Riverton

Levi sat across from Daniel with his elbows resting on the table looking down at his hot coco as the whipped cream slowly melted.

"I gotta tell ya I'm surprised." Daniel chuckled. "I didn't think you'd ever want to come back to Tatiana's Diner again."

Levi shrugged, not looking up at his guardian. "It wasn't their fault what happened. Stella was the one who poisoned me. Not them two. She even admitted it wasn't them."

Daniel set his cup down and smacked his lips. "Well, that doctor and those nurses are going to have to pay some serious consequences. With holding information like that is worth some jail time."

Levi glanced up with a straight face. "What's going to happen to her? Stella I mean."

Daniel leaned back, his knee bouncing over the edge of the table representing he had crossed his legs. "She'll go to jail. She poisoned you and Imani, tried to take her own life, then turned around and starting firing the gun at you. She'll be lucky if the judge puts her in an asylum."

Levi shook his head as he placed both hands around his mug, and shook his head. "She had her whole life ahead of her," he said softly. "She was an amazing friend. Someone who was dedicated to helping me recover my memories. It doesn't seem fair that this happened to her."

He looked back up at Daniel. "What about the people who forced her to do all this stuff? Have you found them? They're the real criminals here! They destroyed that girls life!"

"Shh!" Daniel held a finger in front of his lips. "Keep your voice down."

Levi ducked his head, and sheepishly glanced around at the eyes that stared at him.

"We're doing all we can to find whoever they are, but if Stella won't talk..." Daniel lifted his shoulders in a huff. "Then we can't do anything about them."

Levi let out a soft sigh. "You should've seen her, Daniel. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of this. She was so scared. I watched her pull the trigger. I watched the change in her face. She was torn apart struggling with whether or not to kill herself..." he shuddered, "or me."

Daniel leaned across the table and patted Levi's arm. "I wasn't there, but I know you must've been scared. I can't explain why someone would want to harm you or why someone got your friend to do it." He paused. "But I do know that you don't have to struggle with this alone. You've been through a lot just within the past week of not having any memories. I want you to know that you can always come talk to me or Raven."

Levi glared at him, but tried not to show his skeptical glance. What had made the Noble's want to take him in in the first place? Why not just let him go into the system? Surely they had to know a teenage boy with no memories of who he was was going to be a challenge, yet they said yes anyway? Why?

Things didn't add up. They were too involved. Too eager to be in his life. First, Raven takes his favorite books away in fear they would corrupt his mind, and now Daniel is assuring him that they would always be there if he needed to talk? For a couple who had just known him for a week, they kind of started to act like they were his parents.

He was startled out of his mind as Nicholas approached the table with a coffee pot in his hand.

Nicholas smiled sheepishly and extended his hand with the coffee pot while the other remained behind his back. "More coffee, Mr. Noble?"

Levi gazed up and watched Nicholas cautiously. Why did Nicholas act so nervous around them? His hand was practically shaking trying to poor Daniel's coffee. He hadn't acted that way a few days ago.

"Thank you, Nicholas." Daniel gave a quick nod of his head. "I'll take the check when you get the chance. We're almost done here."

Nicholas placed out a hand and smiled. "Don't worry about it. We have you covered." He glanced at Levi. "We feel terrible about what happened to you and Imani. We own you more then just coffee and hot chocolate."

Levi didn't say anything as Nicholas turned around and walked through a swinging door to the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes. "We're sure it wasn't them, right?"

Daniel snorted. "That's what you said just minutes ago."

Levi sighed as he lowered his head. "I know. You're right. I'm just overthinking." He swung his head from the kitchen door to Daniel. "Did he seem weird to you though?"

Daniel shrugged. "How should he act? Someone poisoned their food making it look like they're suspects. Their business has probably gone down too. Even if people just think it was food poisoning."

Daniel must've noticed his intensive stare. "Let me put your mind at ease," he said. "I was in here asking questions moments before you arrived." Levi turned to listen. "Tatiana said the day you and Imani came in was delivery day. The back door was open for an hour while the truck unloaded. They don't know you both were poisoned, but anyone could've slipped in during that time and poisoned your food."

Levi shrugged. "But how was it only our food? Had no one else ordered a burger throughout the day?"

Daniel sighed and looked away for a moment with a thinking gaze. He swung his head back toward Levi as he continued, "Stella wasn't here when you arrived. You both came for dinner after school. Right around the delivery time. If Stella watched you both walk in, she could've slipped into the back, poisoned the food, and come through the front door like nothing ever happened."

Levi sat back with a sigh. "Imani did say she and Stella came her often. Imani always got the same thing. Stella would know what she was going to order, and must've figured I'd order the same since I've never been here."

Daniel reached into his pocket, withdrew his wallet, and laid three dollars on the table. He started scooting out of the booth, grabbing his jacket, as he shook his head. "Then there we have it. Stella poisoned the food. There's no way for us to know who she was working for."

Levi again sighed as he looked to the wall at his right. This wasn't fair. Stella shouldn't have to go to jail for being threatened. What they should be doing is finding the real culprits. Not sitting here sipping coffee and coco.

Just then, the bell at the top of the entrance door rang as another deputy came dashing in. He ran straight up to Daniel, his face twisted in fear. "Daniel, you have to come back to the office."

"Why?" Daniel swiftly put on his jacket.

The other deputy glanced around at the stares before lowering his voice. "It's Stella. She's killed herself."

Levi's heart pounded at his words, and he felt his body freeze. Stella killed herself? After he had tried so hard to save her?

Daniel placed a hand on the deputies shoulder. "We must hurry."

Levi jumped from his seat, spilling some of the coco onto the table. "I'm coming too."

Daniel shook his head as he placed a gentle hand on Levi's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you. This is a private matter now. I can't just bring you into the office. I wouldn't allow anyone else."

Tears pricked Levi's eyes as he watched Daniel and the other deputy exit through the door. He placed his palms on the table as he leaned forward. Stella was dead? She was supposed to be protected now that she was behind bars. She wasn't supposed to be able to hurt herself anymore.

He wiped a tear away as he dashed toward the door. He ran outside just as Daniel's car speed away. Bumping into a few people, he took off down the sidewalk in a sprint to reach the sheriff's station to see what happened for himself. He didn't believe it. He couldn't! This had to be a joke.

After several minutes of running, he stopped in front of the sheriff's stations double doors. He stared at the glass doors and panted as his stomach churned. Everything inside of him told him not to go in. That he wouldn't like what he saw. But how could he just stand here and wait when he had high hopes of this just being a cruel prank?

He breathed heavily through his nose as he slowly opened the door on his right. He tip-toed inside, not because he didn't want to be heard, but because he didn't think he could walk any faster. His pulsed thumped wildly in his ears as he stood in front of the glass office where the sheriff stood on the phone, and Daniel shouted at the four of them. He could hear muffled voices coming from inside.

"Get the coroner up here immediately!" the sheriff demanded.

"How could you let this happen?" Daniel shouted as his hands sprung into the air.

So far, no one had seen him. He braced himself. Once he turned the corner, there was no going back. He knew two jail cells were at the back of the wall, and according to the sheriff's words, Stella laid dead inside of one of them.

His heart continued to pound as he turned the corner. He couldn't see anything over the four desks that scattered the room, but what he could see was a shattered mirror hanging on the wall in the cell on the right.

He summoned what courage he could, and took baby steps around the desks. He heard more shouting coming from the sheriff's office, but the lack of a door swinging open assured him that he was still unseen.

As he stepped closer to the front of the desk, a pair of black boots came into view. He took another step, and saw the purple jacket she had been wearing earlier that morning. Tears began to blur his vision, but he didn't wipe them away as he took one final step.

There, in the center of the cell, laid Stella in a pool of blood. Shattered glass laid by the wall except for one long shard that laid inches away from her right hand. Two large gashes stretched from her wrists to the middle of her forearm. She had sliced her wrists.

Levi flung a hand over his mouth as he gasped, and allowed his tears to flow freely as he shook from the pain of seeing his friend in such a state. She had really done it. She had really killed herself. Saving her earlier had done no good.

"Levi!" He heard his name, but he didn't turn around. His eyes were fixed on the dead girl in the cell.

Daniel swiftly turned him around so his back was facing her. Daniel gripped his shoulders tightly as he leaned forward to speak to him eye to eye. "What were you thinking? I told you not to come here!"

Levi didn't care that he was bawling his eyes out in front of his guardian. His heart was broken, and his friend was dead. He shook his head as he tried to speak. "She's gone," his voice came out in a high pitched whisper. "She's really gone."

Daniel didn't say anything. He drew Levi in close to his chest and embrace him with one hand resting on Levi's back and the other on his head.

Levi knew he wasn't the type for sentimental words, and that was okay. Because right now, he didn't want to hear any "it's going to be okay". It would've been a lie. Nothing was going to be okay. One of the two friends he had in Riverton had killed themselves. All because she was forced to kill him.

Her image remained burned in his head. Despite the giant gashes in her arms, she looked peaceful lying there. Her lips were still a bright red from whatever lipstick she had put on, and her brown, curly hair had fallen in just the right spots. He had never seen someone dead look so beautiful.

As he wept in Daniel's arms, rage erupted from within. How could this happen? How could he have let it happen? He should've been there for Stella. Even when she was being taken away. Let her know he was there for her. Instead, he had despised her for what she'd done not even knowing it wasn't by her own doing.

Whoever it was that wanted him dead, they were to blame. They were the true monsters. They ruined an innocent girl's life.

He opened his eyes, and furrowed his brow. Through clenched fists, and gritted teeth he said, "I'm going to find whoever did this to her. Whoever turned her into their slave dog, and once I do..." He paused as the anger continued to rise. "I'm going to make them pay!"