"I don't need help. Not that sort of help, anyway."

"Kylie, you tried to kill yourself. You brought a gun and you placed it against your head, intending to end your life. I was there with you at the police station remember, I heard everything you said." Valerie wailed in response, as they sat across one another at the dinner table.

A week had passed since Elijah's sudden death and since Kylie had been called to the police station to give a formal statement of her version of events on that horrific night. And now, as a result, Valerie refused to allow Kylie out of her sights. Even going so far as to stand outside the bathroom, the door slightly ajar as the girl emptied her bladder or showered. But the nights were by far the worst, Valerie slept beside the girl, holding her with what felt like a vice-like grip.

They'd both bawled their eyes out, nearly every night since. Both of them turning onto their side slyly, in order to hide their tears from the other.

It'd take time.

Valerie knew that. She'd made some huge mistakes as a mother and it'd take time for her to rectify them and return to the relationship that she and Kylie had once had, years ago. Truth be told, Valerie was growing uncertain as to whether her daughter would ever truly allow her close enough to make the amends.

"Ma, please. Can we just...not talk about it?" Kylie whimpered, barely consuming the mouthful of food on her spoon.

Valerie smiled warily, pushing her chair away from the table and standing up. She gingerly walked over to Kylie and knelt down beside the girl, "I think not talking is what caused a lot of problems for us, isn't that right, Kylie?" She leaned up, lightly brushing Kylie's chestnut-coloured hair out of her face and allowing her lips to peck at the skin on Kylie's forehead.

"What happened that night was...dreadful. But, we can't go back. We can't bring Elijah back, the very same way we can't bring Jax back. The only option we have now is to try and move forward, and in order for us to move forward, we have to forgive ourselves and forgive those that might have wronged us. But most importantly, we have to learn to talk about it. Because, when we stop talking about how we feel and keep it bottled up inside us...we just on this downward spiral."

"Ma, he saved me but I didn't save him." Kylie's lower lip trembled as she uttered the single statement she'd repeated every day since his death. She welcomed the feeling of a fresh bout of tears revealing themselves.

"Kylie, it's human nature to blame ourselves when tragedy strikes. But, you couldn't have done anything. He...he shot himself. We don't know what thoughts were running through his head, we can just hope that wherever he is, he's at peace finally. But what we can do...is we can learn from it...we can become better and learn to help those who need it."

Kylie turned her head away, her eyes closed as she let her mothers' words wash over her. She'd told lies upon lies upon lies, so what did it matter if she'd told another lie to her mother, to the police? What was another nail in her coffin?

Cupping her daughters' face in her hands, Valerie whispered, "You've had this black cloud hovering over you for way too long...I just never saw it. I'm sorry, Kylie. But, I...I'm trying to be a better mother to you, if you'll just let me. I'm ready to forgive if you are?" Kylie noticed her mother averting her gaze upwards as she completed her sentence.

Kylie took her cue to turn around and was surprised to see a rather pleased-looking Libby stood behind her. The three blonde dolls lined up in single file, barely visible behind their mother.

A look of uncertainty suddenly appeared across Libby's face as she glanced over at Valerie first and then Kylie, "You don't have to forgive me. But...we were thinking, maybe we could...try and be friends?" She suggested.

"Friends," Kylie repeated, the connotations of that very word sending her into a frenzy of thoughts. She was forced to remember how her friendship with Jess had panned out, her friendship with Elijah which had rapidly developed into much more, and she almost shuddered at the thought of becoming 'friends' with the very woman that had played a part in shaping her into who she'd become today. But, she could see through Libby's growing nervousness and so, this time she stopped herself from making an unnecessary snide comment and smiled, "friends...sounds good."

Kylie then shocked both her mother and Libby by holding her arms open partially, "friends can hug, can't they?"

"Yeah...yeah, of course!" Libby almost squealed as she enveloped the girl in her motherly grasp; she'd asked for a step forward but Kylie had offered her a leap and she was not going to pass it up.

For years, Libby had suffocated in the guilt of her affair. She'd wondered how her actions had impacted her lovers' previous children and wife and she'd longed to rectify her mistake. And now, as she held the silent Kylie in her arms, and gazed up at the teary-eyed Valerie, she knew she was one step closer to winning her own internal battle.

"Thank you, Libby. For trying to help." Kylie hesitantly whispered in the blonde's ear before hauling herself away and offering a small smile.

For the next couple of hours, they sat and talked. About everything and nothing. Kylie knew everyone was still treading on eggshells around her, being extra careful not to mention Jess and Elijah, and she was thankful for the brief escape from her endless thoughts of guilt.

Once night drew closer, Valerie announced that Libby and the kids would be staying over for the night. Kylie glimpsed down at her phone, remembering the text message she'd received that same morning, remembering the location that she'd agreed to meet at and she knew it'd be even more difficult to escape the house tonight, what with there being two bodyguards watching over her in the forms of Libby and Valerie.

She could hear their hushed voices from the kitchen and she peered in slyly, seeing Libby and Valerie deep in conversation. She knew they were probably discussing her but despite that, she found that she was grinning to herself. It was a sight she thought she'd never see, for her mother had despised the younger woman for years and with good reason. But here she was, sitting with her, discussing the future prospect of them being a proper family – well, a loose version of whatever family now meant.

Kylie could almost imagine Jax keeling over with laughter in heaven as he watched down on them.

She gingerly knocked on the kitchen door, "I'm going out for a walk, Ma." She called out.

"Kylie, wait. Where? Give me a second, I'll grab my jacket and come with you." Valerie stood up hurriedly.

"Ma, I know that you're scared after...after everything that's happened. And, I will get help, proper medical help if that's what you want. But, please don't treat me like a kid. I need to be alone for a bit. I promise I'll come back soon. I promise." She said gently before leaving the house, without awaiting the response.

She fished her iPhone out of her pocket and quickly typed out a text message. She then jogged down the road to the local park and perched herself down on the edge of the swing, waiting.

"Thanks for coming." Kylie glanced up as she heard the recognisable voice of her ex-best friend from behind her.

As Jess sat down on the swing behind Kylie, she recognised that her once straight-as-a-pin burnt orange hair was several shades darker and fell down in beach-type waves.

"Thank you for calling me. I wasn't expecting to hear from you again..."

Jess didn't respond and both girls sat in deafening silence, the only sounds lingering in the air were the squeaks of the swings' bolts and screws which evidently needed tightening and lubricating.

"I need you to know...I called you out here because I needed you to know that I wasn't...I wasn't going to shoot him. Or you. It was never my intention, you know that, don't you?" Jess rushed the words out, a pained expression crossing her face.

"I know. I know. I stuck to the story...I told them the exact same thing you told me on the phone when you called."

Jess let out a sigh of relief, her gaze fixed on the murky grass in front of them, "he loved you. He must've done to react the way he did."

Kylie closed her eyes. They'd both lied to the police but it had been an accident. She vividly pictured those final moments. Jess with the gun pointed at Kylie, her index finger dangerously close to the trigger, Elijah dashing towards Jess, grabbing hold of the gun. A shockingly brief game of tug-of-war over the gun and then it was over.

Kylie had barely noticed what had actually occurred until warm blood had shot out onto her face.

The call from Jess had come only hours after, informing her of both Elijah's death and begging her to change her story. She'd not yet given a formal statement and so she'd agreed. What good would it do if Jess went to prison now? What would it have achieved? Elijah would still be dead. Jax would still be dead.

"He didn't even see you for four years, yet he still loved you," Jess whispered suddenly, Kylie thought she heard a hint malice in the girls' voice but she dismissed the thought immediately.

"He didn't love me. Lust and love are worlds' apart but people still find it easy to confuse the two. All I and Elijah had was lust. Elijah loved you, I just...stole him."

Jess glanced up at the girl, a slight glimmer in her eye, "No Kylie, I stole him from you."

"What? That's ridiculous." Kylie laughed in response.

"I knew...I knew that you and Elijah had slept together all those years ago. I knew he was lying to me about losing his virginity with me. All along I knew, and that's why...that's why I wanted him. I helped him, I got my mum to put a roof over his head, give him a job because I knew you genuinely liked him and that made me want him."

"What the fuck are you on about, Jess? Does that mean...you knew that we were carrying on for the past few months?"

"No. Because, I was foolish enough to believe that he had fallen in love with me, finally. You know something, that's why I invited you over for six whole months, a part of me wanted to see you squirm when you saw how much Elijah loved me. But...all those years meant nothing because as soon as you turned up, he melted. He didn't even see me anymore."

"Jess...what are you saying?" Kylie hauled herself up and off the swing as her friends' words finally registered, "Did you even love him or was it just some stupid game for you?" Kylie spat out, inching backwards as she spoke.

"Of course I loved him! It was him who betrayed me, it was him who cheated, not me!"

"So, it was just me you hated? You wanted to hurt me...why?"

"I don't know. Because finally, Kylie Campana couldn't have who she wanted. Because for once, someone stole something she wanted from her."

Kylie's face was scrunched up in confusion at her friends' words, "Jess...you're starting to sound like Pattie. All you're doing is hurting yourself...all you did was hurt, Elijah. He wasn't just some toy for you to play with."

"Really? Because wasn't he just a toy to you? You took him away from me when you wanted and gave him back when you didn't."

"That...that isn't true." Kylie could begin to feel panic bubbling inside her and she was regretting her decision to meet. How could she have foolishly thought that there was a chance for reconciliation after everything? She was only now realising that things were even more messed up than she'd initially thought. "I think I'm just gonna go, my mum's probably wondering where I am now."

Had Jess never seen that Kylie was already hurting? That her father leaving had heart her more than anything else ever could? Or had she been so obsessed with wanting to 'steal' Elijah away from Kylie than she never noticed all the pain that she was already in?

"I'm leaving Kylie, I'm moving away," Jess whispered quietly.

"Where to? What about Elijah's funeral?" She enquired. Seb had left only days before, having left a half-hearted note about wanting to start afresh elsewhere and now Jess was leaving too.

"It was yesterday. It was family only, sorry."

Kylie felt a twinge in her chest. Jess had wanted to hurt her and she had achieved her goal because she'd taken away Kylie's last chance at ever having full closure, of every truly saying goodbye. As she turned away from Jess, she began to question whether she'd done the right thing, lying to the police for her.

Jess continued speaking but Kylie was already walking away. Her friend called out to her, but this time she didn't pay any heed to her words. Their friendship was toxic, Kylie saw that now. Apparently, it had been toxic from the start.

She knocked on her front door repeatedly after she'd raced home, and when Libby opened the door, she wrapped her arms around her and sobbed into her chest.

She'd get help, she promised. She wanted to get better.

---------------------------------------------------

"You seriously took ages, I thought you weren't going to come." Jess hugged her younger brother as they stood outside the train station.

"Of course, I was. I know...I haven't always been the best brother and maybe I have no right to say this, but please, don't go?"

"Oh, Cody." Jess could feel herself welling up at his words but contained herself, "I have to go, this place...there's nothing for me, here anymore. But you can always visit me, okay?"

"And mum?" Cody asked. He knew their mother was still a sore topic.

"I have nothing to say to her anymore."

"She's still our mother. I know she messed up. But...she's still our mother."

"Yes, and the longer I stay here, the more she'll mess me up." Jess rubbed her temples as she spoke.

"Well...can I at least know where you're going?"

Jess smiled gingerly, her hand cupping her brothers' face, "I'd tell you if I knew you wouldn't tell mum and she wouldn't hurry to try and stop me. I'm taking a train to Gatwick and then...the rest is a mystery. Until I'm settled anyway, then I'll tell you."

Cody kissed his sisters' cheeks, "You take care, then. I'll miss you."

As Jess hopped onto her train, she blew one final kiss to her baby brother before resting her head back on the head-rest.

There had been three people in the room that night but only two of them really knew what happened. And one of them was six feet under and would never be able to tell the true story.

As she closed her eyes, she remembered the shock on Elijah's face as she pressed down on the trigger. It would've been Kylie if you hadn't been so stupid, she'd barely whispered into his ear before she clamped down on the trigger, she'd known he'd heard it. The betrayal evident on his face before his blood had splattered everywhere.

Maybe her mother thought the best way to deal with lustful affairs was to hide them. And maybe Valerie thought the best way was to confront them.

But after what Jess had been through, she decided only the most lethal method would be the best revenge for Elijah and Kylie. Maybe she hadn't succeeded in making Elijah love her but she'd succeeded in making sure that neither she nor Kylie could have him.

And as far as she was concerned, she'd won. In a game of fate that all of them had unknowingly been playing.

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Authors' Note: So, this is the final chapter! But there may be an epilogue to round things up. So, I know some of you did work out that Jess was way too naïve and I guess now ya'll know why!

How do you guys feel about the final revelation about Jess?

I'm also going to do a final Q+As since a lot of what happened in this book was subtle and easily missed and if there's anything you didn't understand or any character you'd like to understand more, leave it in this chapter and I'll be answering it in the final authors note!

Thank you all for reading, please do vote on this final chapter! x