Nina watched as the man prepared the drugs that would end her father’s life. She could faintly hear her mother, brother, and the rest of her family sobbing in the background. But, nothing was louder than the beating of her own heart. She had been talking to her father just hours ago, enjoying those last moments as much as possible. Nina saw him smile and saw her whole family together and happy in what seemed like forever.

Now, all she felt was nothing. She couldn’t even comprehend what was occurring. All she saw was her father lying on the bed, waiting for death to take him. After all these years, the thing she dreaded the most was going to happen. If only Ben could have found the evidence needed to convict the true murderer of this vicious crime, then everything would have been different.
8 years earlier…
“Jury, please rise and state the verdict,” said Judge Karen.

“In the case of Noah Prenta, we, the jury, find him…guilty as charged,” said some lady in a hard voice.

Nina could feel her whole world collapse in on itself as she saw her father handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom. She ran to him with heart-wrenching shrieks, “Daddy, no! You didn’t do it! They have to believe you!”

Noah took one pain-filled look at his daughter and whispered, “Neen, it’s okay. I’ll be alright. Just know that I love you. You and your mother and your brother. I love you all.”

Tears littered his face as he took one final look at his family and then, within the blink of an eye, he was gone.

“No! You can’t take my husband! No, he didn’t do it,” yelled Nina’s mom in a broken voice.

Nina stared forward numbly. When she finally went to retrieve her family, her actions were robotic. She grabbed her mother’s arm and walked over to her brother. The look on his face almost broke her, but she couldn’t let her emotions get the best of her. No feelings, no pain.

Once they were out the courthouse, Nina got her family into the car and drove off, knowing that her mother was in no state to do so. As she stared at the red light, she vaguely remembered a man just being sentenced to the death penalty, but she could not fully grasp that notion. The light finally turned green and she smoothly drove on, despite having just gotten her learner’s permit.

When they reached the house, everybody got out of the car in a sluggish manner and slowly moved up the porch steps.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” a sympathetic neighbor said, already assuming that Nina’s father would be dead in no time.

“He’s not dead,” Nina found herself snapping before she could even stop it. She knew she should have immediately apologized, but her mind was temporarily gone.

They continued on into the house, and Malachi, Nina’s 8-year-old brother, immediately ran straight up to his bedroom. She found herself staring after him for a while, without the will to actually go after him. His short, black hair, green eyes, and tan skin reminded her too much of her father. And that was something she just couldn’t deal with right now.

Once Nina made it to her large room, she sat on her bed and stared straight ahead at the paint-splattered walls for about an hour. In the background, she could hear the wails of her mother and the soft cries of her baby brother. Again, she knew she should try to console them, but she just couldn’t find it in her to do so. She just sat there as the cries grew louder, willing herself not to cry.

No feelings, no pain. No feelings, no pain. No feelings, no pain. No feelings, no pain. No feelings, no pain. But, the mantra was not enough.


Nina fell into her pillow and let the tears flow. She sobbed and sobbed for hours on end. Why me? Why my family? What did we ever do to deserve this, she thought. As her tears continued to soak the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of her father’s death.

As the days slowly went by, everyone stayed locked up in the house. Nina’s mother never went to work and her brother never went to school. People called them and came knocking at the door, but everyone was turned away. Every night Nina could hear her family’s sobs mixing with her own. They were a wreck and Nina was at a loss for what to do. After all, she was only16 years old; her mother was supposed to be the one consoling Nina and her brother.

Finally, after about a week or two of the same routine, Nina found a way to break out of it. She turned to drawing and reading to take her mind off of things. As she gained parts of herself back, she tried to help her mother and brother do the same. She got her mother out of bed and forced to move around a little. She read to her little brother at night, trying to give him some sort of peace. It was all she could do to start picking up the pieces.

A few days later, Nina knew that it was time they returned to their daily routines of school and work. Thus, she made both her mother and brother get up and get dressed for the day ahead. Nina also prepared to return to Coral High with little enthusiasm. She threw on a pair of faded, skinny jeans, a band t-shirt, a black hoodie, and a pair of converse. Then, she took a quick look in the mirror to throw her mass of brown curls into a bun. However, what she saw made her stop for a moment. Nina’s hazel eyes were now dull, lacking the spark they usually had. Her naturally tan skin was pale-looking, her sagged shoulders shortened her 5’7 frame, and her face just looked tired.

“Humph,” sighed Nina.

Why, she thought, Why him? He’s the sweetest man there is. He doesn’t deserve this. Dismissing any further thoughts, Nina just went over to grab her backpack and satchel. As she headed downstairs, she could hear the now familiar quiet of the house. In the kitchen, her brother sat at the table eating cereal, while her mother just stared off into space.

Nina asked, “Mom, are you gonna be able to take Malachi to school and get to work on time? Or do you want me to walk him on my way to school?”

“No, honey. I’ve got it,” she said in a dead voice.

“Are you sure?” Nina asked with concern.

Her mother said in a terribly sad voice, “Yes.”

Nina stared at her for a moment, trying to see what she could do to help. She saw a reflection of herself with her mother’s dull, hazel eyes, curly hair, and tan skin that now looked ghastly. However, she knew there was no helping a woman who was going to lose someone so dearly to her.

“Alright, have a good day,” Nina called as she walked out the front door, “I love you guys.”

“I love you, too,” she heard her mother whisper.

“I love you, sissy,” Malachi called back, putting a smile on her face for just a moment.

As she set off down the sidewalk, Nina threw some ear buds into her ear to listen to One Direction. They always knew how to cheer her up. However, with turning on her phone, came several text messages from Malia. She has been Nina’s best friend since the first day Nina moved from New York City to the small town of Coral Springs. She was a short one, with brown waves and skin a little lighter than Nina’s. Malia had helped her make it through school, especially with Nina having recently lost a very close friend and her grandparents on her father’s side. Nina looked through the demanding text messages and knew that she should reply. However, she just couldn’t bring herself to talk to anyone. Thus, she put her phone in her pocket and looked at the scenery that was laid out before her, having almost forgotten how beautiful Coral Springs, Florida was. The grass was a bright green, filled with the budding flowers of spring. The leaves of beeches and elms danced in the wind. Squirrels hopped fences and birds sang a beautiful tune. The sun beamed down on the many houses lining her street. Parents and kids headed out, ready to start their day with smiles on their faces. At least they don’t have to deal with an innocent man being in jail, Nina thought sadly.


Then, out of nowhere, a force hit her so hard from behind that she was sent falling forward. She smacked the ground with a small THUD! and groaned as she rolled onto her side. Nina knew who it was before she even heard her voice.

“Why didn’t you reply to my texts or answer the door? I was worried about you, dammit. You can’t just close yourself up like that and expect me no to be worried. I mean you’re dealing with some tough stuff right now and I want to be there to help. But, look what you do. You close me out, like always. I’m your friend; you shouldn’t do things like that. I mean, geesh, like c’mon. I…,” Malia couldn’t finish her tiny rant when Nina smacked a hand over her mouth.

Nina spoke in a rushed voice, “I’m sorry, okay? I was just in a bad place and I didn’t want to talk to anyone. You know how I get. But, I’m sorry. And let’s just keep there?”

“Bu…yo...sai…you…di..,” Malia tried to speak behind Nina’s hand.

“Nope, I’m not gonna move my hand until you nod your head and stop ranting,” Nina warned with a slight smile on her face.

It took a little time, but Malia nodded her head. Nina removed her hand cautiously and waited for her to speak.

“Alright, alright…fine. But, if anything like this happens again, I’m breaking into your house,” Malia warned as she pulled Nina into a hug.

“Okay, I guess that’s fair,” Nina replied while hugging her back.

“I missed you,” they both said at the same time.

They shared a small laugh and carried on. However, Malia made sure to pester her a little more about how she was feeling. Once at school, they parted ways and headed to class. Nina knew that she had tons of work to make up if she wanted to maintain her Straight A’s, so she quickly moved down the halls. However, just as she was about to enter the classroom, someone pushed her into a locker. This time, she knew it wasn’t Malia. She turned around, only to find a few girls looking back at her. They all looked like Barbie with their blonde hair, blue eyes, and too-tight clothes.

“Your dad is such a douche. I can’t believe he would bomb a party like that and then, try to say he was innocent. That’s terrible,” Brittany, the leader, sneered.

Her fellow snob added to the mini rant, saying, “Yeah. I mean, who does that?”

“That’s so low,” someone else said.

“No, he’s NOT a liar! If people actually listened to the true story, then you would know that,” Nina defended her father.

“OH, come on. Stop trying to come up with things to make him look innocent. He did what he did and now you’re gonna pay for it,” Brittany snarled, turning around to head down the hall.

Nina just shook her head and walked into the spacious classroom. As everyone filed in and the teacher began to do attendance, she just zoned out. But, she could still see a mix of pity-filled and hateful stares around her. It wasn’t until the end of class that she actually came back to reality with the teacher calling her name. She went up to the front desk and Mrs. Mason asked,

“How has it been going?”

“Fine,” Nina replied.


“You sure? You know you can always talk to me,” Mrs. Mason said with concern lacing her voice.

“I know. But, I’m fine really,” Nina said with a fake smile.

“Okay. But, just come to me whenever you want to talk,” Mrs. Mason said, “Oh, and don’t worry about all the work you missed. I’ll let you off easy.”

“Thank you, Mrs,” Nina said gratefully.

“No problem. But just make sure, that you get better for me.”

“I’ll try.”

Nina headed out the classroom, onto next period. By the time lunch came around, she had a dozen assignments already. Luckily, her teachers had given her loads of time to get it all done. As she waited in the lunch line, she looked around for Malia and found her sitting at their table in
the corner. She turned around and got ready to get a tray when out of nowhere, a plate of sphagetti flew right at her face.

“I told you’d pay. Those girls he killed were my friends. And he may be getting the death penalty, like he deserves, but that’s just not enough. Welcome to your hell on Earth,” Brittany sneered and quickly turned away as to not get caught.

Most of the people laughed as Nina did the walk of shame out into the hallway. Once there, she rushed over to the bathrooms and locked herself into a stall. All she could think about was how evilly Brittany had spoken of her father. How could she say that? Nina thought, He didn’t do it. Someone framed him. Or am I wrong? Did he lie to me?

“No,” she said adamantly, “He didn’t do it.”

As she thought more about what Brittany said, she couldn’t help but think that Brittany never talked to the girls that died in the explosion. Actually, they were always arguing with her and her little clique, Nina thought.

In the next moment, Malia came bursting into the bathrooms and forced Nina to open the stall. She consoled her and made her get back up with her head held high.

“You’re not gonna let some snob with a stick up her butt ruin your day,” Malia told her.

“My days are already ruined,” Malia replied with utter sadness.

They washed her face and left to return to class since there was no use in returning to the cafe. For the rest of the day, she just kept herself, hoping to get home to her sketchbook and bookshelf.

A few hours later, she got her wish as she entered her bedroom. She threw her bag on the floor, along with her shoes and just grabbed her sketchbook. Nina drew any and everything, hoping to let her emotions out on the paper. At around 4:00 p.m., she heard the rest of her family enter the house. She greeted them downstairs and decided that it was time to get a start on her homework. As she worked for a while, she then heard he doorbell ring and slowly went to answer it. What greeted her at the door was a tall, brown-haired, and green-eyed surprise.

“Hello, Nina. May I please come in?” said her father’s lawyer and long-time friend.

“Yea, sure,” Nina opened the door wider.

He walked over to the living room and Nina called to her mom. She came sluggishly down the stairs and joined them.

Ben, the lawyer, said, “Hello, Ruth. How have you been?”

“Fine,” she replied in that same dead voice.

Ben looked as if he was going to ask her more, but he moved on.

“Well, I’ve been digging further into Noah’s case, trying to find evidence to save him. So far, I’ve been talking with an eye witness, but not much has come out of that. But I am trying and I will find a way. He is my best friend and I won’t let him go down like that,” he said.

“Do you think you could find enough evidence? Do you want me to help? I can. I will. I want to,” Nina jumped at the chance to get her father back.

“I’m afraid there’s not much you can do, but try to be happy for him. He wanted me to tell you guys that. He doesn’t want you guys moping and sad all of the time. He wants you to live for him. All the rest of this stuff, leave up to me,” Ben replied, “I just wanted to come by and give you guys some sort of hope.”

“Thank you, Ben. I really do appreciate it,” Nina’s mother said with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, thanks for coming by,” Nina added.

“You’re quite welcome,” he replied.

As Nina closed the door behind him, she couldn’t help but to think that this was it. He was going to find the evidence and her father would be freed.

“Mom, I know this will work out. I just know,” Nina said with a small smile.

“Yeah, Neen. Maybe it will,” her mother replied with a ghost a smile.

However, days turned into weeks and weeks into months, without any new evidence. Students at school continued to taunt her with crude remarks about her father’s incarceration. At times, Nina found herself having conflicting thoughts. Did he really do it? Did he lie to me? she thought. However, she knew that she had to believe in him. He wouldn’t kill innocent kids; he just wouldn’t!

Over the years, people continued to belittle her father whenever they saw her, reminding her of his situation. Nina just ignored them, while trying to accept the fact that her father was going to die. However, no matter what she did, she just couldn’t accept it. As a result, she could never really live life to the fullest. All her hopes and dreams of becoming a doctor were ruined. Without her father by her side, nothing would ever be right…
Now

As the man raised the needle that would leave her father paralyzed and ready for death, Nina turned to the voice of someone yelling for them to stop.

Ben yelled, “Stop! Stop! I have evidence proving that this man is innocent!”

The man dropped the needle and everyone turned towards the voice. Ben looked like he had run across 10 football fields to get here in time. He had files in his hand.

“He did not commit the crime,” Ben continued, “He was framed and I have the evidence to prove it!”

The officials had everyone file out of the room, but before going, Nina saw her father being helped off of the bed. They were placed in a room and told to wait. It wasn’t definite that he father would be free, but it was something.

Within the next hour, an official came back into the room with Ben following him. Everyone looked up with hope in their eyes.

“Well,” the official said, “After viewing the evidence, I have come to the conclusion that another court hearing will ensue to further evaluate this case. Until then, Noah Prenta will remain incarcerated.”

It wasn’t what they wanted, but at least he would still be alive. Everyone was escorted out of the room and told to return home.

Malachi asked, “Neen, Dad’s not going to die?”

“We don’t know for sure, but at least we have hope,” Nina replied with a slight smile on her face.

In the days that followed, the court hearing was held and it was discovered that someone really did frame her father. Surprisingly, Brittany Martin had set that bomb at the party in an act of revenge. How ironic? Nina thought. All those years ago, Brittany had taunted her over and over again about her father’s supposed actions. But, in the end, it was actually her who had planted that bomb. It turns out she had multiple personality disorder and her sadistic side was present when she committed that horrible crime.

The day that Nina’s father was finally released from custody, everyone rejoiced.

Malachi screamed, “Dad!”
He ran into his father’s arms and was swung up into the air, despite being 16 years old.
“Hey, buddy,” Noah replied.
“I missed you!”
“I missed you, too!”
Noah turned around and looked to his wife. The smiles on each of their faces couldn't have gotten any bigger. Noah let go of his son and let his wife run into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder with tears of joy.
“I’ve missed you so, so much,” Ruth said.
“I know, honey. I know. Me, too,” Noah replied.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With a chaste kiss, they let go of each other. Then, Noah looked to his daughter, ready for the force of her hug.
“Dad, I thought it was all over,” Nina cried.
“I know. But, it’s not. I’m fine and I’m here with you guys now,” Noah told his daughter, “And I want to thank you for never giving up on me. You believed in me despite what everyone else said. And I love you for that.”
“I love you, too, Dad,” Nina said fondly.
And all was finally right with the Prenta family.