It's A Twin Thing | j. clarke [1]

twenty-eight

-:- House of Hush / House of Spies -:-

"Okay now we really have to go," Jerome said, tugging at my hand.

"I asked you a question," Rufus demanded. He came toward us, reaching for the charm. I didn't pull back in time and he was able to grab it forcefully out of my fingers.

"It's not a setup," Jerome reassured, letting go of my hand.

"I find that hard to believe," he glared at us.

"I stole the necklace when you weren't looking," I lied in a rushed manner. "Jerome didn't know I was planning on taking it, he had nothing to do with it."

I fought to keep my expression neutral as Rufus' eyes danced over my face, looking for an indication I was lying. My breath was shallow—afraid that if I made the slightest wrong move he'd figure it out and we'd be screwed. Thankfully, he rolled his eyes and turned back to Jerome with a set jaw.

"Well, where are the pieces?" He raised his eyebrows. "I'm not getting any younger down here."

Right, you're just not getting any older, I thought. As I chewed my lip to keep my mouth shut, the sound of the front door slamming rang throughout the floor above us. Since the real door to the cellar was connected to the hallway we were able to hear the sound clearly.

"What was that?" Rufus demanded.

"Victor," Jerome explained. "He must be back."

"No, no, no," Rufus mumbled.

"Listen, we'll go up there and stop him from coming down to the cellar." Jerome offered as he took my hand again. We only managed two steps before Rufus stopped us, gripping Jerome's shoulder tightly.

"No, stay where you are," Rufus refused.

"But what if he comes down here?" I asked, trying to play along.

"Stay where you are," he repeated harshly. His voice was gritty, showing the anxiety in his tone. He turned away from us, listening to the stairs for Victor's footsteps. A rush of adrenaline went through me as I realized this was our moment to escape. Jerome must've had the same idea because he was already two steps closer to the door and pulling at my hand by the time I turned to him.

And then the lights flipped on as the sound of Victor's keys jingling radiated from the top of the stairs. I paused, wanting to see what Victor would do. Despite Jerome's eagerness to leave, he waited and watched as well.

"Who's there?" Victor called.

Victor landed at the bottom of the stairs with heavy footsteps, and Rufus stepped out from behind the wall we were hiding. Victor didn't notice him right away with his back facing us, eyeing the table of test tubes in front of him.

"Hello Victor," Rufus said calmly.

Victor flinched, turning to face him and gripping the table for stability. That was when Jerome and I made our move. He went first, sliding behind the wall and into the secret stairwell, still gripping my hand and pulling me along. He only let go when he had to crawl through the oven door.