COPYCAT ✾ The Umbrella Academy

{ SIX }

After a while, I hear a knock on my door. "Darla, it's me, come out here," Diego says. "Please?" "Go away!" I shout. Through the door, I hear Diego sigh. "Your mother's here." Without thinking, I jump up and wrench open the door.

A ghost of a smirk passes over Diego's face. Getting me to answer the door was a small victory in his book. "Where?" I ask flatly. Diego nods his head, and I follow him. He leads me through the halls, talking as we walk.

"Listen, about your powers," He starts, making me groan. "When I was your age, I was up at dawn, all right? I was training, and honing my skills. The biggest thing-" He stops us outside the bathroom, I was at just two hours earlier, turning me to face him as he grabs my shoulders. "-I was becoming a real man."

"First off, get your hands off me, unless you want to lose a few fingers. Second, I'm not a man, I'm a very capable woman, who can protect herself. And third, is that why you wear those tight pants?" I say, glaring at him.

Just as I finish, the bathroom door opens and my mother steps out. "Lila?" Diego says, instantly walking to my mother as she hums in question. "You need to take this kid with you." He says, pointing around at me. Mom glances at me just as Five walks out of the bathroom, carrying two identical briefcases to the ones I and mom used to get here.

"The hell were you doing in there?" Diego adds. His question is directed at Five, but Lila answers. "Bathing." She says. "Together?" Diego asks. His jealousy gets mom to smirk at him. I roll my eyes, as Five speaks. "Oh, okay. Diego, we don't have time for this. Lila and I have got important shit to do."

"Wait! Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! What's more important than family?" Diego asks as Five walks passed me and starts down the hall.
"Hi, sweetie," Mom says to me, kissing the top of my head as she walks passed me too, following behind Five. "End of the world, genius." Five states as he rounds the corner to the elevator.

We all follow him. Once we're there, and Five presses the call button, Diego grabs Lila's arm. "Lila?" He begins. "What's more important than us?"  "There is no us, Diego." Mom answers simply, pulling her arm away as the door to the elevator opens.

Five hops on, holding the door for Lila. Diego grabs mom's arm once again before she can board. "Come here." He says softly, pulling her a little further along the corridor so that I won't hear their conversation even though I still can.

"What do you mean?" Diego asks. "Look, for you, it's been a couple of days. For me, it's been over a decade. I've moved on." Mom explains. "I've slept with many, many people. Many."

I know she's exaggerating, but it still makes me cringe. Mom turns to the elevator but remembers something as she meets my eye. "The only relationship we have left is the one with our daughter." She says. Diego, Lila, and Five all look at me for a moment. I sigh, knowing they don't even have that.

"So you better not screw that up." Mom finishes, this time getting into the elevator and flashing me a small smile. "Wait, wait, wait! What am I supposed to do with her, huh?" Diego calls. "I got important shit going on too!"  "I doubt that," Lila says.

I look down as I feel Five's eyes on me again. I know he's looking at me with the same look of pity Allison wore earlier. I'm so sick of all the sympathy.

"Figure it out, Diego," Mom says. "Be a dad."