Caring for You
This story takes place a few nights after the dinner scene from the Incredibles. Dash has a nightmare about his older sister Violet hating superpowers and giving up being part of the family. When he wakes up and talks about it to their mom Helen, little did he know someone else was listening… and caring.
Dash was lucky his parents couldn't talk about his trip to the principal's office due to his father's bowling night with Lucius. Yet his mom ensured him they will have a discussion about it later. But even then, Dash is more than happy to be able to rest without having to talk about it now. Also, he still didn't understand the big deal with it.
"I'm not the only kid who's been sent to the office you know?"
"Other kids don't have superpowers." His mom replied. "Now, it's perfectly normal for you to-"
"Normal?! What do you know about normal?!" Violet fell into the conversation with a furious expression on her face. "What does anyone in this family know about normal?!"
While saying this, her gaze fell onto Dash and almost immediately shot back at their mother who wasn't used to Violet being like that.
"Now wait a minute young lady!"
"We act normal mom! I wanna be normal! The only normal one is Jack-Jack and he is not even toilet trained!"
The youngest brother sat in his baby chair, laughing at his sister's gesture toward him.
"I have enough of those superpowers! I never wanted them! And I am done with you!" Violet looked furiously at Dash before getting up and walking away from the table into the direction of her room. "I hate supers! And I hate being a part of a super family! And the only thing you do Dash, is torturing me! The whole time! I HATE YOU!"
This statement of his sister hit Dash like a truck.
"Violet! Don't talk to your brother like that!" Their mom yelled at her, but it was already too late. Violet has already shut the door to her room. Dash felt tears coming to his eyes as Violet came back a few seconds later with the same anger written all over her face.
"I hate this family. I'm no longer part of it! Goodbye!" And with that, Violet went out of the house and slammed the door shut.
Dash opened his eyes and immediately realized it was a nightmare. He felt tears coming and a heavy urge to scream. The wind that was blowing through the trees outside made loud noises that covered almost everything. Yet Dash was sure he could hear his heart beating. And he felt like it beat at a rate he didn't even know was possible. He was thinking about his sister. He loved Violet. He didn't want her to leave him or his family. Lost in his thoughts, Dash didn't realize the tears running down his face at that moment. He began sobbing and couldn't take it anymore.
"Violet…"
Even though he whispered his sisters name, it was still loud enough for Helen to hear him as she walked past his room. The way his voice sounded made her worry that something might have happened, so she knocked on his door, opening it right after. She found Dash on the bed, curled into his blanked with teary eyes and a scared expression on his face. Helen rushed over to her son and hugged him.
"Dash, honey. What's wrong? What happened?"
Now, the tears started pouring out of the young super's eyes and over his cheeks as he gave in to the haunting feeling.
"Violet hates me!" He screamed.
A puzzled expression formed on Helen's face as she pulled back to look into his glassy blue eyes.
"What? Why do you think that? Violet is your sister and she loves you"
"No!" Dash started sobbing so badly his mom had trouble understanding him.
"When we had that argument at dinner mom! She said she hates superpowers and being a part of our family! And then she turned to me and said she hated me! She left and didn't want to come back!"
Helen understood that Dash must have had a bad dream about that dinner. She remembered it, but it was different from what Dash explained now.
"But Dash… she never said anything like that. She only said she wanted to be normal and that was it."
"But… But I feel it! She doesn't love me at all!" Dash said while pushing his face into his pillow. Helen stroked his head to calm him a little before pulling him up toward her again.
"It was just a dream Dash. Violet would never say anything like that to you. I know she loves you a lot. And don't worry. I'm sure if you talk to her, she'll tell you the same. Maybe you should tell her what bothers you tomorrow."
"I can't! what if she says it's true? I don't want to hear it…" His gaze fell to the floor as he sat next to his mom on his bed.
"Dash. She won't say that. Believe me. You're siblings. Sure, you fight a lot, but that doesn't mean she hates you. It's more like that's how you show your love towards each other." With a reassuring smile, she tried to comfort Dash enough for him to be able to sleep well.
"But I hate all that fighting. And she does, too." Dash whispered.
Helen thought about this for a second. Then she smiled at her son and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Then tell her you're sorry, Dash. You can always go to her and tell her you never wanted to hurt her a few days ago. She'll understand. I know she will. And then you'll see that she loves you."
Dash's face brightened up a little from what his mom suggested. He never thought he could do that. Talk to his sister about him being sorry for their fights never occurred to him. He liked the idea. He smiled at Helen and gave her a thumbs up.
"I will. Thanks mom!"
As an answer, Helen hugged him again and tucked him in for the night.
Both of them didn't realize someone else listening to their conversation. Out of Dash's room, right at the wall, Violet was standing. And she could hear every single word. As Helen tucked Dash in, Violet quietly went back into her own room and silently closed the door behind her, before falling onto the ground, a few tears running down her face.
"What have I done?" She whispered. "He thinks I… hate… him."
As she said that word, she felt horribly disgusted by herself.
"How could I give such a feeling to my own brother?"
Getting up from the ground, Violet moved over to her bad to sit on it. She needed to think this through. What could she do? How could she show Dash that she cared? And she cared deeply. When Dash told their mother she said she hated him, Violet had to hold back a scream. She was utterly ashamed by that.
"I really love you, little brother…" Violet whispered into the dark room around her. The only thing that lightened it up was the dim moonlight shining through the window when the clouds unfolded. And every time a light was illuminating her bed, Violet saw the teardrops that fell onto the sheets of her bed. No. She couldn't wait until tomorrow. Dash deserved to know she was sorry for giving him such a feeling. And most importantly, she needed to show him she cared and tell him she loved him. It was hurting Violet badly to know he was sad because of her. So, the next time the moon led the way, she hesitantly walked to the door and opened it.
Right before Dash's door, she stopped. Should she really knock? What if Dash was already sleeping again? She would wake him up and maybe things would only get worse. Violet stood there for what felt like eternity, hesitating and wanting to give up. She felt like screaming again. When she turned around to return to her own room, she winced a little. Her mother was standing at the door to her and Bob's bedroom, smiling at her and nodding reassuringly before moving in and closing the door to retire for the night.
Now, Violet had a determined look on her face. She turned back to Dash's room and knocked. When there was no answer, she hesitated again. But no. She had to do this. As she opened the door and went in quietly, her gaze fell into the direction of her brother's bed. She closed the door and walked over to him. Dash's eyes were closed but Violet could tell he was restless. He rolled from side to side and his face showed a scared expression. Maybe she should wake him up? No need to. Dash quickly sat up after waking up from another bad dream. Violet quickly turned herself invisible and snuck into a corner to not scare him.
"Another nightmare… I hate that." Dash whispered. "Maybe I should really talk to Violet as soon as possible."
He got up from his bed and walked around his room to calm his nerves. Violet was still sitting in the corner to hide her clothes as she saw Dash tearing up again.
"Why does it scare me so much? I don't understand…"
He sat back on his bed.
"Mom already said Violet loves me. So, she doesn't hate me but love me… right?"
"Right." The invisible teenager got up and turned herself visible again while saying that. She couldn't take it anymore. Her brother needed her to be there. And there she was.
Dash didn't know what to think. He felt uncomfortable knowing his sister heard him. He zoomed back into his bed and pulled the blanked up, making it cover him completely. Violet slowly made her way over to him. As she got closer, she heard some quiet sobbing coming from the shivering lump. She sat down on his bed and carefully tugged on the blanked hiding her brother. Dash kept his eyes tightly closed as she removed the blanked from his upper section to be able to see him.
She found him huddled and scared. After a few seconds, Dash felt her hand on his back, carefully stroking him while she hummed a calming lullaby. Violet could tell Dash was relaxing a little as his expression changed and his sobbing stopped. She smiled at him when he opened his eyes to look at her.
"Why are you here, Violet?" Dash asked as he sat up.
"I wanted to talk to you." She answered. "But first…" She pulled him closer to her and hugged him tightly while carefully rocking him back and forth.
Dash was confused, but he felt somewhat happy. It seemed like his worries vanished into the dark of the night as he returned the hug and closed his eyes. For a few seconds, they stayed like this to make sure the other one knew everything was alright. It was Violet who pulled back to be able to look at her brother.
"Dash, I heard you screaming earlier so I went out to see what happened and then I heard your conversation with mom. I just couldn't let you think I hate you. I could never! You're my best friend, Dash. I love you!" Now, Violet was tearing up and facing downwards.
Dash felt guilty to see his sister sad like this.
"I didn't want you to hear that… I'm sorry, Vi. I wanted to talk to you tomorrow."
"And I couldn't wait until then. I care for you so much… I didn't want to leave you sad!" Violet answered reassuringly.
It was a strange feeling inside Dash. He still felt a little sad but there was also happiness. He knew now that everything was okay but it was the fear of what might come that bothered him.
"Thanks, Vi. It really means a lot to me. But… I am scared."
Violet turned her hear to look into his eyes.
"What scares you?"
"The fights… We always fight. Mom said it was our way to show we care for each other, but… I hate fighting with you!" The way he said it made Violet's heart crack a little. She never thought their fights would hurt Dash so much.
"Dash… I want you to know that I never mean to hurt you! We may fight a lot but that doesn't change the fact I care for you deeply or that I love you!"
"I love you too, Vi" Dash smiled a little as he said that. He was happy to have Violet with him. He was surprised by how well she could calm him down. Usually, his mom was the one calming him down. But the way Violet did it was even better. It was almost like she knew exactly what he needed. And he was very grateful for that.
"Thank you for being there for me."
Violet pulled him closer to her as she rested her head on his.
"I will always be there for you. But we should probably get some sleep now. Want me to tuck you in again?"
Dash nodded. Violet carefully covered him with the blanked and gave him a reassuring smile before turning towards the door.
"Violet?" Dash looked at her with a small smile.
At the door, Violet turned around and returned the look
"Yeah?"
"Can we spend more time together? I would really like that."
"Of course. If you want to, we can play some videogames after breakfast. And I was thinking about going to the movie theater. Maybe we can go there together tomorrow evening?"
Dash was more than happy with her answer.
"Yeah! I'd love both of that!"
"Perfect!" Violet laughed before the siblings parted for the night.
Dash was able to fall asleep pretty quickly after their talk. She did exactly the right thing when she came over to talk to him. And Violet was relieved. As she went to bed, she thought about how she and Dash could spend more time together from now on. She cuddled her head into the pillow and closed her eyes as a soft smile formed on her face.
"I'll think of a way." She whispered softly before turning her head toward the window, watching the bright moon in the sky.
"Thank you for showing me the way." She added before closing her eyes to sleep while smiling happily.
Now, the moon vanished behind a wall of clouds, leaving the Parr house to the night. Light wasn't needed anymore, after all.