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.

"Shit," he cursed, dropping his bags to the damp ground and running to her body, lifting her head up and using his other hand to shake her shoulders. She sniffled a little and unconsciously reached her arms out, feeling around for him. "Brie?"

Sabrina hummed in response, her eyes twitching below their violet lids. "I'm...okay."

Diego didn't waste a moment in looping his arm under her knees and lifting her up. His hands went cold as they touched the saturated fabric, but he hardly noticed.

Sabrina groaned quietly, before trying to push him away. She was far too weak to do anything, though. She had hardly any strength after being outside in the chill for the past few hours. "No, leave me alone."

"Screw that," he scoffed and she turned her head, her eyes opening slightly. She squinted at him, but she wasn't truly sure what she was seeing.

"I want to be with Mamma," she whispered, her voice croaky and teeth chattering. Diego paused, looking down at her. "I want to be with her, Diego. Let me go, please."

Diego wasn't stupid. He could see the shine over her irises as she stared into the empty distance. He pursed his lips and held in a sigh. She had used her powers on herself. He suddenly realised that he had never seen her do this before, and how the trip she had sent herself on meant she was experiencing something similar to a drug high. "Baby, you gotta snap out of it."

Sabrina shook her head and buried her face in his chest. It was warm. "I don't want to."

Diego sighed softly and brought her back into the kitchen, just as Allison was finishing washing up her teacup. "Allison?"

"What?" she muttered in an uninterested tone, not looking back. He cleared his throat and she exhaled, before turning around and seeing Sabrina in his arms. "Oh my God. Is she okay?"

"I don't know," Diego responded gruffly, lowering Sabrina onto the wooden table. Pogo wouldn't be happy with the old slab of tree trunk being ruined, but at the moment, he didn't care. "Can you get a glass of cold water?"

Allison nodded and quickly moved to the cabinet to grab a cup. Once she had filled it up, she handed it to Diego, who hesitated for a few seconds. Allison furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what he was doing. "Well, aren't you gonna give it to her?"

Diego pursed his lips and nodded, before throwing the contents of the glass at Sabrina's face. The brunette gasped and shot up, visibly trembling. "What the hell?"

"Diego!" Allison snapped, and Diego couldn't help the little smile that appeared on his face. "Isn't she covered in enough water?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Diego responded triumphantly, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at Sabrina, who coughed up a little bit of liquid in trying to compose herself. "Welcome back, Brie. You lost yourself for a couple hours. At least I know what to do if you pull that again."

Sabrina sat up and rubbed tiredly at her eyes, before she swung her feet over the side of the table. Her back was hunched as she tried to find out where she was and what was happening, but she denied any physical contact from the two that stood before her. After a moment, she stood and walked past Diego and Allison, both of them watching her confusedly as she struggled up the stairs, her shoes squelching as she moved out of sight.

Allison's eyes flickered over to Diego, who seemed a little deflated. "You good?"

Diego tensed up immediately and clenched his fists at the question. His guard had rebuilt almost instantly at the mere thought of letting himself feel something in front of his sister. "I'm fine."

Allison took a step forward, but Diego didn't acknowledge it, he just walked in the opposite direction, in pursuit of Sabrina.

She was fast asleep in the passenger seat of his car by the time he found her, wrapped in one of his old sweaters he kept in the trunk and some pyjama pants she had found in Klaus' wardrobe. The clash of neon orange and dark grey seemed to be a perfect fit for her. Diego paused, his hand hovering over the handle of the door before opening it, and he dropped into the seat and pursed his lips.

He glanced over at her and sighed so quietly it was almost nonexistent. His heart genuinely sped up every time he saw her, and he was afraid of it. It wasn't like how he felt in his relationship with Detective Eudora Patch, it was different. When he was around Sabrina, he didn't just feel happy, he felt calm. He felt like he could relax after playing the rigid vigilante role he had given himself over the years.

"Hey! Diego. You know, every time I close my eyes, I see a diarrhetic hippo about to shit on my face. It's terrifying!" Klaus threw the back door open and dove into the car, and Diego's eyes flickered into the rearview mirror to see his brother's smiling face behind him.

"Terrific," he muttered, his eyes darting over to Sabrina, hoping she wouldn't wake up from Klaus' loud rambling. turning the engine over and stepping on the gas. "Lean back."

★☆

ARRRIGGHT 

SHORT ASS CHAPTER BUT YOU KNOW THAT'S OKAY CAUSE IDK WHAT I'M DOING

ALSO!! I WENT TO BALL!!! IT WAS CUTE!!! IDK IF I SHOULD POST PICS BUT I FELT REALLY COOL

ANYWAY!! HIPE YOU ENJOYED XXXXXXX