Me rushing into the room to check up on Brianna- finding her unconscious- calling 911- getting to know that Lenny was always a part of the murder from Kelly- all of it was a blur. It felt like the world around me was spinning, but I was standing still. Trying to make sense of my existence and fearing about my loved ones. Right now, not only one or two, but three of the people I adored were in danger.

Brianna was rushed into the emergency room and the doctors certainly took their sweet time to tell whether she was going to be okay or not. Blake was in the car with a man who brought the murder weapon and Jordan was held at knifepoint by a maniac. The mere thought of losing any one of them sent chills down my spine.

After what felt like an eternity, I decided to rest my eyes as the doctors were refusing to come out of the room and tell me whether my friend was going to be okay or not. Upon closing my eyes, my gaurd automatically fell down and I sensed being transported into a different world.

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer sitting on a cold, metal chair in an awfully white waiting room smelling like bleach. Instead, my new surrounding was rather peculiar. Greenery spread until my eyes could see. My shoes were missing and my feet touched the dewy grass. Flowers bloomed everywhere, looking like jewellery on the bushes and trees. A small house stood in the middle of this fairy-tale like realm giving off tranquil vibes.

"Rie?" An angelic voice called out my name and I did not have to turn around to know who it was.

The voice belonged to a certain person I had wronged and betrayed. It belonged to a person that had always managed to cheer me up when I felt upset and moody. It was somebody whose presence was enough to calm everyone down. It was Rosalind's sweet voice.

I spun around and saw here standing with a flower basket and a plain pastel coloured cotton gown. Her hair were tied into a bun. letting a few strands fall around her heart-shaped frame.

"Rosalind!" My voice broke as I rushed to wrap my arms around her. "Oh, I've missed you so much. I am so so so sorry for fighting with you and then never trying to make an effort to speak to you and I am not the only one who is guilty. You should see Brianna. She has changed in her minimum time at Maplebirch. She is more empathetic now."

"Do you want to come inside?" She smiled with her rosy lips. "Come on, I'll make some soup."

I did not bother myself to question this phenomenon. I was reunited with her and that was all that mattered to me at that moment.

We went inside the cozy house which was decorated with picture frames of Rosalind with her friends and family. There were pictures of her with Derek and Lenny too and it made mt blood boil. I took a seat on a light yellow couch and looked at Rosaind with admiration as she cut the vegetables for the soup.

"What is this place?" I finally asked because that question was much better than talking about her death.

"It is your dream. Your safe place," she smiled, looking as peaceful as ever.

"I used to dream of a place like this when I was a child. I created this after reading fairy-tales," I whispered in realisation. "So, you're not real, are you? Just a fragment of my imagination?"

Rosalind faced me almost in an instance after I spoke. "Never, ever think of such thing again. I am as real as I ever was. You know how? Because right now, I am present because your heart wishes it and that is enough. Valerie, we might have parted in bitter ways, but the friendship never ended."

"But I was absent during your hardest times in life and that makes me an awful friend," I sniffed.

"Do you remember when Brianna had a panic attack one night and she did not tell us until it was a month?" Rosalind asked.

"I do."

"Did she ever blame us for it?"

"No.'

"Why not?"

"Because she chose not to tell us and if she chose to keep it a secret, we were nobody to insist."

"Exactly. Life had gotten rough for me, but I chose to fight it alone. I had started realising that my selflessness was only going to be my downfall. I had started seeing the world in its real form and it was scary, but I was not totally alone. I had Jordan by my side and for that time, he was who I really needed," her eyes had gotten softer at the mention of Jordan. It seemed like she was reminiscing her days with him.

"Jordan is a fine young man," I chuckled. "I had my doubts about him in the beginning, but now, I would trust him with my life. I thank him a lot, you know. For being there for you and helping you grow. It means a lot to me."

"He may never say it, but he is not proud of being a member of the gang. Life had been cruel to him too and that pushed him to such an extreme decision. But I am glad that you're helping him too. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see the three of you get along."

"Even after death, you gave us an amazing gift."

"Valerie, you caught my killers. Do not think that you are doing nothing," she said in an assuring tone.

"About that," I said and looked her in the eye. That was the first time that I had actually locked my gaze with hers. "I am so sorry that you did not have an epic love story and had rotten family members."

"What Derek and Lenny did is absolutely upsetting. But, I had starting seeing their true colors a lot before that. When Derek refused to let me go on my date with Lenny, I was aware that he never actually cared about me but had grown expectant that I would always be there for him, discarding my personal life. Lenny too was growing distasnt after finding about the baby. I just- I just never thought that this would be the conclusion they would come to." The dissapointment in her voice was obvious.

"It's unfair. That you have been so good your entire life and yet it gets stripped away from you because of somebody else's inablitity to process that you wanted to start looking after yourself," I pointed out. "You did not deserve it, Rose."

"Now, this would sound very optimistic, but I got what I had coming. I mean, you and Bri benefitted so much from my death. The two of you are finally together again!"

"You did not have to die for that," I argued.

"Hey, let's not waste this dream fighting. Tell me about Blake," she giggled and I looked at her with a flushed face.

"Oh Rosalind, he is one of the most amazing man I have ever encountered. He might not speak a lot and keep things to himself, but I see him trying to step out of his comfort zone for me and that is enough. I am ready to put in all the efforts if it means I get to be with him. Is it wrong of me to love him so early?"

"Absolutely not. This love would grow deeper and deeper everyday and it is going to be the best feeling in the entire world. Trust me," she said. "I can't believe you have a boyfriend now."

There was a short silence before the two of us bursted with laughter. Truly, it was a miracle that I found love in Blake.

"Rie, I must go now. Your friends wait for you."

I was quick to put my hand on top of hers and squeeze it. I was not ready to end the dream. I was not ready to stop this precious moment. I was not ready to let her go.

She placed a tender kiss on my forehead and that action led to me opening my eyes. It took me a few seconds to adjust back to the reality but when I did, I saw Kelly talk to the doctor. I walked over to the two of them and joined in the conversation.

"I am happy to inform that your friend is okay. The hit put a little strain on her, resulting to her unconsciousness. But for safety purposes, we are keeping her overnight and running a few more tests. You should be able to take her home tomorrow." The doctor smiled at us and then left.

I looked at Kelly, all of my worries slowly returning to my nerves. Kelly saw through my anticipation and pulled me into an embrace. "It's all going to be okay soon. Derek and Lenny are into custody."

I looked at her with wide, teary eyes and hugged her back. "That is such good news. Thank you so much. For everything."

"Hey, I didn't do anything. It was all you, Brianna and Jordan," she smiled.

"Valerie?" Another familiar voice beamed through the room.

When I saw Jordan looking at me with painful expressions, I rushed to his side and threw myself at him. His hands locked me in his arms as he settled his head in the crrook of my neck. "Brianna is going to be okay. We all are going to be okay." I cried and he just squeezed me tighter.

I broke the hug when my eyes fell on a certain handsome man. My lips tugged upwards when he flashed me one of his warmest smiled. Instead of sprinting towards him, I took slow and steady steps in his direction.

"I love you, Blake. And I intend to love you deeper tomorrow and the day after that."

He did not say a single word back but took my small hands in his, pulled me towards him and connected our lips. When my eyes closed, I could see all of my lost happiness coming back to me. Small, electric bolts ran down everywhere in my body and when he just pulled me closer to him and deepened our kiss, I knew I was never letting him go.

"I love you too, Rie."

"What did you just call me?" I popped my eyebrow with astonishment.

"Well, everyone calls you Val and I wanted to call you something different. So, I decided to go with Rie. Why? You don't like it?"

"I love it."

Okay, this is hands down one of the best chapters I have ever written.

This was supposed to be a confession chapter, but I decided to add a little more of Rosalind and see how she thinks of everything.

Two more chapters and then I'm writing an epilogue :')

It's been a good journey. Anywayssss, let me know your thoughts.

Don't forget to vote and comment and share.