Naia's POV

After school, I waved bye to Nate who was nice enough to walk out with me and went to see Gabby and Matt who had come to pick me up.

"Hey Munchkin! How was school?" Matt asked me after he gave me his signature noogie.

I smiled, "It went good. Got to sit out dodge ball because of my ribs and wrist."

"Not a fan of dodge ball?" Gabby asked me as we started walking home.

I shrugged, "I don't hate it but people usually target me so it's not really fun."

"That's not very nice." Matt said and Gabby nodded agreeing with him.

"Well, they aren't very nice." I replied and slipped my hand into Matt's hand and the other into Gabby's.

When we got home, Gabby told me to wash my hands and she'd have a snack ready for me. I dropped my backpack in it's usual spot and went to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I went into the kitchen afterwards, Gabby had a bowl of apple cinnamon chips and a cheese string.

While I was eating, a question popped into my head. "Did Antonio ever catch James?"

Looking a little taken aback, Gabby nodded, "Yeah, Antonio called the other day saying they found him. They're keeping him a little bit for questioning. Why?"

"I want to see him." I said which seemed to shock both Matt and Gabby. I guessed they thought I never wanted to ever see James again after he almost killed me but they were wrong.

"Why?" Matt asked, confused.

"Um, I don't really want to say, but please?" I asked, giving them both puppy eyes.

Gabby and Matt exchanged confused glances but they both nodded. "I'll call Antonio now." Gabby said, pulling out her phone and walking to the living room.

"Naia, can I ask why you want to see the person who almost killed you?" Matt asked and I shrugged.

"You can ask but I won't tell you."

The corners of Matt's lips turned up a little bit to make a small smile. I finished my cheese string and had some apple chips before pushing the bowl away to Matt who gladly took some.

"Antonio said it was fine, though he sounded as surprised as us." Gabby said, returning to her seat. "He said come whenever."

I stood up, "Can we go now?"

Matt and Gabby looked at each other, probably confused at my enthusiasm but both got up as well. We got out coats on and got into the Chevy before driving to District 21.

When we walked in, a woman at the front desk gave us a warm smile.

"Hi Trudy!" Gabby said as we walked up, "I'm not sure if Antonio told you or not but-"

Trudy nodded, cutting Gabby off, "He's told me, I'll buzz you up."

My head a was starting to become confused and I was starting to get cold feet. Did I really want to see him again? I wasn't sure if I did but it was too late to turn back now. I was committed.

"Antonio!" Gabby greeted her brother with a hug. Matt and Antonio then shook hands before Antonio turned to me. I was unsure of what to do. Shake hands? Hug? But Antonio picked me up and swung me around before setting me down.

"How's my favourite niece?" He asked me.

I cracked a smile, "Am I not your only niece?"

"Which only makes me love you more." Antonio replied and I shook my head. Gabby, Matt and Antonio talked for a bit and I looked around. There were computers on some of the desks and a lot of paper. A whiteboard on wheels had pictures of a few people on them with their names underneath.

"Are you ready?" Gabby asked me and I looked up at them. I nodded but as we followed Antonio, I grabbed Gabby's hand. Antonio took us down a hallway and to a another hallway with a row of barred rooms that reminded me of cells. That's probably what they were to be honest.

We walked down the row until I saw James, sitting on the bench, staring at the wall. When he turned around and saw me, his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, standing up and coming towards me. I immediately took a step back.

I shook my head, "You'll find out if you let me talk, won't you?"

James looked confused and took a seat back on the bench. He didn't look so thrilled about it but he kept his mouth shut.

"First, I want to explain what actually happened. Not your twisted version but the actual version." I said, "If you didn't know, the Samuals used to beat us a lot whenever Mr. Samuals got drunk or if we did something wrong."

I could tell that James didn't know this information before since his head slightly raised and his face turned horrified when he starting pulling the other pieces of the story together.

"The morning of the accident, I wanted to go and visit the firehouse since I wouldn't get a chance later so I sneaked out and ran. Unfortunately, I got hit by a car on my way back and was delayed. When Mr. Samual found out I had sneaked out, according to Ellie, he was scared that I was going to tell police what was going on but also furious so he pulled out a gun and was planning to shoot the kids and then escape with his wife. Your sister." I explained.

James was looking at the wall so I couldn't tell what emotions were on his face, not that I really cared. I was going to keep talking anyways.

"I'm sorry that you lost you sister but I'm not looking for an apology back. I don't even care if you completely forget about this. However, I want you to know that even though I have scars and nightmares still to remind me of what you did to me, I want you to know that I forgive you." I said.

"I completely forgive you."