Fireproof // H.S.

24. Lost Trust

"Can you light this candle for me?" Dr. Rosario asked, pushing a pine scented candle towards me. I squirmed in my seat, uncomfortable at his request. "Please?" I sighed and ignited the flame. Dr. Rosario got excited and clapped like a child and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smile. How is it that this man experimented on me?

He then turned his attention to Niall who wasn't enjoying the attention either. "Can you freeze this cup of tea?"

"Sure," Niall responded. He had a smirk on his face which wasn't a good thing for Dr. Rosario, who slowly began to freeze before me. I clapped a hand over my mouth to prevent myself from giggling and Niall turned to me. "He was asking for it."

"Alright, unfreeze him, Niall," I said, starting to feel guilty.

"Not yet," Niall said. "I want to snoop around and see if we can find anything interesting." I was caught off guard by what he said. What is he looking for exactly?

"You better not steal from him," I warned, remembering the subway incident where I first met him.

"You will never let that go, will you?" Niall asked, frowning.

"Nope."

Niall got up and surveyed the room. He didn't find what he was looking for and started to navigate down the hallway. I quickly got up and grabbed his arm.

"What are you looking for?" I whispered, even though I knew Dr. Rosario couldn't hear me. Ever since I found out Bridget could hear us even though she was frozen, I've been self conscious about what I say in front of people who are frozen. Just in case, of course.

"I wonder if I can find any papers outlining the experiment done on us. I'm very curious about what they did and what records they have on us," Niall explained. I had to admit he brought up a good point. I do want to know what they did to us and what they observed.

"But I thought they covered everything up and were sworn to secrecy? I don't think you'll find anything," I told him.

"I don't think anyone was making sure they were following the rules. You never know. He could be hiding something himself."

Niall and I went into what must be his office. Inside the small room was a large mahogany desk and bookshelves filled with books of various sizes organized neatly. The curtains were dimmed and his desk was messy with stacks of books and papers. Niall started looking through the papers on his desk while I was immediately drawn to the small filing cabinet on the floor. I tried to pull the cabinet open but it wouldn't budge. It was locked. Maybe he's hiding something in there. I told Niall about the locked filing cabinet and he was immediately intrigued.

"Let's look for the key. It has to be here somewhere," Niall said, opening the drawers of the desk and going through them slowly. Feeling helpless, I scanned the walls of the small office and noticed a small yellow tack that stuck out like a sore thumb against the forest green walls. I saw a glint of silver hanging from the yellow tack and instantly knew it was the key. I grabbed the key and stuck it in the lock. It fit perfectly.

"Niall, I got it open!" Niall immediately stopped what he was doing and we opened the filing cabinet together to find...folders full of newspaper clippings.

"I was hoping we'd find gold or jewelry," Niall said, disappointed. I playfully elbowed him and grabbed the folders out and placed them on the desk neatly. I opened the first folder which held several newspaper clippings. I quickly scanned the title of the first clipping and was shocked by what I saw.

YOUNG GIRL MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVES DEADLY HOUSE FIRE.

I couldn't breathe. I didn't have to read on to know that that article was about me. Niall saw my shock and read the newspaper clipping.