This is From Matilda.

Chapter sixteen - home, sweet home

The apartment was darker now that the sun had sunk beneath the skyline. Only the fading, flickering bulbs illuminated the place.

Perhaps the condition had worsened since I had been here, or perhaps I had simply forgotten the dire state that the apartment was in. The walls were chipped, and smeared with grey stains; the original white unrecognisable beneath the grime. The floorboards groaned, with splinters fraying off the exposed wood.

The corridor felt more claustrophobic than usual, and seemed to stretch on and on. A couple of rooms had their doors lazily hanging ajar revealing what was inside. From my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of gamblers, dealers, cheaters, going about their dangerous business in this dim lit corners.
My pace quickened considerably, eager to take myself somewhere more open.

As I stumbled towards my room, I realised it probably wasn't just this place that was making me so fidgety. I knew that my secrets were no longer mine. Despite this, I still had to find out how much Lexi had discovered. The more she knew, the more I had to worry.

The room was empty when I entered. My section of the room looked how I left it.

I scanned the rest of the room, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was actually looking for. Careful not to change the position of things too much, I cautiously rifled through Lexi's area of the room.

Usually, her laptop, I pod, headphones, and tangles of cables were heaped precariously on top of her drawers. But her space was precariously vacant.

I moved my attention to the cabinet instead, and delved inside.
In her draws, cigarette packets and single smokes were thrown in draws, filling the spaces between old lipsticks, gum wrappers and crumpled receipts.
I looked under the bed, only to find a lost sock and a thick sheet of dust.

I was about to give up, anxious that Lexi could walk in at any moment. But before I turned away in defeat, I saw a fold of black material poking out from beneath her mattress.
I carefully lifted the corner of the mattress, and pulled out the garment to inspect it.

A black hoodie, still damp to touch.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was the same jumper that the mysterious figure was wearing. Although it meant that I wasn't going insane, it also meant that Lexi was someone who I had to be cautious about now, even afraid of.

I stuffed it back where I found it, and rushed back to my side of the room.

Suddenly, a loud ring vibrated through the room.
I followed it, eventually leading me back to Lexi's bed.
I ripped off the covers from the bed, to reveal an unfamiliar phone at the foot of her bed.

Without thinking twice about it, I picked it up and accepted the call.

"Hey stranger."
It was undoubtedly her voice.

The spring in her tone was easy to decipher as completely false. I could almost see the devious smirk on her face.

"Cut the bullshit, Lexi. Don't try and hide the fact that you know."
My words were loud and bold, but my insides were shaking with a bitter clash of anger and fear.

A dangerous laugh pierced my ear through the phone.

"Don't lecture me on hiding things, Tilly. You wouldn't want to be a hypocrite as well as a traitor... would you?"