"I'm about to make a prediction, okay? So listen close, you punk ass cultist."
"Damn, what happened to you?" Klaus asked, narrowing his eyes at Cass who just stood before him, staring him down with a glassy look in her eyes.
"You don't wanna know, n...
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True to his word, Elliot took his film to be developed first thing in the morning. He was gone before Cass was even awake. She woke up that morning to find herself still on the sofa with an array of newspaper cuttings scattered carelessly on her lap. Most had fallen onto the floor and some were wedged between the couch cushions. One was stuck to the side of her cheek. She peeled it off, now glad that Elliot was out.
She heard the door click and hastily piled up all the newspaper cuttings and frantically patting herself down to make sure there were no more embarrassing bits of paper stuck to her. That would be just what she needed.
"Hey, you're up," Elliot said with a sweet little smile that Cass couldn't help but return. He set down two brown paper bags on the kitchen counter and pulled out an envelope to hand to Cass.
"You got the photos developed?" Cass asked a little too excitedly. Elliot beamed.
"Sure did," he smiled, handing the envelope over to Cass, "And I went grocery shopping while I was out. Picked up some more coffee. Is three bags going to be enough?" he chuckled but Cass had other things on her mind.
She carefully tipped the photos out onto the coffee table and began sorting through them, piling up the photos that were either blurred or badly developed, keeping only the ones with a clear shot of the newest arrival.
"Vanya..." Cass breathed when she came across a photo with a clear shot.
It was Vanya alright, no mistaking her. She was dressed all in white. The same suit she was wearing for her concert... She looked terrible. Her face was contorted into an expression Cass was all too familiar with: pain.
The photo depicted Vanya just after she had arrived. She must have fallen from the sky like the others but she was scrambling on the ground, with her knees bent and one hand steadying herself on the ground and the others clasped to her head like she was suffering from an intense headache. Cass's heart ached for her. She didn't care what the others might have said about the circumstances they had last seen Vanya. She just wanted her sister to be okay.
"What's wrong?" Elliot asked, noticing the vacant look on Cass's face before even she did, "You not like her or something?" he asked, looking from Cass's despondent face and to the photo of Vanya that she was looking at.
"What? No," Cass answered quickly, trying to wipe the dismayed expression from her face, "No, she's my sister, I love her."
"But?" Elliot asked, sensing there was something more to Cass's thoughts.
"I'm scared for her," Cass admitted, "Not of her. For her."
"Well, all the more reason to find her," Elliot said, smiling to keep Cass's spirits up despite not understanding any part of her family's situation in the slightest.
