Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Revenge, I Just Love It

Chapter 9: Dissonance

Stepping into the dimly lit rustic looking bar, adjusting to the loud sound of laughter, shouts and clinking glasses, Nolan Ross scanned the large buzzing room with his alluring blue eyes. His gaze finally landing on his dark-haired date sitting in one of the comfy maroon coloured booths near the back wall. With a seductive smile on his lips and a playful look in his eyes, Nolan adjusted his bold striped shirt collar and confidently approached.

"That's Nolan Ross", Jack Porter whispered to Amanda Clarke, as he wiped down the bar counter for the third time that hour while she dried the newly washed glasses with a tea-towel.

"Surely, you've heard of him online and stuff. Apparently, he's a tech genius or something, there's been a lot of buzz about his Nolcorp products and how they are quickly becoming a strong competitor to Apple and Microsoft. He's come here before but doesn't come too often, which is a shame because he tips big. He's new money as opposed to old money like the Grayson's".

Nodding her head slowly, not particularly interested in Jack's tidbit of information on the man, Amanda grabbed the order pad Jack handed her as he directed her to take his order. So walking up to the colourfully dressed and apparently rich blond man, and what looked to be his date, Amanda presented her best faux smile, as she asked what she could order them for the night.

"I haven't seen you around here before Kitten," Nolan Ross remarked with a friendly smile as he looked up towards Amanda, his ocean blue eyes staring at her intently. It not going unnoticed by him how she tried to hide her scowl as the nickname Kitten flew off his lips. "Are you new here?".

"No", Amanda replied curtly, not knowing whether he was referring to the Stowaway or the Hampton's but not wanting to elaborate either way.

"Hmm" Nolan murmured, as he looked towards the bar counter where both Carl and Jack Porter were working. "I heard that Porter boy whisper something to you when I walked in, what did he say?".

"You're observant," Amanda muttered, gaining a sly smile from Nolan in return, "Always... I have a fine eye for detail".

"He said you were some kind of tech genius or something, and sell some fancy Nolcorp technology stuff".

"Sell", Nolan Ross exclaimed, shaking his head in contempt, despite his eyes having lit up at the word tech genius. "I create them, design them from scratch... what else did he say?".

"That you're rich and you tip big so to be extra nice", Amanda replied candidly, watching as his lips curled up into a smile and he began to laugh at her brute honesty.

"You clearly have no subtlety," he responded, as he adjusted the yellow handkerchief in the breast pocket of his bright red blazer, "but you're amusing, what's your name?".

"Amanda"

Here at the Stowaway, she went by her real name. It wasn't intentional but Jack called her Amanda, refusing to call her by a fake name, even if it had once just been a fun pretend name for the both of them as kids. That was different he had told her, that was just a game, but in real life Emily Thorne wasn't who she really was, she was Amanda, and so that's what he was going to call her.

It had just followed that her co-workers called her Amanda too, and then the customers as well. It was ridiculously unlikely that she would be found out at the Stowaway anyway. Amanda was a very common girls name, and it was not as though anyone knew her last name except for the Porter's. More so than that though, this was the other side of the Hampton's, the less luxurious side, where power, politics, money, and influence were much less poisonous. So even if her identity was discovered, she felt as though the locals would not react in the same destructive way as the wealthy people in the Grayson's world would.

She hadn't admitted this to Jack, but she liked being Amanda at the Stowaway. She felt more at ease not having to hide or pretend with Jack or within his environment. She could be herself, without the worry that she'd be found out and the Grayson's would essentially banish her from the Hampton's. In fairness, she could be herself with Daniel too, but that was different because that was only when the two of them were alone, with the exception of Charlotte. When they weren't alone, at school, for example, her facade had to go straight up, but with Jack in all instances, she could just be Amanda Clarke.

"Hmm... nice to meet you Mandy", Nolan replied as he held out his right hand for her to shake. There was something intriguing about the teenage girl, something that he felt the need to uncover... he could sense it, he just couldn't put his finger on it right at that moment. Nolan's mind being distracted by the hot presence of his handsome date, who had subtlety rested his hand on Nolan's left upper thigh, silently demanding attention from underneath the table.

"Just Amanda" she replied with narrowed eyes, leaving his hand hanging. She hated that nickname, and had ever since she was a little kid... it just didn't suit her. "Now what can I get you and your friend to drink?".

There was a certain disconnect Amanda felt as she walked abrasively through the swarming bodies of students filtering into the main hallway at Collins Prep. The second warning bell signalling the end of lunch had just rung throughout the main building. It's piercing shrill smothering for just a short moment the incessant sound of countless voices competing for attention in the form of shouts, murmurs, chatter, and laughter.

She didn't belong.

It had been three weeks since she'd started Collins Prep private school, and any warming up that should have occurred by now for Amanda just hadn't happened. She was drowning in the school environment Daniel Grayson appeared to thrive in. She just couldn't keep up.

What little interactions she had with her peers exhausted her... they were so different, all glossed up and barricaded in their perfect little bubble, that even the nice ones she could only just tolerate.

It wasn't even the loneliness that was getting to her; she preferred being alone. The hard part was being stranded in an environment where everyone else felt so fundamentally different to herself. She kind of missed regular high school, with dusty hallways, scratched up lockers, and cheap cafeteria food. At least there... though an outsider as the terrorist's daughter, she still belonged.

In her past public high schools, she had never really been challenged academically either. The teachers had always ended up overlooking her and her abilities because of her status as a Clarke. Consequently, she herself had ended up disregarding her own studies, and as a result, had often neglected homework, skipped class, or paid minimal attention when in them.

At this school though, academic excellence was expected, and she felt grossly under par to the rest of the students. Amanda had always self-identified herself as smart, and she knew that if she had done the work and put in the effort in her past schools she would have gotten easy A's. However, she was so used to being apathetic regarding her school work, that now that the spotlight was on her to excel, she was scared to put in her full effort and find out whether she still had any real intellect left in her.

She felt stuck... It was hard... Harder than she had thought being Emily Thorne on the surface and Amanda Clarke underneath. Originally Amanda had been secretly relieved that she could hide her identity in the Hampton's and just go by a different name without any bad history. But the way Victoria Grayson had planned it, she had more than just a different name to be, she had a whole unfamiliar identity to emulate.

It was starting to screw with her head.

"Come to join us?", Tyler Barrol asked with a smirk, as he spotted an agitated Daniel Grayson approaching where he and Amanda casually stood. They were skipping fourth together, camped out behind the back of the school building, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with their backs leaning against the steady brick wall, a humid smoky haze billowing out of the marijuana joint Amanda held nonchalantly to her naturally pink lips.

"I never knew your friend was such a rebel", Tyler, couldn't help but comment, noticing the way Daniel's body tensed at the sight of her smoking and enjoying winding him up. "I totally dig it though... it's hot.".

"Shut up Tyler", Daniel spoke through clenched teeth, trying to ignore him as he turned his attention to Amanda; frustration pooling into his dark brown eyes and spilling into his voice as he began to speak. "What the hell are you doing Emily? You're supposed to be in English class, don't you have a presentation today?".

"I never finished it", Amanda replied simply, taking another puff of the joint before handing it back to Tyler, who watched their interaction with curious amusement.

"Great choices," Daniel spoke sarcastically, "Why are you acting like this?".

"Like what?" Amanda challenged, her eyes narrowing at him, waiting for him to bite back. He never did though, knowing that in his frustration he could easily end up saying something he didn't mean, and though she projected the image of being ready to fight, in reality he knew she was more fragile than her act. He knew her better now.

"Look", he said slowly, trying to reason with her and sound less abrasive, "You can't afford to act like this, you know that…. be smart. I spotted you guys by complete accident from the third-floor window. If a teacher had, you'd be in shit with the school right now and with... well you know, you don't want that Emily. Whether you like it or not this is your best option right now, and you should take advantage of it. This is one of the top private schools in North America, its..."

"Daniel I don't give a fuck about school... what future do I even have under my circumstances?" Amanda interrupted abruptly, locking her irritated brown eyes with his. She was not in the mood for a lecture, least of all from the golden-spoon fed Grayson heir.

"Depends on what effort you put in. If you get good grades here, that completely widens your margins for what you want to do after high school, especially with colleges" he replied rationally.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Amanda almost laughed.

"Daniel, my father has connections with the Dean at Yale, he can get me into there regardless of my grades and the cost of tuition is obviously not a worry to us."

"Emily..."

"and once I'm there Emily Thorne will thrive just like she did here at Collins Prep, and to hell with her past... that won't be a problem because she's completely different now... right Daniel?"

"That's not what I meant, I..." Averting his eyes down not wanting to see the vulnerability in her eyes that he had heard laced into the scorn of her words. Daniel shook his head, not knowing what to say or what the silver lining was... she was right... and he was stupid to make it seem so simple, so easy, when her situation was so complex. "I'm sorry" he murmured quietly under his breath, as he lifted his eyes to hold her gaze again. She was looking anywhere else but his face though.

"God you two act as though you're in some kind of lovers quarrel?" Tyler joked impudently breaking the silence, but not the tension in the smoky air, "you two are intense", he laughed, as he wrapped his arm around Amanda's stiff shoulders, "I thought you have a college boyfriend".

"Shut up, and go away Tyler! And take your drugs with you", Daniel responded indignantly, his eyes on Amanda waiting for her to shrug off Tyler's arm. When she didn't, he instinctively clenched his fists tightly, putting all his best efforts in blocking out the aggravation his current football teammate was causing him.

"We're just relieving some stress, having some fun... something I think you've seemed to forgotten. You used to hit bong shots with me last summer…. remember?".

"Last summer I was reckless, I've changed" Daniel replied curtly.

"Yeah, we've all noticed... me and the guys think you used to be so much more fun then. You're too serious now Danny... too good for us. Don't you get that vibe, Emily, like he's Mr. Perfect or Mr. Golden Boy?", Tyler questioned, addressing Amanda now, as he held up the joint to her lips, watching as she inhaled deeply, taking in the astringent intoxicating smoke into her lungs, and exhaling with a heavy sigh.

Looking up towards Daniel, her hazy brown eyes staring into his aggravated dark eyes. Amanda shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She didn't feel like talking anymore, it was becoming increasingly more hard to focus concretely and she didn't want to anyway. She just wanted a good enough smoke to send her worries floating up above the euphoric high her intoxication would temporarily allow her. "He's Daniel Grayson" she finally responded, "he's just..."

"I'm just trying to look out for you Emily... because clearly you don't care to look after yourself!", Daniel yelled in irritation, his tolerance having reached his threshold as he stepped closer towards her now, snatching the joint straight from her lips mid-puff. Finding the smoke and the heavy scent of the joint a nauseating reminder of the messed up summer he'd spent in an intoxicated haze, Daniel threw it angrily onto the ground and stomped out the tiny ember burning at the butt, before grabbing Amanda firmly by the arm and pulling her away from Tyler.

"You're full of bullshit Daniel", Amanda countered heatedly as she yanked her arm out of his grasp feeling extremely affronted by his touch. Any previous benefits she had gained from smoking the marijuana, having now faded out in her default to fight anger with more anger. Amanda could handle being yelled at by Daniel, that didn't faze her so much, but he had grabbed her too. And more than anything she hated being touched like that, it unintentionally bringing forth the feelings of vulnerability she had felt as a child at the hands of her foster parents. A feeling she had worked very hard to try and bury.

"You keep saying that you're just trying to look out for me Daniel, but you're just trying to make me be someone I'm not... and I'm not... I'm not her!". Amanda yelled in infuriation, her tone as sharp as a knife, as it cut through Daniel's own anger, leaving him wounded by the heavy weight of her words.

Glaring at him, her dark chestnut coloured eyes reddened by the effects of the weed, Amanda instinctively waited for Daniel to respond, not knowing what she needed him to say but knowing even in her anger that she was looking for something. Only receiving a maddening silence instead, as he stared back at her in a mixture of confusion, anger and sadness, Amanda shook her head before turning on her heels and walking away.

I'm not her. She had told Daniel. Her referring to Emily Thorne, the rich, pretty socialite, with no troubles or bad reputation. But as she stood outside of the public high school's gate, branded in her stupid Collins Prep blazer, shirt and pleated skirt, she couldn't help feeling like she didn't belong even here either. It was confusing watching as groups of teenagers walked past her with looks of contempt and jealousy, whispering about what business someone like her had here.

"Jack!"

Shrugging his backpack over his shoulder as he exited the school building, Jack scanned the stampede of students rushing out of school until he spotted his group of friends waiting for him, by what they had nicknamed the wonky tree.

"Guess who I spotted by the school gate today", Lucas, one of his friends asked him, as they all began to head towards the exit, more than happy to finally leave the school premises.

Shrugging his shoulder, Lucas quickly answered, "An Ivy girl... I don't know what lucky bastard in this dump she's waiting for".

"Lucky" Jessica, Lucas's girlfriend scoffed, "I'd say unlucky, those girls are way too high maintenance, it wouldn't work at all".

"Do you mean an Ivy Ivy?" Jack couldn't help but question "or..."

"Don't be a dumbass no college girl from an Ivy league school would be seen dead here, it's a baby Ivy girl, from um... I think it's that Cannon's Prep school or something".

"Collins Prep?", Jack slowly corrected, paying more attention to the conversation now, as he turned his head, trying to look past the crowds of students blocking his view of the front gate. It wouldn't be her, would it?

"Yeah probably, so you're coming over right, pizza and game night?"

"Yeah, uh... hold on" Jack muttered, as he began to walk away from them in the direction of the front gate. It was probably just coincidence but, "I have to check something".

"Amanda, so it is you", Jack said with a kind but confused smile, as he approached her. "What's going on are you okay?".

"I'm fine" she lied, trying to smile back at him, but it was half-hearted even for her.

"Don't lie to me Amanda", Jack responded with a frown, "Something's wrong... you should still be in school, I finish half an hour earlier than you... and your eyes are kind of red, have you been crying?" he questioned with concern.

"No, I've just been smoking weed", Amanda muttered, as she avoided his eyes, not wanting to see his disappointment in them, "and left school early... I just".

"Amanda..."

"Jack, I don't need to hear it from you". She quickly interrupted, knowing he was going to say something she didn't want to hear. He had said her name so gentle, but she'd heard the concern in his voice, and the subsequent part of him that wanted to scold her and tell her there was better ways to deal with things. "I just..."

"What do you need then?" Jack asked slowly, not sure how best to respond to her, but knowing more than anything that he hated seeing her like this.

Shrugging her shoulders, Amanda let out a quiet sigh. What did she need? She hadn't really thought about that. Her head still felt so heavy. She'd left school in a bitter mood, and had just wanted to feel better and so she'd taken two buses to get to Jack's school. She wanted Jack as her sense of comfort, she supposed, but she couldn't tell him that.

"Well my afternoons free" Jack said, breaking the silence, "And about two blocks away from here, there's this really nice diner place that has the best burgers. Treats on me... cause you're not really a rich girl", he couldn't help but joke, trying to get a smile out of her, even if just a little one.

As brief as it was, he succeeded.

"You haven't changed" Jack laughed, watching as Amanda dipped only the tip of her fries into her ketchup before putting them in her mouth. "What's the point of even asking for ketchup, when you barely even let the fries and the ketchup touch".

"Well, I don't see the point of you even ordering fries with your burger if you're just going to drown them in your ketchup and make them soggy" Amanda, countered with a playful smile. "You're the one who hasn't changed though Jack. I've changed a lot, but you're still pure and genuine... and good. I don't even know what I am anymore".

"You're strong", Jack responded earnestly, "the strongest person I know. You've been through so much, and it may have dragged you down but it hasn't pulled you under. You're still fighting the waves, and staying afloat. I admire you for that, I really do Amanda. And you say I'm good as though you're bad... as though we're opposites, which is bullshit. You may be better at hiding it or shielding it, but you have a pure heart too. I know you well Amanda, no matter how much you try to keep from me."

"It's just hard Jack", Amanda whispered, her jaded brown eyes staring into his honest blue ones searching for clarity.

"What is?"

"Faking it, pretending to be someone I'm not".

"Is that why you got high and skipped school?"

"I don't know... maybe. I just feel so confused. How is this even going to work in the long term? How long do I have to be Emily Thorne and under the Grayson's thumb for? They're paying for everything; my school, my own really nice apartment, my stupid brand name clothes... and for what? I still don't understand. Daniel and I got into a fight today because he saw me skipping class and smoking weed. He said I was being stupid, and that I should take advantage of the school because it's one of the best in the country and could expand my future choices for after high school. But the truth is, I never really thought about my future or what I want to do with it. I had always just thought about how I would be able to support myself once I got out of the foster care system. But I know he's right, it is a really good school, and even if I don't care to make friends, I should at least try harder to keep up in my classes. But at the same time I feel like it doesn't matter because Emily Thorne is the one on the school's record and she doesn't exist, so even if I get a good education, I wouldn't be able to use it as Amanda Clarke anyway."

"I'm sorry", Jack responded slowly, trying to find the right words he wanted her to hear, "I never really thought about how complicated this must be for you, and I don't really have any answers, but I think you kind of just have to let whatever's happening play its course. And if shit ever does hit the fan, I'll be there for you, and we'll figure it out together, I promise you that. And your future might seem kind of twisted right now, but maybe Collins Prep might help you figure out what you want to do, or in my case, schools taught me what I don't want to do with my life. I don't really know, I just know you deserve a good future, and one way or another you'll get it. I'm sure of that".

"I hope so" Amanda murmured, feeling a lump begin to form in her throat. It was hard listening to Jack and all his kind, warm words. He cared, and in a bittersweet way, knowing there was someone who really cared about her made her want to cry. "You're a really good friend Jack, you always know how to make me feel better".

"That's what best friends are for right?" Jack responded with a lighthearted smile, one which Amanda reciprocated, this time her smile reaching her eyes.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?", Emily questioned with tired brown eyes, as she walked up to her apartment to see Daniel presumably waiting for her. He was sitting on the floor with his back resting against her door, looking almost as tired as she felt.

"I'm glad you're alright", he responded, ignoring her question as he stood up from the floor, his legs feeling stiff from having sat for so long. "I was worried... you left school high, and you weren't responding to any of my texts or calls".

"I was fine, I was with Jack, and my phone was dead."

"Of course" Daniel muttered, "Look anyway, I just wanted to apologize to you. I overstepped... I got mad seeing you with Tyler because he's just trouble, and I got mad seeing you smoke weed because I think you're stronger than smoking to try and take away your troubles. It doesn't help by the way, not in the long run".

"I know how drugs work Daniel", Amanda sighed, "but it was stupid, I know that too. I just really wanted a release."

"From Emily Thorne?" Daniel questioned slowly, his eyes staring at her intently now, searching for an answer.

"Yeah, it's getting kind of hard, Daniel" she replied honestly, her eyes holding his steady gaze, allowing him to try and read her.

"You know, it's not true what you said. I don't want you or need you or are trying to make you someone you're not. I don't need you to be some perfect rich socialite for me to like you. You're my friend Emily, and even though those nights in Connecticut, I never knew your real name was Amanda, you still acted true to Amanda Clarke, and I still liked you for it... I sought out your friendship. That hasn't changed. To be honest, I don't really care who you are, I just want you to be your best self, which is why I got frustrated seeing you like that. I'm sorry though, I never really thought about how hard, and weird and confusing this must all be for you".

"Well like you said, this is still my best option right now", Amanda admitted, with a tiny reassuring smile. The smile being as much for her as for him. "And I'm going to try and be better with school, and whatever happens in the future happens... I'll figure it out then. Collins Prep is hard though, and the truth is I feel so behind".

"I'll help you catch up then" Daniel responded with a warm smile, feeling relieved that she would try. "We can study together in the library during lunch and after school, if we need to, and trust me once you learn how all the teachers operate, it gets easier. Speaking of, when you left school, I went to the office and informed them that you were feeling sick, and also made sure to tell your English teacher, because she gives zeroes if you miss your presentation date and your absence for it is unexplained."

"Thanks Daniel... I um... I wanted to say that I'm sorry too. I know we both got kind of angry today and yelled at each other, but I stood right next to Tyler and didn't defend you when I should have. I was a shitty friend." Amanda admitted, with apologetic eyes, seeing a mixture of surprise and relief in Daniel's at her apology. "He's such an idiot too... I don't know how I even put up with him."

"I don't know either, must have been the weed", Daniel joked, making light of the situation now though it had wounded him at the time. "I forgive you", Daniel added sincerely, her apology helping to lift the lowered spirits he had felt today, "Just promise me you won't hang out with him again".

"That will be easy, I have no intention to".

Nodding his head slowly, Daniel began to walk away from her door. "I should probably get back home. Just one more thing", he added, as he lifted his kind chocolate coloured eyes to meet Amanda's.

"Our bench overlooking the ocean behind my house, when you need a release from Emily Thorne, I think that's the perfect spot for you to go. Maybe even there, if you'd let me I could call you by your real name".

Nodding her head slowly, feeling an unexplained sense of comfort from his words, Amanda bit down on her bottom lip before responding, "that sounds nice Daniel".

Plopping down onto the couch as she turned on her TV ready to relax from her long day, Amanda groaned outwardly, when she heard three consecutive knocks on her front door.

"Come in" she yelled, figuring it was probably just Daniel and that he'd forgotten to tell her something. When the knocks only persisted though, she sighed deeply and got up to answer the door, confused to see the rich, lanky, blond man, she'd served at the bar a couple nights ago. He was dressed a little more down from that night, but still far more eccentric with his fashion choices than most men in the Hampton's would be. He was holding a wooden box in his hands and was staring at her intently with his ocean blue eyes, as though he could see right through her, it was strange.

"Nolan... Ross?", Amanda questioned awkwardly, her hand on her front door, it remaining halfway shut. "What are you doing here?".

"Look, I know this must seem really weird right now, and I didn't know the best way to approach this and figured I just had to come out and say it. But there's something really important I need to tell you".

"I don't even know you", Amanda replied with narrowed her eyes, her body tensing in defensiveness, aching to shut the door and shut him out. Something stopped her though, she couldn't explain what, but it was as though she felt compelled to hear him out. He sounded crazy, and it wasn't a safe situation. He knew where she lived, and she lived alone, and he was much bigger than her. But yet as she stared at him, she couldn't sense any form of danger or maliciousness from him. He didn't seem like someone who would want to harm her.

"You're right, but I knew your father... he was good to me", Nolan Ross spoke slowly, sincerely, as he carefully watched her reaction.

She stiffened immediately, "I don't know what you're talking about".

"Yes you do", he replied quietly, cautiously, sensing her sensitivity and reactivity to the taboo subject he was about to breach, "I know who you are Amanda Clarke".

"You're crazy", Amanda responded instinctively, her face whitening, as she stared at Nolan Ross in anger and began to shut the door, "Leave me, the hell alone".

"I would", Nolan replied, as he placed his hand firmly on her front door, stopping it so she couldn't close it all the way, "if I thought you would be fine on your own. But for reasons I don't understand, you're mixed up with the Grayson's and they're terrible people. Whatever they're doing for you... whatever they promised you... they don't really care... they're dangerous."

"So was my father", Amanda shouted angrily, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails began to dig into the palm of her hands. Taking a deep breath, Amanda forced herself to lower her voice to a whisper in case any neighbours overhead what she was saying. "my father was a murderer and a liar, so why would I trust you, huh?".

"Cause that's just what they want you to believe. Look at everything that you think you know Amanda, your father was protecting you".

"From what?" she scoffed,

"Open the box", Nolan urged, watching as her pained eyes shifted their focus downwards towards what was in his hands, "find out".

Observing the double infinity sign intricately carved onto the front of the box, Amanda felt herself internally losing it, feeling overwhelmed by the resentment she felt for her father, a father she had once loved with all her young heart. There was a dissonance that had formed inside of her, one between faith and love, and blame and hate, and she had defaulted to the latter. It was easier that way. But now Nolan Ross, this stranger claiming to be an ally, was trying to throw a wrench into those thoughts of hers, and she wouldn't have it, she couldn't... she couldn't bear it.

Shaking her head fiercely, trying to block out all her confusing thoughts; to smooth over the renewed sense dissonance she now felt, Amanda glared up towards Nolan Ross, contempt clear in her voice, "Whatever that is, I don't want anything to do with it... or you, so just leave me alone".

"I'm not giving up on you", Nolan replied steadily, sadness reflected through in his clear blue eyes, as he stared down at the stubborn, confused and angry teenage daughter of David Clarke. "You know your father was the first person to believe in me, he invested in my company when no one else would. It's because of him and his support that Nolcorp and its huge success exists today. When you turn eighteen, you'll officially become 49% owner of my company. With all that money Amanda, you won't have to struggle or worry anymore, you could build a new life for yourself, one where you don't have to depend on the Grayson's. Just let me help you, I'm not your enemy... and open the box, your father left you journals that he wrote in prison. Journals that explain his innocence, and his love for...".

"I think I've heard enough", Amanda spat bitterly, having to bite her inner cheek to stop the angry tears she felt threatening her eyes. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but I'm not getting involved."

"Amanda"

"Leave me alone", she spoke through clenched teeth, using all her strength to slam her front door shut, and quickly locking it before crouching down on the floor, her knees hugged to her chest as she allowed her tears to fall freely.

This was too much, even for her.

A/N, thanks for all your comments last chapter, I hope you all enjoyed this one as well. Nolan's finally come into it, I know some of you were wondering when and how he would be introduced. Tell me what you think, any predictions on how this is going to play out?