His Only Hope

Ball of Twine

"I don't mind coming," you said quietly, and Klaus raised his eyebrows at you quizzically. "You should get to meet your mother. I want to as well, soon."

Klaus' expression turned awkward and remorseful, and you frowned, confused.  "Uh, about that-"

"Ball of Twine," Five said, gripping your hand eagerly as his eyes landed on a road sign. "Klaus, turn! Ball of Twine! Turn!"

He reached over you to grab the wheel as Klaus shouted in confusion, and you gripped the seat and laughed as the car spun to the side as the two wrestled for control of the vehicle.

"It's one of the best ones! Come on!"

"Five, we're gonna die!"

"Whoo!" you shouted, sliding to the side.

"I don't care! Let go! Hey, you know what?! No twine, no birth mother!"

Finally, Klaus pushed Five off of him and spun the wheel to avoid being hit by a car. Five's arm moved over your stomach so that you didn't slam into the windshield, his eyes wild.

"That's what I thought," he muttered as Klaus grudgingly drove toward the tourist attraction.

When you finally stepped out of the car, the tension seemed to have faded, and you let Five twine his fingers with yours and lead you toward the biggest ball of twine in the world. It stretched above your head, but was somehow... unimpressive.

"Okay," Klaus said slowly as he strode over behind you and Five. "I don't know why, but I thought it'd be a lot bigger."

"Seems pretty big to me," Five said defensively, simply staring up at the ball, his free hand in his pocket. His posture was slightly slouched.

"That's because you're tiny," you said, and he scoffed.

"So are you. We're both 15 again, you know."

"I know."

"Here's the real question," Five said without turning around. "How do you know your birth mother is in Pennsylvania?"

"Well, because I was on the ass end of a two week bender, and I can't tell you the exact date because we were boofing Xanax and the whole business." By this point he was in front of you and Five, waving his hands around dramatically as he spoke. "But Amy Winehouse was at the top of the charts. So that puts us somewhere, where? In the mid to late aughts?"

"What is going on?" you asked quietly, and Five shook shook his head, annoyed.

"Get to the point, Klaus."

"I helped myself into Dad's office, looking for the key to his safe 'cause he had Pogo lock up all the stealables. But instead, I found a treasure trove of our family history told in expired check stubs. I was too messed up to, uh, do anything about it, too scared to look her up. But always in the back of my mind, I wondered why she sold me off for three grand. I mean, come on. She couldn't have held out for five? Six?"

You stood rooted in place, shock filtering through you. Your father kept records of your mothers, your family - maybe you could find yours again.

"You see anything about my mother?" Five asked, not looking at either of you and trying to appear nonchalant.

"No," Klaus said quietly. "Sorry. Eight, on the other hand..."

"Really?" you asked eagerly, and then frowned. "But... my parents didn't sell me. Dad stole me, remember? Allison gave you your memories back, right?"

When Five shook his head, your eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"But... I... my mother had no choice. Her, and my dad, and my little sibling... they had no choice. Allison showed me."