[jordans house–late thursday night]
BEN SIGHED. He was exhausted. How did Mom do this?
Finally, everyone else was asleep. Luther had passed out on the couch, while Klaus slept in Jordan's bed. Allison had chosen to rest on a chair besides Vanyas bed.
Tears suddenly filled his eyes. God, he was tired. It hadn't even been a full day. It was only eleven forty. God.
Ben allowed the tears to fall, hot on his face. A sob suddenly wrecked through him, shoulders shaking. His heart burned and his stomach felt like it was full of lead. He wanted to vomit.
Shit. He was gonna vomit.
Ben raced to the bathroom, bending over the toilet and letting out what little food he had in his stomach.
After, he rested his head against the cool porcelain. It felt nice, even though his skin was crawling and his mouth tasted like rotten cereal. Could cereal rot? Ben didn't know.
For a moment, Bens mind flashed back to all the times Klaus had been in this position. Although, most of the time, Klaus has been drunk or high. Or both. How the tables had turned. Kind of.
After another five minutes or so, Ben dragged himself away from the toilet. Shakily, he turned on the sink and splashed cold water on his face. He swished a handful through his teeth to try and get the rotten taste out. When that didn't work, he used a capful of mouthwash. It helped significantly. His mouth now tasted like Cool Winter Peppermint, which was ultimately more pleasant.
With a deep sigh, Ben counts to ten. Once he's reached the number, he swings the door open and steps back into the light of the kitchen. Carefully, he tiptoes around Luther and upstairs, checking on Klaus and his sisters. For a minute, he tries to remember where Diego, Five, and Jordan are.
Then he remembers that he was no fucking clue.
Tears invade his eyes once more, blurring his vision. Leaning against the wall, Ben chokes back a sob. God, this is all so stressful!
"Benny? You okay?"
Ben's head whirled up to see Klaus, hair messy and clothes rumpled. His eyes where red, but he looked concerned.
"I–I'm fine, Klaus," Ben said, but his voice was thick and heavy, filled with unspilled tears.
Klaus sighed and stumbled over to him, sitting next to Ben. He leaned his head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his brother. "We love you, Ben. And you're doing great."
Ben sniffled, leaning into his brother. "Are you high again?"
Klaus sighed again, snuggling closer. "Nothing gets past you, huh?"
Ben made a soft, exasperated noise and leaned into Klaus. The smell of weed was strong, and made his eyes burn, but honestly?
Just being able to physically touch Klaus—to hug his brother, his best friend—was enough to ground him. Enough to calm him down until both boys where asleep, soft snores filling the Reel household. It was a peaceful sleep for them, I suppose; not so much for the other two Hargreeves.
[the commission–time unknown]
Diego clenched his jaw, avoiding looking at Park.
"You know, I was only a dick once." they said. "You don't have to ignore me so much."
"It's entirely possible he's not talking because of the fact that I stabbed his ribs and nearly broke his spine. Also that nasty concussion was a factor." Billie scoffed. She was leaning against the bars, while Park sat on a bench with their arms crossed and a pouty expression.
"Go get him some more pain medication. Dot should have some." Park told her. She arched an eyebrow, pushing herself off the wall.
"Why the hell does Dot have the pain meds? Shouldn't the nurses have them?"
"Dot deals with Ryan, remember?" Park looked up at her. They said the name in an off-hand way, but Billie immediately slapped them upside the head and pointed angrily at Diego.
"We aren't supposed to talk about him in front of prisoners, dumbass!" She hissed.
Diego filed away the name Ryan in his mind; he'd have to ask Five about them later. For now, he was focused on staying awake. His mind was nearly fuzzy with pain; apparently they'd stopped giving him medication for a while. That's what Billie had told him. His back screamed if he moved so much as an inch, his head pulsed and pounded, and every breath was hard enough to be labeled as one of Hercules' Labors. He just wanted to die.
"But fine. I'll go steal some drugs from Dotty. Be back soon, babes," Billie winked at Diego and blew a kiss at Park before walking away. Once she was gone, Park leapt to their feet and pulled out a key ring.
"We haven't got much time, Diego," Park mumbled as they shook the keys, searching for the right one. "I know you're in pain but you have to listen to me."
Diego groaned in reply, flinching when the cell door squeaked open. Parks footsteps where quick and frantic; within ten seconds they where right next to Diego, black eyes glinting. A beautiful butterfly was resting on their shoulder.
"Your siblings are coming for you, okay? You have to heal faster though. I'm bringing in Phrankie to help, but she won't be able to completely heal the wounds. When your siblings show up, you're going to have to be ready to run; Ryan might cause a distraction, I already convinced him to do it when I give the signal, but The Handler is spotty with what she does. I can't contact your siblings to help, though, so it'll be even more of a roll of the dice. We've gotta hope that you aren't drugged up when it happens, okay?" Park whispered; their voice was hot on Diego's face, and smelled like peaches and toothpaste. "Okay?"
Diego strained his muscles and mumbled yes. Ryan had popped up again, and so had someone named Phrankie. But Park was helping him?
"Thank fuck." Park said, and without warning they leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Diego's cheek. His stomach rolled in shock, but before Diego could even try to talk Park darted out of the cell and was locking it.
Billie froze and arched an eyebrow. "Whatcha doing, Parkie?" She said.
"Just watching," Park replied. The butterfly twitched. "He's really quite pathetic, isn't he?"
"You know it, babes." Billie said. She held out a few pills and a glass of water. "Dotty said these are best for Ryan when he gets it bad. She's hoping Diego will have the same reaction."
"Thought we weren't discussing Ryan in front of the prisoner?" Park asked, inclining his head towards Diego. She shrugged, ruby-red eyes appraising.
"Meh. He's an idiot anyways. Probably can't understand a word we're saying." With that, she handed Park the medication. "They want me to spar with Ryan. See you for tomorrow's debriefing, Parkie."
She cast one last glance at Diego, who had turned his head to face them, before leaving.
Park sighed and unlocked the door. Diego tensed up with their approach, but there were no surprise kisses or admissions of help. Park harshly lifted his neck, slid the pills between his lips, and trickled some water down his throat. By the time the door was shut, Diego was out cold.
Park sighed and ran a hand through their hair; the butterfly flickered like a hologram and disappeared. Park frowned and touched their shoulder, feeling the absence like a wound.
Sitting down, Park closed their eyes and focused on the feeling of air on silky wings, a thousand smells and a million predators.
When Park opened their eyes again, they where staring at a sleeping Five and Jordan, spooning on a cot in a janitors closet.
A/N:
*le gasp* Park is helping??? whaaaat?? who is this Ryan? Who is Phrankie?
Ben is stressed out and his siblings are too :'(
i am feeling better about this chapter? idk tho, it could be the worst one I've written so far 😂
also, a quick announcement: i have started a one-shot book called strawberry summers ! The only one-shot I have up right now is a reddie one, but i'm currently working on a byler three-part one shot! if that intrigues you at all, you should go check it out
anyways, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and that you have a lovely, lovely day!!!!