There was no family left in this house
Cassandra absent-mindedly swung her legs off the edge of the bed as she waited for Klaus and Diego to come back. Klaus shuffled back into the room, sheepishly hugging his arms to his chest like an embarrassed child. He sat heavily down in the chair and sat stiffly, back straight and arms stuck firmly to his sides. Diego seemed not to notice as he started to wrap him back up in rope. Cassandra reached for a pillow and hugged it closely to her chest, fondly running a hand over the pillow case like a mother would her baby.
"You know, no...I think- I think this was...was a bad idea." Klaus stammered as he tried to wriggle free from his constraints but found he could not move. Diego stopped in his tracks, limply holding the rope aloft as Klaus continued to squirm.
"Woah, woah, what?" Diego asked him, confused, his tone bitter as if in betrayal. Cassandra pressed the pillow firmly to her.
"I need, just one more hit to ease me into it." Klaus bargained, still trying to wind his arms out of the rope but to no success, "That's what I need." he mumbled.
"Um. No." Diego replied firmly, pulling the rope tight again but it was too late. Klaus had wriggled his arms free and was untying the rope around his chest. The rope fell slack and tumbled to the floor. Klaus hastily kicked it off his feet and scrambled for the door.
"I'll be right back." Klaus muttered, not leaving a single doubt in anyone's mind as to where he was going. Cassandra caught him firmly by his bony wrist as she tossed the pillow aside, now turning her affection to her brother. She gently pulled on his wrist, leading him like a sheep to sit on the bed beside her.
"It'll work, Klaus." She said softly, staring into his dark brown eyes in earnest. "I promise. You can get through this." Cassandra spoke softly, rubbing the back of Klaus' arm gently with her thumb. He reached out for her other hand and held it strongly in his own, looking back into her cloudy grey eyes in a sort of plea. He needed her to be right.
"No, no, no, no. No. I need- no." Klaus, protested softly, shaking his head but never breaking eye contact. He needed her now more than ever and Cassandra needed to be needed.
"Yes, you do." Cassandra contradicted, her voice was still soft and persuasive. "You can do this, Klaus. And you will."
Klaus seemed to be settled by her words. For some reason, assurance about the future was always more believable coming from Cassandra, regardless of whether her siblings actually believed she could see the future.
"You baby him too much." Diego mumbled as Cassandra stood up, taking Klaus with her and lead him back to the chair. Klaus sat down slowly, his hand still clasped Cassandra's. His fingers intertwined with hers and wound around her like a vine around a stronger tree. Cassandra gently brushed a strand of his dark hair from his eyes and wriggled free of his grip.
"No!" Klaus suddenly screamed causing Cassandra to flinch.
"Sit down!" Diego protested, pushing Klaus back into the chair as he tried to stand, quickly binding Klaus' hands to the chair. Klaus tossed around like a maniac, desperate to get free. His wrists strained and tore at the rope, enflaring the skin.
"No! Diego, stop! Stop it! Stop it!" Klaus screamed, his voice becoming guttural like a vicious animal. But Diego ignored him and continued wrapping the rope tightly about Klaus' chest.
"I can conjure her. I can conjure her for you." Klaus bargained. Diego momentarily stopped but, with a flick of his head and a heavily blink, he continued.
"Stop it." was all Diego said, barely above a whisper.
"The lady cop, I can-"
"Just stop it!" Diego interrupted, snapping at Klaus harshly, "Don't use her name like that!"
"Let me-"
"You can't conjure shit until you're clean!" Diego snapped, sharply pulling the rope tight, knocking the wind out of Klaus, "I don't want to see her until I can tell her that I buried the bastards that killed her." Diego mumbled softly as he bent down to fasten the rope about Klaus' feet.
"Please.-" Klaus muttered pittifully, "Please. Please. Please."
"This," Diego explained, holing up a bucket, "Is for next time. Puke, pee, whatever you need. Multipurpose. And I'm taking Cass with me so she can't baby you and let you go. Got it? Good." Diego snapped, not even letting Klaus open his mouth to protest. He took Cassandra by the hand and sharply dragged her behind him to the door. Cassandra's feet shuffled across the floorboards in her attempt to turn back and look at Klaus, her eyes sadly downcast in a mirror of Klaus. She couldn't help but feel like she was abandoning him. She of all people would know how that felt.
"Diego! Come back! Diego you prick!"
*
Diego didn't let go of Cassandra's hand until they were in the hallway, by the front door. Cassandra wriggled free from Diego's grip and stood defiantly still on the stairs. It had crossed her mind to go back upstairs to Klaus but deep in her heart she knew he needed to do this alone. Instead she would go upstairs and seek refuge in her old room. Diego continued walking, heading for the door but something made him stood dead in his tracks. The same something made Cassandra turn back around on the stairs and follow Diego into the sitting room. The sound of mom's familiar humming had sent an unnerving fear throughout Cassandra's very body.
"Is that?" Cassandra muttered.
"Mom." Diego finished, walking into the sitting room, coming face to face with their dead mother.
Their mom had died. Diego had told her that she had died, yet here she was, walking around and dusting of all things.
"Mom?" he asked, walking up to her. Mom's back was turned as she leant up on her tiptoes to dust a bookshelf. Upon hearing Diego's words, she turned around, ready to face him with her familiar smile.
"Oh, hello Diego, dear. And Cassandra. It's nice to see you two getting along again. Just like old times, hmm?" Mom remarked cheerfully and immediately turned back around to get on with her cleaning.
"How are you..." Diego asked but trailed off as Mom walked over to them, holding the duster a little way apart from her body. Diego grasped mom's arm, turning it upwards to examine a deep cut and stitches extending up her forearm. "Walking around?" Diego finished, no longer looking mom in the eyes.
"One foot in front of the other."she laughed, "Why? How do you do it?" She smiled.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Diego questioned. Mom wasn't guilty, this wasn't an interrogation.
"Oh, let's see...March 21st. Sunset was 7:33pm. Moon was waxing crescent. Dinner was-"
"Mom, that was over a week ago." Cassandra interrupted. She glanced at Diego who shot her a quick glance. It was evident from his unusually pale face that something was wrong. A big something. It took a lot to affect Diego.
"Do you remember anything else?" He asked again, probing for further evidence. Mom looked over Diego's shoulder. Her eyes only briefly flicking away but cassandra noticed. She always noticed. Cassandra turned behind her, following mom's gaze. Her eyes fell on Pogo lingering in the doorway. As he noticed her staring at him, Pogo darted down the corridor.
Cassandra gasped heavily as her eyes went white. This time, something was different. She didn't have the usual hazey, foggy warmth of a prediction. This vision had a cynical cold feeling. This was no vision of the future, it was a memory. A memory someone had wanted forgotten. But now, she remembered. She remembered it all: the treachery and cold blooded cruelty. There was no family left living under this roof, they were all strangers. They had wronged her, she thought as she tore herself away from mom and Diego and stormed down the corridor after Pogo. Cassandra wasn't just going to get answers, she was going to get vengeance.