Dolores POV

Two Months Later

I sat in the middle of the floor, wrapped up in a blanket, Klaus beside me. The fairy lights that Annie had hung in her room lit up the walls, casting light over her punk-rock posters and down to the quilt on her bed. It still smelled like her lotion, warm and sweet.

Klaus pulled the blanket off from his head. Rattling around under it, he stuck the package out of it with two hands.

'You want another cookie?', he said, sticking the package towards me. Oreos. We'd been sitting here for the past two hours, eating these Oreos and talking, sometimes just sitting silent. We enjoyed each other's company.

I stuck my hand in, pulling out another one. 'Why not?', I said, my voice tired and my face strained from crying. I put it to my mouth, crunching through the cookie, and Klaus stared down at the near empty package with a melancholy face.

'These were Annie's favorite.', he said, in a low tone.

I set my Oreo down in the floor.

'Don't start saying 'were', Klaus.', I said, scooting closer to him. 'You don't know she's gone.'

I laid my head on his shoulder, sitting criss-cross, both of us still wrapped up in our blankets. He laid his head on top of mine.

'She would've come back by now.', he whispered. 'She would've gotten away.'

I took in a breath. This all stung.

'I'm sure she's doing everything she can.', I said. 'I know it.

I looked down to the ground, and we were silent for a few moments.

'At least there's hope.', I said, thinking of my own son who would never come back. There wasn't any hope for him.

I didn't hold it in my heart to be bitter towards Annie. I was never angry at her for the accident, I never blamed her. I knew what it was like to lose control and destroy things. But oh, how I wished it hadn't been my son in her grasp when it all hit the fan.

Klaus instantly recognized what I was thinking of.

'I... I can... I mean you can talk to him, Dory.', he said, stumbling to find the right words. 'I see him around. He's okay, now.'

I shook my head against his shoulder.

'No.', I said. 'I'm not ready.'

He nodded slowly.

'But in truth...', he whispered. 'I haven't seen any of them lately.'

I turned slowly to look back up at him.

'Klaus?'

'I'm sorry, Dory.', he said, looking pained and guilty.

I nodded. 'You were sober for so long, Klaus.'

'Yeah. I get that.', he said, biting his lip and shaking his head.

'I just had to get away from all this.'

'You could've come to me, Klaus. Or Vanya. Any of us.', I said, feeling like it was my fault. 'I could've helped. I... I should've recognized what was going on, I could have kept you from it.'

'Dory, hush up about that.', he said, quietly. 'I needed to handle it alone.'

'Alone with drugs.'

Another pained face came flowing over him. 'I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry.'

I set my head back down on his shoulder. There were a few minutes of silence.

'Thank you, Dory.', Klaus said, his voice steady.

'What for?'

'For being the realest person I've had in my life. For not wearing off like the drugs.', he explained. 'For being my best friend for seventeen years.'

My heart.

'Thank you too, Klaus.'

'Hm?'

'For letting me cry and eat Oreos wrapped in blankets with you for hours on end. For all our Mario Kart tournaments.', I said, smiling. I laughed a little under my breath. 'And for being the best friend I've ever had, as well.'

'Not Five?'

'That's different. He's my love.', I said. 'But you're my rock.', I finished. 'My rainbow polka-dotted rock.'

He giggled a bit.

There was a knock on the door.

'Come in.', I said, wiping a tear from my eye.

The door opened, and the love of my life stood in the doorway in old pajamas, a blanket in one hand and three mugs on a tray in the other.

'Could you use some company?', he asked, smiling lightly.

'Always room for you, little brother.', Klaus said. He walked in, sitting down next to me and wrapping me up in half his blanket. He grabbed my hand underneath the fabric.

'We're the same age, but I'll let it pass.', he mumbled. 'Coffee?'

'I don't know, it's late and the caffeine-'

'It has marshmallows in it.'

'Screw sleep.', he said, greedily grabbing a mug. Five and I followed suit.

I looked at both of them, sipping the coffee and nibbling on a broken off bit of marshmallow.

'I really love you both.', I said, my heart full.

'We love you too, Dory.', Klaus said, smiling. Five pulled me close, kissing me on the forehead.

'We're going to figure this all out, guys.', he said, his voice rumbling against my head. 'And everything is going to be okay. For both of you. I promise.'

I snuggled closer to him, and Klaus smiled at me. And although my heart was broken, and I knew Klaus couldn't take it anymore, and Five was more stressed than he'd been all his life, I felt calm. For I was wrapped up in the affection of the love of my life on one side, and my dearest friend on the other. And that, undoubtedly, was stronger than any antidepressant in this world.

Annie POV

The Temps Commission

'Let me out.', I said, tired, bracing myself against the cold bars as my legs sat on the concrete floor. I looked up at him, and he stared back coldly.

'Let me out!', I screamed, my voice nearly gone, throwing myself on the ground. My hip bone hit the floor hard as I fell down, causing me pain. I'd gotten skinny. They'd been starving me. This wasn't anything like what they said it'd be.

I heard his chair scoot across the ground as I laid with my eyes closed against the chilly floor, hands still gripped around the bars.

'This is what you get for not cooperating, Annie.', he whispered to me, crouching down.

'I don't know what you want from me!', I screamed, my strength nearly gone. I didn't know why I was in here. I didn't know what they wanted me to do.

He bit his lip, looking angry.

'Cooperation.', he said. 'Submission.'

I spit in his face, done with his crap.

He smiled, raging, and closed his eyes as he wiped it off.

'I hope you enjoy three more nights in here, then.', he said, folding his hands.

I felt a wave of dread come over me. Hot tears formed at the corners of my eyes and threatened to pur down my face.

'No, no, please no, Felix.', I begged, pulling myself near to him. 'Please don't make me stay here anymore.'

He took my face in his hands, kissing me on the lips. I didn't have the energy to fight it. I was used to this by now.

He got up, saying nothing. Walking to the doorway, he flicked the light on, smiling at me, and then back off. A tease.

'I'll think about letting you out.'

I fell back in the floor, unable to protest anymore. Utterly, completely exhausted. Near death, it felt like.

'Just leave, please.', I said, my voice scratchy, closing my eyes. 'Go.'

He laughed.

'I'll be back in the morning.'

He turned and went out the door, locking it.

I heard Lila's voice through the thin wood of the door.

'How is she?', she asked, smoothly.

'As resistant as ever.', Felix answered.

'We can fix that.'

'And so we shall.', he said.

And I let the hot tears stream down my face as I rolled over on my stomach, covering my face, wishing with all I had that I could just die here rather than stay another night.