scream ~ Five Hargreeves

Chapter 11

Lia was sat in her office, her red heels discarded beside her as she kicked her feet up onto the table in front of her. In her hand was her sisters book, which she read with a steady expression.

"Then there was my sister Ophelia also known as Number Eight. She wasn't born at the same time as the rest of us which you would think would make her the outcast but no. Lia fitted in with everyone - she was just that sort of person. She was flirty even if she didn't realise it, as she enjoyed making everyone flustered especially Number Five. She always had some sort of trick up her sleeve. She included me, for a while at least. Then her partner in crime, Number Five disappeared and Lia changed. Gone was the happy girl who snuck us donuts at three in the morning. Gone was the girl who looked after everyone and made sure they were happy. She used to give us joy but now she just seemed to suck the life out of everything. She looked and felt like a walking corpse, a ghost. 

At first we thought she was just mourning the loss of her friend as we all were, but days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Every night she would wake up screaming. We used to all help her but after a while it got too much. Luther was the first to stop, then Allison, then myself as what could I do? Ben died so that left Diego and Klaus who for some reason stayed up every night.

She then became dad's favourite. None of us knew why of course we presumed he would just be angry with her for not following the rules but he actually helped her. He said she was "different," and "special,". Luther did not like that, so confronted Lia in a corner one day, trying to scare her into telling him what Dad said in his office all those times. She would just repeat 

"The time's not right."

Luther went to grab her but his hand seemed to go right through her as if she was a mere projection and nothing more.

Dad was furious that day. It was like he didn't want us near her, like we were a danger to her. In reality it is the other way around.

One day she left. No note, not a word of warning or a goodbye. She packed her stuff up in the middle of the night and was gone by morning. There was no trace of her anywhere it was if she had never existed at all. Dad never mentioned her and when asked Pogo didn't even remember who she was. Over time her face became blurred in our memories, until sometimes we forgot she was ever here.

Ophelia was good at disappearing, maybe that was why her and Five were so close"

                                                                                     ***

"Come here."

Five was sat on the bed, cleaning his wound from the warehouse. Lia was stood by the window looking at him make a mess of what he was trying to clean up.

He looked at her before deciding he didn't want to argue with her so walked to wear she was standing.  Lia gestured for him to sit down, so he hopped on the windowsill without a word.

"Does it hurt?" she asked as she gently wiped away the dirt.

"No." Five said. Lia smiled slightly.

"Liar," she replied as she gently put a plaster on his arm.

"Disney? Really?" he grumbled unimpressed as he jumped down from the windowsill and picked up his shirt.

"What else do you want me to do? Kiss it better?"  Lia rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, we have work to do," Five ignored her and grabbed his bag. Lia walked to the door only to realise that Five had decided to climb out of the window. She groaned before jogging over to the window and climbing out after him.