❝ oh, you haven't heard? damaged people thrive when side by side. ❞
in which the amateur magician and the intense vigilante cross paths far too many times.
BOOK ONE IN THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY SERIES
SABRINA NILSSON STAND ALONE
UMBRELLA ACADEMY SEASON 1...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE; A MEETING WITH THE PAST
"Hello," a soft voice whispered from beside her. Sabrina opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder, seeing the small figure of a little girl. She was probably on the cusp of nine, her hair hanging just past her ears and her eyes droopy.
Sitting up, Sabrina looked around and saw that what had been the Hargreeves courtyard had now become the lake on the edge of Dammig, where her and Alicia would visit on warm summer afternoons. She sniffled a little, reaching out her arm to touch the watery surface. "What are you doing here?"
The little girl looked up to Sabrina, forcing some kind of pitiful smile. "I'm here for you."
Sabrina pulled her arm back from the lake and placed her hand on the girl's head, her thumb running across the large pink scar that swept across her scalp. "Your hair's growing back. It looks nice."
"No, it doesn't," the girl scoffed, causing Sabrina to chuckle lightly. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"Yeah, I am," Sabrina admitted, though the two shared a smile. "Where's your sister?"
"She's with Ma," the child muttered, before nodding towards the hill around hundred metres away from them. Sabrina lifted her chin a little to see two figures growing closer towards them. She felt tears well in her eyes when she saw the silhouette of the tall, thin woman; her mother.
"Oh my God," she whispered, her voice catching in her throat. "Mamma."
"You should come and see us more often, Sabrina," the girl took her by the hand. "We miss you."
"I miss you too," Sabrina swallowed the lump in her throat, choking a little on a sob that threatened to escape her lips. "God, Brie. You have no idea."
"But you have Diego now," her eight year-old self hummed, smiling almost mischievously. Sabrina scoffed lightly. "Don't deny it, you love him."
Sabrina blushed a little, shaking her head. "Of course I do, he's my best friend."
The little girl giggled and Sabrina looked over, unimpressed. "What? He looks at you the same way Mamma looks at the lady who sells us tomatoes in the springtime. And you look at him the same."
"What are you, eight?" Sabrina ruffled the girl's hair, and the latter laughed. "How are you so wise?"
The child grinned up at Sabrina, her eyes now with a little more life in them. "This is your dream. Now, why don't we go and get Mamma? I'm sure she'll want to see you more than anyone."
★☆
Sabrina was pale and blue by the time Diego found her. She was soaked to the bone and shivering on the ground where they had last spoken, a glazed expression wiped across her face, the only indication of life being in how her chest rose and fell with each breath. The torrential rain had subsided, replaced with a gentle mist that blew sideways from the whipping breeze.
