New year, new me. This was the motto I've lived by since January this year. After everything that I've been through, I decided I deserved a little break from everything connected to the Umbrella Academy. If Five could leave, I could too, at least I hoped that my siblings would give me a chance at a normal life before Father would find me. When I left, I've only asked for a year of normalcy, no superpowers, no crime fighting, nothing that makes me feel less than a normal teenager I looked like.
"Father isn't going to like it." Allison's text said.
"Well, father can go and fuck himself, for all I care." I replied quickly and turned my phone off.
When I ran off, I asked my siblings for a year, I thought they understood that text messages were included in that one-year separation deal, but apparently, I guessed wrong.
As I jumped in the bus, showing my ticket to driver, I wondered why my life have had to be this way. What higher power decided that I should be the one to be born with special powers, why did my real parents decide to give me up and why was my gift the most annoying out of all my siblings?
I could copy other people's gifts, which used to be fun until I realised how much danger it puts me in and how incredibly hard it is to control gifts that I didn't grow up with. All my siblings struggled with theirs, but at least they knew what they were doing with them. The hardest one was Klaus's; I had no idea how he was still holding up now, with Ben being gone.
"You did the right thing, sis." Ben, who was now sitting next to me, on an empty bus seat, spoke. He died just a few months ago and both Klaus and I took his death the hardest. The fact that no one except for Klaus and me believed we could see him was even harder…and ridiculous since they all knew what Klaus's powers were.
"I thought I asked all of you for a year off?" I whispered and looked around. Other people didn't seem to notice.
"I'm just trying to keep you company. It's not easy living alone."
"I think I will manage." I grunted quietly. "Go annoy Klaus, will you?"
"Isabella." He started speaking again, but I wasn't listening anymore, instead I opened my backpack and started searching for a thermos that I packed with me. I unscrewed the cap and took a large sip of dark brown liquid. My throat burned and I heard and my stomach growl in disapproval. "Isabella." Ben tried again, but I noticed how his silhouette was slowly getting more and more transparent.
"I said leave me alone." I stared him into the eyes and took another sip from the thermos.
"Be care…" His whisper disappeared after another sip and I closed my thermos, feeling very tipsy. I put my head on the bus window and looked through it at the dark roads. I hated feeling this way, my mind went numb, and I always felt sleepy whenever I drank. Luckily for me, the bus ride was overnight and the following morning I would wake up in Washington and start a completely different life. No more Isabella Hargreeves, at least for a year, maybe I will find a way to hide myself from my family for longer, but I wouldn't count on it, after all I wasn't that lucky.
Port Angeles looked beautiful when I opened my eyes at the bus stop, but my traveling wasn't yet done. I still had about an hour and a half to go, just needed to switch busses. It was colder here than back home, but I even liked it. It was a change I needed.
"One ticket to Forks, please." I asked a lady at the ticket office.
She looked at my ID, checking if I was old enough to travel alone. My birthday was six months ago, I was seventeen already, so she smiled and took my cash.
"Have a safe trip." She cheered; I tried my best to return the kind smile.
Forks, a small town in the state of Washington, met me with a heavy downpour. I smiled and went outside in it. My hair and clothes got soaked in just a few seconds. I noticed people staring at me like I was crazy. Who fucking cares? I haven't seen this much rain yet, in the City we only got a few rainy days a year and even then, they were mostly drizzles, nothing like what's happening here right now.
I made my way to the nearest building when the wind started getting stronger. My hand reached down my coat pocket and I took out my pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Horrible habit, but what else do I do to get the annoying feeling of someone looking at me out of my head? "The dead are always watching." Klaus's voice is laughed in my head.
I smoked another one before opening the front door. In the building, I turned my phone back on and looked through all the messages from my siblings, and even find one from my father.
"You better come back home now, young lady!" It said, I smirked and deleted it.
My hand reached down my pocket and I found a piece of paper with a phone number on it. The number belonged to one realtor who was supposed to help me get a house in the area. One advantage of being a Hargreaves was an unlimited bank account, from which I've been taking money out every month since I decided to leave four years ago.
After calling Bill Butch and arranging a meeting at the house I picked, I jumped into the cab and told the driver my new home address. In a few minutes, we arrived to a small one storey house with a baby blue roof and a wrapped-around porch. A large willow tree covered the front window from anyone looking at it from the street. Just what I needed.
"Isabella?" A man in his 40-s was waiting on the front porch.
I smiled at him and walked up to the house. He shook my hand warily.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked innocently.
"When we spoke on the phone, I thought you would be a little older. Are you parents coming to sign the papers?"
"No, I'll be living here alone."
"I'm sorry, I think there was a misunderstanding. My firm can't sell houses to underage people." He rubbed his neck, looking at his feet. I was glad I prepared for any problem that I might face, and even though I wanted to be a normal teenager, I would have to use some special powers to make people believe I was just a normal teenager.
"I heard a rumor, you believed I wasn't underage." I spoke to him and saw his eyes lose their focus for a few seconds.
"Shall we sign the papers then?" He asked a moment later with a smile on his face.
"Gladly." I smiled back, feeling a little guilty.
As soon as that was done, Bill gave me the keys to the house, and left. I took my one suitcase and my backpack to the one and only bedroom in the house. The big closet had too much space for the clothes that I brought with me. I would need to find a clothing store in the future. I left my suitcase unopened and sat on the bed, pulling out my phone once more. I still needed to find a car that I would use to drive to school. As much as I enjoyed the rain, it was just not practical to walk or use a taxi whenever I needed to leave the house.
I decided that getting something to eat would be the most important thing to do know. I could cook, but that would require going shopping, and I would rather get a car first, so I called a taxi and told the driver to get me to the closest diner.
As we drove, I looked outside the window. Small houses like mine were appearing less, giving their place to larger two and three-storey ones. I guessed we were getting closer to the town centre. But what really surprised me was the amount of green in the area. Everywhere, there were trees and large bushes. It seemed like everyone's backyards went into the forest. I liked that, maybe I'll take a walk around the forest behind my backyard in the evening.
After having a breakfast and two cups of coffee, I paid my check and asked my server if she knew of any car dealerships or used cars selling lots in the area. She scribbled an address on a piece of paper from her notepad and I thanked her.
After calling the cab for what I hoped to be one last time, I left the diner and got into another mint and tobacco smelling cars. Why was that all cabs smelled the same? After a few hours of talking to a representative, I was a lucky owner of an old Chevrolet Silverado truck.
I climbed in and smiled. It was the largest vehicle I've had to drive so far, but it just made me more excited. Back home, father taught us to drive in his car, which was probably twice smaller than this truck. My truck.
The engine roared when I turned the key, and the truck came to life.
"Okay, baby girl, lets take you home." I cooed, rubbing my hands on the wheel. I started driving back to the city, trying to see if I can find a food store on my way home…and a liquor store in case Ben or some other undead were planning to terrorise me tonight. Seeing how they did it every night since I copied Klaus's powers, it was hard to think they will give me a break tonight.
Luckily for me, I noticed a store and turned to its parking lot. After I got groceries for a few days, I went into the liquor store that was at the same plaza. I had to use Allison's power once more to make the cashier think I was 21. A few bottles of brandy and another bottle of vodka should help me sleep for the next couple of weeks.
I parked in the driveway, getting all my shopping bags out of the truck. The rain has stopped by now, so I decide that a little walk in the woods might not be such a bad idea after all. I went inside the house, leaving my groceries that didn't need to go into the fridge on the counter in the kitchen. I crossed the room and went out of the back door. The backyard of the house was small and looked a little run-down, but that didn't matter to me. I open the gate that separated my house from the forest and started walking.
The songs on my iPod changed faster than I wanted them too. I've been walking for a while. As soon as I saw something blueish appear in my primarily green surroundings, I stopped. A tiny river was stopping me from going any further. I decide to think of it as a sign, I sat down on the wet grass, right by the river side, leaning back on a large boulder. I could feel my jeans getting wet, but it didn't matter. Here, in the woods, by the river that kept running steadily, I felt calm. The air was so fresh and ripe with the pleasant, dewy petrichor of the post-rain evening.
"Can we talk?" Ben sat down in front of me.
I growled in despair. What did he not understand in the phrase: 'leave me alone'?
"Ben, I don't want to talk. I want to feel normal."
"You know you're acting very selfish right now." He shook his head and I looked up at his eyes, they were watery.
"I just need some alone time." I shook my head, not wanting to believe what he was saying. "Without Luther being all overprotective big brother on me and without Allison who tries to hide what Luther and she are doing behind closed doors, without Diego's constant self-loathing and without Klaus's self-pity. Vanya left, Five too, you died, can I get my shot at freedom? Or is it too much to ask?!" I was screaming while rummaging through my coat pockets. Finally, my fingers reached something cold, and I took the flask out. Not looking at Ben anymore, I unscrewed the top and chugged the brandy until I started coughing. My eyes burned, although, I wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol or the tears that I've been trying to hold. Fuck Ben, fuck my dad and fuck my whole supernatural family. If me running away was a sign of selfishness, then be it.
My head fell back, leaning to the boulder. I took a few more sips before I realized that Ben was no longer around me. I felt drunk, but it helped me now. Ben's words hurt me. All my life, I've been doing things for others. I helped the police catch bad guys, I was a good sister and a good daughter, never got into conflicts with father and helped Grace around the house. Did I not deserve a little bit of time for myself? To do something that I wanted to do, not something that other people wanted me to do, was that selfish?
I took out my cigarettes and lit one, dragging it slowly and then letting the smoke out of my open mouth to get taken away by the wind. It got dark; the stars were starting to appear in the sky. I didn't think it would be smart to walk home, especially in the dark forest, especially when I was drunk. I was about to teleport into the house, using Five's power, but a silhouette of a man, coming my way, stopped me.
I was still sitting down, but I took my headphones off and watched as the silhouette of the man come closer.
"Did no one tell you not to go into the forest at night?" a male voice asked. It sounded pretty. "It can be dangerous."
"I can take care of myself." I chuckled; the silhouette of a man didn't make a sound. I still couldn't see any part of his face, a large black hoody was covering most of it, only the bronze light of his hair, reflected by the moon, could be seen sticking out of the hood. "Are you afraid to show me your face?"
"No." He spoke calmly. "But you should go home."
"I think you should stop telling me what to do." I smirked, taking another drag from my cigarette.
"Are you even old-enough to smoke?" He asked, his voice sounded judgy now.
"Sorry, forgot how that's any of your business." I spoke annoyed. What is that guy even doing here? Doesn't he have anywhere else to be?
"Are you drunk?" He asked after a moment.
"So, what if I am?" I chuckled. "Are you going to call cops on me to the middle of the woods?"
"I just don't think it's appropriate for a young woman like you to drink that poison." He answered again.
"Don't worry, mommy, I was about to head back home anyways." I laughed again and stood up. I noticed he took a few steps back, as he was trying to avoid me.
"Do you need help getting back?"
"Nope." I walked further into the woods, lighting up another cigarette, but then I noticed he followed me. "I thought I told you already I don't need help getting home."
"Well, you're drunk, we're at least 20 minutes away from the nearest house. I don't think you'll be able to make it back safely."
"Sobriety is super overrated. People do much more impressive things when they're under the influence." I spoke and saw his stance change, he was getting impatient, I was just having fun, geez. Where did that guy come from? 1920s?
"I can't let you walk through the woods alone." I saw him shaking his head. Fine, if he wanted to do it the hard way, we will do it the hard way.
"I heard a rumour you were letting me go home by myself." I saw his body flinch, like he was trying to fight my influence on him, but then his legs turned around and he started walking back to the river.
I thought about my new bedroom and in the next moment I was already standing in it. My cigarette still smoking in the air. I opened the window and threw it out. Hopefully, tomorrow was going to be better. After all it will be my first day of real school.
