"There! Are you happy now? That's the truth." Erica stated, annoyed by his mistrust.

She hadn't even done anything prior to the rumours to suggest that he couldn't trust her. Though maybe it was just the way he was. After all, he was still holding up that mysterious bad boy demeanour that she was just dying to see behind.

Unable to bear looking at him any longer, she turned around and began to ready herself to leave.

"Erica, wait!" He called out.

"Why?" She questioned, her voice taking on a tone of anger.

"Because.... I believe you." He told her.

"No you don't." She objected.

"Yes. I do." He insisted.

She shook her head almost frantically.

"Goodbye Ryder." She repeated her words from her first visit and turned to leave.

Though before she reached the door, she heard the rattle and clanging the cell bars which startled her. Turning back around she was horrified to see him whacking his head against the bars, punching and kicking at them too. His shoulders were tensed and his breathing heavy as he let out a shriek of pain - not from the injuries he was trying to inflict on himself, but from the pain of hearing those words again.

She didn't just wince at the sight of him in that state... she felt it. Almost as though it was in the air that she - they both - were breathing. Unable to stop herself, she found herself once again face to face with him. This time with her hand reaching out to the bars, brushing her fingers against his.

His head snapped up as he felt the physical contact she had made. In that moment everything... all the hurt, the anger and his confusing feelings for her came rushing to the surface, revealing his bare sound to her through his eyes.

"It hurts to have someone not believe you, doesn't it?" She questioned, now fighting back tears of her own.

As the her words reached his ears, he let out a sigh of both frustration and defeat.

"Erica, when I say this, I am saying it sincerely. This is the most truthful I have ever been with anyone in my life. I believe you. Judging by the fact that you are here right now it seems that I got you all wrong." He informed her in one last attempt to win her over.

"Okay... so what happens now? Because before I came here, I was hanging out with Dawson and we uhh....we kissed. I ran away because he started laughing and I ended up here. The worst part is that I have no idea why." She bared her feelings to him, despite feeling beyond vulnerable.

"You what?" He whisper yelled.

"I know...I know. Don't worry, I will figure it out. But what about you? How are you gonna get out of this one?" She began to brainstorm all the possibilities of solutions to the mountain of problems they had gotten buried under.

"This is my problem. Not yours. My trial  is Tuesday and if the judge decides that I'm guilty then that's it. Game over for me, and not just because I'll be locked up...incase that does happen, I want to say goodbye Erica, and thank you for the most amazing three weeks of my life." He spoke softly, his voice drenched in sadness.

"What do you mean? Ryder, don't say that. They allow visitors, and I can come and..." She began to ramble as a tear escaped her eye.

Ryder shook his head and interjected.

"No. You can't." He told her.

"Why not?" She quizzed, her eyes desperate and pleading.

"Because... if I'm found guilty, the second I get in that cell, I'm ending it." He stated.

"What do you mean by ending it?" She asked, her heart beginning to pound in her chest.

"I mean that I am going to put myself out of this misery. I have suffered for way too long and if I have to spend the rest of my life behind bars then it isn't worth living." He simplified.

"No! Stop it! You're talking like a crazy person...Ryder you can't do that...." She protested, going into panic mode.

"Oh but I can... but before any of that happens...I want you to know two truths." He began to say.

If this was going to be the last time that he saw her beautiful face and heard her melodic voice then he wanted her to leave this place knowing the truth.

She nodded, biting her lip and fighting the urge to break him out of the cell and run away together.

"The first is that I promise you that I did not do it. As much as Monica hurt me, I would have never of wanted anything to happen to her." He confessed.

"So it really was Dawson?" She questioned through a sob.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"What's the other thing?" She asked curiously.

"The other thing that I want you to know is... up until a few weeks ago I was alone in this world. Then out of no where this beautiful girl walked into my life and I began to feel something that I haven't let myself feel with anyone since Monica. I think I might be...falling for you." He admitted.

She swallowed hard, unable to deny her feelings for him that had been growing stronger with the ache she felt from his absence.

"I...I can't deny that I do too.... feel something for you, I mean." She admitted.

If this was going to be the last time she ever saw him, she wanted to make sure that he knew the truth behind her curiosity towards him.

Hearing her words, a new feeling flooded through him. One which he had never felt before in his life. It weakened him but also gave him strength, which was weird and contradictory, but true. He hated the thought of this being the last conversation that they shared.

Reaching out with his hand, he took as much of her hand as he could reach, into his own. He stepped closer until he was right up against the bars. With his other hand, he reached out as far as he could and held her face in the palm of his hand. She closed her eyes at the feel of his rough skin against her smooth face.

With heavy breath, she opened her eyes again and took one last look at him before withdrawing her hand from his and getting ready to be going home.

"Goodbye Erica." He began.

"No... not goodbye. Ryder, I'm gonna find a way to get you out of this. I promise. I'll see you again soon." She corrected him.

After waiting a moment for him to say something else, which he didn't - only nodded, she left the station, once again feeling the ache in her heart get even stronger with each step that she was taking.

If Ryder was telling the truth that he didn't kill Monica, and Dawson did, that meant that all she had to do was get the golden boy to confess to her and secretly record it. She would take it to the police as soon as she had it, and then he who is innocent would walk free.

All she had to do now was try and keep up the facade with Dawson until she could get him to trust her enough with a secret like that.

It was easier said than done though, he knows that she had been bonding with Ryder in the weeks prior to these events and so he would most likely be naturally suspicious. Even worse was that she only had two days left until the trial, which would take place on Tuesday and the clock was ticking.

As much as her mom loved a mother daughter dinner together on Sundays, this time around she would have to give that a miss and get to work on getting a confession of the truth on a recording.

She was done being confused, and done denying herself of what her heart truly wanted. All she ever did was listen to her head, which only led her to question everything about anyone that came into her life.

The only other problem was her mother. She would never let her out of the house if she knew that she was going to visit a classmate behind bars. While she hated the thought of lying to her, she knew that she didn't exactly have a choice... it was a dreading thought of the chaos that might ensue if there was ever a point where her mother met Ryder.

It was like she came from a posh family or anything, but there was certain people that her mother would often stick her nose up at. Especially if they had ever been anywhere near a police station for any reason other than to file a report.

Damn this mess, what had Ryder done to her. She used to be such a good girl with a simple life.