Ryan stared at this girl – no, this thing, that had once represented innocence. This thing that had witnessed so many tragedies, that he had once cared for. But now, now he only saw sorrow and fear, and murder. How could this sweet, innocent little girl he had grown to care for as his own, have committed such a horrible, heinous act? Ava, eyes flooded still with tears, stared at him, and saw the expression of shock and fear on his face. "Y-you? You murdered her?" Ryan finally croaked out. "No! No, not like that," Ava said, quickly correcting him. "At least, not directly." Ryan, now a look of relief and confusion, stared once again at Ava, this time recognizing that innocence once more. "I'm the reason she's dead. Because of me, she was killed. I'm the one that set her up with Trent in the first place. If I hadn't gone and made such a stupid mistake!" Ava stopped, not wanting to go any further. And really, there was no need to. She lowered her head down, clutching her hair. She had gone from sobbing to full on hysterics. Ryan quickly tried to help appease her somehow. "Ava, sweetie," He tried to say over her tears and screams. It wasn't going to work. Instead, he moved to hug her. He held her there, rubbing her back and trying to settle her. When she finally quieted her sobs enough, he spoke to her. "Sweetheart there's no way that you could have known this was going to happen. No one could've known." But this didn't seem to work, for Ava spoke out once again. "But I could've protected her! I could've tried to help her!" She said, half whispering, half screaming. "Ava," Ryan said, looking his niece in the eye. "Honey, there's no way you could've known this would happen. Besides, you did what you could." He said. "But I could've done more. Charolette and I made a pact that we'd always have each other's backs, but I didn't have hers the one time she truly needed it!" Ava said. Once again, Ryan tried to ease her pain. "Well, you did what you could. Look, I bet your friend is looking down on you right now, thanking you for all you did do." This seemed to bring some peace to Ava. They sat for a few moments more, his arms still wrapped around her in what seemed like an eternal embrace. Finally, Ava pulled away. And for the first time that day, Ryan saw something in Ava's eyes that he rarely ever saw there: a glimmer of hope. "Ava, you are one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. I just want you to remember that, okay?" Ryan said, a small tear streaking down his face as well. "Always." Ava replied, a small, nearly invisible smile crossing her face. The two of them stood up and gathered themselves. "You know, I think I'm starting to get my appetite back." Ava said. "Maybe we can crack open that ice-cream and watch a few of those movies?" "Of course." "And do you think you could spend the night too?" Ava said, looking at her uncle. "Sure."