"This is a dinner, not a funeral!" Brianna sighed as she got up from my bed and walked towards my closet. "You're also not a mysterious person anymore to wear an all black outfit. I get it, black attire always looks good, but you are not wearing that to dinner tonight."

I had invited Brianna to come and help me select an outfit. Kelly suggested to talk with Rosalind's parents and ask them if they observed any unusual behaviour or if they were aware their daughter was suffering from depression.

Derek had been generous and helped me out. He planned a dinner and invited me and Blake to it.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. The last time I visited the McAllister's, Derek found out his sister was killed. I did not want any further trouble for them. They already suffered enough.

"I don't have any other clothes," I murmured but Brianna ignored it as she rummaged through my closet, throwing every pant or shirt on the bed which didn't satisfy her.

"Then we make an outfit. You call me here for a reason, right. So, just let me do my thang," she sighed.

Once my closet was all empty, she turned around and scanned the previously discarded clothes carefully. Her index finger rubbed her chin as she concentrated on finding the "perfect outfit."

"What if I mess up?" I asked, looking up and fixating my eyes on her.

"Oh, you'll be fine. You've got Blake and Derek to handle the situation in case you mess up," she nonchalantly waved her hand in the air and bent down to pick up navy blue v-neck t-shirt and then walked to the other side of the bed to get the black ripped jeans. "There you go. Go change."

I silently took the clothing from her hand and went to the bathroom to change. "How did your investigation go?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It was informative," she replied.

I got out and dusted the pant a bit, looking at her expectantly for an answer. She gave me a thumbs up and then smirked. "Look at your, all dolled up."

I rolled me eyes and muttered a small "shut up."

"What about Valerie? How did it go for her?"

"Well, she is going for a dinner too. I'll be happy if she comes out of it alive or well, if Lola comes out of it alive."

I turned around and squinted my eyes at Brianna's statement. I never took Valerie to be the type of girl who would hold or a grudge or even think of killing somebody.

Looking at the shock and confusion on my face, Brianna told me about her high-school incident and how they hated each other ever since.

"Come on, I'll drop you off and then will go to Valerie's to get Blake," I said as I put on my shoes and grabbed my motorcycle's keys.

"Oh no, drop me at Valerie's too. I have to help her choose an outfit too." She smiled.

"No, you don't," I said and furrowed my brows. "She is not going out on a date. She is going to meet her sworn enemy. She wouldn't care what she is wearing. Why do you wanna go there?"

"Fine," she sighed in defence. "I just want to make sure she doesn't do anything she regrets."

I continued to give her an icy glare, not believing the words coming out of her mouth. She folded her hands and tapped her feet on the ground, expecting that I'll give up and leave.

"Jesus! I really want to tell her that. I have changed, okay? I swear I'm telling the truth."

"People don't change, but alright. I believe you."

"Good, now, chop chop. We don't have time to waste."

It took us hardly twenty minutes to reach Valerie's house. Blake was already outside, talking on his phone. Brianna greeted him and went inside while Blake hopped on behind me.

The engine roared as I started it and made our way to the McAllister's for another nerve wrecking dinner.

The air night was breezy with the fresh blooms as Maplebirch happily welcomed spring. I used to love silent rides. They helped me clear my mind and get rid of all the negative thoughts.

But today, it was different. The atmosphere helped me relax, but at the same time, it made my mind suffocate with unnecessary worry. Brianna was right. Even if I did screw up, I had Derek who would support me and Blake too.

Maybe I wasn't worried about me screwing up. Maybe I was worried about them finding out what happened to their daughter. The truth.

I never had the best relationship with my parents, so when Rosalind talked about her family, it never failed to bring a smile on my face. She loved them so much and they equally loved her back.

I didn't see why Kelly put my on family duty. I was the guy who was too late to save their daughter. This thought kept me up at night. Would she have been alive if I had been just a little early? Would I have prevented her horrible fate? Maybe not. But there was no harm in thinking otherwise.

"Hey!" Blake's muffled voice made me blink and snap out of my thoughts. "We will be here soon. Did you get what I told you?"

Uh oh.

"Ummm...no?"

His expressions were enough to tell me that he mentally facepalmed himself for being stuck with me. He'd rather be when his girlfriend.

"Just, don't bring up sensitive topics. These are her folks and they will be suspicious easily that the rest."

"Got it."

We both walked towards the door and I rang the doorbell. I didn't have Valerie today to calm me down. She did such a good job and relaxing my nerves.

Mr. McAllister opened the door and gave us a wide smile.

"I must tell you, when you called me, I was a little surprised and stunned. But I'm glad we are doing this. It's about time we get to know you better."

"I'm glad that we are doing this too, sir," I politely smiled as I walked into the cozy house.

Derek has been standing near the couch with a small smile on his face. Blake just nodded as a greeting and closed the door behind him.

"Let's talk a little. My wife will call us all once she sets up the table," Mr. McAllister said.

"Does she need any help?" I asked, trying to get out of the soon to-be a serious situation.

"Nah. She'll manage it on her own."

"Why don't I go help her?" Derek gently spoke and excused himself.

That lucky bastard.

I gave Blake an unsure look as we both sat on the couch in sync.

"How are you doing?" Mr. McAllister asked us.

"We've been doing great." Blake answered for the both of us. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I have gotten a lot better. We are finally adjusting without Rose. Obviously, we still miss her, but we are healing. Baby steps, right?" He laughed, and we let out nervous chuckles. Well, not Blake but only me.

"If you don't mind me asking," Blake cleared his throat and turned his body to Derek's father's side. "Did Rosalind show any signs of her struggling with her life?"

I widened my eyes at his directness but immediately regained my calm posture. What is he trying to do?!

"No. Why'd you ask?"

"It's just, Rosalind was a really good friend's of Valerie and I'm just trying to get some closure for Val. A little piece of information would help too," he confidently admitted.

Mr. McAllister shot me a confused look, so I cleared it up for him, "Valerie is dating Blake. He's just trying to help."

"In that case, I guess you could tell her that my baby girl was brave until the end. She did not show any signs of vulnerability. Or maybe we were just terrible parents who could not see the struggles she was fighting."

The atmosphere changed. I was afraid that this would happen. Blake just nodded and tried to change the topic, but it was too late.

Just as if on cue, Derek told us that dinner was ready. I thanked god for inventing perfect timing and got up.

The table was decorated with fine tablecloth and on it was the most delicious looking turkey. I stood behind one of the chairs and waited for everybody to take a seat before I took mine.

Panic was an understatement, I felt something greater than that. I don't even think a word for greater panic is discovered yet.

"Hey, Jordan?" Derek called me out. "Can I see you alone for a second?"

I shot Blake a look before agreeing to the request. Derek took me back to the living room and smacked me shoulder.

"Ow! What was the for?" I winced, rubbing the stinging part.

"Can you be any more obvious? What are you doing!"

"What am I doing? Blake was the one who decided to be direct. My plan was the break the ice first." I defended.

"No. I am not talking about that. I'm talking about your expressions. Nobody from my family is going to eat you up. Loosen up a little," he hissed.

"I- Should we tell your parents the truth?" I, myself was taken aback from the sentence that came out of my mouth. It even managed to surprise Derek.

"They are finally moving on. It is a bad idea," he nodded and ran his hand through his hair.

"But they deserve to know the truth, don't they? How would you have reacted if you never found out?"

"You are staying the entire dinner silent," he warned me.

I heaved a heavy sigh and agreed. It was probably for the best. If Derek didn't want to do it, I was in no place to send the McAllister's back to relive the trauma.

We went back and saw that my plate was already filled. Derek gave a lousy excuse to speak to me alone and we all dug into the meal place in front of us.

Blake was a cunning guy. He asked questions indirectly and the McAllister's answered honestly. They had no idea they were being interrogated.

As promised, I stayed quiet most of the part. I only spoke when I was needed to.

Unfortunately, nobody in the house knew what their daughter was going through, so we just hit the dead-end.

While I didn't utter any word, I took that time to reflect on my thinking. Why did I feel the need to tell them about Rose's death?

I knew myself enough to know that every thought that came to my mind had its purpose. I was not the one to overthink or to think about absolute crap.

Deep down, maybe I did think I should tell them. But I would have felt better if Derek was in on the plan with me. I didn't want to ruin his family more than they already were.

Even if they didn't want to admit, as they were healing, they were also growing distant from each other. I could see it on their faces. They were building a wall inside them. A wall that had the power to lock this devastation forever and give them the energy and hope to move on. They wanted to support each other, help each other through this process but all of them were so exhausted smiling for the world.

I excused myself and decided to splash some cold water on my face. That might ease the conumdrum I was currently experiencing. Mrs. McAllister was kind enough to give me directions to the restroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and questioned internally what I was trying to do. This was definitely not how I was hoping to spend my time here. Brianna told me how she almost punched Jessica's smug face and how Valerie was going to dinner to get information. But, all I did was eat dinner.

I opened to door to go back to the kitchen, but stopped when Mr. McAllister was patiently waiting.

"Did you want to use the restroom? I am sorry for taking up so much time," I said, but when his featured hardened, I knew he was here for something else.

"Look, Jordan," he sighed. "My son, Valerie and Brianna might hide the truth from me for obvious reasons, but it would make me feel really good if you told me what was going on."

"What are you talking about?"

"Derek has been spending most of his time away from the house and his responisibilities. He was really invested in being a good boss of my company as I handed him all my hardwork. But lately, he is avoiding all that and coming up with petty excuses. He is my son and I know when he is lying. Just- Just tell me the truth."

I breathed out all the air that I was holding inside and blinked a few times to buy me some time and make the correct decision. The only problem was that there was no right or wrong in this situation. Either I lie my way out of it, or I tell him the truth, risking Blake's wrath.

"Speak whenever you're ready," he said.

"Your daughter, Rosalind, she did not commit suicide. She was murdered."

It was done. The damage was done. I was not going back now.

A glass shattering distracted us both from the serious moment. Mrs. McAllister was on the verge of collapsing but Blake stopped her from falling on the ground in time. Derek was the next one to come rushing in and stand in the passage.

Blake gave me one of his cold stares, but I decided it was better not to explain myself. I stood there, letting them absorb the new information in. The continuous sobs from Mrs. McAllister made my heart sink in.

"I thought I told you to shut up," Derek gritted his teeth.

"I was the one who pushed him to confess. It's not his fault," his dad stepped in and gave his son a warning to not overstep. "How could you hide this from me?"

"The killer is still out there, dad. Blake works for the CBI. He is helping us find the killer. I was going to tell you after we catch him."

"We should leave and give you guys some space," Blake said and I apologised once again before leaving.

"Hold on," Mr. McAllister ordered. He pulled me inot a hug and patted my back after thanking me to be honest.

I walked out and allowed the calming breeze to envelop me.

"We have to go to Picasso, Val has something to share," Blake informed.

"I wish she was here today," I stated and Blake freezed for a split second but was quick to regain his posture.

We both decided to walk to the infamous restaurant. One of the reasons was that we were absolutely full and wanted to ignite the digestion and maybe, keeping my motorcycle here would give me an excuse to check up on the McAllisters tomorrow.

"Why?"

"For starters, she helped me stay calm and she always knows to say the right thing," I said and looked up at Blake who had his jaw clenched and muttered something inchoherent.

"What?" I asked.

"Huh?" he looked at me, trying to act innocent.

"You said something and I didn't quite catch it. Can you repeat it?" I asked.

"Were you intimidated today?" he changed the topic, hoping that I'll let is slide. He certainly had an issue with me, I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"I wanted to tell him the truth. I was not intimidated," I answered. "Only Valerie has succeeded to intimidate me till date."

When Blake halted and turned to me, I let a victorius smile creep up my face. "Do you have something to share?" I asked.

"You do not get to act all shy. Not after the stunt you just pulled," he stated. "But, if you are so keen on knowing, I was jealous of your closeness with my girlfriend. I am over it now. Because even if there was something, I already won considering that I am the one who is dating her and not you."

My lips pursed as I tried to control my laughter. I could not believe that Blake, the better version of Sheldon Cooper or even Sherlock Holmes just shared his feelings with me, the guy who possibly screwed up this case permanently.

"I am sorry to have made you feel this way," I genuinely replied. "But Val and I are just friends. Really."

"I know that. I have been assured of that," he sarcastically smile and started walking again.

"No, wait," I said and caught up with him. "Even though she assured you, I really want you to know that there is nothing to worry about. Look, I know we have barely talked and we did not exactly meet under the right circumstances and I feel like you hate me for some reason, but I want to put these differences aside and try to be friends."

"I don't hate you," he blatantly replied.

"Well, you dislike me," I said. "But you are not a fan of me and I know that."

"Valerie almost lost her life to get you out of jail. I don't blame you for that or even dislike you. It just makes me worried because every time I see you face, I am reminded of that horrible time," he confessed.

"I didn't know that she would go that far to get me out of prison," I mentioned.

"That is why I do not blame you. Look, you wanna be friends? I don't mind. But I just want you to know that I don't do "friends." Kelly was the only person who stuck by my side through thick and thin. People automatically assume I'm rude and leave me. She was the one who truly understood. And now there is Valerie. She gets me. I don't wanna lose her. That's all."

"I understand. I quit the gang couple of week ago. I decided it was time for me to do something better. I'll be moving to the city too. Maybe we could grab some drinks sometime?"

Blake gave me a longing look before just simply nodded as a response. He also offered to help me look into jobs and to find a good place where I could live.

It was a long walk, but didn't feel that long as I enjoyed Blake regret his decision to tell me he was jealous of me. I shouldn't be feeling this happy considering that we had many other things we had to worry about.

I was thankful of this light moment because there was no way I had braced myself for the storm waiting for us at Picasso

Hello Angels!

Did Jordan make the right decision of telling the truth?

Ummm...what storm is Jordan talking about?

Did ya'll love the Blake and Jordan moment?

Also, the next chapter is really important, so do not skip it.

Don't forget to share, comment and vote.