It's A Twin Thing | j. clarke [1]

eleven

-:- House of Cameras / House of Numbers -:-

I thought Victor was joking when he fired Trudy—we all did. We thought he was being petty and making a statement, only to realize he wasn't joking when we came downstairs the next morning to find Trudy's bags in the entryway. Amber, Nina and I got to the bottom of the stairs and eyed the suitcases with surprise. I didn't want it to be true. I had only spent little time with Trudy, but she reminded me of my mom. Trudy was always baking, whipping up a batch of cookies or cupcakes for us to enjoy. Now we'd be lucky if we ever got quality breakfast without Trudy here. I wasn't sure what Victor's plan was in regards to finding a replacement, but I doubt they were going to be as skilled as Trudy.

I was standing next to Mara and Mick when Trudy came out of the kitchen, pink coat in hand. Our conversations hushed as she walked to where we were standing by the door. She looked sad to be leaving us, but was keeping herself composed. Fabian and Nina went up to her almost immediately, looking just as distraught.

"Trudy, we're really sorry," Fabian expressed.

"We didn't mean to get you into trouble," Nina added. "Honestly, we didn't."

"I know," Trudy started. "It's my own fault for believing your silly stories."

I sighed, wanting to step in and say that we weren't lying. But I refrained, knowing that now our sentiment meant very little to her. Fabian stepped aside and let Trudy pass by him before she came to a stop in front of Mara and I.

"We're going to miss you," Mara said sadly.

"And I'm going to miss you too," Trudy looked to the rest of us. "All of you."

Trudy turned to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I left a few of my recipes in the kitchen if you ever need them," she said to me.

"Thank you," I responded with a smile.

"Of course dearie," Trudy shared my smile.

Victor's voice sounded through the doorway saying, "Your taxi's here."

Trudy turned away from me and gave Amber a hug, continuing to compose herself in front of Victor.

"How can you do this?" Amber protested after the hug. "Trudy hasn't done anything wrong."

Victor simply held up his hand towards her, giving her a sign to stop talking.

"Goodbye, Trudy," he said vindictively with a wave of his hand.

Trudy didn't hesitate to leave at the sign of his aggression. Within the moment she'd been out the door Victor slammed it closed behind her, sending an echo through the entryway. We moved out of his way as he headed to the kitchen, saying nothing in Trudy's wake. I looked at the rest of the residents to see if they were as disappointed as I was, to find that most of them looked mad. Namely, Patricia and Fabian, whose eyes were still following Victor's figure as he disappeared into the kitchen. If there's one thing I knew about Fabian it was that he stood up for what he believed in, and there was no way that this was already over.