Lotus |1| The Umbrella Academy

Twenty

Chapter Twenty:

When Lotus finally got out of the shower, she found a folded towel on the sink. She hesitated but grabbed it, drying herself. She wrapped it around herself and cautiously stepped out into the bedroom, scanning to see if anybody was there. She hadn't put a towel out, hell, she didn't even know where the towels were kept. Had whoever put it there saw her? She hoped not.

Clothes were folded on the bed, and a new pair of shoes sat next it. Lotus' brows scrunched as she examined the new clothes. There was no sign of a note, or of who left them there. She picked up a pair of black jeans, a white shirt and frowned when she saw a blue and white jacket. It looked like the one she had gotten for her fifteenth birthday, one her mom had stolen from a thrift shop.

Lotus scooped up the items and rushed to change into them. When she was done, she walked back out and pushed aside the new shoes and slipped on the ones she had been wearing before. The girl tied up her wet hair in a terrible bun before exiting, almost running into a women standing in the hallway.

"Do they fit alright?"

Lotus blinked rapidly, "Excuse me?"

The women only smiled, red lips somehow glistening in the dull light.

"You're new clothes, silly! Mr Hargreeves set out a box of clothes for the girls when they were kids, but they never got to wear them. To casual for such important souls, he said." The smile was still on her face as she stared at Lotus, "They do look nice on you, don't you think?"

She shifted on her feet, "They're nice."

The women nodded, grabbing ahold of one of Lotus' hand. She held it firmly as she pulled the girl into a slow walk, "I've always wanted another girl to take care of."

Lotus pursed her lips, following the women nevertheless. The little snippets that Five had told her about their mother floated in her brain.

"You still have two daughters, Miss Hargreeves."

"Call me Grace."

The girl nodded, going back to her original statement. "You still have children."

"Not children, no. They no longer need me."

Grace led her down flight of stairs onto the long hallway of bedrooms for the children who apparently no longer needed her.

"They'll always need you. You're their Mother."

The women shook her head, the smile that had been so wide before was just beginning to fade. Her hand dropped from Lotus' and she took a step back, "He's looking for you."

Lotus frowned, "What?"

But a blank expression settled on Grace's face and she stared at Lotus like she had never just had a conversation with her. "Have a good day, dear." And she was gone, back down another flight of stairs and out of sight.

Lotus pursed her lips and stared where the women no longer stood, she pondered what to make of the conversation when a string of curses floated through the air. Lotus instantly was sneaking her way down the hallway and around a corner when she saw something fly past the door of Five's bedroom.

"Hello?" She kicked the door open wider, walked in and spotted Five, he was digging threw his wardrobe which sported a good size hole on one of the doors. "Five?"

He turned, eyes wide like deer in headlights. He threw himself at the door and it came slamming shut.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" She yelled, "What happened to the plan!"

He raised a finger to his lips and shushed her, she glared at him, restraining herself from giving him a good kick.

"I need you're help."

"Oh, now you need it, old man."

He rolled his eyes, "Now is not the time. I need you to come with me to The Commission and turn into somebody so I can get information."

"And how am I supposed to get to this place?"

"Time travel."

She laughed, "I can't do that you know, that's your thing."

"I can try, to get you to travel with me. I'm sure it's not out of my reach, we can do it." He took a step closer to her, "This information could potentially save the world!"

The girl crossed her arms, "And how am I supposed to get back? Huh? When you decided to abandon the original plan and end up leaving me there?"

His eyes softened, "I- not this time, ok. I'll tell you where to meet me when the bombs go off—"

"Bombs?" Her voice rose. He shook his head and clamped a hand over her mouth, "No, grenades, actually." He hissed.

Lotus yanked his hand away, "No. I don't trust you. They'll probably kill me, if I'm left there."

"I won't leave you there."

She rolled her eyes, "You're not very trustworthy."

A voice sounded in the hallway, Five rushed over and put his ear to the door.

"Shit." He mumbled, backing away as the doorknob jiggled. Five locked eyes with Lotus and her own widened as he charged at her, wrapping his arms around her body and bringing her down onto the hard surface of the floor. But they never hit the ground as blue fog enveloped them both and they were falling, falling, falling.

•••

Hello! Welcome back, thanks again for reading :)

I just have yet another question

Would anybody be willing to create a cover for this story? I can't seem to make one that I like, and with that it will keep changing which isn't really good.

I'd really appreciate it. Anyways, thanks for reading! Have a great day.