Five Hargreeves: Timeless Temptation

Chapter 21: Extra Ordinary

After the shit show, we would call Dad's funeral, my mind wandered back to the conversation Allison and I had before the funeral and about Vanya's book. I was curious to know what Vanya had written about us and, more specifically, what about me.

Finding the book wasn't necessarily a difficult task. Amongst Dad's collection of books in the living room, I spotted the name V.Hargreeves and knew I had found what I was looking for. It looked unread, as if Dad had immediately hidden it away when he got it. I mean, you couldn't blame him, right? This book was about how he failed as a father.

Upon turning the front page, I noticed the little note Vanya had left for Dad:

Dad,

I figured, why not?

V

Letting out a little chuckle, I turned to the contents page and saw a chapter called 'Number 8: The Golden Child'.

Oh no, this can't be good.

My eyes flickered across the page, absorbing all the information and seeing what Vanya truly thought about me.

Number 8, where do I begin? She was the only new member of the Umbrella Academy, which already made her special in our Father's eyes. Once they figured out her powers, Number 8 instantly became fathers favourite, although he would never admit it.

You could tell she liked the attention she got from the others; they all wanted to be around her (except for Five and me). As much as it pains me to write this, she was kind, caring and intelligent. That is why I nicknamed her the 'Golden Child'; that's precisely what she was. I could always tell the others found it hard to be jealous of her and her abilities because she was kind. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't impartial to a few arguments with the others, but this was mainly with Five.

Not only that, but she was beautiful. No matter what time of day it was or even when she had just come back from a mission, she would always look her best, and there was hardly any time you wouldn't see her without a classic bow in her long brunette hair. You could tell her beauty had caught the eyes of a few Academy members, but that is something I will let you speculate.

As I watched the others from the sidelines, I knew that Number 8 was hiding something. No one is that perfect, not even the Golden Child. She was clearly someone who kept her problems behind closed doors. As mentioned in previous chapters about my other siblings, they all had their flaws, but Number 8 hid hers.

Number 8 seemed to have a relentless drive for excellence. There were many times when she would train at odd hours of the day, constantly pushing herself to be at the top of the leaderboard. It was clear that she sought validation from others, but just like the rest of them, she only wanted our Fathers' approval.

Truthfully, I never got along with her. I knew it wasn't her fault that she had powers like the rest of the Academy, but she also left me out like the rest of them. With her being in the Academy, she made me this missing number, and I had never felt so invisible within her shadow.

Number 8 was the product of abuse and neglect, just like the rest of us, except her mother got sick of her after 12 years. She never talked about her life before the Academy, which piqued everyone's interest. Unlike the others who respected her situation, Five and I placed a bet. Five said she would have a dark childhood, and I opted for a happy one. Neither of us knew that her finding out about the bet would lead to her ongoing dislike towards Five and me, but I think it was mainly Five she didn't like. Her birth Mother and Father got divorced when she was 6. Her Father apparently wanted custody of her, but due to the nature of her birth, there were no laws put in place regarding her situation, so this led to her Mother having custody of her. A few years later, her Father remarried, and she never spoke to him again. From what Five told me, her Mother was cruel and harsh towards Number 8 and would physically and mentally abuse her.