Chapter 14: Stop fighting, please.
The four of us moved to the backyard because we did not want to be interrupted by useless chatter and deafening music. We were still recovering and digesting the recent bomb Lenny dropped on us. Out of all the possibilities, I did not even think pregnancy would be the reason Lenny and Rosalind got distant.
"How could she get pregnant?" Brianna asked.
"I don't really want to explain the bird and the bees right now." Jordan answered.
"I'm pretty sure she meant that were you guys ready for a child?" I looked at Lenny who had his jaw clenched at the question
"The child didn't belong to me." He whispered.
"Rosalind would never cheat on you, let alone have sex with another man." Brianna defended her.
"Rosalind and I had not canoodled for the past five months, I am confident that there is no other way to conceive a child except for sex." He yelled back.
"That explains why you weren't aware of many things going on in her life." Jordan spoke in realization. "That also explains why she received genuine happiness from visiting the orphanage. She felt closer to the baby."
I felt my legs give up as I let my body loose, but before I could fall on the ground, Jordan quickly held my waist and kept me steady. "Rosalind was not the only one who died, the baby, it died too."
Brianna let out a small gasp while Lenny just glued his eyes on the ground. I knew in my heart that the news brought joy in Rosalind's life. She would have done everything to keep her baby happy. She was ready to be a mother and I have no doubt, she would have been the perfect mother this world would have ever witnessed.
What surprised me was that Derek did not mention her pregnancy. He was a supportive brother and I saw no shame in Rosalind being pregnant before marriage. I assumed the McAllister's would have all been very supportive during the rough time.
"Who knew about this?" I looked at Lenny.
"Just me and her family. It was kept a secret from everybody else." He replied, his tone filled with guilt.
"How could you stop supporting her? I get it, it was a huge mistake on her part, but do you know she needed you the most? She was expecting your love, but instead you did the complete opposite." Brianna cried in anger, repeatedly shoving him aside.
"Don't even try to point out my mistake!" Lenny retaliated. "Where were her sisters from another mother? She mentioned how happy you two would be at the news, but she held back because of that petty fight you'll had!"
"We weren't aware!" I yelled. "Do you seriously think so low of us? We would have come running if she wanted our help. Just like we came running for the funeral."
"Stop fighting, please." Jordan calmly interjected.
All of us stopped our bickering and looked at Jordan. We all looked pathetic, trying to justify ourselves why we weren't better people to save Rosalind.
Before I could agree with him, Lenny stomped forwards in his direction until he was deadly close, "For all we know, you might be the baby daddy." After accusing him, his fist met Jordan's jaw.
"LENNY!" Brianna and I exclaimed in unison.
I helped Jordan up and then glared back at Lenny who was breathing harder.
"He is not wrong! Look at us playing the blame game when it is all our fault. We were terrible friends and it is okay for you to be angry. Can we just go back to the party and try to forget this?" I asked.
All the three of them nodded and walked back in the direction of the party. I was next to Jordan who was trying stopping the blood by his handkerchief.
"You are not the father, right?" I whispered.
"No." He nodded frantically in disbelief.
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The next morning, Kelly, Blake and I were going to go to the orphanage. Lenny needed a day to get recharged mentally, Jordan did not want to scare the kids with his bruise and Brianna stayed back to clean her house from yesterdays party.
Kelly was surprised when I revealed the new piece of information to her. She added 'X' on the suspect list, X being the father of the unborn child. I had no idea what was in store for us over there. I wanted to skip accompanying Kelly too, but at the same time, I felt like an obligation to be there.
The entire car ride was silent. I was silently sitting in the backseat, catching up with my thoughts. I hadn't done that in a while with all of the tension and commotion going on. We all had burdened our minds with unwanted feeling and culpability. We may have not murdered Rosalind, but we were equally responsible for our wrongdoings.
The car halted nearby an old building structure. The noise of laughter and whispers of innocent children lingered in the air. I got out of the car and saw numerous small children playing in the garden while the older kids, I'm guessing teenagers, had their heads buried in novels.
My heart ached for them. I could not imagine my lives without my parents. I was so thankful for them and realized how precious and worthy are they.
A little girl tugged on my red knitted shirt, making me crouch down so that we were face to face. She wore a huge smile on her face.
"Hi there, I am Valerie, what's your name?" I warmly greeted her.
"Anna." She replied. Her voice as sweet as honey.
"Like princess Anna?" I asked her and she nodded.
"Anna!" One of the caretakers shouted her name. "It's time for evening prayer, go join your friends." Anna ran to catch up with her classmates and I stood up. I informed her we were looking for some information on one of the daily visitors and before she could answer me, Kelly yelled my name.
"I don't think New York heard you." I joked and she rolled her eyes.
"I talked with the matron in charge of this orphanage. She recognised Rosalind and did mention her visits here. Blake's in there with her." She informed me.
"How does this help? I mean is she going to give us the next clue or what?" I questioned.
"I have no idea." She shrugged.
I followed Kelly to a small office where Blake was listening to the matron with his hands folded and the usual serious look.
"Rosalind used to visit one child in particular, her name was Lucy." Blake told the both of us.
"Can we see her?" I asked the matron who in return softly nodded.
She lead us through a long hallway and opened the second last door for us. Kelly entered and smiled at the little girl who was busy drawing a small sketch.
Blake looked at me and gestures me to enter. I smiled back and walked inside. It had a single bed which indicated that she lived alone in the rusty room.
She didn't look older than five. I pouted and sat besides her, admiring her skills. She gave me the cutest smile and continued her work.
"Blake?" Kelly called him.
"I think you should take this one." He insisted. "I don't want to hurt her by opening my mouth."
"Hey! You're not that bad." I told him. "I want you to do it. Improve your people skills."
He gave me a longing look before sighing in defeat and coming closer to Lucy. He weirdly joined us and patter her back.
"She is not a dog! She is a human child for god's sake." Kelly laughed.
"Hey baby girl." He lowered his voice. "Do you recognise this lady?" He asked, showing her a picture of Rosalind.
She looked at me for help. "Why don't you try using a simple language." I advised him.
"Do you know this lady?" He rephrased and she nodded.
"What did you guys talked about?" He smiled politely at her.
"Games and faiwy tales." She answered.
"Awww." I made heart eyes at her improper English. "Did she began with Cinderella?"
"Yes." She replied. "It was her favit."
"I know. I was her friend."
"Why doesn't she come now?" She looked at me and I looked at Blake.
"Umm...alright...She, she decided to meet god for some time." He explained.
"She didn't decide. She was forced to." I corrected him. "But yes, she is going to talk all good things about you too."
"When will she come back?" She looked at Blake.
"She won't return for a long time now." He told her.
I got up and stood next to Kelly. I couldn't partake in the conversation anymore. After him talking to Lucy for a while and helping her with her drawing, he got up to check the space underneath her bed.
I knitted my eyebrows as curiousness filled my mind. He removed another piece of paper and Kelly immediately rushed and asked Lucy if she saw the person. But the only answer we got was that it was a man with his face covered.
Well that just narrows the list down to every man present in Maplebirch. So, these she cheated on Lenny with was still a possible subject.
While walking back to the car, I decided to strike a short conversation with Blake.
"So..." I started. "I saw you checking out Brianna during the party yesterday...do you have the hots for her?" I wiggles my eyebrows.
"What? No!" He scoffed.
"Oh come dude! I saw you looking at her."
"I like her songs, so I was just admiring her as a fan." He told me.
"Are you sure?" I asked him for confirmation.
"Yes."
"How do I trust you? I mean it's fine if you like her. Not a big deal. She is a star anyway."
"I would never date a celebrity. No offence to Brianna, but I don't think I could keep up with the energy. Plus you have to talk a lot and you know me." He finally said.
"Fine." I sighed. "What did the note say?"
He handed me the note and I waited to open it in the car. As I sat in the car, I quickly shut the door and turned on the car lights.
I opened the note and started reading.
"Good job finding out her happy place. I'm sure you also know why it kept her happy. For the next clue, you have to find out the man responsible for ruining Rosalind's relationship with Lenny. You will find the name in the place which contains her deepest secrets."
Hello Angels!
Another long chapter only for you guys.
I tried making a collage and I think it looks FINE.
The next clue isn't hard to figure out, so tell me what you guys think it is.
I am planning to write another book contained True Crime Cases. It will have all of the unsolved cases written in detail with suspects and theories along with my personal thoughts.
Being an introvert, I don't really mind the quarantine, I'm enjoying myself. But, at the same time I want all of you to be safe and stay indoors. Don't forget to wash your hand every now and then properly.
Don't forget to vote, comment and share :)
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