𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Forty Eight ~

Dusk bolted out of the garden after making her shocking discovery. Another image she wanted out of her head wouldn't remove itself, no matter how hard she tried. As she ran out the front door, she tripped and landed face-first into the gravel driveway. She let out a small groan, feeling her cheeks begin to burn now, not only with sadness but the pain of the impact.

She grabbed Mary's car keys from her pocket, inserting them into the ignition before taking off, continuing to hold back her tears. But eventually, she couldn't hold them back any longer, and she let out a loud, choked sob as she thought she lost Klaus forever. Small sobs continued to escape her lips, her vision becoming blurry with even more tears.

After spending about twenty minutes on the road, she pulled into a parking spot right outside Jonathan's Bar, bursting through the door and capturing the attention of some patrons. "Hey, Dusk! Whoa, are you okay?" Jack asked as the raven came into his view. She sat at the bar, wiping the corner of her eye with the tip of her finger. "Not really..." She admitted, trying to keep her composure. Even though Jack was a good friend despite the short time they knew each other, it felt awkward to cry in front of him.

"What happened?" He questioned as he made a drink for one of the other customers. She began to choke on her words, and the only sounds that came from her mouth were stutters and gasping breaths. The blonde-brown man somehow knew that whatever happened was too painful for her to talk about. "Vic! Can you come over here?" He asked, calling out to the redhead.

Swiftly, Victoria rushed over, dressed in her steampunk uniform. "Hey, Dusky! How are you doing?" She asked, her smile so genuine. Dusk said nothing, burying her head in her hands. Instantly, Victoria grew worried about her, looking at Jack, silently questioning what was wrong. To which Jack just shrugged. She sat on the stool right next to Dusk, hearing her muffled sobs, her heart beginning to ache at seeing her like that. "Dusk, what happened?" She asked, soothingly rubbing her shoulder.

Dusk slowly lifted her head, glancing in Vic's direction and meeting her gaze. It took a while for Dusk to explain the situation without breaking down again, but when she finished, she was greeted with a sympathizing hug, feeling Victoria's fingers run through her hair. "I'm so sorry," She whispered. "I don't understand what happened to us! We were so close growing up! I've loved him since, S-since..."

Victoria had a vague idea about Dusk and Klaus's relationship growing up, but she had a bit of a hunch that some kind of intimacy was involved with it. "Wait... did you guys?" She trailed off, not wanting to upset Dusk any further. "No, nothing like that. But we cuddled and kissed a few times before. Does that even mean anything to him? Or was I another one of his sidedudes or sidechicks?"

~~~~~~~

"Hey, Daddy! You got a sec?" A deep voice called out, breaking Ben and Jill out of their makeout session. His eyes widened when he saw his brother towering over him and looking straight down. "Diego!" Ben gasped. Diego motioned for him to come with him. Still confused and in a daze, Ben agreed to go with him, promising Jill that he would be right back. 

"You need to come with me," Diego whispered as a few of Klaus's followers bowed their heads before walking off. "Where?" Ben questioned. "Five found a way home," Diego dragged his brother's arm along as he began to fall slightly behind. "It's so great to talk to you again, Diego," Ben smiled.