Chapter 4

Was I a Bad Sister?

Her sister collapsed to her side right in front of her eyes. There was nothing Buttercup could do to stop it or even slow down her descent. She simply watched helplessly as she fell, her hair falling like a curtain over her face while her blood smeared over the floor.

"Blossom!" The girl cried, never remembering another time when she had felt so utterly helpless. She tried shaking her shoulder roughly, but to no apparent avail. A whimper came out of her throat and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. There was no amount of bravado in her voice as she called out to her father again, this time with raw desperation. "Dad, help!"

The man was honestly moving as fast as he possibly could. As he fumbled into his slippers, Buttercup tried frantically to take control of the situation. She turned her sister over gently on her back and then gathered her in her arms, pulling her up to her chest, with her head just underneath her chin.

Seeing her up close like this was even worse on her heart. She was still so bloody in the face, and with her uninjured eye closed, she practically looked dead.

"Blossom?" The girl asked, her voice thick with emotion. When there was nothing, she called out to her again, her words wobbling further. "Bloss?" This produced no response either. The tears fell on the Puff's face. She could just barely feel her chest still rising and falling, the front of her pajamas still splattered in the blood that had dripped from her eye. Her heartbeat seemed slow too, not as robust as she would've liked. "Blossom?"

An excruciating amount of time later, Blossom finally let out a murmur, sounding confused and disoriented. She allowed her one eyelid to flutter open and regarded her sister as if seeing her for the first time. Her words were slurred and didn't make any sense.

"Wha'... wha'... huh?"

Buttercup's throat closed up and her eyes filled with moisture. She took her sister's stumpy hand and held it in her own. Hugging her closer, she said, "Everything's gonna be okay, Blossom." Her voice dropped down to a whisper as her head dropped along with it. She spoke right into the Puff's ear. "It's gonna be okay..."

Please let it be okay, she prayed to an invisible and probably nonexistent entity. But if anyone was up there, he hoped that they would at least spare her sister. She didn't mean for this to happen. She really, really didn't. She was stupid and violent and so quick to anger and if she could take it all back, she would in a heartbeat.

"I love you, Blossom," Buttercup said. "I love you so much."

Blossom's lips started to move then, the sounds struggling to come out. Her words were so soft now, the dark-haired girl had to be right next to her to have a chance of even hearing them.

"Was I," she finally uttered, her voice as choked up as Buttercup's. "A bad sister?"

Buttercup looked utterly astonished. Her eyes resembled wide moons. Then that pale round face crumpled like tissue paper. She looked about ready to properly lose it, dissolving into a complete breakdown.

Her entire body began to quake, and she leaned in to reply, "No!" like she was crazy to even ask it, anguish laced in her tone. "Never!" she added, hugging the girl close, a plaintive sob in her voice.

Blossom broke down with her and continued to ask the same question. "D-Did I... do ... everything wrong?"

Buttercup stopped her with a kiss that she planted on her forehead.

"Blossom, you were never a bad sister." She knew who that title belonged to. "I am."

She was the one who had done everything wrong. She was the one who had been born wrong from the beginning. She was a mistake in that creation, a flaw in the recipe that was supposed to create the perfect little girl. Bubbles and Blossom would've been better off without her.

In the meantime, Blossom looked shocked, and with her waning strength tried to reassure her otherwise. "Buttercup, that's not true..."

"Yes it is." There was no use denying it. "I always was and I always will be."

It was around that time that the Professor finally fumbled into his slippers and stumbled over to his daughter. "Alright, come on, Blossom!" He said, placing one arm underneath her back with the other going underneath her legs.

"Come on baby," He said, gently attempting to pick her up. Blossom made pained, whining whimpers as he did and he cooed to her in sympathy. "I know, baby, I know. I know it hurts..."

Once he scooped her up in his arms, the Professor stopped pretending to have composure. "Bubbles!" The man said, spotting her as he ran to the bottom of the stairs. "Baby, go get my keys!"

"Yes, Professor!" Bubbles immediately said, making to dash off at top speed. Before she did however, she took one last look at her sobbing, bleeding sister being held in her father's arms and cried, "Hang on, Blossom!" before disappearing from sight.

While the rest of her family was in motion, Buttercup sat numbly on the floor, contemplating how all of this was her fault and hers alone. The guilt ate away at her inside until it turned into pure anguish again.

It was the thing that made her spring into action, trailing after her father until she reached her sister again and clung onto her with desperation.

"Blossom, I'm sorry!" She had a hold of her shoulders. The girl had her head turned away and she was still aggressively sniffling.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..." Buttercup continued to apologize. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

She began crying again.

"Buttercup, it's okay!" Professor said, noticing this scene for the first time. He didn't like how hysterical Buttercup was getting. She was starting to grip handfuls of Blossom's dress. "Let go of her dress!"

Instead of heeding his words, Buttercup just kept hopelessly apologizing. She didn't know what else to do. There was nothing she could do to truly make this better. She had maimed her sister. She had maimed her own sister. What if Blossom never saw out of that eye again? What if Buttercup had permanently blinded her? That was the best case scenario; what if things were even worse? What if Blossom suffered brain damage, damage that ended up being permanent? She could even die from this. She could DIE.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Blossom..."

Blossom eventually stopped her by weakly taking a hold of her sister's hand. She gave it as firm of a squeeze as she could manage and said, "I-It's okay... B-Buttercup."

And then she couldn't say anymore, succumbing to her pain.

Forgiveness. After everything she'd done, forgiveness.

That was too much for her. That knife of undeserved kindness twisted into her gut and tore apart her insides. She heeded her father's words unintentionally then and let go of her sister's dress. Then she whimpered the words, "I'm sorry, Blossom," for the last time before releasing a gut-wrenching cry, sobbing harder than Bubbles did when she broke the blonde's chalk.

Her sobbing only stopped when a young voice cut into her misery. "Buttercup, it's okay!"

She thought that it might be Bubbles, until she remembered that the blonde had gone upstairs to find the keys. And then she heard a sharp whoosh of air, a stunned gasp from the Professor, and hands that felt familiar gripping onto her biceps.

Buttercup opened her teary eyes and gasped at what she saw. It was Blossom, out of the Professor's arms, and no longer looking like she was in any form of pain. In fact, she even pulled the splinter out, exposing not a gaping wound in her retina but a contact lens that was simply painted blood red.

Buttercup's mouth dropped open.

"I'm fine, see? It was just to teach us both a lesson..."