Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE strangers from within
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
NADINE STOOD IN FRONT of the building with trepidation, deliberating whether she should go in now or wait for the others to show up. It was twenty minutes past seven now, and, after her lovely day with Molly had ended, she'd split up from her and taken a cab here. She'd even made an effort to look nice—she'd put on a fresh coat of makeup, changed into a skirt, and styled her hair into the same braid crown she'd worn during the gala at the Mexican consulate. Courtesy of Molly, there were also a few daisies nestled into the updo. Whenever Nadine touched them, she was reminded that she wasn't alone here. Although Molly had gone to her grandparents' house for dinner, she'd told Nadine that her thoughts would be with her. She'd given her a kiss on the cheek to bring along, too.
Nadine stared up at the blinking blue sign of the building ("Southland Life", apparently), and took in several deep breaths through her nose. She could do this. She could do this.
Probably. Maybe.
The truth was, she was dreadfully nervous. Despite the multiple occasions in which she'd said she wanted to meet Reginald Hargreeves, now that the time had finally come, she was second-guessing herself. This was the man who'd abused his children for most of their lives, given them numbers instead of names, and treated them as weapons rather than the people they were. This was the man Nadine used to idolize, until she'd discovered the dark truth—the skeletons (or freaky rubber face masks) that lay in his closet. She wasn't going to let him get to her, but she couldn't help but be afraid that he would get to the Umbrella Academy.
Finally, after another minute ticked by, Nadine told herself she couldn't stand out here forever. She was going to have to face this, no matter what, and putting it off for as long as possible was only going to make her dread it more and more. No matter how much she wished she was back in the park with Molly, making newborn flowers appear to have grown and eating herself sick with all of the food they'd purchased, she knew that time had passed. She was here, now, and she couldn't go back.
As she pushed through the doors, heart hammering, her mind went back to her outing with Molly. They'd found a good, partially abandoned spot in the park, near a little stream so shallow it only came up to her ankles. After laying out their picnic blankets and arranging their food, they'd nestled close to each other and just enjoyed the solitude. Back then, it hadn't seemed like the world was ending. The sky was a beautiful blue, and distant birdsong drifted right into their ears. A pleasant breeze whistled through the park, the dancing trees cast glorious shadows onto the grass, and the rushing water of the stream made it even more relaxing. It seemed impossible to think that in five days, it would all be gone. The world being reduced to a charred husk seemed ridiculous, like something out of a cheesy sci-fi novel.
But now that Nadine was here, she was struck by the reminder that it wasn't some fantasy. This was reality, unless she somehow managed to fix things.
She would fix things. She wasn't going to let the world end for a second time.
