Richard was beside Lisa as quickly as he could get to her after the case was dismissed, but it wasn't fast enough. The sea of faces slowly went out of focus as she sat there feeling humiliated, and she had slumped to the floor before he had managed to get halfway across the courtroom.
 
     When she came round in one of the side rooms a few minutes later, Richard was cradling her in his arms, and a court official was hovering behind him with a relieved look on his face. Having confirmed that Lisa was okay, he left the door ajar and went to advise the judge.
 
     “I'm sorry, Richard. I’ve let everyone down” she said, as the horrible nightmare of the dismissed case against Nick came flooding back to her.

Richard looked down at her, concern etched all over his face.
 
     “No you didn’t, Lisa - everything was stacked against you. The prosecution knew that the defence had the facts concerning the two previous allegations, but without knowing about the stuff you hadn’t told the police, nobody could foresee the way he was actually going to use them. It's not your fault; it's just a shame you didn't report what Liam or Nick did to the police sooner.”
 
Lisa tried to sit up and leant against him as she felt her head clear.
 
     “I couldn't…”
 
Richard stared into her eyes which were inches away from his.
 
     “Why not, Lisa? You could have saved yourself a lot of heartache - and given the police a much better chance at the prosecution if you had.”
 
Lisa gave a small apologetic smile. She was about to answer him when a voice from the doorway answered for her.
 
     “Because of me…”
 
They both looked up and saw Alan standing there.
 
     “Lisa was trying to protect me after Liam tried to rape her because I beat the shit out of him, and we thought I might end up getting arrested. If she hadn't been trying to get those bloody pictures to the police in Chelmsford - no doubt she would have reported Nick sooner too. I'm sorry, Lisa, I feel as though it's all my fault.”
 
Lisa had got to her feet, assisted by Richard, and started shaking her head. “No it's not, Alan. Richard’s right - it's just the way things have worked out. Nick’s gotten away with it, and we just have to accept that and get on with our lives.”
 
     Alan looked at Lisa and Richard standing close together, his arm draped protectively around her shoulders, her body leaning into his for support. He remembered with acute sadness how it was once him who was the one she depended on. It was obvious to anyone who saw Richard and Lisa together that they were very close. He was a very lucky man.
 
     Like a fighter after he had been beaten by an adversary, Alan held out his hand to Richard and, after he had shaken it, looked back at Lisa with a resigned look on his face.
 
     “Have a good life, Lisa. You deserve it," he added gently before slowly turning around and walking away.
 
 
 
    All the way back to Vikki's house, Richard tried to cheer Lisa up by going on about how she had the world at her feet. He assured her that she was capable of doing anything she liked now that the trial was over. His words fell on stony ground. All Lisa could think of was the look on Alan's face before he’d walked away. She was sure that if Richard hadn't been there, he would have said more, just like his eyes had when they’d stared into hers. It was as though they were full of regret. For the first time since she'd phoned him before she went to the Isle of Man the year before, she questioned the fact that he had told the truth when he’d said that he never loved her. Now she would never know - because she would probably never see him again…
 
 
     When they got back to Vikki's house, Lisa left Richard to fill in the family on what had happened in court and went up to her room to lie down. Although the outcome had been a disaster, she felt strangely at peace, and she lay on the bed trying to work out her feelings.
    
     Nick had secured his freedom, but she decided that he wasn't going to ruin her life any more. From now on she was going to live life to the fullest and put the last year behind her. It was over.
 
     When Richard knocked on Lisa's bedroom door an hour and a half later, she told him to come in. He expected to find her lying on the bed in tears, but was delighted to find out he was wrong. Not only had Lisa showered and washed her hair, she had changed to go out. When she saw the relief on Richard's face, she was glad she'd made the effort. She went up to him and playfully kissed him on the lips.
 
     “So where are you taking me, you gorgeous man?” she asked teasingly, as she looked up at him, her arms around his neck.

Richard put his arms around her and pulled her close, delighted that, for the first time, she’d made the first move.
 
     “I don't know - where do you fancy going?” he asked.
 
     “Anywhere we can have a few drinks and forget everything that's happened,” she replied with a determined expression.

                                                                                    .............
 
 
 
 
     Richard took Lisa and Vikki to Cosmos, the latest club in town. He was delighted to see that Lisa seemed to have put the trial behind her and hopefully accepted that it was all over at last.
 
     The place was absolutely jumping, which made it nigh on impossible to have a conversation while they stood at the bar waiting to get a drink, so Richard found them a table in the corner in the hope that they could have some time alone together. Vikki went off and strutted her stuff with her friends on the dance floor, leaving Lisa and Richard alone.
 
     A part of her longed to join her, but Lisa knew Richard wanted to talk to her. He had wanted to wait until after the trial to talk seriously about their future together, and it would seem that this was the only chance he was going to get because Lisa had announced that she was sticking to her original plans and driving back to Scotland the following day. He didn't get a chance because they were interrupted when Lisa felt a tap on her shoulder.
 
     When she looked up, she saw Karen, Alan's sister, smiling down at her with a big, cheesy grin.
 
     “Hi stranger!” she cried, as Lisa jumped up and put her arms around her. She hadn't seen her since she'd left Chelmsford to go to the school ten months before, and she was delighted to see her. Karen looked over at Richard, before turning back to Lisa, a knowing look on her face.
 
     “I knew you guys would make a perfect couple. I laid money on it, remember?”
 
Lisa laughed out loud. Nothing changed. It was the same old Karen, but at least a stone lighter. She looked absolutely terrific.
      
     Karen went over to Richard and gave him a kiss on each cheek before asking if she could join them, not that he had any choice. Lisa was already patting the seat beside her and moving over.
 
     Seeing that he wasn't going to get a word in edgeways, Richard left them alone while he went to get another round of drinks. He would have to wait until later to talk to Lisa on her own. Lisa and Karen watched him going to the bar before Karen turned back to Lisa.
 
     “I'm sorry about what happened in court today. Alan told me all about it.”
 
Lisa looked down at her hands, wishing that Karen hadn't reminded her.
 
     “You know all about us then?”
 
Karen looked embarrassed. When Alan had admitted he’d been in love with Lisa, he’d sworn her to secrecy.
 
     “Yes, he told me, but he also told me that you were in love with Richard - and that it was all over between you two now…”
 
Lisa pursed her lips together before giving her a sad smile. She remembered back to the party when Karen had thrown her and Richard together that night. It all seemed so long ago now.
 
     “Yes, it's funny the way things worked themselves out. I'm with Richard, Alan's back with Carla…”
 
Karen stared back at Lisa with a confused expression. She obviously didn't know.
 
     “Alan isn't back with Carla. They split up shortly after he came out of hospital last year. She's engaged to some guy she met out in Spain when she was over there. In fact, I think she might be married to him by now.”
 
     Lisa felt the people around them pan out of vision, leaving her and Karen in the centre of a stage. For months she had learnt to push Alan to the back of her mind, his love for Carla forcing her to forget. Knowing that he’d been free was really hard to take on board. If he'd wanted to contact her, it wouldn't have been difficult; he'd had her address, and Vikki could have given him her telephone number. She had obviously got it wrong when she'd seen him earlier. The fact that he hadn't got in touch with her only proved that it wasn't Carla who had kept them apart.
 
     Richard came back with the drinks and Lisa excused herself and went to the ladies room. She didn't want either of them to see the pain rising inside her, which threatened to show in her face. Richard asked Karen if Lisa was all right because she'd looked very pale when she'd got up from the table. Karen answered him with a puzzled expression on her face.
 
     “I’m not sure. I might have said something I shouldn’t...”
 
     Lisa stayed in the ladies room for as long as she dared without drawing attention to herself. An hour before, she had resolved to start her life again with no ghosts to haunt her. Finding out that Carla wasn't the reason why she and Alan weren't together was a bitter pill to swallow. He must have been telling her the truth all along when she rang him. He'd obviously never loved her at all…
 
     By the time Lisa got back to the table, Richard and Karen had gone for a dance, and as she watched them she felt like such a fool. Richard had waited patiently for months while she tried to get over Alan. She hadn't wanted to ruin their wonderful friendship by letting it get more serious. Karen had done her a favour telling her about Alan and Carla’s bust up. The dream that had stopped her from letting Richard get closer was now gone.
 
     It was the first time Richard had seen Lisa look so blatantly sexy since the first night they'd met. When he and Karen had gotten back to the table, she'd thrown back her drink and insisted on dragging him back onto the dance floor. Once there, she danced with him in a completely different way to the way she had danced with him at Vikki's party. This time she looked only at him, and his resolve not to come on too heavy faded fast.
 
     For the first time in months, Lisa let her hair down. She danced, she drank, and she had fun. By midnight she was ready to go home and, high on the alcohol and the atmosphere of the club, they left. She was determined to show Richard that Alan was history. Vikki and Karen had teamed up with a couple of good-looking local guys, and they assured Richard and Lisa they could make their own way home.
 
     By the time they got back to Vikki's, Richard was sure that Lisa wanted the same as him. They stood at the bottom of the same stairs he had watched her come down in the red dress, and he could feel the sexual tension between them as he took her hand. When Lisa staggered slightly towards him, he caught her in his arms and she laid her head on his chest as she spoke.
 
     “Thank you for a great time tonight, Richard. I haven't enjoyed myself so much for a long, long time," she said dreamily, leaning against him and feeling the warmth of his body next to hers.
 
     When Richard cupped her face in his hands and kissed her slowly, Lisa responded by kissing him back, her body longing with the need to be loved. Richard took her hand and led her up the stairs, holding her gaze until they reached the top step, where they kissed again.
 
     “Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly. He had waited so long for this moment.
 
She nodded, and by way of confirmation, took his hand in hers. Lisa led him back to his bedroom, where there were no memories of Alan to haunt her. They were barely through the door when Richard lifted her in his arms and laid her gently on the bed…
    
 
 
 
 
     Richard woke up the next morning and looked over to where Lisa had lain. He had been so sure their first time together would be the experience of a lifetime. Sadly, it was not.
 
     As soon as he’d lain on the bed beside her, she had frozen, and he had seen the confusion in her eyes. He knew she hadn't been with anyone since she’d been so brutally raped by Nick, and suddenly he felt self-conscious, aware of her pain and her fear. He tried to kiss away the tears, but they wouldn’t stop. He lay with her in his arms, stroking her beautiful hair until the early hours of the morning, and told her it was okay. Now she was gone.
 
     When Lisa came downstairs to breakfast, she looked at Richard with shattered eyes across the breakfast table, her guilt at being unable to make love the night before showing on her face. She knew he was disappointed about what had happened, and so was she. It was as though Alan had cast a spell on her that made her unable to love anyone else in that way.
 
     After she put her bag in the boot of the car, she turned to Richard, determined not to let what had happened ruin their friendship.
 
     “I'm so sorry, Richard. I don't want to lose you, but I'm so confused at the moment. I need time to work things out…”
 
 Richard gave her a hug before standing back and giving her an understanding look.
 
     “You still love Alan, don't you, Lisa?'
 
She nodded silently, wishing she could pretend otherwise.
 
     “I don't think I ever stopped…” she replied, before kissing him goodbye on the cheek.
 
     Lisa drove slowly down the drive feeling wretched. When she looked in the mirror, she could just make out Richard over the piles of black bags in the back of the car, which had lain there since she arrived. He stood with his hand raised in farewell, his face sad.
 
     By the time she had driven through Chelmsford, she felt so upset she considered turning around and driving back. She desperately wanted to speak to Alan and tell him what she had told Richard, but she couldn't bear the thought of his rejection once again, face to face. She looked down at the mobile phone her parents had given her at Christmas, silently repeating his number in her head. She had never put it into the phone's memory because she could never forget it.
 
     As though in a dream, her hand shaking, Lisa picked up the phone and pressed in Alan's number.
 
     “If you never stopped loving him - does that mean that you never loved me, Lisa…?”
 
     Lisa nearly drove the car off the road when she heard Nick's voice coming from the back of the car. The sea of boxes and black plastic bags which had represented her ten months at the school erupted in the back seat and she saw Nick’s face in the rear view mirror. She felt the cold feel of steel against the back of her neck, as Nick’s breath warmed the side of her face…