Masked

Chapter Twenty

        We had to remove all of the rope we had tied around Klaus in order to let him go to the bathroom. All of the work gone to waste. I questioned if it was really worth tying him up again if he was just going to need to pee afterward. No matter how much I cared for Klaus, I wasn't going to walk around him thirty times again, so instead, I sat on the musty floor while Diego did all the work.

        He sighed, fumbling the rope. "Get you goin' here. A quick—"

        "You know, no, I-I think. . . I think this was. . ." Klaus cut Diego off, beginning to rise from the chair he was sitting in.

        "Whoa. Wait."

        "I think this was a bad idea. No. I just. . . I should have had just one last hit to ease me into it. That's all I need."

        "Mm-hmm. No, no, no."

        "I'll be right back." He headed towards the doorway out.

        Diego stood in front of him, holding Klaus back. "I don't think so."

        "No. That's not how it works. Diego."

        "Nope. Sit down."

        I motioned towards the chair. "Come on, Klaus. You're the one who wanted this in the first place."

        "No, listen. Just listen."

        "Sit." Diego didn't budge.

        Klaus tried to pull a fast one but managed to get an elbow to the stomach instead.

        "Great, Diego. Because hitting him is gonna get him to want to do this."

        "Cassie, not right now. Please?" He said, pulling Klaus over to the chair. "Sit down. Sit down."

        "I feel like we're training a dog."

        "Shut up."

        Our previous sentimental conversations with our brother had been replaced with the sounds of gasping and coughing. I stole a glance out the window. The weather was beautiful, and I realized that I hadn't gone outside at all today. My patience was dwindling.

        "Damn it, Diego," Klaus cried as his hands were wrapped in the blue rope. He tried twisting out of it. "Damn it! Stop it!"

        "Nope."

        They continued to yell at one another as I let out a long sigh. I bet a trip to the park would be nice. The green grass and the chirping of birds. Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe I could get Diego to take me after this mess of an afternoon was done. It wasn't until Klaus said something that my attention was brought back to the two of them.

        "I can conjure her for you. Patch! I can—"

        Diego started to get pissed off. "Stop. Don't use her name like that, okay?" Klaus continued to plead for freedom. "You can't conjure shit until you're clean. I don't want to see her until I can tell her that I buried the bastards that killed her."

        "Please. Please, Diego. Please. Please, Diego," Klaus continued.

        "This," Diego said, grabbing a matching blue bucket. "is for next time. Puke, pee, whatever you need. Multipurpose. See?"

        I hopped up off the floor to follow him as he began to walk out. Klaus was still screaming at him as we left, tears in his eyes. If he only he could see that we were doing what was best for him. As soon as we had made it out of the attic, I asked: