Chapter 37: Playing hooky is so much fun
"Mara said you weren't feeling well, dear." Trudy said, rushing into my room with a thermometer and a cup of tea.
"Thanks, Trudy." I replied, taking the cup from her hands, and took a sip.
"Let me take your temperature." Trudy ran to my side, sticking the thermometer in my mouth.
"Trudy, can you get my bag?" It didn't exactly sound right, but she knew what I meant. She went over to the closet, and I stuck the thermometer into the tea.
When she turned back around, I put it back in my mouth. "Oh, my. A hundred degrees! I'll let you sleep." I smiled as Trudy walked out the door and closed it behind her.
I waited until the footsteps stopped to hop out of the bed and start looking through people's things.
The only thing I found when I searched Mara's stuff was Amber's phone, which she promised she would expertly hide. Joy's things didn't provide any information to what she might have known, but they almost made me burst into tears. Quickly, I ran into the room Nina and Lindsey slept in. I went to Nina's things first. Under her bed, I found a box. I looked inside and my stomach churned.
Her diary.
I picked it up and took out my phone. I snapped pictures of each page, making sure to get every single word in.
Footsteps sounded from downstairs, and I gritted my teeth, scurrying back into my room.
Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.
I walked down the stairs, trying to seem sick enough by letting out the occasional fake cough or moan. Victor had just left for a meeting. Which meant I had to get Trudy out of the house. Quick.
"What are you doing out of bed!?" Trudy asked, startling me. She had a concerned look on her face. "You need sleep!"
"Sorry, Trudy." I said. "I was just coming to get you."
"What's the matter, dear?" She leaned forward and put her hand on my forehead. "You seem to have cooled down a little."
"Could you run to the market and get me some aspirin? I have a horrible headache." I rubbed my temples for emphasis. It was funny, though. Now that I said it out loud, I was actually starting to get a huge migraine. It was probably from the stress of having to wait to look in the boys' rooms.
"Oh, I think we have some over here." Trudy walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle. She came back over.
I took the bottle from her hands and threw it backwards. I let a satisfied smile peek onto my lips as I turned and saw that the bottle went out the window. "No, we don't."
Trudy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She cleared her throat. "That's ok. Um, there's another container in there." Trudy pointed behind her, still looking perplexed. She came back with another bottle, but I did the same thing. "Are you feeling ok, Patricia? I mean, I know you're sick, but you're acting very... Strange."
"Other than a headache, and an upset stomach, I feel fine." I forced a smile.
"Alright. I'll be right back." Trudy backed out of the house with an awkward expression on her face. I couldn't blame her, though. I was acting weird.
As soon as I was sure she was gone, I ran down the boys' hallway, going straight to Eddie, James, and Fabian's room.
For no reason, I looked around to make sure no one was there. Then I dove into their drawers, searching for anything that could help me nail Fabian, or whoever the killer was. But after ten minutes of searching, I still had nothing. I let out a frustrated huff. Who was I to think I might actually find something? If the murderer had anything I could use against them, they would have hidden it. Then it struck me: the closets. I could look through them and see if there was anything there.
I stealthily walked over to the closet Jerome and I hid in the other day. My fingers trembled as I opened the door, willing something to fall out or be right there in front of me. But nothing happened, and I didn't see anything. I let out another sigh. Why was this so hard?
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glint from inside the closet. My stomach clenched. My hands shook. Every part of my body told me not to move, but I had to get it. Whatever it was, it had to be important. I reached where the shining was coming from, and as my fingers wrapped around it, I finally realized what it was.
"Oh my God."
Author's note: Hey, guys! I just wanted to let you know that I will no longer be able to post on week days because of school! I will hopefully post the next chapter next weekend! Thanks for your understanding!