The Voices in Her Head (No. 8)

Never Coming Home

(October 2017, 15 months prior to the events of The Umbrella Academy)

"And all the things that you never ever told me. And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me." -- The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance

"Deputy Hargreeves, Detective Patch, Detective Michaels, Code 132. Armed robbery in progress. Proceed with caution."

The three of them made their way to the bank. Katrine instantly had a weird feeling, like something was going to go seriously wrong. She turned to her friend and fiancé. "Be careful, guys. Please."

Lincoln nodded and kissed her. "I love you."

She shook her head. "Please don't say that right now."

Patch frowned. "We have to be careful. Come on you two."

They entered the building and soon, a gunfight broke out.

Katrine used her powers to knock out some of the guys and to make them kill each other.

She went into another room to attack more guys when she heard a gunshot and a familiar cry. She ran towards the cry and saw Lincoln on the ground holding his chest. He had a small smile on his face. "Hey, Katrine."

She knelt down next to him and held his hand. "Lincoln, you're gonna be okay."

He shook his head. "No, Katrine, I'm not. I'm dying, but it's okay."

Tears started streaming down her face. "No. Lincoln, no, please. We can get you to a hospital."

"There's no time, Kat." He swallowed as he struggled to stay awake. "I love you, Katrine. I always will."

Katrine shook her head. "No, no, no! Lincoln!"

"Say it, please." He whispered. "I need to hear it one last time."

"I--I l--love you, L--Lincoln."

A smile crossed his face as he looked in Katrine's eyes one last time. She kissed him and he returned her kiss before his lips relaxed and his head dropped to the left.

Katrine lifted her head and started shaking his shoulder. "Lincoln? Lincoln?! No! No! No!"

Patch took Katrine in her arms. "He's gone. I'm so sorry."

Katrine shrugged her off and ran outside. She bumped into Diego and started sobbing. He frowned. "Kat? What happened?"

Patch walked outside and frowned at Diego before saying, "Lincoln."

Diego narrowed his eyes, incredibly confused. "What happened, Eudora?"

"Lincoln died, Diego. He got shot, and there was no time to save him."

Diego felt his heart break. His little sister had just lost the love of her life, and he knew she could have saved him had she tried.

Katrine started rambling in a shaky voice. "D, I could have saved him. I could have used my powers to stop those guys. Then he wouldn't have gotten shot. Diego, I--I--"

Her sobbing resumed and he embraced her as she soaked his outfit. Leather didn't do well when it got wet, but he didn't car. Especially at this moment. All he knew was that he had to be there for his little sister.

He'd always hated hearing her cries, but this was the most heartbreaking of all. Patch looked sadly at her friend. She'd watched the two of them fall in love, and it was taken away from her in the blink of an eye. Life wasn't fair.

Katrine made a silent promise to herself. So long as she lived, she'd never fall in love again. It seemed a harsh thought, but she couldn't imagine spending her life with anyone other than Lincoln.

Diego glanced down at Katrine and noticed a strange shift in her mood. She was angry and hurting. He didn't like the dark look he saw on her face. Losing someone close to you changes you; some for the better, some for the worse. It looked like it changed his sister for the worse. He could only hope that time would help her.

The next day at the station, Patch frowned at her friend. "Katrine, what are you doing here? I thought the chief told you to take a break."

Katrine shook her head. "I can't. If I take a break, everything is going to seem real."

Patch sighed and nodded. "You have a point. I have something to give you." She held up Lincoln's dog tags from his time in the Navy. "He would want you to have these."

Katrine silently took them. She placed them and unclasped her necklace. She'd already put the engagement ring on the chain. She slipped on the dog tags and smiled softly. "Thanks, Eudora."

The detective smiled. "Of course. Are you ready to get to work?"

"On paperwork? Absolutely."

Patch studied her friend. She was putting on a good face, but she knew Katrine was hurting, perhaps even more than the girl herself knew. One thing Patch knew for sure, Katrine could put on a good show to make people think she was doing better than she was. Few people could see through it. As far as she knew, only she and Diego could see through Katrine's exterior.

Her friend had changed and would never be the same again.

[I apologize for the title and for the written lyrics. It seemed appropriate, and I cry each time I read this while thinking of the chosen lyrics.

Thank you so much for over 1,000 reads! It means a lot to me!]