Sleight of Hand [Show 'em Who's Boss #1]

4: Cryptophobia

After beating Jakob on the Xbox for three hours, I decided to forgive him for dragging me to school and then leaving me out in the cold. I hated the fact that I couldn't hold a grudge against him for long. This is an attribute that makes me weak. No matter what Jakob does to me, I will always go running straight back to him.

     It was way past midnight when Jakob fell asleep on the sofa with his arms wrapped around my waist. He looked so peaceful and innocent in his sleep; a complete contrast to his true personality. I shut off the Xbox and cuddled up to him, letting sleep take over.

     Only an hour into sleep, I began to stir. I'd been tossing and turning for ages and eventually gave up on a peaceful night's sleep. Something wasn't right and it was almost as if I could sense it. My eyelids fluttered open and I lazily glanced around the living room. Nothing looked odd or out of place at all. What could possibly be wrong?

     I considered trying to go back to sleep, but realised I'd have a restless night if I didn't figure out what was wrong. I wriggled out of Jakob's grasp and hopped off the sofa. The living room light was still on so I turned it off as I left the room, leaving Jakob to snore in the darkness.

     The hallway was dark so I had to be careful where I stepped in case the floorboards creaked violently. This house was old and made far too much noise to be sneaky. A deep, whispering voice could be heard along the corridor. It was coming from my father's office.

     I was intrigued. I needed to know what the voice was saying, who it was talking to and who it belonged to. I was too curious for my own good. If I had ignored the curiosity, if I had just gone back to sleep on the sofa, then I would still be ignorant to the truth. I wouldn't be on the edge of losing everything.

     My tired brain was hazy, so memory was failing me. I almost tripped over a giant vase that had sat in that hallway for years. Fortunately I didn't make much of a noise though.

     A chink of light peeped round the edge of the office door. I had never seen my father's office unlocked and I certainly hadn't seen the inside of it! Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach as I crept faster towards the door.

     "I can't believe he would do something like this. We trusted him."

     I was certain this muffled voice was my father's. I was close enough now to see through the tiny gap in the door. He was sat at a desk, his head held in his hands. He appeared to be panicked and stressed. I automatically wanted to know what was wrong, I wanted to comfort my father and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

     I wondered who he was referring to. Could he possibly be talking about Jakob? Had he done something wrong? I didn't think so. Jakob might be a bit of a prick but he wouldn't do anything to cause my father so much grief. I was gonna find the 'him' that can't be trusted and ruin his life. No one hurts my father.

     I couldn't see who my father was talking to. The door was concealing the figure whose shadow fell across my worried dad. I recognised his voice immediately though.

     "You trusted him, not me. That's your problem. You're too weak and pathetic. You let people walk all over you."

     It was Uncle Steve. That shouldn't be shocking or worrying at all because they are business partners, but this conversation didn't really sound much like work to me and Steve’s voice was aggressive. This conversation was making very little sense and it seemed the more I listened, the more confused I grew.

     I couldn't work out what was going on. Were they working? They did run a business together but why would they be thinking about work in the middle of the night? Could it really be that important? I had no idea what my father's business involved but I didn't    think it was crucial enough to stay awake all night over it.