Chapter Five
“We’ve compiled a board of everything you need to remember. There’s a picture of all of us with our names, and we put the picture of Dave and the others up too.” Allison pointed towards the board hung beside his bed.
“T- Thank you. Y- you did- didn’t ne- need to,” Klaus sat up in his bed, seeing Allison and Vanya smiling towards him.
“Of course. We’re going to be here for you every step of the way. I promise,” Vanya reassured.
It took Klaus a long time to adjust to his new changes to life, and it took his family some getting used to, too. Speech therapy made everything a lot easier, but there was still one thing Klaus couldn’t go back to as he did before.
“Klaus, it’s been six months. It’s time you got over your fear.” Diego held the keys to his car.
“I just c- can’t, Di,” Klaus replied, a tear or two gathering in his eye.
“We’re all going to be there with you, Klaus,” Allison reassured, placing her hand on his forearm.
It took Five just a few weeks to get back into a car, and a few more before he could drive one again. He didn’t let the others know it took him this long, because he would rather his siblings focus on his brother, the one he knew had a strong possibility of never stepping foot in another motor vehicle again.
“This is the last thing, Klaus,” Allison continued. “We have worked through everything together. This is the last thing we can do for you.”
Klaus’ eyes connected with that of his other sister, who gave him a soft nod of agreement. “Okay,” he whispered after a moment of silence. Still looking at Klaus, Vanya smiled slightly, and so did he. “Okay.”
Allison and Vanya held his hand as he stepped into the car, and sat next to him, intertwining their fingers with his. “Just breathe, Klaus. It’s going to be okay.”
“I know, i- it’s just…” Klaus sniffled into his fluffy coat.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Are you ready?” Diego called calmly from the driver’s seat.
Klaus took a deep breath. “Ready.”
As the car pulled away from the drive, Klaus gulped a couple of times. As his breathing came shorter, his sisters supported him, giving him comforting words. He eventually loosened his grip on his siblings’ hands, and calmed down a lot.
He knew things were still going to be incredibly difficult, and the future was a long way away, but eternal peace is probably overrated, anyway.