It seems you've taken Alec's son's case," her mom said. Evelyn loved talking about her cases if it wasn't confidential anymore and her mom hoped that was the case.

A smile appeared on Evelyn's face, "yeah! As soon as I read his name, I knew I was going to take the case! I finally get to show how much he changed my life!"

"We thought that might be the case. He was so happy to see you after all these years," her mother remarked.

"I'm glad you called," her father started. 

"Neither of us made an effort before and I'm so glad you were mature enough to do it instead," her mother said, her voice breaking as tears of joy slipped from her eyes. 

Evelyn knew this would happen and it was the only time she wanted to be wrong. Their tears were inevitable and so was the confrontation. She could pretend to forget everything that happened in the past but that would take her nowhere. 

There was no point in building a bridge if no one would go to the other side. 

"I'm not going to blame myself because I was just a child. How was I supposed to know that you were scolding me because you were afraid for me? Even now, saying it out loud sounds stupid and- I was just a child," Evelyn said.

"We don't blame you either and I definitely don't blame myself. You made a mistake that ruined a boy's life and that is worth the scolding you received," her father said sternly as he looked at her mother. Her mother's heart ached to hear those words but it needed to be said.

He softened up, "but what I do blame myself for is that we never made an effort to talk to you, to reassure you that we loved you. That, I will always be guilty for."

Evelyn choked up. Her father wore a strong suit but she knew how much it hurt him. It wasn't unusual for him to be this way either. 

She was reminded of the time she fell down the stairs when she was seven years old. The doctors had said that it wasn't an issue now but it could be when she grows older. She hadn't understood the seriousness of the situation back then and she had fallen asleep when the painkillers were injected into her system. However, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she could hear muffled tears from what looked like her father's silhouette. 

He hadn't wanted to worry her with his tears and had held them in for her sake. 

How could I have possibly pushed him away?

"We're sorry, Evelyn," Her mother said, wiping her tears away as she forced a smile. 

Evelyn cleared her throat, dismissing the lump that had formed in her throat "I'm sorry too, mom and dad."

She got up from her seat and moved towards theirs. Both their hands were outstretched for her and she added herself into the embrace. Her father ruffled her hair whereas her mom hugged her silently but Evelyn's mind was elsewhere. Throughout their embrace, only one thing ran through her head,

Thank you, Levi.

⋆ ★ ⋆

Levi felt a bolt of electricity surge through his veins as he rushed to his laptop. His brain was working faster than it ever had before and now was the perfect time to utilize it. He looked back at the week that had passed only to realize that they had made zero progress. Knowing that Andrea was out for revenge wasn't going to be enough, not anymore. They needed action, and action Levi would provide. 

He looked back at what Andrea did. Not only had she blackmailed him to keep quiet about the fire, but she also turned him into the key suspect and that's where he and Evelyn lacked. Finding Andrea's reasons would never be enough, not unless they pinned it on her. 

Levi was more determined than ever as he has the upper hand. If Andrea was able to frame an innocent person, there was no doubt that he could frame the guilty.

But, that wasn't without a problem; he was stuck inside his house. He couldn't blackmail Andrea since he needed Evelyn's burner phone for that. 

He pulled his original phone from his pocket and stared at Andrea's number. She wasn't too much of a risk at the moment since, in her view, Levi doesn't know her true motive. He could call her and simply demand to make the situation easier since she created it in the first place. 

The biggest risk was Tamara and the rest of the police department. He could not break the tracker or they'd know immediately. He had to be clever about it and that's exactly what he was going to do. 

He hesitated for a second before dialing Andrea's number. 

"Hello?" she responded almost instantly.

"Andrea!" Levi exclaimed, maintaining anger in his tone, "you promised to help if I kept quiet! I have for so long and nothing has gotten better!" 

"Levi? I didn't think I'd hear from you-" she began.

"Enough, Andrea! I took a risk calling you because I don't know what else to do. Everything is pointing towards me and my lawyer has lost even the little faith she has!" Levi exclaimed. The time he had spent regretting his friendship with Andrea helped in one way - he learned to spew out lies as easily as he ate food. 

"You're not in the position to order me around, Levi," she said maliciously.

"Am I not?" he scoffed, "Why should I tell everyone that I started the fire? Surely, it would be easier if I told Evelyn that you did it. That way, she'll look in different places."

Levi loved the way he sounded. His tone was authoritative and confident, something he'd never done. He was always the charming and agreeable man and this change came as a shock, even to himself. 

Andrea used my lack of knowledge against me and now, I'll do the same, he thought.

"You won't do that," Andrea said, worried. 

"Why shouldn't I? You haven't done a damn thing to turn things around for me. Why shouldn't I throw you under the bus?" Levi questioned. 

Andrea groaned, "What the fuck do you want, Levi?"

"We need to talk. I am desperate right now if you couldn't tell," he said. 

"How do you propose we do that? I'm not your lawyer, I can't see you under house arrest!" Andrea replied. There was no way she would put herself under the police's radar. 

"I have a plan. Come to the Inova Fairfax Hospital in about two hours. I will be there," Levi said.

"What do you plan on doing?" Andrea asked sneakily. 

"Whatever you do at a hospital; see the doctor," Levi replied. There was no guarantee that she wasn't recording the conversation and he was not about to leave any room for errors this time around. 

"Fine," Andrea grumbled, "but you better not waste my time."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Levi replied and a smile was already forming on his face.  

As Levi cut the call, any sorrow that remained after his argument with his father morphed into joy. If it wasn't for that, he might not have paid attention to the details and he might have never landed on his solution. His desperation pushed him to finally prove himself and he could not be more satisfied than that.  

With desperation comes change, he thought to himself as his eyes fell on his burner phone. Andrea didn't know about it but Evelyn did and that allowed him to use it with her freely. 

He picked it up and eyed the only number saved on there which was Evelyn's burner phone's. He looked at the time and realized she'd had plenty of time for lunch. It was no or never.

I'm sorry Evelyn, he thought, but I'm going to have to cut your reunion short.