A/N: Hope you guys enjoy :)
Chapter Ten: No One Cares
Vanya was distracted during rehearsal, she was making mistakes that were interrupting the soothing sounds of the instruments playing, the conductor sent multiple glares in her direction, glares that on any normal day would make Vanya nervous, scrambling to analyze her every move to do better. She didn't blame him for his dirty looks, she'd send herself dirty looks to if she was the conductor. She couldn't get the worry for Klaus and Five out of her mind though. She thinks maybe she should have skipped the theater today and went looking for them with Diego but to prove a step further to everyone in rehearsal that she didn't belong there was not something Vanya was setting out to do anytime soon. She already felt out of place in the theater, unwanted in the midst of the other musicians, she didn't want to further escalate that doubt to herself or to anyone else.
When the conductor finally gave the signal that everyone could go home, sending one final last nasty look to her that Vanya ignored, she jumped from her stiff seat, packed her violin up, and rushed ahead of everyone else to get out the doors, she was the first one outside, leaving everyone behind her to stare. She was pulling out her phone to make a call when someone shouted out her name.
"Vanya!" She stopped in her tracks to turn around to face the familiar voice, Allison was jogging in her heels towards her from down the street. When her sister bent down to hug her, Vanya considered stepping back because the height difference was startling. Allison has always towered over her small figure but in the 5-inch heels she was currently sporting, she made Vanya feel like a child in comparison.
"Allison hey what are-why are you..." She stopped talking because she didn't want Allison thinking she wasn't happy that she was there, the questions she wanted to ask came off as kind of rude.
"I was hoping we could go to lunch?" Allison pulled her arm until she was walking alongside her across the street to a cute little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that sold really good food, her favorite being their vegetable low mein. Diego had taken Vanya there several times when they were...whatever they were, she hadn't been back since he ended whatever it was that they were to each other
Inside the restaurant they were seated in a two-chair table in the corner that had a big window that faced the busy sidewalk, a waitress with big brown eyes and wavy black hair came to take their order but it wasn't until the food came out and they had their drinks in hand that Allison started talking to her.
"Um-have you heard about mom? I wanted to be the one to tell you, but Diego said he would handle it." Allison didn't like having to start the conversation off with such a sad topic, but she did want to make sure Vanya knew what happened to their mother, so she wanted to know if Diego kept his word and told her. In any case it was better to get that topic out of the way first, so they didn't dwell on it when they left the restaurant.
"Yeah, he told me this morning...are you okay? He said you and Luther are the ones who found her like that." Vanya reached her hand forward to grip Allison's manicured one in a silent show of support and sympathy, she couldn't imagine how she would have reacted to finding their mother with her wires pulled apart.
"I'm good, I know I was for shutting her down but seeing her like that..." Vanya understood, just because they were trying to think and do what was best for the family didn't mean that they enjoyed or took satisfaction in the fact that someone else did what they were debating on doing to their mother.
"But anyways, I've been dying to ask," Vanya knew exactly what was going to come out of her sister's mouth by the teasing smile on her face, "What is going on with you and Diego? I mean, how did that even happen? What happened? When did it happen?" She fired off the questions she's been dying to know the answers to since she made the connection between Luna and Diego at their father's funeral.
"Nothing's going on." Was Vanya's automatic response to being questioned on Diego. She didn't know what was going on herself so how on earth was she supposed to answer that question when other people asked it.
"Are you guys going to try to be together or no?" The teasing smile left Allison's face when she realized the depths of confusion and turmoil in Vanya's eyes. Allison had only witnessed a few interactions between them but in each one she had seen, she had noticed the gravitation they had towards one another, she didn't think there was more to talk about beyond the connection they shared.
"He lied to me," Vanya blurted out to her sister, "When we first started hanging out with each other. He used me to get over an ex-girlfriend of his that he told me was a friend mind you...he hurt me when he decided to yell at me the next morning after we slept together. I don't know how to feel about any of that right now, there's moments that I feel like I can forgive him, like we can move on and then other moments were this anger just consumes me and I want to hurt him just as bad as he hurt me. He says he loves me, and I know he does but is that enough to not hurt me again?" The rant was unexpected but Vanya didn't regret her words, it felt good to get that off her chest, good to say what she was thinking out loud to someone, to be able to express her concerns and what she was afraid of.
"And now there's this amazing guy who wants to get to know me, he comes with no complications, he's fun and I loved the time I spent with him but instead of focusing on maybe starting something good with Leonard I'm focused on Diego because he is right there in my head, and I can't get him out." It was such a relief to talk about what she was feeling, it didn't occur to her how bad she wanted to voice her problems until she started talking.
"I'm not going to pretend to know exactly how you're feeling Vanya or to even know the situation 100% but can I ask you a question?" Allison hadn't known that the situation between Vanya and Diego was more complicated than the surface of Luna. She knew that they must have had some issues because Diego didn't know about Luna but judging by Vanya's words and her facial expressions the problems they have run a lot deeper than they appear to be. Allison had somewhat naively thought everything would be easy for them, that they would be able to work things through without putting a lot of work in.
"You said Diego loves you, but do you love him?" She asked when Vanya nodded.
"Yes." Vanya didn't hesitate with her answer, that was something she knew from the very start of things, she knew she loved him with everything she was, that's why it's so hard to separate herself from the problems.
"Do you think you can give this Leonard guy a real chance when your heart belongs to Diego?" Allison doesn't know this Leonard person, she's never met him, she has nothing against him, but she wants her siblings to be happy with each other so as far as she's concerned, he is an unnecessary distraction to getting Vanya and Diego together.
"I don't know, but I feel like I deserve to explore that option some more at the very least." That was the whole reason she agreed to go to dinner with Leonard, though a part of her did feel guilty because she feels like she's doing to him what Diego did to her, using him to get over someone else.
"Which is understandable, but I don't think you should force a feeling that just isn't there Vanya." Allison stated with a frown on her face, disapproval in her voice. Vanya was in for a rude awakening if she thought she could force herself to get over Diego and magically transport those feelings she has for him into this Leonard guy.
"I know that but..." Vanya didn't get to finish her sentence because her phone started ringing, pulling it out of her pocket the screen read that Luna's babysitter Lizzy was calling her, from the notification bar she seen that she also had 5 missed calls from Diego and 1 voicemail from him.
"Who is it?" Allison leaned over the table between them trying get a look at the phone, she was a naturally nosy person, wanting to know the details of everything going on around her, she had no shame in it, so she saw no reason to pretend otherwise.
"Luna's babysitter," Vanya said back, she pressed the green accept button to answer the call, "Hello."
"Miss Vanya! There's some guy here saying he's Luna's dad, he said he wants to talk to her, he is talking to her." Vanya's eyebrows raised at that.
"Diego's there?" She could hear the breath of relief from Lizzy that Diego wasn't some psycho person in the house claiming that he was Luna's father.
"Yeah, he's Luna's dad?" Lizzy asked for clarification, she's been Luna's babysitter since she was a newborn, not once has Luna's father been mentioned to Lizzy or to anyone else for that matter. Lizzy had come to the conclusion that he was a dead-beat dad like so many others and had abandoned Vanya once she got pregnant, Vanya never tried arguing that theory of hers, choosing instead to let her babysitter and anyone else think what they will.
"Yeah, he is Lizzy, it's okay if he talks to Luna. Listen I'm on my way home so can you please tell him to call me when he's done talking to Luna?" Vanya stood up from the chair so she could get going, without prompting Allison also stood up to leave with her, Vanya was curious as to what was so urgent that Diego couldn't wait for her to get home to go see Luna.
"Yeah definitely." She said her goodbyes before hanging up the phone, Allison was walking silently beside her as she walked out of the restaurant, she clicked on Diego's voicemail putting it on speaker so Allison would be able to hear it as well.
"Vanya listen I'm going to go to your house to talk to Luna okay...I don't got a lot of information right now but I think she can tell me where Klaus is at, I think those crazy people took him. Call me back as soon as you get this...I love you." Diego's voice filtered out of the phone, her and Allison both stopped walking, the people walking behind them stubbled to get around the girls, sending scowls their way for disrupting the flow of the sidewalk.
"How would Luna know where Klaus is at?" Allison questioned at the same time that Vanya asked, "Those psychos took Klaus?"
"Come on, Diego has got some explaining to do." Without question Allison followed Vanya to where she assumed her car to be parked, Diego's message made little sense and Vanya's nerves were going haywire, Allison had a point in her question, what did their daughter have to do with any of that?
"Stay strong Klaus, you can do this." Ben encouraged from the sidelines of Klaus's chair, he was bending down to level his eyes with his brother. Klaus was sweating storms, his whole body was shaking, and his eyes couldn't focus properly, his body was detoxing off the drugs, and it didn't help that the crazies turned off all the lights in the room, expecting Five to come through the motel door. Ben knew soon that Klaus would be diving into some unpleasant memories that are better left buried in the far corners of his mind.
"You're not alone Klaus, you're not alone, I'm here." He wished he could offer a comforting hug to Klaus in this moment but the only thing he had to offer was words, he hoped they were enough.
"No one's coming, no one cares." Klaus's shaking got worse with his words, like they were physically hurting him.
"That's not true," Ben firmly told him, "Diego is coming, just hang in there." He had just gotten back from seeing Luna, communicating to her where Klaus was and this time someone was actually taking notice. He had thought it was all a failed plan when Luna was left with the babysitter and Diego had went searching in all the wrong spots for Klaus, hours passed but Ben refused to give up hope that someone would eventually listen, that someone would take notice and assemble the pieces together.
He had come right back to the motel when Diego got the address and said he was coming. Ben relayed the news to Klaus the second he could, but Klaus was half delirious right now, he didn't seem to understand what he was being told. It's been a rough day for him but Ben needed him to hold on for a just a little longer so their brother could come and wouldn't have to drag an unresponsive Klaus out of the room well also trying to fight off the crazies that wanted Five for whatever reason. He wishes Diego would hurry the fuck up though, especially since Klaus has now started talking to the other spirits in the room, the more he acknowledged them the louder they got, and the more of them seemed to come, Klaus couldn't deal with that right now, not in his current state.
Eudora pulled her car into the Luna Motor Lodge Motel parking lot; this lead might not go anywhere but she needed to check it out anyways. Those criminals could be here with one or both of Diego's brothers doing God knows what to them. The creepy message she found on the windshield of that abandoned van was not comforting in the least.
Walking into the blue lit front office of the motel the attendant behind the desk made shivers go down Eudora's back by the way he roamed his beady eyes all over her body, she was fully clothed in a business suit but he made her feel like she had nothing but her birthday suit on, it was uncomfortable to say the least. He licked his dry cracked lips, puckering them slightly when she came closer to the counter, she scarcely held back a cringe.
"I have reason to believe that there are a couple of wanted criminals staying in this motel, I'm going to need to take a look around." She flatly stated as she pulled her badge free from her pocket, showing it to him.
"There's a lot more than just a couple of criminals staying in this place pretty lady, if you want to look around, come back with a warrant." He smirked at her in triumph before getting up to walk into a back room, shutting the door behind him. She rolled her eyes at him, but that statement did make her feel a little less confident. Pulling her phone out she scrolled through her contacts until she found Diego's name and number, she pressed the call button. Eudora would feel better with back up, considering his brothers were possibly here then who better to call?
The ringing of a phone came from the entrance of the front office, Diego was standing at the door looking confused to see her there, she was just as confused to see him as he was to see her.
"What are you doing here?" They asked each other, Eudora put away her phone, she wouldn't be needing it now that he was in front of her.
"My brother is here somewhere, the people that shot up the manor took him." Diego gestured for her to step out of the office with him, he didn't have time for explanations but he couldn't very well ignore the fact that she was here.
"Maybe both your brothers, I found this," she pulled out the matches from her pocket to hand them to him, "on the windshield of a van and a message saying that your brother says hi."
"Shit let's go then, what the fuck are we waiting for." He couldn't let her presence distract him from his purpose for being there.
They kept quiet as they passed by each motel room door, pausing in front of them to see if they could hear anything suspicious coming from inside, they peeked into the ones that had their curtains drawn back, seeing if they could see anything. So far, they weren't having much luck, most of the rooms were either empty or had occupants that were sleeping.
"You got anything?" Eudora whispered, this was by far the worst way to go searching for his brothers, how did they know they weren't missing something in one of the rooms? Diego shook his head well peeking into the next room before moving on, now that he thinks about it he probably should have gotten a room number from Luna to, but he had left in a hurry, excited that he knew where Klaus was.
On the second level of the motel, room 225 is where muffled banging could be heard coming from inside through the door. Seeing a maid cart with a plump maid putting things away on it, Diego motioned for her to hand him the key card she uses to open the room doors, after handing it to him she took off running down the long hallway lined with rooms, looking back in panic like someone was chasing her.
"We go in and get my brother out of the line of fire before they get gun happy again." Diego whispered to Eudora as he slid the key card in, carefully opening the door. At first, he didn't see anything, his vision was blocked by darkness, but his eyes adjusted quick, immediately they went to Klaus who was bloody and crying from a chair he was tied to.
"Klaus," Diego hurried forward, he could hear Eudora pulling her gun out from behind him, but he didn't pay any attention to her, far more focused on getting Klaus free from his binds, "You're okay, I'm here, you're okay, I'm going to get you out of here." He quietly told him, his hands were shaking as he pulled free one of his knives and started cutting through the duct tape. The bathroom door to the tiny motel room creaked open just as Diego was helping Klaus up from the blood-stained chair.
He pushed Klaus to the floor without looking to see where he would land, "Stay down Klaus!" Shots filled the air from Eudora's gun, he pulled free his knives but waited to hear something from the bathroom before he threw them.
"Police! Drop the gun or you're going down!" Eudora shouted to them; an arm reached out from the bathroom to throw a gun towards the wall on the opposite side, it hit the wall with a clank before falling to the floor.
"I'm coming out. Don't shoot." A male voice called from within the bathroom, calm and without distress, he sounded perfectly at ease, like the situation was going according to plan, Diego didn't trust that calmness.
"There's two of them, him and a woman." Diego told her; he wasn't going to be fooled that they were giving up that easily. The man slowly came out of the bathroom with his hands up, and just like his voice his expression bore no concern.
"Hands behind your head asshole." Eudora ordered the man, who did as he was told and put his hands behind his head.
"Where's the woman? Your partner, where is she?" Diego demanded, he had his hands positioned out ready to throw one of the knives if the psycho even thought about moving without their permission, the man got down on his knees in front of them and Eudora despite what Diego just told her started moving forward.
"Stop," Diego pulled her back to him by her arm, "Something's not right."
Just as he said that a gun shot rang out in the room, Diego wasn't sure what had happened, one second they were both standing up facing the man who was still on his knees, and the next second a burning sensation started radiating from his side. He dropped his knives to press his hands to the source of the pain, pulling his hands back when he felt wetness coat them, his vision blurred from the ruby red blood that coated them and dripped to the floor. He was bleeding. Why was he bleeding?
"Diego!" Both Klaus and Eudora shouted his name, the man was no longer on his knees, Diego was, in fact the man wasn't there anymore at all having took off the first chance he got when his partner shot the man cladded in leather.
"Oh my god, oh my god. Diego listen to me, an ambulance is on the way." Eudora had his face in her hands, tears were streaming down her red cheeks, she was sniffling well she pressed a wadded-up towel to his side where blood was gushing from. His eyes were unfocused, everything was blurred around him, he couldn't breathe, he was tired and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.
"Diego you're going to be okay." Was the last thing he heard before his world went black and silent.
A/N: I didn't add it in, but Cha-Cha and Hazel forgot the case in their rush to leave the motel room, Klaus did find it, he just didn't leave the room because obviously Diego is there, but he does have the case.
Hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to drop a review :)
