THE THING WITH SORROW - The Umbrella Academy

Broken Promises

At some point during her turmoil, Bolt got up from the bed and ran out of the room in search of something as Zero lied there trying to catch her breath and gather her emotions.

Without her dog she felt utterly lost and struggled to get herself to a stand, swaying on her feet and shoving away the covers of her bed behind her.

It was like someone had punched her straight in the chest.

Zero was wobbly, but made it to the window to get some fresh air. She fought with the latch, nearly rusted over from years of not being used, and her trembling wasn't helping.

She didnt even hear someone approach, too fixated on her rasping breaths and the need to get air in her lungs.

"Ze, you need to come and get your dog-"

When she turned Bolt was behind Diego in the doorway, nudging him in the legs in the right direction of his owner. When Diego caught sight of Zero struggling to cope, his annoyance cleared and he crossed the floor quickly to get to her side.

He put a hand on her back as she gave up fighting with the latch. He swiftly jolted it from it"s lock and slid the window open wide.

She leant on her hands and hunched over the windowsill, still crying, unable to stop herself.

The hand on her back made her skin feel hot but she couldnt find the words to tell him to get off, too frustrated with herself that she'd let him see her in this state. 

He angled his head to try and get a glimpse of her expression.

"Hey, what's wrong? What happened?" He asked urgently. "Take deep breaths, Ze, keep taking deep breaths."

She did but was still crying, and tried to stop, but couldn't.

"I can't, I can't-" she closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks, shoulders shaking. She shook her head.

"You can," he assured her, hand rubbing her back. "You're okay."

She shook her head in frustration. "Nothing is fucking okay!" She snapped.

"If this is about the whole end of the world thing, look, we'll figure something out-"

"-I couldn't care less about the- the fucking world ending-" she all but screams back at him, shoving him off to the side, closing her eyes tightly. "I just- i just want- fuck!"

She couldn't catch her breath.

She shook her tingling hands out at her sides, sniffling. 

"Whats going on with you?" He asked quietly, never having seen his stone cold, rebellious sister like this before - she had never let any of them before now, and since the last couple of days she just felt her resolve crumbling under the stress and pressure of keeping herself together.

"Just- just leave it!" She shot back pleadingly, covering her blotchy face, embarrassed and wanting it to end. "Please!"

He looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave it? Your dog just ran from here to the other end of the fucking house to drag me here because clearly you need some help-"

That only made her sob more into her hands, unable to catch herself.

"-and you want me to just fucking leave you here on your own?" He scoffed, continuing seriously. "I am staying here until you tell me what's wrong."

Why did he care so much? Why the fuck couldn't he just leave it? Why?

"Nothing!"

"Clearly, it's something."

Zero sniffled, taking some shaky, short breaths in that only hurt her aching chest. She turned away from him, tucking her head down and running her hand through her messy hair to get it out of her face. The cool air outside hit her clammy skin and she leant against the sill. She was trying so hard to contain her cries, trembling lips pressed together tightly.