Working With Red

Secret Doors and Eavesdropping

Updated: 2021.08.19

After you had finished cleaning up the kitchen from the well-over flour war, you headed off to your room, gathering clothes so you could take a shower. You scooped up your things and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you. 

You were embarrassed; recalling the look on Roy's face when Oliver had seen the two of you in the kitchen just reminded you of how Roy had gone from happy-go-lucky to straight-up jerk in, like, two seconds. It was also confusing because you didn't understand why.

Did he not want Ollie to see us having fun? Does he not want him to think we're getting along? You sighed, shaking your head.

After your rather difficult shower--getting the wet flour out of your hair was a rather difficult task, in itself--you returned to your bedroom. It was about one in the afternoon, and since you had nothing better to do, you resorted to aimlessly scrolling though your phone. To your dismay, the only things you managed to find on social media were posts about your old classmates, who seemed to be doing just fine without you.

It's so weird seeing these people. None of them have changed a bit since I left, yet it's like they're total strangers. Not that any of it matters; none of them would even remember me, anyway.

You were drawn out of your pity party by the sound of Roy's bedroom door closing. You sat up in bed, frowning when you heard Roy's muffled voice coming from the hallway just outside the door, followed by his retreating footsteps. You moved off your bed and over to the door, cracking it open a bit to peek outside. You were barely able to see Roy turn the corner and head for the stairs before you fully opened the door and stepped out into the hall. 

Your bare feet padded softly against the hardwood floor as you headed down the hall and down the stairs. You then paused in the foyer, turning in a full circle as you looked for Roy. 

Just then, you heard a door open and close down the hall to your left, and you hurried over to a room somewhere near the garage. You pushed the double doors open and stepped inside the room, taking a look around. In the center of the room sat a set of two identical armchairs in front of an empty fireplace, and two bookshelves, one on either side of the fireplace. Finally, sitting atop the large wooden mantle was a large portrait of a small, blonde child standing beside a tall, nicely-dressed man. 

You let out an uneasy hum, your brow furrowing as you began circling around the room. Other than the door you'd just come through, there was no other entry point to the room, which meant the only way Roy could've left was through the same door, which also meant he would've run into you on the way out. 

"Weird. . ." You trailed off, pursing your lips. You took another lap around the room before approaching one of the bookshelves, fingers skimming over the bindings of the books. Your focus eventually landed on a small bust of a "Robert Queen" that seemed to be rather out of place in the surrounding books. Curious, you hesitantly placed your hand on top of the head, holding in a breath as you pushed the bust backward. 

It clattered onto the bookshelf, causing you to flinch and quickly stand it upright with a disappointed sigh. 

"Nope, not a secret lever," you breathed, stepping away from the bookshelf. You were now confused; there had to be some sort of secret door or something. Roy couldn't just disappear into thin air; as talented as he was, you were sure he didn't possess the ability to teleport. 

You huffed, running a hand down your face as your eyes flitted around the room. Nothing else looked out of the ordinary, and you were beginning to grow frustrated. After taking another glance at the fireplace, you frowned.