𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 || lockwood & co.

ONE ; ARSON

George only had minuscule hints and clues as to what had happened between the Lockwood siblings two year ago. He knew it had to have been bad, and from what he'd gathered in Matilda's thinking cloth poems, it was tragic, too.

When Matilda set her pen down, George was quick to flicker his eyes back down to the newspaper clipping still sitting limp in his hand.

Matilda sighed quietly. Her hand reached for her half empty and now cold cup of tea, but paused abruptly when they heard the doorbell ring.

Matilda and George turned their heads to the hall, and then glanced at each other. They both sprung from their chairs and left the kitchen.

Holding her breath, Matilda was the one to open the door.

She was met with the sigh of Lucy Carlyle - newest member of the Lockwood & Co. agency, if you don't count Matilda. Lucy was wearing a hospital gown, blue with rainbows, clouds and unicorns. She held her jacket in her right hand, her face was blemished with tiny cuts and scratches.

Lucy was a Listener, just like Matilda. She had a snarky attitude, was bold, and could come up with insults in quick time. Matilda suspected that was why they both got along so well.

Matilda was beyond grateful that Lucy was alive and well, but she felt a conspicuous pit of dread form in her stomach when she saw that her brother did not stand beside the younger girl.

But still, Matilda sighed in relief and hugged Lucy's tense form, which only grew more stiff with the action - Lucy had never seen Matilda hug anyone. She had in fact been convinced the Lockwood girl was incapable of showing affection through actions.

George came up on the other side of the open door way as Matilda stepped away from Lucy's stiff form and had a more direct reaction than the eighteen year old.

"Where's Lockwood?" George asked.

Lucy pushed past the other two to step inside. "Don't sound to pleased to see me." She grumbled. Matilda closed the door behind her and she and George turned as Lucy walked up the hall. "How about, 'Oh My God, Lucy, I'm so glad you're okay' or 'I'm so relieved you're still alive'?"

The other two followed Lucy through the library.

"Oh my God, Lucy, I'm so glad you're okay. I'm so relieved you're alive." George said in a voice that made it hard to tell if he was being sincere or not.

Lucy spun around yo stare at her associate. "Don't just say exactly those words!" She turned back around, exasperated, and entered the kitchen

"Lucy," George said, seemingly not caring about the previous statement and following the girl with Matilda close behind. "Where's Lockwood?!"

When they entered the kitchen, Lucy was at the sink, filling a glass cup with tap water. "How the hell should I know? He just...disappeared." She mumbled before gulping about half of the cup down.

It seemed that only then George realized what Lucy was wearing, and his eyes grew wide. "You've been in a hospital." He stated. "Why were you in a hospital?!"

Lucy closed her eyes, frustrated and exhausted. "George. Just give me a second."

"If you're talking metaphorically, please tell me what you mean by a second." George said, talking fast. "Because if its longer than a minute, I'll occupy myself while you waste your time-"

"In the last twelve hours-" Lucy sudden interrupted George with a raised, angry voice. "- I have nearly been murdered by a Type Two. Twice." Lucy turned to George and started walking towards him as she spoke, progressive getting louder and more aggressive. "I've jumped from a burning house, fallen twenty feet face-first into a bush, and had a tube shoved down me throat to hoover out me lungs, so give me a second!"