What Lies Beneath ▸ House of Anubis [1]

chapter twenty-nine. house of memories

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            We spent the rest of our allotted time off school with Alfie at the hospital. Alfie didn't even try to hide the happy smile on his face every time Jerome and I called each other by our first names. I'll admit, it got easier the more we spoke, but it's still weird. But for Alfie's sake, and the fact that he almost died because of the elixir we accidentally gave him, I'll suffer through the weirdness.

            The taxi ride back to the house was more comfortable with only two of us. Patricia ran off and never came back and hasn't responded to any of my texts. But the two of us being alone was surprisingly... nice? He made me genuinely laugh and the only arguing we did was more like... banter. Playful, teasing banter. It was strange.

            But nice.

            I push him lightly, still laughing about Nurse Delia playing him at his own game, as we enter Anubis House together. Amber, Nina, and Fabian are coming down the stairs. "Hey," I say, "have you seen Patricia? She abandoned us at the hospital.

            Jerome nods. "I was thinking I should tell Trudy."

            "Patricia is, uh—" Fabian begins.

            "She's at—" Amber says.

            "She's with her boyfriend," Nina answers quickly. My eyebrows raise. Okay, something Sibuna-y is definitely going on here. "Madly in love. He's in a band. I think they're kind of goth."

            "Patricia's got a boyfriend?" Jerome repeats. "You're serious. Poor guy. See you later, Ashley."

            As Jerome goes into the parlor, Fabian tells Nina, laughing, "You need to stop lying."

            Amber crosses her arms. "Did I just hear Jerome call her Ashley?"

            "You did," Nina confirms in that same, curious tone. Fabian looks confused as well. "Anything you want to tell us, Ash?"

            "Alfie made us," I say quickly, pointing at them. "We're friends now. But more on that later. What's going on here? She hasn't got a boyfriend."

            Fabian tells me, "Patricia wants to meet us at the bike shed. She told us to bring blankets and food."

            "Did she say why?" I question, following them to the kitchen. "And why didn't she come get me?"

            Nina shrugs. "She didn't say."

—

            So, the reason why Patricia wanted us to meet her in the bike shed is because she found a loopy Rufus Zeno at the hospital and walked out the front doors with him in a wheelchair. And yes, it's as insane as it sounds.