Zero didn't understand what was happening.
Everything around her moved in a dream like state and it appeared she was watching herself from some outside view, unable to stop herself as she retraced her steps like she was reliving the last few hours, but in reverse.
Her legs moved without her asking them to and in a faded few seconds she was no longer on the floor of their attic but on her feet on the steps of the back door, a breeze on her exposed skin.
A buzzing energy pulses with every beat of her heart, thrumming at her wrists and temples, and she watches her dog be almost pulled in reverse as he runs through the grass - she was watching a recording play in rewind, disjointed from reality, and when it all stopped, the ringing in her ears disappeared leaving her in a cacaphonous silence, the only sound hitting her ears being the wind rustling the leaves of the trees.
Zero felt the hold on her body drop, and watched Bolt shake himself off, going to run inquisitive around the greenhouse just like he had done earlier.
Except this was earlier.
Her hand limply went to touch her face and came away wet. She stared down at her fingertips and wiped the tear tracks still on her cheeks.
What the fuck was happening? She thought to herself.
She frowned down at her hands, swaying on the spot without realising it until her shoulder hit the door frame and she caught herself against it.
A sharp bark made her look at Bolt who was watching her curiously.
He didn't seem effected at all.
Zero sniffled, touching the back of her neck where a cold sweat had broken out across her skin. The ends of her choppy hair stuck to it and all she could do was blink slowly, staring at nothing in particular, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
She remembered being in the attic with Klaus.
And Ben.
Her heart rate picked up and she fumbled to grab her packet of cigarettes from her pocket, clumsily opening it and counting.
She had five left.
But that didn't make sense because just moments ago she had watched her fifth cigarette be crushed by the ghost of her dear friend after she'd smoked most of it.
She stuffed the packet away and stumbled back inside, not bothering to call her dog after her, mind preoccupied by what the hell was happening to her.
That packet of cigarettes should have been lying on the attic floor and here it was, on her person as if that hadn't happened at all.
But it had.
She knew it had.
She moved through the halls in a daze, forcing one foot to move after the other, ears ringing.
Faintly she could hear her siblings talking by the bar and followed the sound, a light tapping of paws on floorboards following her loyally like a shadow.
She paused in the doorway and looked around.
They were arguing about something. Why couldn't she hear them properly?
She looked down at her hands and frowned. This didn't feel real.
She could faintly feel a nudge against her leg and ignored it, making a beeline for the bar at the back of the room. The others were so preoccupied that they barely glanced in her direction.
Zero bypassed the alcohol and went for the jug of water under the counter, pouring herself a glass with sluggish movements. Some spilt over the edge of the glass and across her hand as she placed the bottle back down a bit too harshly, lifting the full glass to her parched lips and beginning to down the contents.
BẠN ĐANG ĐỌC
THE THING WITH SORROW - The Umbrella Academy
Fanfiction"She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum." - Everything is Illuminated Zero Hargreeves;...
