Caught
Ben and Ciara were working on dinner when Claire walked in.
" Ben, you're back?"
" I am."
" What happened to the evidence they found?"
" Someone planted it."
" Do they know who did it?"
" Not yet."
" Welcome back. What are you guys cooking?"
" Chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and bread."
" Sounds good. Where's Tripp?"
" He left earlier. We fought."
" Because Ben is back?"
" Yep, dinner is ready, let's eat."
They sat at the table and started eating. Ben noticed Ciara didn't have any peas on her plate. Ben went to put some on her plate, but she stopped him.
" I don't like peas."
" Why didn't you say something before I would have made something else."
" You said you wanted peas."
" If you had said something, I would have made peas and something else."
" It's fine."
Claire watched as they went back and forth at each other."
" Ciara said you make great pancakes?"
" I do, If you're here in the morning. I'll make you some."
" Thanks."
They finished eating, and Ben asked, who's ready for dessert?
He brought the cheesecake over to the table and started serving it.
Tripp walked through the door and saw them sitting at the table together.
" Hey, Tripp? We saved you some dinner."
" I'll pass."
" Ciara, can I talk to you in the hall?"
" Sure."
Tripp and Ciara went into the hall to talk.
" What's up, Tripp?"
" We agreed when Ben got arrested, he would leave the loft."
" We agreed if he was guilty, I would pack up his stuff."
" He is guilty; I know it."
" Tripp, there is no proof he set that fire."
" Ciara, he needs to leave; he is taking over."
" What do you mean?"
" We never have any time alone."
" Sorry, but every time you say something negative about Ben, it doesn't make me want to be alone with you."
" Why are you defending him? He tried to kill you."
" He would never hurt me, Tripp. If he had wanted to hurt me, he would have done it at the cabin."
" Until they find real evidence, he is staying."
Ciara walked back into the loft and shut the door.
" I'm going to take a walk. Ciara, would you like to join me?"
" Sure."
Tripp walked into the loft just as they walked out.
Claire looked at Tripp and said, " I told you he would be back."
" Where did they go?"
" Just for a walk."
Ben and Ciara walked through the park together. Ben noticed Ciara shiver, so he took his coat off and wrapped it around her.
" Thanks."
Ciara smiled at Ben, and they continued walking.
" Thanks for asking me to come with you; this is nice."
" Taking a walk always helps me clear my head."
"I needed this."
" We can talk if you want?"
" Can we just enjoy the walk?"
" Of course."
When they got back, Claire was watching TV.
" Hey, Where's Tripp?"
" He went to hang out with some friends."
Ciara nodded her head and handed Ben's jacket back to him.
" Thanks for the walk."
" Anytime."
" Claire, I have to type up my paper. Have you seen my laptop?"
" Nope, where did you have it last?"
" I think I left it at my mom's."
" Tripp's laptop is on the desk; just use his."
" Ben, if you're going to make pancakes tomorrow, we need some stuff from the store."
" Okay, could you give me a ride?"
" Sure, let's go."
Claire and Ben went to the store, and Ciara used Tripp's laptop to type her paper.
Ciara opened the laptop and saw a file on the screen titled BEN.
" What is this?"
Ciara clicked on the file and saw How to transfer fingerprints. It was step-by-step on how to take a fingerprint from a cup and put it onto something else.
Ciara couldn't believe what she was reading. Tripp was the one who set Ben up this whole time.
She closed the laptop and went to Tripp's room; she found a receipt for the can of accelerant. Ciara grabbed the receipt, went downstairs, and waited for Tripp.
Tripp came home ten minutes after Ciara discovered what Tripp did.
Ciara was sitting on the couch, the laptop in front of her.
" Hey, why do you have my laptop?"
" I left mine at my mom's, and my paper is due tomorrow, so I borrowed yours."
" Sure, go ahead."
Tripp walked to the fridge to grab a drink, then yelled," WAIT, DON'T OPEN IT."
" I already did."
" I saw your BEN file."
" Did you open it?"
" Of course I did."
" YOU WERE THE ONE WHO FRAMED BEN."
" OF COURSE I DID; I NEEDED HIM OUT OF THE LOFT BECAUSE THE MORE TIME HE SPENT HERE, THE LESS TIME YOU SPENT WITH ME.
" HE DIDN'T SET THAT FIRE TRIPP."
" ARE YOU EVEN SORRY?"
" OF COURSE I'M NOT HE BELONGS IN JAIL."
Ben and Claire came back right in the middle of their fight.
" Is everything okay?"
" Tripp, would you like to tell Ben what you did, or should I?"
" Ciara, you can't say anything. We have to talk about this."
Ciara looked at Ben and then back at Tripp.
" I'm not covering for you, Tripp. Ben has a right to know."
Tripp gave a pleading look to Ciara.
" Can someone tell me what is going on?"
" Ben, I found something on Tripp's laptop."
" Okay."
Ciara picked up the laptop and placed it on the counter to show Ben.
Ben looked at the screen and turned to Tripp.
" YOU SET ME UP?"
Tripp stood there and said nothing.
Claire stood there in shock.
" Claire, did you know about this?"
" Ciara, I swear to you I had no idea. I'm just as shocked as the rest of you."
Ciara looked at Ben and said, " I am so sorry, Ben, I had no idea."
Ben looked at Tripp and charged toward him.
" Are you going to hit me?"
Ben looked at Ciara, then backed away from Tripp.
" No, I'm not going to hit you. I'm going to be the bigger man."
" If you were the bigger man, you would leave."
" How about I turn you into the police."
" You have no proof Ciara and Claire will be on my side."
" I'm sure Ciara would give me your laptop."
" She wouldn't turn in her boyfriend."
" Actually, I would you framed an innocent man."
" You would turn me in?"
" Tripp, the day he got arrested, I asked you if you had anything to do with it. You looked me in the eye and lied right to my face."
" I had to prove he was dangerous."
" He's not."
" He's trying to steal you away from me."
" How?"
" I've seen you guys together."
" We're friends."
" I'm going to leave for a while. I'll be back."
Ben walked out the door, leaving Ciara, Claire, and Tripp behind.
Tripp looked at Ciara and said, " Would you really turn me in?"
" Tripp, you almost got my mom fired."
" I never meant for your mom to get in trouble."
" How did you even know how to transfer Ben's fingerprint?"
" An old case my dad told me about. With Ben living here, it was easy for me to get what I needed."
" Then you bought the can of accelerant, put his fingerprint on it, and left it for my mom to find?"
" I thought he was going to hurt you again; I was just trying to protect you."
" I told you he's not dangerous anymore."
" Can we just forget this happened? I'll delete the file, throw away the receipt, Ben can leave, and we can be us again."
" YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO FORGET ABOUT THIS?"
" I'M YOUR BOYFRIEND YOU SHOULD BE ON MY SIDE."
" YOU WANT ME TO BE ON YOUR SIDE YOU PLANTED FAKE EVIDENCE."
" HE'S A KILLER. ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO TAKE HIS SIDE OVER MINE?"
" THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO."
" YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM DON'T YOU?"
" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
" LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME YOU DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM."
" I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE TRIPP WERE OVER."
" WHAT?"
" ALL THIS FIGHTING YOUR JELOUSY OF BEN."
"I'M NOT LETTING HIM COME BETWEEN US."
" THERE IS NO MORE US."
Ciara grabbed his laptop, walked out of the loft, and left Tripp standing there.
