Chaotic Good | the umbrella academy

FIFTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
' I TRUST YOU. '

Eddie moved through the streets, dawn forming and painting the skies orange. The cold bit at her, intensifying the pain, but she pushed it down. The truth had been staring her in the face the whole time.

Why could she only just see it?

Her mind was full of scenes of her yelling at her father, at Pogo - to knock some goddamn sense into them, to try and make them see how diabolical their actions were. Mom had feelings; she would have been keenly aware of her job to help and heal, but she couldn't act on it. Taking out the first aid structure was taking out half of her base code, which explained her malfunctioning.

Standing outside the Academy, she stopped herself. Did Pogo really have a choice in the matter? He always did what her father had commanded of him. Sighing, Eddie shook her head and turned away.

Where would she go now? She had no idea where her siblings were or what they knew or didn't. Someone bumped into her, and she stumbled. They called back an apology, but Eddie couldn't see straight with the pain and disgust rolling through her body.

Then, she knew where to go.

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Her exhausted body protested every step towards the apartment, and she nearly collapsed at the top. Staggering, Eddie pressed her shoulder against the wall and used it to help her along the hallway. When she stopped in front of the particular door, she slumped against it, breathing heavily, trying to compose herself.

"Eddie?" The voice was quiet and confused, but she didn't turn to face it. "What're you doing here?"

Vanya immediately dropped her violin case and rushed to her when she saw her beaten state. "Jesus, Eddie. What the Hell happened?"

The redhead exhaled heavily, showing her a half-smile. "Didn't know where else to go," she replied breathlessly.

"Oh, my God, come on. Do you need help to-"

"-No," she denied quickly before swallowing thickly. Her eyes watched Vanya unlock the door and hold it open for her. Stumbling slightly, Eddie managed the distance to the sofa before collapsing onto it with a short groan.

Vanya split off to grab some bandages and quickly returned. "Eddie, what happened?"

"Just some trouble, courtesy of Five."

She shot her sister a concerned look but didn't press any further. There was apprehension in her eyes like one wrong move would send Eddie collapsing into a meltdown, which it would. The redhead shifted to sit up, crossing her legs under her and staring at Vanya briefly through swollen and bruised eyes.

"I'll be okay," she promised. "I'm just gonna... go somewhere else, you know?"

Vanya sighed quietly before nodding and looking away as a daze appeared in Eddie's eyes.

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Eddie walked through the library halls, slowly slotting the books which had fallen from their designated places. She picked up one, the pages torn and muddy like a stampede had diverged through. As she ran her hand over the mutilated paper, it fixed itself, and she repeated the action for everyone.

Her actions were methodic as she slowly made her way through the destruction. She righted chairs and replaced objects thrown from their original course.

When she'd finished the library, she moved on to the next room and then another. Eddie stopped in front of a mirror. There was writing, out of blood.