Cruel Muse Chapter Fifteen
Val bolted out of her room and made for the stairs, fearing for her life. She then remembered Dorothea and Louisa, asleep in their beds, likely unaware what was happening. Steeling herself, she sprinted back up and began rapping her palms against Dorothea’s door. “Dorothea!” she cried. “Louisa! You have to get out! There’s a gas leak! Please, wake up! We need to get outside now!” She banged and banged until a light turned on, and the shadow of footsteps could be seen in the crack under the door.
“Valentina? What on earth has you so frantic at this hour?” Dorothea said, stepping out into the hallway as if entering a gala. She wore green eyeshadow with gold liner, and red lipstick that matched her marabou robe, draped over a gold satin dress with a black leather belt. She was wearing shoes. Val wondered if she slept like this, or if she had been sitting fully dressed in the dark.
“Gas,” Val gasped, feeling it choke her. She held a hand to her throat, feeling her knees shake. “Gas leak. We have to go.”
