Chapter 1: Trust

It's been three days since Ciara almost died in that cabin fire and she just wants to get out of the hospital and get back to her somewhat normal life if she was being honest she'd never had a normal life, yes she grew up around a whole lot of love whether it be from my family or friends but still normal would be stretching it with the amount of therapy she'd had in her life.

"Guess who'll be out of this place and back in regular clothes tomorrow," the wonderful doctor said knowing how ecstatic Ciara would be hearing those words.

Ciara found herself thinking back to how she behaved these past couple of days, and thought that the hospital staff probably want her out of there more than she wanted herself out of there, not saying she was a miserable witch but she totally was a miserable witch but you can't blame her, she found her boyfriend scratch that ex-boyfriend getting naked with her niece that was older than her by a few months, she totalled the motorcycle that belonged to her father and banged her leg up, was stuck in a burned cabin for weeks then said cabin decided that it liked fires so why not have another, then her ex got it in his head that she would want him to visit her in the hospital after he cheated on her, so she was definitely allowed to have days where she was not in the best of moods but as much as she should be allowed to complain about her crappy weeks her time in that cabin wasn't totally terrible she was in terrible pain but she was in good company, it's funny how one of the scariest moments of your life could also be some of your best and happiest moments and being with Ben Weston "The Red Necktie Killer" in that cabin oddly enough was freeing, she should've been terrified and she was at first but he slowly started to break her walls down.

"Ciara" the doctor snapped her out of her thoughts "you okay? you zoned out for a minute there."

"Oh I'm sorry, yeah I'm good, just thinking of all the "real" food I'll demolish tomorrow," Ciara joked.

"All of your blood work came back great, and I've already signed your release forms, so you'll be out of our hai…I mean free to go first thing tomorrow" the good doctor said while smirking.

"Funny" Ciara jokingly remarked "you're all going to miss me, so sorry I don't return such feelings," she teased.

"Get some rest," she said while leaving Ciara's hospital room.

It'd only been a couple of hours since Ciara had been released from the hospital and already her day had been eventful, to say the least, with all she had been through these past weeks one would think her mother would at least wait until she settled back into the loft before she lectured her about everything under the sun but no not Commissioner Hope Brady, she started on Ciara while driving her from the precinct to the loft about not only riding her dad's bike so late at night, but also her riding the bike knowing her mind wasn't focused on the road, and though Ciara hated to admit it her mother was right about that part, it was selfish of her and she could've seriously injured someone else other than herself, it's just that she needed to clear her mind after that disgusting sight she walked in on and she didn't think of anything other than doing just that, then her mother got to her real issue which was trusting and believing Ben Weston.

Ciara had gotten an uber and went straight from the hospital to the Salem P.D where they held Ben for questioning, she needed to go see for herself whether Ben tried to burn her alive while off his medication or not, it was one of the scarier moments in her life having an ex serial killer snap while off his meds and her not being able to do much because of her injury but she did, she pulled him back from the brink of insanity and she knew in her heart that she got through to him but still she felt the need to look in his eyes despite her lack of trust with men and the rest of the world really, she knew she would instantly see the truth because in that cabin Ciara did something she couldn't do since she was violated in the worst way possible two years ago, she trusted in someone even if it wasn't fully, she trusted Ben Weston.

"Ciara Alice, you hired a lawyer with the trust fund money your grandpa Vic gifted you for a serial killer, how could you?"

"Momma he saved me, he saved me of the side of the road, and he protected me."

"That monster tried to kill you Ciara" Hope shouted, "he tried to burn you alive just like he tried to do to Chad and Abigail, I mean you do remember your cousin Abigail, don't you? do you even care that he tried to kill them?"

"Of course I do, he was mentally ill and he got the help he needed mom, they wouldn't have released him if…"

"He strangled and almost killed Will, my God we all mourned Will for years because of him, he killed three women, two of which were strangled by him but because he was "mentally ill" all is forgiven?" Hope said cutting Ciara off.

Ciara spent the rest of the car ride silent and in tears as her mother continued her lecture, most of which Ciara drowned out with her thoughts as doubt crept its way into her mind…is her mother right? did she just set a killer free to kill again?

Ciara heard knocking and her bedroom door opening "oh I'm sorry did I wake you?" her niece Claire asked with a tray at hand "it's okay, I was just waking up anyway" Ciara replied mid yawn "I thought you might be hungry and made you a sandwich" Ciara was surprised by Claire's gesture but it was most likely just guilt, Ciara grabbed her phone to check the time, it had been a good couple of hours since her mom dropped her off at the loft, got her settled in then went back to work, sometime after that Claire came home from after her shift at the Horton Town Square Café was finished and apologized then Ciara's ex Tripp apologized next and she couldn't have cared less about either weak ass apologies but she forgave them both anyways because she didn't have the energy to put even a tiny bit of effort into hating them anymore, she gave them both one more chance and of course Tripp decided to press his luck and ask if they could get back together which led to her laughing in his face then hopping her way to her room.

"You don't have to do this; I already forgave you."

"I know but…I'm so so sorry Ciara, I was just so hurt after Theo dumped me and I blamed you for that, I wanted to hurt you and I'm sorry for being so horrible."

Ciara stared at Claire for a while before her eyes went to the sandwich and what looked like orange juice in the tray Claire sat on her bed "It's not laced with poison is it?" they both immediately started laughing awkwardly "thank you for this but I'm not hungry, I think I'll go out and get some fresh air."

Ben was released from police custody a few hours ago but didn't have anywhere to go, the money Chad had given him weeks ago just to get him out of Salem was enough to spend a few days in a motel but Ben decided the money was better used for food and water only and that he'd most likely stay at one of the homeless shelters in town, he was headed through the HTS park on his way to the café to grab something to eat when he saw her sitting on the bench.

"Hi."

"Hi back," Ciara greeted as she looked at Ben.

The ways she looks at Ben sometimes it makes his heart beat faster, he knows he must erase those thoughts from his mind but the way her eyes linger it's almost as though she has the same thoughts he does but that's not possible he thought, no one could and would never see him as anything other than a killer let alone have feelings for him.

"How's your leg?"

"It hurts a little even though hopped up on painkillers, they make me drowsy" they both stared at each other as an awkward silence fell upon them until Ciara nervously looked down and said, "I didn't expect to see you here, I just needed to get away."

"I was just gonna grab some food, then go to a homeless shelter…wait you said you needed to get away, away from what?"

"The voices in my head, though most of them sound a lot like my mother, I want to trust you I really do, it's just that I just can't shake them, I don't trust my judgement and given my past, it'd not been my strong suit," Ciara said with tears threatening her eyes as Ben just listens.

"You're really good at that you know, even back at the cabin," Ciara said after a while of just taking in a silence that should have been awkward, but it just wasn't.

"What?"

"Listening" Ciara smiled softly as she grabbed her crutches and started to get up "it's getting late, I should get back home."

"Wait…don't go," Ben said to Ciara just as she was walking away.