Jethro opened the door, knowing what to expect. Mother T sprang up anxiously from her seat while Rose shifted clumsily when she saw him.

"Where have you been?" Mother T demanded even before he could step in.

Jethro did not answer immediately. He just calmly moved in and gently closed the door behind. He glanced at Rose but could not grasp what the girl's face was saying. He had asked Rose to tell Mother T, whenever she asked of him, that he was at the back of the house. But that would certainly not be a smart lie now. He had been at the back of the house for over three hours and had stayed there even in the furious rainfall. That would be the dumbest lie ever. He had to change it.

"Where are you coming from, you deaf?" Mother T yelled when he would not speak a word.

"I went to get something down the street." He lied, scratching his head. He hoped that would work.

"Oh, you went to get something for almost four hours. Keep the sweet lies coming, boy." Mother T said in a harsh tone.

"Mum, I had to stay somewhere and avoid the rain.."

"Say, keep them coming." Mother T interrupted with a scoff, "You avoided the rain, and yet you're this soaked." She huffed.

Jethro's eyes dropped to his wet clothes and he realized how stupid he was. He looked up and back at Mother T. He sighed and his shoulders dropped in defeat.

"Now you've run out of lies." Mother T smirked at his reaction, "What of the back of the house? " She croaked and Jethro peered toward Rose when he heard that. Mother T noticed that and she gave a snigger, "Of course, she had said the lie you asked her to say. You goof!"

Jethro raked some fingers through his hair and stared blankly at the woman, "I'm sorry, Mum." He apologized.

"That hasn't still answered the question, where have you been?" Mother T repeated harshly.

"I went to see a friend." Jethro breathed and watched a sinister smile flickered across the woman's face.

"You went to see a friend or she came here to see you?" Mother T snapped and an exclamation flew out of Jethro. He gritted his teeth and knew he shouldn't lie anymore. Mother T had caught him, "Who was that girl with you at the patio earlier?

Jethro hesitated and scratched his neck again before answering, "Ava."

"Ava? The same girl!" Mother T said with a voice full of scorn and anger, "What's it with this girl that had gone into your head? You got suspended from school because of her and now you're putting the whole house on nerves for..."

"Mum!" Jethro cut her off in his frustration, "She came to see me and I have to escort her when she was leaving."

"Escort her for four hours!" Mother T howled at him and there was nothing better he could do than to fall quiet and helplessly shake his head, "I wish Nolan was here," The woman continued in a voice that had suddenly dropped to a teary tone, "You kids have become bratty since he left the house."

"And we're nowhere being better when he was around," Jethro muttered impertinently, causing fire to grow in the woman's eyes.

"Haven't I warned you never to talk about him that way again?" Mother T snapped and charged toward him.

Jethro took some steps backward in precaution but still would not stop talking, " You never wanted me to say the truth, Mum. You never wanted to hear it. Nolan was a monster while he was around. He got drunk every night and beat you up. I just don't understand why you still want him around. I just don't know how he'll make us better with such irresponsible acts and..."

Jethro could not continue. Not because he wanted to but a slap had slammed across his face, forcing him to keep shut. He laid a palm on the cheek and then smiled bitterly, "I had been expecting you to do that. That's how you always stop me, isn't it." He laughed harshly and flinched when Mother T would still step angrily toward him.

"Mum." Rose finally broke her silence in a low voice as she called the puffing woman.

"Don't you ever call me!" Mother T turned and barked at her, "You disappointed me a lot. You now take sides with him. I thought you were different but I was wrong!" She yelled at her daughter and pounded away, toward her room.

Jethro and Rose gazed at the woman as she stalked away and when she was out of sight, their eyes returned to lock at each other. Rose looked with accusation evident on her face while Jethro bit his lower lip in silent apology.

"I'm sorry." He finally said it in words.

"You said you wouldn't take long," Rose rasped.

"The rain caused the delay." He said but Rose was not ready to listen to him.

"Four-hour delay, is that it?" She snorted disapprovingly and shuffled out of sight.

Jethro wanted to call her name but could not. Rose should rightly be mad at him. Mother T hardly raised her voice at Rose and that had happened this night all because she was trying to rescue him. He pouted and plopped into a nearby chair. His attention moved to the window and he saw the rain coming to an end. The thunders had gradually reduced from three and two simultaneous strikes to one weak clap across the dark sky.

"Here, your food." Rose's glum voice took his attention away from nature as she dropped a plate angrily on the table. She had turned hastily to walk away but Jethro had to stop her.

"Rose, I'm sorry for all Mum said to you. I take the blame and..."

"And you should at least answer your calls," Rose retorted, "I called you countless times and you wouldn't pick."

"My phone was not with me." Jethro said in an exhausted tone, "I left it at home when I was rushing." He explained and Rose only huffed at that before stomping away.

Now left alone by his enraged females, Jethro sat there in the chair, shaking his head and regretting his actions. The worst mistake he had done was to leave his phone at home. And he had stayed this long out in the rainy night without having a phone where he could be called. That was bad really. But it was not entirely what he had planned or expected. He never expected the conversation would end that way and that he would be chased by an unknown man.

He took in a deep breath and moved to the table. He scooped up the plate and trudged to his room. He dropped it noisily on the desk and searched for his phone. He had left it on the bed. He grasped it and saw over twenty missed calls.

Fuck.

He snorted when he saw that the calls were from Rose and Gavin. He dialed back Gavin's number and ground his teeth in frustration when the boy would not pick.

He was about to throw the phone back on the bed when it buzzed. It was Gavin calling back.

"Hey, dude, where are you?" He asked sharply before Gavin could say hello.

"At home." The boy replied dryly.

"At home?" Jethro scoffed, "Why did leave without informing me? I've been worried."

"Worried?" Gavin tittered and a short break came in before he spoke again, "Did anything happen? How was the talk with Jessy? Did she say anything useful?" He threw the questions in a muffled voice as he seemed to be munching on something.

"I asked you a question first, answer that." Jethro returned harshly.

"What question?" Gavin sniggered, much to Jethro's annoyance.

Jethro took a pause and furiously repeated, "Why did you leave without informing me?"

"Sorry." Gavin said and made a gulping sound, "Callie kept on calling and I had to leave."

"But you could have just informed me and not left Ava all by herself." Jethro chastised but Gavin responded with a laugh instead.

"So, you're mad because I left Ava alone?" The boy chuckled.

"No, I'm mad because you got me worried." Jethro scowled, "You have no idea of what happened after you left."

A rustling sound came in afterward and it was followed by a clang of plate and spoon, "What happened?" Gavin's voice echoed with excitement.

"Not what we'll discuss on phone. I'll see you tomorrow." Jethro dismissed his question and was ready to end the call but Gavin stopped him as expected.

"Dude, I hate suspense and you know that." Gavin rasped.

Jethro took a hesitation, debating whether to say it or not. He shut his eyes and took a final decision, "Jessy stabbed herself."

"What!" Gavin screamed.

"You caused it." Jethro criticized before the boy could say another word, "She stabbed herself when she saw Ava. That would not have happened if you had stayed with Ava or at least informed me when you were leaving."

A silence set in after the criticism, Gavin certainly short of words while Jethro expected the boy to say something.

"See, we'll talk better tomorrow. Feeling tired and sleepy." He said when Gavin would just keep quiet. He ended the call and dropped the phone anywhere.

He staggered up from his bed to get the plate from the desk. The aroma of bread, egg, and bell peppers filled his nose as he opened the plate. The meal was still warm and he could do with that on this chilly night. He moved to the wardrobe when he remembered he still had wet clothes on. He flung it open and roughly searched out a thick cloak. He swapped his soaked shirt and went back to his meal.

His mind went back to Ava as he chewed. Now that he was relieved that Gavin was safe, he could now think about all that happened this long night and all the secrets Jessy had revealed.

What surprised him most was Katie being involved in all that happened to Ava. No. Jethro shook his head. Katie was not just involved. She was the main person behind everything.

But why?

All because of hatred?

Finn had said Katie hated Ava but should a loathing lead to hurting someone that much? Jethro felt there was something more to that than just hatred. There was something still hidden and he would figure it out.

He finished his meal and reminded himself he needed to figure out who the Bear was. That should be the final thing missing and there was only one person who could answer that.

Katie.

He would be expecting Finn's call and tell him the next plan was to get Katie and force her to disclose all she did that night at the party. The identity of the Bear should come out from there.

He would also be awaiting Stan's visit. First, to get whatever the boy wanted to give him and then to challenge him based on what Jessy had revealed. Stan also knew of the plan from the beginning and even though he eventually withdrew, Jethro would not still confront him about it.

Exhausted, Jethro cleared his head of those thoughts. His eyes were now heavy. He needed to sleep. He fell back on his bed and groped for his phone. Ava had asked him to call her when he got home but he doubted that she would still be awake by now. He dialed her number and when it would not go through, he closed his eyes and slept off.