Chapter Four
“Are you ready to go home?” Ben asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Klaus shrugged. “Because you don’t have to if you aren’t ready.”
“Ts’fine. T- they’ll l- look af- after m- me.”
“They will. And I’m always here.”
Klaus shot a smile to his brother, when the door opened. A nurse, Allison and Diego came in, smiles across their faces. Vanya was sat on a wheelchair which Allison was pushing as they came into the room. “Tada!” Allison exclaimed, zooming the chair next to the bed.
“It’s just until you get your strength back up,” the nurse explained. “It’s not a permanent or constant thing. So, you can still move around, but have this at the ready for when you get tired.”
“T-thank y-you.”
“It’s okay. If you get onto there, I think that’s you ready to go. There are some prescriptions we’d like you to pick up.”
Klaus picked up the sketchpad. ‘Hwo far to teh house?’
“Umm, not far. A mile or two, I think.” Vanya sounded confused.
“C- can we n- not dr- drive.” Allison and Vanya looked towards the nurse after Klaus said this, for a reason, or an answer.
“It’s completely normal to have reservations after a car crash. Maybe it is best right now if Klaus weren’t to take a car home, if your house is close enough.”
“Yeah, it’s close enough,” Vanya said, taking hold of Klaus’ hand.
“I’ll leave you to get ready to leave,” the nurse said, gathering a few papers and leaving.
“You okay?” Allison asked.
“Yeah, I- I just d- don’t want t- to g- go in t- the car.”
“That’s okay.” Vanya had a smile on her face. “Let’s get you on this thing!”
Klaus did have some strength and energy in him, more than he had in the last few days, but he still needed a little help getting from the bed to the chair. Allison held his left hand; Vanya held his right, and they both gently guided him towards the wheelchair.
“Ah, lavely!” Klaus exclaimed. “Already feels like home.” He put a smile on his face, even though he wasn’t particularly happy at all.
“Let’s go!” Allison laughed as her and Vanya pushed through the door of the room and took him through the corridors.
Reaching the fresh air of the outside was refreshing, but also brought back scary memories. He took a deep breath and they began the journey back to the Academy.
“Sorry the others didn’t come,” Allison said. “They are at the house ready, though.”
“T- that’s okay. ‘m here with m- my b- bitches.” Klaus laughed, and so did his sisters.
Once back at the Academy, his sisters opened the grand double doors to reveal banners and posters and balloons. What caught his eye was the buffet and cake, more so than the sign saying ‘welcome home!’
“Surprise!” all his brothers and sisters shouted as Allison wheeled him into the front entrance. Not only were all his six siblings there (yes, Ben was there too), but Pogo and Grace were, too. He smiled a big smile, this being this most love he’d felt since Dave.
Dave… He wished Dave could see this now. Since seeing the photo, he remembered everything from Vietnam. He wished he could be here with him now.
Vanya gave a signal to Five, and he disappeared, appearing back with a large moodboard covered in pictures and information. “This is all the stuff you might forget, and we know you’d want to remember.” Allison’s voice was soothing.
It was a wonderful night, they partied well into the evening, the living room turning into a state for Grace to clean up the next day. Around 1am, he was sat on the main sofa, beginning to get a little tired. In truth, he had been tired for a while, but was so sick of being exhausted that he pushed past it.
But now, with his head leaning backwards, he felt tired, really tired. Struggling to keep his eyes open tired. Watching his family continue to eat and dance and party tired.
Ben sat next to him, “Hey, Klaus. It’s been a great night, hasn’t it?”
“Y- yeah.”
“If you’re tired, go to bed.”
“I- I just d- don’t wa- nt t- the n- night t- to end.”
“It’s okay. You’ve had a great night, and so have they. They’ll understand.”
“F- fair e- en- enough.” Klaus paused for a moment. “G- guys. I- I t- think ‘m go- going to t- turn in f- for t- the night.”
“Oh,” Luther turned around. “Do you want me to…”
“N- no, ‘m o- okay.” Klaus stood up slowly, taking himself upstairs to his bedroom. He climbed under the covers and slept for an hour.
“Dad! Let me out! Please!”
“Not until you’ve gotten over your fear of the dead, Number Four.”
“Klaus.”
“Klaus!”
“Klaus!”
The ghosts screamed louder and louder with each ghost’s cry, and Klaus couldn’t take it any longer. He woke up from his slumber, leaping into a seated position, breathing heavily. Ben was sat on a chair in the corner of the room.
“You went there again, didn’t you?” Klaus nodded.
“T- the o- one t- thing ‘d r- rather f- forget.”
“I wish I could hug you right now.”
Klaus put his head in his hands. “M- me too.”