2.22 Endless Fights

I had some pictures saved on my flash drive so I was able to release the next chapter. Let me know what you think!

Paparazzi had been swarming the house since the interview. Caleb was supposed to be leaving today, but he had postponed it, feeling like the photographers and journalists were all his fault. With more eyes on them than ever, Noah and Cyrus decided to hire a lawyer. The police department had pretty much pushed their case to the back of their lists prior to the interview. Legally, Noah and Cyrus couldn't leave Sunlit Tides until the case was resolved. It was at the point where a little more time would just grant the case closed and they could move on with their lives. Though it hadn't been Caleb's fault, Noah was furious. He was finally going to move passed the issue and here it was brought back again with more and more private investigators on the case. Cyrus swore they didn't do anything but there was nothing stopping Noah from thinking about what happened that neither of them could remember.

"Hello, Mr. Gray, Mr. Cyrus." The lawyer extended his hand.

"Good afternoon sir."

"So, let's get down to business." He scanned the documents that Noah had brought but there was nothing to go off of. They were just marriage papers and documents of their arrest. "Don't you have anything else?"

"Like what? We can't prove where we were, even the officer admitted that there were no witnesses," Cyrus responded.

The attorney took off his glasses and looked at the two men in front of him. "I'm going to be completely honest with you here. You don't have a solid defense. It's going to take a lot for me to win this case for you. If your brother wasn't a pop star, it'd be much easier on you and I'd be able to make a deal with a judge. But now, all eyes are on you guys and people would give anything to see you locked up. Arson is nothing to play around with."

"So what are you saying? You can't help us?" Noah frowned.

"I can help you Mr. Gray, but it's going to cost you."

"How much?"

"$100,000."

"But, I have a child now. I can't afford that!"

"Mr. Gray, you can either take my help or go to prison. What about your child then?"

"I...I need some time to think about it."

Noah waited a few days before approaching Leia. He had wanted to sort it all and present her with a solution to the problem so that she didn't have anything to worry about.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Noah grinned seeing Leia with a game controller in her hand. Leia had ditched the video games once her and Noah had gotten married. She had been so focused on being the perfect wife. She even took a hiatus from her blog, "Princess Leia" dropping down to only twenty five followers.

"I picked up a copy of the new Alien Invasion game. As well as the last few that I missed. Daisy and Lorie insist on taking care of Apollo, so I figured it wouldn't be bad to brush up on my mad gamer skills."

"Mad gamer skills? Pshh. Yeah right. I'll be the one to teach our son how to whoop some virtual ass."

"Excuse me? Prove it." She smirked handing him a controller.

They played for an hour before Caleb got home with baby Apollo in his arms. Noah's opportunity was lost once again and he promised himself that he'd talk to Leia before the night ended.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Noah said coming into Apollo's room. It had been around midnight.

"I know, I'm sorry. We got caught up in something-"

"What do you mean, caught up in something?" Noah asked angrily. "Please don't drag my son into any of your paparazzi nonsense."

"Noah, relax. We were watching that new movie, Charles the Spy. I got tickets to watch it early. The only time that paparazzi wouldn't be crowded around the theater is this late. Apollo seemed to enjoy it."

"That's really irresponsible Caleb. First of all, look at him, he's starving." Apollo had been munching furiously on some cereal. "It isn't good for him to eat this late. It's normally his bed time, he's going to fall asleep on a full stomach."

"Noah, dude. Just chill. It isn't often I get time to spend with my family like this. I'm sorry, next time I'll let you know before I take him out."

"No, there isn't going to be a next time." Noah answered angrily. He was furious. The reason Noah was in this mess was because of Caleb coming to Sunlit Tides. Yes, Caleb didn't plan on it and Noah understood that at the time. But now, he was blind with rage at everything he had heard earlier from the attorney. All of this could have been avoided if it wasn't for Caleb. Now, his brother wanted to be irresponsible and jeopardize his son again?

Eventually, Noah did talk to Leia about everything. Not only the lawyer, but his frustration with his brother as well. At this point, the tension was reaching everyone, even Leia and Lorie.

"You mean to tell me that you'd be willing to let your own husband give up his life for you? Just let him pay for the attorney. $100,000 is nothing for Apollo to grow up with a father. Don't be selfish. You know better than anyone what it feels like to be alone!" Lorie growled.

"What are you talking about? It isn't like that at all! I just think that the attorney Noah is talking to is a crook..." Leia defended herself.

"He's the best lawyer in town. Noah will win his case for sure."

"That guy is taking advantage of the situation to make money."

"If it keeps Noah out of jail, then who cares how much extra he's charging you? Are you seriously worrying about extra charges?"

"I don't expect you to understand me if you can't even hear me out. Why do you care so much anyway? Noah is MY husband and Apollo is MY son." Leia placed her hands on her hips.

"Because you keep taking everything away from everyone. You took Dad from me. He could have met up with us if you weren't so bitter! Now you want to take away Noah's freedom and Apollo's father." Leia took a step back. This was her twin sister speaking. She hadn't realized any of the pent up anger and frustration until now. Regardless though, Leia was firm in her decision for Noah to find a new lawyer.

The next few days left Leia feeling completely destroyed. She was second guessing her choices. Her sister's remarks got harsher and harsher until she eventually began giving Leia the silent treatment. Noah hadn't been yelling at his brother, but he had been ignoring him.

"Rough day?" Caleb asked. Leia had been crying. The stress had finally been enough to make her cave. She had no idea anyone was in the room with her though.

"You don't know the half of it." She sniffled.

"I kind of do. Noah hasn't cracked yet. This isn't like any other fight we've had before. I mean, when Noah lost his memory we weren't talking for months. But it hurts more now knowing that I'm the reason."

Noah hadn't been cold to Leia in anyway. he was still the same loving guy he had always been. But, being so worked up over Caleb had caused him to overlook how Leia had been feeling. "Well Lorie is relentless, she thinks that I'm trying to get Noah arrested or something. I'm not. I love Noah more than anything! I love our family. I love all of you guys. I don't blame you for anything and I don't want anything to break up this family!" Leia sobbed.

"Listen, cheer up alright? The Gray family has fought too hard for too long to give up this easily. I've been bullied my entire life, and Noah was there for me every step of the way. He was the cool one in school, sticking up for me, his older brother! I should have been doing that for him. When he lost his memory and went missing, the whole family reeled. He's the glue that keeps us together. No one worked as tirelessly as Daisy did to find Noah. Kayden, he wouldn't admit it but he fought hard for Noah too. What I'm saying is that we finally got our family back together and not me, or Daisy is going to let this fight go on forever. The same should go for your sister. She's upset now, but just know that she'll always be your sister and she'll always be the first one there for you."

Caleb was right. Noah and his family had been through so much. Just as Leia and her sister had. Lorie was the happy child that protected Leia from heartbreak and rejection. Lorie was always there and this was just a hiccup in the road. "Thank you Caleb. You really are amazing." Leia smiled before hugging him.