Jethro woke up to see the sun already peeping out of the hurdle of clouds. Hoots of cars sounded far away and he realized he had slept long into the morning. That was because he hardly slept over the night. The thought of what might have happened to Ava denied his eyes from peacefully pulling closed. Images of Ava kept appearing in his illusory vision and it was no surprise he eventually had a horrible dream about her.

He had seen her in a winding sheet, with multiple heads shaking in sorrow and he jolted up, sweating and panting. He just had to thank his lucky stars Mother T was not there to witness him have another terrible dream again. Not even with Ava in it. Mother T would surely tell him he needed an exorcist to get the girl off his head.

Jethro stayed awake a couple of hours after the nightmare, silently assuring himself it was just a consequence of his awful thoughts. He told himself not to think of Ava again and when he was able to do that for some minutes, he finally fell flat on his bed and slept.

The rays of the sun creeping in through the window slit blinded his face as he staggered up from his bed. He groped for the bottle on his desk, feeling considerably dehydrated after the much sweating he did yesterday when he woke from the nightmare.

He gulped down a mouthful of water and then thought of going to see Ava. His eyes suddenly bulged midway through the thought.

It was Saturday.

Mother T was always at home on Saturdays and she enforced general cleaning of the house on weekends.

Shit.

Jethro knew he had to look for a good reason to evade the cleaning. For minutes, he racked his brain for one and then his face burst into a glow when he finally got it. He nodded in satisfaction with the idea as he pushed his door open and moved to the living room.

Mother T was doing something over the table while Kitty clung unto Rose's legs as she examined whether the curtains would need washing.

"Should you be bothered with that?" Mother T said to Rose as she put the books on the table into a neat pile, "We're only doing the kitchen works. Jethro will do the washing and scrubbing. He should have the energy since he had not been to school."

Jethro grunted when he heard the statement. Mother T had not noticed he was already in the living room and she only looked back when Rose started chuckling.

"Of course, you have the energy." Mother T affirmed quite funnily when she finally saw him.

"But I did laundry yesterday, Mum." He groaned an argument but Mother T was certainly not ready to listen to him, "Mum." He groaned again.

"And I did the laundry too, didn't I?" Mother T said rhetorically and started moving towards the kitchen, "If I can still do the cleaning, then you're doing too." She added conclusively.

"I know, Mum. The washing. The scrubbing. I'll do everything." Jethro's voice stopped her just before the door to that little room creaked.

"So, why the groaning?" Mother T swiveled and gave him a raised brow.

"I'm going somewhere," He said and before Mother T could say her disapproval, he quickly put in, "But I'll be back early enough to finish the washing and scrubbing." He promised with a pleading look on his face.

Mother T sighed and looked suspiciously at her son, "And where are you going that's so urgent?"

"I'm going to see Finn." Jethro lied with a deceitful smile and just as he did, he saw Rose stare at him in shock, her face showing the expression, ' Finn? Really?' He winked secretly at the girl, subtly telling her not to say a word.

"Finn?" Mother T's eyes narrowed at him and then they broadened as something had abruptly hit her, "That's his name!" She screamed, "That your twin?" A teasing smile wrapped on Mother T's face while Rose just gazed in her bewilderment, wondering what was happening. Jethro's twin? Finn?

"Yes, Mum." Jethro beamed and nodded, knowing he was gradually getting the woman's approval, "I think Emma would like me to come and talk to him. I'm his good friend, yunno."

Rose coughed naughtily at his last statement and Jethro froze on his feet. Rose would surely blow his cover off at this rate. He stared intently at her and facially begged that she should keep mute.

Mother T noticed what was happening between the two and she glanced toward Rose in confusion. Rose quickly averted her eyes and pretended to be straightening the curtain.

"Am I free to go, Mum?" He asked persuasively, calling the woman's attention away from the girl.

"Did Emma want you to come?" With what they shared yesterday, Mother T had built a soft spot for Emma. Emma was a kind and lovable woman. No doubt.

"Yes, Mum. I know she'll be glad to see me." Jethro nodded excitedly and Mother T gulped in quiet approval.

"Alright." She mouthed and before she slid through the kitchen's door, she inserted a little instruction, "But make sure you're back early enough."

"Sure Mum. By late evening I'll be back." He joked and Mother T gasped at him, "Just joking, Mum." He laughed.

"Better be." Mother T snorted and finally stepped into the kitchen.

Jethro exhaled victoriously and then made a humorous face when Rose started humming, hinting to him that he had some explanation to tell her.

"Later." He winked at her and then scuttled into his room.

Jethro rushed through his bath and roughly searched out a red shirt and black pants to wear. He dashed out of the house and was just in time to catch the early bus to Southend street.

He sat near the window and wished the bus could do air transport on road. He wished he could just close his eyes and then open them to see himself in Ava's house. Such was the anxiety he felt as everything whizzed past his sight through the window.

An old woman seated beside him offered a flyer but he was too lost to see her. The woman tapped him and she shook her head when he startled. He took the flyer and read whatever was there before squeezing it unconsciously. The woman stared at him in a mix of shock and disappointment and when Jethro realized what he had done, he gave an apologetic smile. He tried to straighten the flyer but it had been squeezed beyond repair. He pouted comically and the woman chuckled at his cute, babyish act.

Jethro flew out of the bus when the electronic voice announced they had reached Sinclair Street. He paced down the street and soon he was hitting on a bell. He remembered Gavin had done the same thing the first time they came here and James had been mad at that. But James could not be mad at him again, could he?

"Where's she? Hope she's fine. She didn't hurt herself much, did she?" He threw questions at James as soon as the man opened the door.

" She's fine," James said weakly, "But you should come in first."

Jethro obeyed and stepped in slowly, "Where's she?" He asked again, looking round like he had lost a thing.

"In her room." James sighed and Jethro's eyes immediately bulged at him in amazement.

"In her room? Alone? She shouldn't be left alone again." He almost screamed.

"I know, I know." James nodded sadly, " But she's actually sleeping now and I already cleared her room of any harmful thing." He explained and then Jethro could take a breath of relief.

"Did anything happen yesterday after I left?" Jethro inquired and then wondered if his question was sensible. Yes, something crazy happened yesterday. Ava Rays attempted to kill herself!

"Like what?" James was expectedly confused with his question.

"Like..." Jethro said and trailed off for a couple of seconds, "When I left yesterday, she was feeling better, wasn't she?" He asked quite senselessly again.

James inhaled deeply when he finally got what he was driving at. Ava was definitely in a better mood when Jethro left yesterday but then she turned sullen moments later.

"Yeah," James drawled his response, "But minutes after you left, she suddenly looked sad and the next thing she did was to take poison."

"Poison!" Jethro exclaimed.

James pushed out warm air from his nose, "Thank God I saw her in time and the doctor came quickly too."

Jethro sat in terror after James' words. He watched the man shuffle to an old shelf to get a bottle of liquor. He poured himself a cup and then gulped. Maybe that was how James get himself out of a bitter feeling. Bottles of alcohol and the drunkard forget about his sorrow.

But Jethro was not a drunkard, the only way he could get himself out of how he was feeling now was to see Ava. He moved to her room's door and quietly opened it. The girl was curled under a bedsheet, soundly sleeping. Buddy sat near to her, gently nuzzling her tresses. Jethro felt there was a connection between Ava and the dog that could pass that of a pet and an owner. Buddy seemed to understand every of her state.

"How long has she been sleeping?" Jethro asked, not looking away from the two.

"Ever since the doctor left. That was hours ago." James' voice sounded rough as he grasped his bottle again.

Jethro swallowed a sigh and his head turned in the direction of a steady burble of liquor. James was pouring himself the third or fourth cup.

"Did she just decide to harm herself after I left?" Jethro's face crumpled as he tried to understand. Ava had just decided to commit suicide after he left her in definitely a good mood yesterday. That could never be the case. Something must have happened that led her to do that, "Are you sure nothing happened that caused her to take such action?" He queried, peering at James as he drained the cup in one swig.

"She received a call yesterday." James disclosed, dropping the cup noisily on the shelf.

"A call?" Jethro's eyes narrowed.

"Yes," James nodded, "She received a call shortly after you left and she turned sad afterward. She was in tears after the call ended." He narrated.

"Do you know who called her?" This would be the thousandth time Jethro was quizzing James and the man had been calm enough to answer him all.

"No, not really." James drawled his response, his fingers scratching his light mustache, "But I heard her mentioning a name, Finn, during the call."

"Finn?" Jethro demanded, anger already welling up in him.

"Yes..." James had hardly finished when Jethro sprang to the door. He yanked it open and the man stared at him, all at sea.

"I'll be back when I get that goat's throat out." He swore and the door thundered behind him.