Once again, reporters lined the street, questioning students as they make their way into school.

Seeing Dewey's patrol jeep cruise by, I turned to Stu. "I'll see you later, okay?" he looked at me concerned but nodded and walked off after giving me a quick hug.

I saw Sid coming out of Dewey's car and shouted her name. She turned quickly, looking startled but soon seemed relieved to see me. "Kat," she pulled me into a back-breaking hug, "Should you be here? You look like you're in pain".

I just shrugged, watching as the other students look at the bruises on my face. They had obviously been told that Sid and I had been attacked and were probably dying to get some details on it.

"Did you see the news this morning?" she asked quietly. I just nodded, distracted as I glanced at the older man with Sidney and Tatum.

"Any news on Billy?" I asked Dewey, making Sid look at her feet as if they were something special.

"Billy was released. His cellular bill was clean. He didn't make those calls. We're checking every cellular account in the county. Any calls made to you guys, or Casey Becker is being cross-referenced. It's gonna take time, but we'll find him."

I looked at Sidney, who was looking incredibly guilty. She knew I thought Billy was innocent this whole time. "And our Dad? Any word on him?" Dewey just shook his head. I bit my lip in thought, this isn't like dad.

"Come on, Sid, it's time to go. Oh, hey Kat, how's the right hook?" Tatum bounced up to us with a big smile on her face.

My stomach twisted, looking at the girl in front of me, but I lifted up my hand to show her the bruises from where I had hit Gale. "Nice," she grinned like we were becoming best friends.

Sidney stared up at the building as if it was going to eat her. "Hey, it's school. You'll be safe here," Dewey told her comfortingly. As soon as we tried to walk into school, reporters, microphones, and cameras came from every angle.

A reporter shouted, and my blood boiled as I stepped forward. "I don't know, you tell me," I growled as Dewey leaps in front of us, intercepting the reporter.

"Leave the girls alone, will ya? They just want to go to school" Sid smiles at Dewey, thankful, and pull my arm as I glare at the reporter who now has taken a step back from me.

"Come on, Sid," Tatum huffs, but Sidney walks in the opposite direction, but my sister keeps looking around for someone.

"Just a sec...I need to talk to someone" I frown, confused as Tatum looks at me and shrugs when I call over to Sid.

I glance around too and see non one of interest, not even Billy was out here "who the hell could you want to talk to out here?".

Following behind my sister, I laughed when there she was in all of her fucking glory, Gale Weathers, although she was supporting a nice black eye. "Ah, Sid, no," I huffed when my sister continued on her mission toward Gale.

Sidney puts her head down, avoiding other reporters as she makes her way to Gale, who was sat in the open door of her van checking her face in a mirror, trying hard to hide a swollen black and blue right cheek.

Gale spots us immediately and leaps to her feet. "Stop right there" I throw my hands up in mock surrender.

"We're not here to fight," Sidney told Gale, who was giving me the eye.

"Just stay back," Gale told us again, looking straight at me until I give her the finger. I could have done worse damage than the small little bruise she was trying her best to cover.

"I want to talk to you" Gale's face lit up like Christmas had come early.

"Kenny. Camera. Now" She clicked her fingers at the heavy-set man, who ran out of the van trying to keep up with Gales shouts.

"Off the record. No cameras," My sister declared as I looked at her trying to figure out what she was doing.

"Forget it," Gale snorted, looking annoyed.

Sidney looked like she was trying to keep back tears. "Please. You owe me."

Gale laughed hard. "I owe you shit" She moves inside the van, but Sidney is relentless and follows the woman forward.

"You owe my mother."

Gale sighed and looked at us. "Your mother's murder was last year's hottest court case. Somebody was gonna write a book about it".

"And it had to be you with all your lies and bullshit theories," my twin snapped at her as she looked at us tiredly.

"What is your problem? You got what you wanted. Cotton Weary is in jail. They're gonna gas him. A book is not gonna change that". Gale sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

I bit my lip as I glanced over at the woman, "Do you still think he's innocent?" I asked, knowing the answer already; an innocent man was behind bars.

"He was convicted in a court of law. Your sister's testimony put him away. It doesn't matter what I think". No, it doesn't, but it might help ease my guilt a little.

I knew that the only reason Cotton is in jail because of Sidney. I never testified to anything. "During the trial, you did all those stories about me. You called me a liar," Sidney whispered, sounding childlike.

I shifted from one foot to the other I hated talking about this stuff. It was comments like Gales that made people want to confront Sidney about her testimony.

"I think you falsely identified him. Yes." Gale admitted watching me like a hawk. She always questioned me about why I was never vocal at the trial or in any of the interviews.

"Have you talked to Cotton?" I asked her simply as she nodded, her eyes staring into mine like she was trying to see my soul. Well, jokes on her because I don't have one.

She nodded slowly. "Many times," my hands started to tense.

"Has his story changed?" I inquired, still keeping myself calm, but that was always a difficult feat around Gale. She just had one of those faces and personalities.

"Not one word. He admits to having sex with your mother, but that's all".

I knew that

"He's lying. She wouldn't have touched him. He raped her, then butchered her. Her blood was all over his coat," Sidney spluttered, trying to protect the memory of our mother.

"He was drunk that night. He left his coat at your house after your mother seduced him..." Sidney shook her head sadly.

"I saw him leaving wearing it," she fought back vigorously. She was wrong.

"But couldn't it have been someone else you saw wearing that coat? The same person who planted it in Cotton's car, framing him? The same person who really killed your mother?" there was a long silence as we all considered this.

Sidney shook her head vigorously. "No, Cotton murdered my mother," but we all heard the doubt in her voice.

Gale's face lit up. "You're not so sure anymore, are you?".

Gale turned to me quickly with a smirk "What about you, Katherine? You've been unusually quiet. What do you think?" I sighed heavily. I already knew what my mother was.

Sometime last year, someone sent me pictures of my mom sleeping with different men, married men, but I never told Sidney about it. I wanted to protect her from our mother.

"I think.." Gale came closer to hear my answer, "I think you look awfully fat in that dress, Gale" she quickly looked down to see If she did indeed look fat in her dress.

Tatum walks up to us and grabs Sidney's arm, trying to pull her away as we started to gain attention. "Nice welt, sweetie."

Gale ignores her, zeroing in on Sidney and me desperately. "The killer is still on the loose, isn't he? These murders are related," she calls to us just as we're about to walk away.

"Yo--let's rock," Tatum says, grabbing our arms and tugging again. I just gave the blonde a look before pulling away from her grasp.

Sidney starts to fidget and turns to Gale. I'm sorry my sister mangled your face," she muttered pathetically as she started walking off with Tatum.

I snorted spitefully, eyeing her poorly concealed bruise again. "I'm not," I say, disgusted as I'm about to walk off with Gale calling after us.

"Wait, don't go..."

Turning back just as Gale clicked her fingers at her cameraman, I kept my voice down so only she could hear me "I know what my mother was, Gale, but you need to stay away from Sid."

Motioning to the sore looking bruise under her eye, I gave her a malicious smirk seeing a little fear in her eyes "I'm not afraid to give you a matching one on the other side."