p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The names of the sections in this chapter correspond to something /span/em/strongstrongspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"VERY emspecific. I literally took the names from their names. Wondering if any of you know what it is…/em/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Hints: they're from an album. All 3 songs are in a row. They are NOT the only titles of the pieces./span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"The City, 2007/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Overture/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe emptiness around me buried its way into my skin, deep into my mind as it whispered threats and echoed memories of how life once was. The armoire doors kept the reminders behind them, the neatly-made bed lacking even a single wrinkle. Everything had this brand-new sheen to it, as though it had never been touched, the toys never played with, the books not once cracked open and scanned over vigorously. The loneliness of it all enshrouded me, attempting to use forceful hands to pull me in and get me to stay forever. I didn't dare try the other room downstairs, the wounds somehow still fresh. It had been five years since that room had last been used, and now it, too, was used as nothing more than a museum of a life that had once been. Three rooms now stood useless in this home, never sealed off, but haunting enough to discourage most visitors./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUnfortunately, it's hard to ignore the siren's song of the tableau right across from what would soon become my own. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was only when the bitter sting buried itself so deep into me that I thought of nothing else that I made the decision to turn around and resume my own activities. My dresser drawers and closet stood wide open, nearly emptied of their contents. They played a sad, hollow song, lacking what gave them life, as they creaked with the shifting that comes with any old house. It was trying to get me to stop for a moment and reconsider, but I was unwilling. Soon, I would have nothing left here, and I knew that. Other opportunities were opening for me in other places, far enough away to keep me from having to run into someone who would just ask why. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe only difficulty came from making the announcement to the head of the household. These days, I wasn't even sure he would notice I was in the room, but I still felt it a common curtesy to assure him the fourth empty room wasn't the result of a kidnapping or disappearance. It was all in the name of attempting to move on./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Mina."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI jumped as Klaus slammed his hands against my doorway, peering his head in and disrupting my thought process. Still, as I turned around to look at him, I couldn't be angry. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I flashed him a smile, assuring everything was good between us. "The old man's unoccupied, so if you want to break the news, now's your chance."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe moment the possibility of my declaration became reality, I began to tremble. Could I really do this? Could I stare down the demon and say those four fateful words?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanem"Dad, I'm leaving tomorrow."/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"He let Diego go without much of a fight, but then again, Diego wasn't prone to what I was. I knew there was something wrong with me, understood that I was hurting myself and putting myself at risk, but I couldn't stop. And that was the worst part of it all. I tricked myself into believing that if I left, I would start to get better./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBut, with no one left to talk to, would that really be possible?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNoticing my distress, which I'd never been very good at hiding in the first place, Klaus made his way over and pulled me into a tight hug, trying to remind me that everything would work out in the end. Like it or not, there really was nothing Dad could do to stop me. He could protest and hurl his insults and lack of belief in me right into my face, but at the end of the day, he wouldn't leave that office to keep me from going out the door. Not to mention, I was stronger than him, even now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm gonna miss you," Klaus whispered into the top of my head. I pushed away and poked his arm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Stop that! No more talk about me leaving until tomorrow morning, okay?" Though he appeared reluctant, Klaus still nodded. "Let's just try to have a good time and be as happy as we can until then. Now, if you'll excuse me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI could feel myself swaying as I took careful steps down a floor and to the right. The thought of facing my final trial turned my stomach over, flipping and throwing it in whatever what my mind pleased, but I just kept telling myself I had to do it… I had to do it… I had to do it…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemKnock, knock, knock./em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"There was silence on the other end for a while, and I began to fear Dad already knew and was just refusing to speak to me. Somehow, he always seemed to know what was going on with all of us, so it was entirely possible he'd already found out. I feared the consequences of that far more than if he was given little time to process./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You may enter," his voice called from the other side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFollowing a shaky, deep breath, I slid open the oaken door and stepped into the frigid office, adorned with ceiling-high shelves of books and oddities I wasn't sure it was possible to acquire without shady tactics. Dad refused to lift his eyes from whatever notes or letters he was writing, but I just assumed he was acknowledging my presence by letting me in, and began to speak./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dad, I know this is kind of out of nowhere, and I'm not giving you a lot of time to process, but I have to get this out now, otherwise I'm never going to, and then I'm never going through with this and I'll regret it for the rest of my life." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI was stalling, and he knew it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Out with it, Number Four," he sighed, annoyed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemTime to climb the mountain's peak, Mina./em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm moving out tomorrow."span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt hadn't come out the way I'd planned it, but nonetheless, the message was delivered. It took Dad a couple of seconds to register what I'd said, but when he did, he actually dropped what he was doing and took the time to stare at me with an icy glare./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI swallowed, my heart begging to be set free from my chest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you honestly think you're ready for that?" he snapped, chuckling to himself as he spoke. "You believe you can go out there in the world and function like an adult, when you still have the temper and problem management of a child?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't stay here, Dad." I refused to cry, though his words left me awfully close to doing just that. "It's… it's just too hard, and I feel like, if I get out of here and away from you, I can start to get better." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe knew I was lying, but he didn't press on that much further./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Away from me?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI gave myself a second, preparing for what I was about to throw out into the world. Whatever would come of it, it needed to be said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't forgive you for everything you've done and said, Dad. I can't. And as long as you're going to continue talking to me like this—like everything that's happened is my fault—then I don't think it's in my best interest to stay here." Dad opened his mouth to fight back, but I cut him off. "I have an audition with the New York City ballet this weekend. They've offered to help cover the rent on an apartment near the studio until I can pay for it myself. They really want me there." Once again, I didn't allow him to speak. "What's done is done. I leave tomorrow afternoon."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was a risky move not to stay in the room, considering I'd still have to face Dad at dinner and breakfast tomorrow morning, but for now, I could face what I'd done and be happy about what I'd said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Cross-Pollination/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe familiar chime of the dinner bell released its panic-inducing chimes through the empty halls. Strength that kept me from collapsing decided that now was a good time to completely leave my body, meaning I'd have to face all of this with my own wits and grace—something I didn't really have. Part of me wanted to just skip out on this all together, but I feared the consequences of not being present more than anything else. Dad would make a big scene out of all this, try to guilt me into staying, and I knew it, but I couldn't put it off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFace the demon down, defeat him once and for all, get the hell out of the dungeon. It sounded a hell of a lot simpler than it was./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA toxic cloud descended upon the long table as each of my siblings took our placed behind our chairs, waiting for Dad to finally make it down and allow us to sit. Something was choking all of us—the air of foreboding, perhaps. Maybe it was just me, and I was projecting onto the rest of my siblings. Klaus' grip on my arm did nothing to lessen the weight trying to push me through the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith each footstep inching closer, I felt bile crawling further and further up my throat. The moment he entered the room, he locked eyes with me, refusing to relent even as we took a seat and began to eat our dinner. I found myself picking at pieces and only eating little bits of each, blaming the sudden intimidation laid down on me. The voice of emHerr Carloson /emdiscussing how to survive if one is ever placed in danger certainly didn't help. Claws dug themselves, grounding me into my seat and forcing me to look Dad in the eyes, unwilling to allow me to look away for even a moment. span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took quite a while, but eventually, Allison noticed something strange going opposite her at the table. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed her darting her gaze back and forth between Dad and I, attempting to figure out what the hell was going on. It was like a game of who could intimidate who first, only I never signed up to play. I was just pulled out of the stands and forced into it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's going on?" Allison finally asked, breaking the golden rule of dinner. The fact that we were all adults and still had to adhere to Dad's rules felt ridiculous./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad took the time to set down his silverware and blot his lips with his napkin, playing the game to the best of his ability./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Number Four has decided she is mature enough to leave these premises," he stated with a scoff, trying to sway our other siblings to his side. Allison stared at me in disbelief while Vanya and Klaus feigned shock, already completely aware I'd made this decision. I heard Luther drop his silverware against his plate, unable to fathom any other response. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" Allison gasped. "You're going?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, like you care," I snapped. I could feel my temper starting to shake itself up, but if I was going down, I'd go swinging. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, come on, Mina," Luther interrupted. "That's harsh."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't baby me, Luther." I started to rise from my seat, and I could see Klaus move my dishes out from under me. "You're not my parent, you're not my leader anymore."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If a mission comes up, we'll be without your aid," Dad stated bluntly. "Do you want to leave your siblings without help?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI wouldn't give into the guilt tripping… I wouldn't give in… I wouldn't give in…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What missions?" I shouted. "There's been nothing for two years! Face it, Dad, you're trapped in the past. You think there's going to be something, but guess what. The Umbrella Academy is dead, and the world knows it. Anything that goes wrong, they turn to the police."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNow Dad was on his feet, still refusing to cross over to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You think you are prepared for the adult world, when any time something does not go the way you hope, you lose control like a toddler and start screaming until you get what you want. What about that makes you think you will survive out there?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I won't know until I try!" I persisted, stubborn as a rock./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina, please, just—" I swatted Klaus away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you emhonestly /embelieve there's any benefit in me staying here?" I seethed. "My flesh-and-blood brother disappeared, and at this point, I've accepted he's not coming back, another one of my brothers is buried in the ground, and a third walked right out. You didn't say shit when Diego left, why the hell are you putting up such a fight with me?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad fell completely silent, and for a moment, I thought I'd bested him. He kept his gaze down at his hands, like I'd actually wounded him somewhere deep./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt didn't last long./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you leave, you are not welcome back, not even to visit you siblings. And emthey /emare not permitted to visit you." He looked around at each of my brothers and sisters, warning them from thinking any differently. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHad I not been so caught up in the moment, that might've given me pause. Though he tried his best to hide it, I knew Klaus had turned to secret substances to control the ghosts constantly screaming at him, and Vanya had fallen so quiet recently, I felt like she needed someone there for her. If I left her with Luther and Allison, she'd be overwhelmed with negative words thrown her way. Maybe I wasn't meant to protect them, but I worried what would happen to them without some sort of mediator./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUnfortunately, that was the last thing on my mind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fine."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pushed back the chair behind me, taking care not to knock it over this time around, and made my way back up to my room, feeling as though I'd won something. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Redemption/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEarly morning chill spread itself against my coat, trying to penetrate through the layers meant to keep me safe. Plans changed after the night before, leaving me eager to get out of this god forsaken place and move on with my life. There was no point in me staying here longer than I needed to, and quite frankly, I didn't want to have to face anyone again after last night. At some point, embarrassment and shame had crept in, infecting my mind and whispering to me that no one loved me enough to keep me here. Much like a child would with the words of their bullies, I believed the thoughts, pushing me to completely finish packing the night before. I only caught a few hours of sleep the night before, but they would do for now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best to creep out quietly, without stirring up anyone's attentions, but somehow, Klaus and Vanya heard me, and right as I was reaching for the door handle, they rushed up and pulled me into a tight group hug, assuring me they'd be all right. Selfish tears fought their way up, wondering what exactly I'd do without those two right by my side. I couldn't go back on anything now; I'd sealed my fate. Last night assured that. I expected everyone to be angry with me after my final declaration. It made sense they'd never want to talk to me, and maybe, it would have made all of this easier./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI'd never really acknowledged I'd be leaving my biggest support system throughout my whole life. The view of my family had become tainted through the years of bitter muck I'd been forced to swim through, but leaving seemed to give me a new sort of clarity. Even Allison and Luther had been shoulders I'd cried on a couple of times. We'd shared childhood trauma, held each other when the pain became overwhelming, and genuinely worried about those who we saw slipping further into the corners of their mind. I made myself resent those that had chastised me, but in reality, they were just trying to look out for my best interest… most of the time. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt gave me pause, to think of leaving what I'd always known, but this would be good for me—at least, that's what I convinced myself of. I needed to gain some independence and learn to solve my own problems. I couldn't always run to my brothers and sisters whenever something went wrong, otherwise I'd be left completely incapable. Not to mention, I'd have to learn to make my own living eventually. The Umbrella Academy was not a permanent thing, and I'd likely gone on my last mission years ago, so there really was no point in staying here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI hadn't anticipated the echoing loneliness: how quiet the rooms in my new apartment would be, how everything laid out perfectly in order was somehow more haunting than the empty rooms. I couldn't have prepared myself for the brutal world I was about to be stuck right into. I'd been naïve enough to believe things would work out the way I hoped, and I'd never have to look back again. I thought I could wonder about my siblings, maybe see where their lives had taken them when they inevitably decided to leave, but I'd never long for home again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI wish I could take it back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Hints: they're from an album. All 3 songs are in a row. They are NOT the only titles of the pieces./span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"The City, 2007/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Overture/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe emptiness around me buried its way into my skin, deep into my mind as it whispered threats and echoed memories of how life once was. The armoire doors kept the reminders behind them, the neatly-made bed lacking even a single wrinkle. Everything had this brand-new sheen to it, as though it had never been touched, the toys never played with, the books not once cracked open and scanned over vigorously. The loneliness of it all enshrouded me, attempting to use forceful hands to pull me in and get me to stay forever. I didn't dare try the other room downstairs, the wounds somehow still fresh. It had been five years since that room had last been used, and now it, too, was used as nothing more than a museum of a life that had once been. Three rooms now stood useless in this home, never sealed off, but haunting enough to discourage most visitors./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUnfortunately, it's hard to ignore the siren's song of the tableau right across from what would soon become my own. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was only when the bitter sting buried itself so deep into me that I thought of nothing else that I made the decision to turn around and resume my own activities. My dresser drawers and closet stood wide open, nearly emptied of their contents. They played a sad, hollow song, lacking what gave them life, as they creaked with the shifting that comes with any old house. It was trying to get me to stop for a moment and reconsider, but I was unwilling. Soon, I would have nothing left here, and I knew that. Other opportunities were opening for me in other places, far enough away to keep me from having to run into someone who would just ask why. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe only difficulty came from making the announcement to the head of the household. These days, I wasn't even sure he would notice I was in the room, but I still felt it a common curtesy to assure him the fourth empty room wasn't the result of a kidnapping or disappearance. It was all in the name of attempting to move on./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Mina."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI jumped as Klaus slammed his hands against my doorway, peering his head in and disrupting my thought process. Still, as I turned around to look at him, I couldn't be angry. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I flashed him a smile, assuring everything was good between us. "The old man's unoccupied, so if you want to break the news, now's your chance."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe moment the possibility of my declaration became reality, I began to tremble. Could I really do this? Could I stare down the demon and say those four fateful words?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanem"Dad, I'm leaving tomorrow."/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"He let Diego go without much of a fight, but then again, Diego wasn't prone to what I was. I knew there was something wrong with me, understood that I was hurting myself and putting myself at risk, but I couldn't stop. And that was the worst part of it all. I tricked myself into believing that if I left, I would start to get better./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBut, with no one left to talk to, would that really be possible?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNoticing my distress, which I'd never been very good at hiding in the first place, Klaus made his way over and pulled me into a tight hug, trying to remind me that everything would work out in the end. Like it or not, there really was nothing Dad could do to stop me. He could protest and hurl his insults and lack of belief in me right into my face, but at the end of the day, he wouldn't leave that office to keep me from going out the door. Not to mention, I was stronger than him, even now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm gonna miss you," Klaus whispered into the top of my head. I pushed away and poked his arm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Stop that! No more talk about me leaving until tomorrow morning, okay?" Though he appeared reluctant, Klaus still nodded. "Let's just try to have a good time and be as happy as we can until then. Now, if you'll excuse me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI could feel myself swaying as I took careful steps down a floor and to the right. The thought of facing my final trial turned my stomach over, flipping and throwing it in whatever what my mind pleased, but I just kept telling myself I had to do it… I had to do it… I had to do it…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemKnock, knock, knock./em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"There was silence on the other end for a while, and I began to fear Dad already knew and was just refusing to speak to me. Somehow, he always seemed to know what was going on with all of us, so it was entirely possible he'd already found out. I feared the consequences of that far more than if he was given little time to process./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You may enter," his voice called from the other side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFollowing a shaky, deep breath, I slid open the oaken door and stepped into the frigid office, adorned with ceiling-high shelves of books and oddities I wasn't sure it was possible to acquire without shady tactics. Dad refused to lift his eyes from whatever notes or letters he was writing, but I just assumed he was acknowledging my presence by letting me in, and began to speak./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dad, I know this is kind of out of nowhere, and I'm not giving you a lot of time to process, but I have to get this out now, otherwise I'm never going to, and then I'm never going through with this and I'll regret it for the rest of my life." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI was stalling, and he knew it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Out with it, Number Four," he sighed, annoyed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemTime to climb the mountain's peak, Mina./em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;""I'm moving out tomorrow."span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt hadn't come out the way I'd planned it, but nonetheless, the message was delivered. It took Dad a couple of seconds to register what I'd said, but when he did, he actually dropped what he was doing and took the time to stare at me with an icy glare./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI swallowed, my heart begging to be set free from my chest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you honestly think you're ready for that?" he snapped, chuckling to himself as he spoke. "You believe you can go out there in the world and function like an adult, when you still have the temper and problem management of a child?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't stay here, Dad." I refused to cry, though his words left me awfully close to doing just that. "It's… it's just too hard, and I feel like, if I get out of here and away from you, I can start to get better." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe knew I was lying, but he didn't press on that much further./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Away from me?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI gave myself a second, preparing for what I was about to throw out into the world. Whatever would come of it, it needed to be said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can't forgive you for everything you've done and said, Dad. I can't. And as long as you're going to continue talking to me like this—like everything that's happened is my fault—then I don't think it's in my best interest to stay here." Dad opened his mouth to fight back, but I cut him off. "I have an audition with the New York City ballet this weekend. They've offered to help cover the rent on an apartment near the studio until I can pay for it myself. They really want me there." Once again, I didn't allow him to speak. "What's done is done. I leave tomorrow afternoon."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was a risky move not to stay in the room, considering I'd still have to face Dad at dinner and breakfast tomorrow morning, but for now, I could face what I'd done and be happy about what I'd said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Cross-Pollination/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe familiar chime of the dinner bell released its panic-inducing chimes through the empty halls. Strength that kept me from collapsing decided that now was a good time to completely leave my body, meaning I'd have to face all of this with my own wits and grace—something I didn't really have. Part of me wanted to just skip out on this all together, but I feared the consequences of not being present more than anything else. Dad would make a big scene out of all this, try to guilt me into staying, and I knew it, but I couldn't put it off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFace the demon down, defeat him once and for all, get the hell out of the dungeon. It sounded a hell of a lot simpler than it was./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA toxic cloud descended upon the long table as each of my siblings took our placed behind our chairs, waiting for Dad to finally make it down and allow us to sit. Something was choking all of us—the air of foreboding, perhaps. Maybe it was just me, and I was projecting onto the rest of my siblings. Klaus' grip on my arm did nothing to lessen the weight trying to push me through the floor./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith each footstep inching closer, I felt bile crawling further and further up my throat. The moment he entered the room, he locked eyes with me, refusing to relent even as we took a seat and began to eat our dinner. I found myself picking at pieces and only eating little bits of each, blaming the sudden intimidation laid down on me. The voice of emHerr Carloson /emdiscussing how to survive if one is ever placed in danger certainly didn't help. Claws dug themselves, grounding me into my seat and forcing me to look Dad in the eyes, unwilling to allow me to look away for even a moment. span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took quite a while, but eventually, Allison noticed something strange going opposite her at the table. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed her darting her gaze back and forth between Dad and I, attempting to figure out what the hell was going on. It was like a game of who could intimidate who first, only I never signed up to play. I was just pulled out of the stands and forced into it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's going on?" Allison finally asked, breaking the golden rule of dinner. The fact that we were all adults and still had to adhere to Dad's rules felt ridiculous./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad took the time to set down his silverware and blot his lips with his napkin, playing the game to the best of his ability./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Number Four has decided she is mature enough to leave these premises," he stated with a scoff, trying to sway our other siblings to his side. Allison stared at me in disbelief while Vanya and Klaus feigned shock, already completely aware I'd made this decision. I heard Luther drop his silverware against his plate, unable to fathom any other response. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" Allison gasped. "You're going?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, like you care," I snapped. I could feel my temper starting to shake itself up, but if I was going down, I'd go swinging. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, come on, Mina," Luther interrupted. "That's harsh."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't baby me, Luther." I started to rise from my seat, and I could see Klaus move my dishes out from under me. "You're not my parent, you're not my leader anymore."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If a mission comes up, we'll be without your aid," Dad stated bluntly. "Do you want to leave your siblings without help?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI wouldn't give into the guilt tripping… I wouldn't give in… I wouldn't give in…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What missions?" I shouted. "There's been nothing for two years! Face it, Dad, you're trapped in the past. You think there's going to be something, but guess what. The Umbrella Academy is dead, and the world knows it. Anything that goes wrong, they turn to the police."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNow Dad was on his feet, still refusing to cross over to me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You think you are prepared for the adult world, when any time something does not go the way you hope, you lose control like a toddler and start screaming until you get what you want. What about that makes you think you will survive out there?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I won't know until I try!" I persisted, stubborn as a rock./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mina, please, just—" I swatted Klaus away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you emhonestly /embelieve there's any benefit in me staying here?" I seethed. "My flesh-and-blood brother disappeared, and at this point, I've accepted he's not coming back, another one of my brothers is buried in the ground, and a third walked right out. You didn't say shit when Diego left, why the hell are you putting up such a fight with me?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDad fell completely silent, and for a moment, I thought I'd bested him. He kept his gaze down at his hands, like I'd actually wounded him somewhere deep./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt didn't last long./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you leave, you are not welcome back, not even to visit you siblings. And emthey /emare not permitted to visit you." He looked around at each of my brothers and sisters, warning them from thinking any differently. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHad I not been so caught up in the moment, that might've given me pause. Though he tried his best to hide it, I knew Klaus had turned to secret substances to control the ghosts constantly screaming at him, and Vanya had fallen so quiet recently, I felt like she needed someone there for her. If I left her with Luther and Allison, she'd be overwhelmed with negative words thrown her way. Maybe I wasn't meant to protect them, but I worried what would happen to them without some sort of mediator./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUnfortunately, that was the last thing on my mind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fine."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pushed back the chair behind me, taking care not to knock it over this time around, and made my way back up to my room, feeling as though I'd won something. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Redemption/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEarly morning chill spread itself against my coat, trying to penetrate through the layers meant to keep me safe. Plans changed after the night before, leaving me eager to get out of this god forsaken place and move on with my life. There was no point in me staying here longer than I needed to, and quite frankly, I didn't want to have to face anyone again after last night. At some point, embarrassment and shame had crept in, infecting my mind and whispering to me that no one loved me enough to keep me here. Much like a child would with the words of their bullies, I believed the thoughts, pushing me to completely finish packing the night before. I only caught a few hours of sleep the night before, but they would do for now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best to creep out quietly, without stirring up anyone's attentions, but somehow, Klaus and Vanya heard me, and right as I was reaching for the door handle, they rushed up and pulled me into a tight group hug, assuring me they'd be all right. Selfish tears fought their way up, wondering what exactly I'd do without those two right by my side. I couldn't go back on anything now; I'd sealed my fate. Last night assured that. I expected everyone to be angry with me after my final declaration. It made sense they'd never want to talk to me, and maybe, it would have made all of this easier./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI'd never really acknowledged I'd be leaving my biggest support system throughout my whole life. The view of my family had become tainted through the years of bitter muck I'd been forced to swim through, but leaving seemed to give me a new sort of clarity. Even Allison and Luther had been shoulders I'd cried on a couple of times. We'd shared childhood trauma, held each other when the pain became overwhelming, and genuinely worried about those who we saw slipping further into the corners of their mind. I made myself resent those that had chastised me, but in reality, they were just trying to look out for my best interest… most of the time. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt gave me pause, to think of leaving what I'd always known, but this would be good for me—at least, that's what I convinced myself of. I needed to gain some independence and learn to solve my own problems. I couldn't always run to my brothers and sisters whenever something went wrong, otherwise I'd be left completely incapable. Not to mention, I'd have to learn to make my own living eventually. The Umbrella Academy was not a permanent thing, and I'd likely gone on my last mission years ago, so there really was no point in staying here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI hadn't anticipated the echoing loneliness: how quiet the rooms in my new apartment would be, how everything laid out perfectly in order was somehow more haunting than the empty rooms. I couldn't have prepared myself for the brutal world I was about to be stuck right into. I'd been naïve enough to believe things would work out the way I hoped, and I'd never have to look back again. I thought I could wonder about my siblings, maybe see where their lives had taken them when they inevitably decided to leave, but I'd never long for home again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI wish I could take it back./span/p
