Shadows & Mirrors // f.hargreeves fanfic

[73] nose goes

chapter seventy-three: nose goes

Nova sat crosslegged on top of a pile of old car parts. They had managed to get Wanda towed to a random autobody shop where a mechanic was currently working on her. The others mingled about. Five called his contacts at the CIA to put out an APB on Gene and Jean. Meanwhile, Ben and Luther argued about calling Ben's parole officer. Nova, however, wasn't interested in any of the conversations happening around her. Her mind had drifted as she stared unblinkingly toward the horizon.

Grief was an old friend of hers. It had lingered around the Perez girl nearly her entire life. Grief that she never had a father. Grief that she couldn't save her mother. Grief when Five disappeared. Grief when she couldn't save Ben. Grief each time she mercilessly took a life for the Commission. Grief when she lost Ronnie. Grief when Ben crossed over. Grief for her unborn child. Grief for the family she could have built. Grief when she ended her relationship with Five. And now finally, grief clung to her once more now that Avery was gone.

At this point, Nova wasn't sure if she could describe what life was like before she became so acquainted with grief. This weight had been slowly crushing her for decades. She had lived a long, long life. More so than any person should be allowed. Nova was just tired. She didn't want to live with this weight anymore. But the problem was, every time the girl seemed to heal or begin to move on with her life grief came knocking on her door once more.

What had she done that warranted so much pain in her life? Is this what she deserves? Nova assumed she must be deserving of this pain in some way or another. Maybe she pissed off some higher power in her past life. Maybe this was the penance she had to pay for all the grief she caused in the past. Nova wasn't sure. All she knew was that grief had become the greatest constant in her life.

Diego let out a stiff groan as he stretched out his back before taking a seat next to Nova. The Perez girl didn't say anything as her friend sat next to her but silently she tilted her head so it rested on the man's shoulder. In the past six years, Diego and Nova had grown awfully close. Not that they weren't already before that. But especially after Nova had ended her engagement with Five, Diego offered his shoulder for her to cry on. He supported her the same way she had supported him in the past. He never forgot her gentle smile and kind words every time he wanted to give up when trying to get rid of his stutter. As Nova leaned into Diego for emotional support the man wrapped his arm around her shoulder and placed a quick brotherly kiss on the top of her head. He could feel her physically relax in his hold even if the pain on her face didn't ease. At least it was something.

"Hey, you know what's strange?" Luther asked rhetorically to the group successfully gaining everyone's attention. "All those people back in New Grumpson. They were wearing Hargreeves-branded military gear."

"Luther," Allison sighed sarcastically, "The entire goddamn place was a Hargreeves town."

"Yeah, it's like it was designed to keep Jennifer hostage," Ben agreed.