❝ 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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TWENTY-EIGHT; LIABILITY
SABRINA HISSED AS ALLISON POURED ALCOHOL ON HER HANDS. "Shit, are you sure this is safe?"
"Trust me," Allison managed a smile. "You should've seen Diego when he first started training."
Vanya hummed in agreement, holding a damp cloth to her bleeding head.
Allison sat on the coffee table across from the two injured women, eyeing them carefully. "Are you two sure you're okay?"
Vanya managed a nod, but Sabrina had noticed Diego storming into the room, an undecipherable emotion spread across his face. "Diego?"
Diego paced back and forth, before stopping and staring at Vanya. His breathing was shaky and behind his glare was something deeper. Sabrina sat up a little straighter, having a feeling of what was to come. "What are you still doing here?"
"I'm just trying to help," Vanya stuttered, trying to maintain eye contact with her angered brother.
"No, you could have been killed! Or gotten any of us killed," Diego snapped, and just as Sabrina opened her mouth to defend Vanya, he waved his hand to cut her off. "You don't get to say anything, Brie. The same goes for you. Did you really think you could swoop in and save the day? You can't. I nearly lost you, again. You got lucky a couple of times, but whoever those guys were, they could've...I don't even want to..."
Sabrina clenched her jaw, squeezing the rag Allison had given her. Tears welled up in her eyes, both from the stinging sensation in her hands and the guilt Diego had rested on her shoulders.
"You two are liabilities," Diego muttered, turning and sitting on the couch.
Sabrina stood up and walked out without a word. She opened the front door and left the mansion, the cold night wind freezing the tears on her face.
★☆
The next morning, Sabrina woke up with the worst headache she'd ever had. She involuntarily groaned in pain as she tried to sit up, reaching for her head. She felt a couple of lumps, and winced as her fingers brushed over them. She had a few disjointed memories from the night before, but one in particular stuck out to her.
"You two are liabilities."
Ouch.
In all honesty, she'd stopped caring about whether or not she was a liability, because it wasn't up to anyone to decide for her. She distracted the intruders last night so Luther could fight them, saving Diego's life. She thought to get the knife that Diego threw at the masked woman. Besides, how was she supposed to live with herself if she had hidden in that bedroom all night?
