House of Anubis: House of Mistakes

Part XX

The room was silent for a moment, and Victor probably could hear a pin drop if wanted to so badly. Patricia for once in her life was speechless, trying to think of something— anything— to say that wasn't the instinctual "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she wanted to shout. Eddie stepped further into the room, and she tried to jerk away, but Fabian's once comforting hand on her shoulder had tightened. She flashed him a look of betrayal, but he just eyed her uncertainly. Alfie had already scooted away from her and stayed a respectable distance from both Patricia and Eddie, looking between them with unconcealed distressed.

"No," Patricia finally managed, eyes cutting sharply to Eddie. Now that she looked closer, she noticed that behind the mask of sorrow, his eyes were furious. "I'm not one of them. You are. Just admit it; you aren't Eddie— not the real Eddie."

He shook his head and came closer, now at the edge of the couch. "It's okay, Yacker," he placated as though he were soothing a startled animal. "I'm going to save you." She wanted to throw up. "I knew leaving you alone to keep an eye on KT was a bad idea," he said. "She dragged you off to her great-grandfather, and—"

"No, but you tried to drag her off! Twice," she snapped, shaking off Fabian's grip and scrambling to her feet. "I saw you."

"Saw me? In a dream?" Eddie's tone suggested he had no idea what she was on about, but something about the way his expression shifted made her think he perhaps knew something more. "Patricia, that's a weak lie."

"It's not a lie!" she shouted, not caring if Victor came down. Turning to Fabian and Alfie, she said, "If I was really trying to fool you, do you really think I'd choose this as my reasoning?"

Alfie bit his lip and looked down at his feet, while Fabian shuffled nervously. "Reverse psychology?" he suggested hesitantly, and Patricia felt her stomach drop.

She turned to face him fully, not hiding the hurt in her face. "So that's it? You won't even hear me out?"

Fabian ran a hand through his hair, the other one clutching the artifact in his blazer protectively. "We are hearing you out! But it doesn't make sense. I don't necessarily think that you're... a Sinner," Fabian said, looking at Eddie cautiously. "That's a hasty conclusion... but I think you've had a few very long days. We all have. I just... think you need some rest."

She paused to fully digest the words. "You think I've gone mad," she said, and a low whisper that seemed to emanate from the floorboards confirmed it. "I haven't. I'm not crazy! I- I can prove it." Patricia looked over her shoulder at Eddie who was watching her intently. She scowled at him. "He didn't have a 'funny feeling' because the house rebuilt the bloody phonograph. He had a funny feeling because I gave him too much melatonin last night so he couldn't hurt KT."

Eddie's eyes widened. "Is that why those gummies tasted weird?" he exclaimed at the same time Fabian hissed, "You drugged Eddie?"

"I didn't drug anyone!" Patricia said, but winced at the blank stares she was fixed with. "Okay, so maybe I did, but he didn't exactly come into my room to cuddle. I saw the way he was looking at KT— like he wanted her out of the way. And check the bruises on her arms and chest. I saw how you tried to drag her off and make her a Sinner just like you, and the bruises match up."

Silence again. Eddie and Patricia stared each other down, neither one blinking. It was Alfie who cleared his throat. "It wouldn't hurt to check?" he said timidly, and Eddie rounded on him.

"Yes it could!" he said. "They've obviously had time to come up with a story. They're trying to push the Osirian out of the picture so you two are vulnerable to Frobisher and Denby. It's a trap!"