Don't tell me bye bye (mystery/ thriller)

Chapter 24

"What the hell is that?"

Jennie turns the door handle, and smiles when it opens with a click. "It's a door."

"I can see that, Jennie. Where does it go?"

"I can't believe you don't remember any of this. We were down here one day, playing over there, and Tae and Namjoon suddenly burst through thisdoor." She shakes her head, smiling to herself. "Namjoon's face, honestly, he was so pleased with himself, and Tae was jumping behind him, so eager to see us, but looking over his shoulder, worried he was going to get into trouble. Come on." She pulls her phone from her pocket and turns the torch on, stepping through the door into the darkness. I peek my head around the doorway but can't see anything beyond the beam of light from Jennie's torch. I pull away and look at her waiting for me, a hand on her hip.

"Now what's wrong?" she snaps.
"Is this a good idea? I mean, seriously, where does it go?"
"Where do you think it goes? To the vicarage. You know, where Tae and Namjoon live? Where we'll find...." "Tae's journal," I finish. "Isn't that like breaking in?"
"Hardly. It's more like strolling down your hallway."
"What if Dan or Namjoon sees us?"
"Dan has an arrangement with the hospital; he's been staying in the visitor's room most nights so he won't even be there. And don't tell me the thought of running into Namjoon in his boxers doesn't fill you with excitement."

I glare at her. "Fine. Let's go."

I take a deep breath and walk alongside Jennie, each of our footsteps accompanied by a faint, drip, drip, drip of water from deep inside the tunnel. I'm thankful for her torch which means we can avoid walking through the damp cobwebs that zigzag the crumbling walls. Cobwebs and creepy crawlies that I'm seriously trying not to think about right now. Every fifteen steps or so, there are wrought iron sconces attached to the glistening bricks, a history of melted candle wax dripping from each one.

"Jennie?"
"Y/n?"
"What is this tunnel? I mean, what was it used for?" I ask.
"I know you've not been back long, but I refuse to believe nobody's told you about Lizzy and Ruth Sutton." "The witches?" I swallow, my skin suddenly been caressed by a million pointy fingernails.

"Uh-huh. This was the tunnel that the churchy people used to hide the baby. Your cellar back there was part of an old ice house or something, before your house was built on top of it, but they didn't use it as an ice house. They used this tunnel to get from the vicarage to look after that baby, and keep it secret from everyone."

I look at Jennie, expecting her to erupt into laughter, but her mouth is set in a grave line as she walks ahead, pulling spider's webs out of her way like she's pulling back curtains.

"No way," I say.

She shrugs her shoulders. "Whatever. Don't believe me if it makes you feel better, but it has to be. That's the only thing we could think of." She hops over the lifeless body of a very decayed, very smelly rat, and I have to admit I'm impressed that she doesn't display any signs of being squeamish, which I would expect from a princess like her. "God, it's been a lifetime since I was down here."

"I can't believe you used to come down here alone. You must have been tiny," I say, shuddering at the thought of Teddy running up and down in these shadows.

"Not just me, remember? You as well. God knows what your mum would have done if she'd checked on us and we weren't there, but she had no reason to think we'd be able to get out. Obviously we stopped using it when you...when you left."

I still can't get my head around the fact that I lived here before. The idea that I was once friends with Jennie seems so farfetched I'm not sure I really believe it. I wonder what Rose would make of me taking this secret journey with her arch nemesis. Perhaps I'll wait and see how this all turns out before I tell her.