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sortofanobsession · 1 year

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Will o’ the Wisp - Ch. 3 (Umbrella Academy WIP)

Author’s Note: Wow, this is long overdue but I finally got time to go over plot summaries, transcripts, etc. so that I wouldn't totally screw everything up hopefully. But I'm still here. Still trying, just dealing with a lot on my plate. Unbeta’d.

Please see chapter 1 for explanation of characters and character name details for Viktor. (again I am willing to take suggestions on this)

Minors DNI

So as it goes, Y/N = your name. Y/N/N = your nickname. Reader pronouns She/Her.

Tag Requests are Open just message me.

Primary Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x Female!Reader

Series Masterlist

Chapter 2, Chapter 4

Word count: 4k+

Content Warning: Canon typical neglect, manipulation, violence, death, depression, anxiety, fear, mentions torture

Chapter 3: Bail and Boiler Rooms

The faint glowing orb hovers just beyond Diego as he approaches a crime scene. She continues to follow him until he is busted by Patch. The image of him being tazed made her laugh, or she probably laughed. The Wisp couldn't exactly make verbal noises, and her body wasn't really her main focus. It was safe at the academy. She watches Patch take his radio and fake badge. With a sigh, Y/N didn’t let the orb fade as she pulled back most of her consciousness. She kept enough of her mind there to keep to the periphery of wherever her brother was. She was vaguely aware of how he’d seem to furrow his brow and glance in the light’s direction as he was moved. But she would shift the positioning every time and refocus on what she was doing in her primary form.

She didn’t need him drawing attention to the fact she was basically sneaking around, especially once at the precinct. She was basically trespassing. But it was technically not illegal. She knew physically she wasn’t trespassing, physically her body was at the academy. No one could prove what the lights were. Not like they could catch her. The Wisp technically didn’t have a corporeal form, especially when it was just a small fraction of her powers. She makes quick work of changing out of her pajamas and grabs her coat as she slips on her shoes. She doesn’t bother sneaking out like she would have done as a child. Her father wasn’t there to scold her. She glanced at Grace up in her little alcove as she made her way to the door. Allison and Luther wouldn’t care if she left. She didn’t need to leave a note or make excuses. She knew they cared for her, in their own way, but what did it matter in the long run? She was rarely there anyway. And really, was she even really mentally there now? If Grace or Pogo had noticed, she’d have told them, but they didn’t. It was like everyone was off in their own little worlds. Ones that were almost foreign to her now. She makes her way to the police station. She ignores the staring and hushed whispers. Especially when the glow around her seems to intensify for a moment as she lets the orb that had been watching over Diego fade and her powers settle into her form. She forced a sweet smile on her face at the double-take she got as she approached the desk sergeant on duty.

“Umm, hi, I’m here to collect my idiot brother, Diego Hargreeves. Detective Patch-”

“Is right here,” a voice calls as the detective approached. “Wasn’t aware anyone made a call to his family to collect him.”

“They didn’t,” Y/N states. “I try to keep tabs on my siblings, and I’m not normally in town, but-”

“Y/N, right?” Patch says as she gestures for Y/N to follow her.

“Yeah,” the last of the Hargreeves nodded.

“Not exactly the sibling I figured would be the one to bail him out,” Patch admits.

“Sometimes I surprise even myself,” Y/N mumbles.

“I read the book, you know,” Patch tells her as they approach the hallway to the holding cells. Patch doesn’t miss the way the glow around Diego’s sister flickers, and dims momentarily, as the glowing form lets out a dry chuckle. “Then I’m not surprised you think it’s odd I’m here.”

“Maybe,” Patch nods. “But family, Hargreeves or not, are often the ones to collect their wayward siblings from lock up. From what it sounds like, you’re not unfamiliar with the process.”

Y/N snorts a laugh again. “I’m sure some poor desk sergeant or even hospital has my number stamped on a file for Klaus.”

“Always frustrating when they won't even help themselves, let alone let you help them,” Patch says somewhat vaguely as she signs a paper and gestures to an officer towards the holding cells. She waits until the guard opens the cell and calls Diego out. The glowing Hargreeves didn’t move into the hallway, instead choosing the lean on the wall beside the entryway. She can feel the exhaustion of the day deep in her bones. The strain of keeping the Wisp contained and dimmed to limit the awkwardness to those around her wasn’t helping. She takes a few seconds to mentally prep for dealing with whatever would come out of Diego’s mouth when he finds out she was there. She silently waits while her brother and the detective have a short talk. She pushes off the wall when she hears them approach. She steps closer to the hallway as they come into view.

Patch gestures to Diego and tells her, “Well, this one is your problem now.”

“Thanks, Detective,” the female Hargreeves nods. The detective leaves the siblings for what is bound to be an awkward reunion.

“I knew it!” Diego shouted when Patch was gone. Ignoring the way her shoulders immediately stiffen as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I knew I saw that demon light of yours.”

“Rude to say to the only sibling that bothered to bail you out,” Y/N grit her teeth and shook her head at his tone. “Your welcome, by the way.” Trying to mentally remind herself what Five had said, they needed to work together.

“I didn’t ask for you to bail me out,” Diego seethes.

“And I didn’t ask if you cared,” she glares at him. “Because wow, shocker, you don’t. But Grace does, so again, you’re welcome.”

“They would have let me go in the morning,” Diego states.

“And…you know what, yeah, they probably would have. But I told Five I would try, and-” She stops and rubs at her temples. She missed the confused look Diego gave her before he schooled his features. He had no idea that Five had asked her to do anything outside of what he’d told all of them. Let alone anything having to do with Diego. He eyed her cautiously as she continued. “It has been a very long day, and I forgot how exhausting trying to actually care for everyone is.”

“I didn’t-”

“I know, Diego, okay?” He watched as her shoulders dropped as she spoke. She looked tired. “I get it. You don’t need help. You don’t want help, especially from me,” she said, her tone almost as blue as the Wisp’s glow.

“That’s not–” he started to argue.

“Can we just go home?” She asks before flinching at her own choice of words. The academy wasn’t home anymore. Hadn’t been for years. And why was she asking him? Why did she even want to go back? Everyone she was used to caring for was gone. The ones that used to actually want her around or seek her out weren’t there. Not even Vanya said goodbye. Five was back, but he didn’t seem to have time for her. Ben’s statue was still broken and a painful reminder that no one was going to need her during the night. And she knew her siblings still felt unnerved by the Wisp these days. Or really at who she had become. What had changed? Nothing really.

Diego watched as her brow furrowed, and she seemed to be arguing with herself. “Hold on-”

“You can go home,” she says as she turns on her heels, she was too tired to argue with him anymore. “I’m going to go back to the academy. Try not to get arrested again. I would like to get a few hours of sleep.”

She manages to catch a bit of sleep, but it was far from decent. And left pretty much to herself, she sat on the bed, back to the wall, and sent out her orbs. Pulling back one by one as she figured out where her siblings were. But something at the back of her mind still pushed her. So she pulls her focus back into her own body and goes to where she knows Diego lives. She uses her Wisp as a distraction as she enters the gym and sneaks her way into the boiler room he stays in.

She is surprised when Luther finds her first. "Huh, not the brother I expected to see here," she states.

"You here to see if he killed dad too?" Luther asks.

“What? No.” She shakes her head. "I'm here because he’s a self-destructive idiot who is going to get himself arrested again."

"For murder?" He asks for clarification. “Wait, again?”

“Yes again. And no, for impersonating a cop. As lovely as his detective friend is, I’m not sure she’ll be as happy to see me in such a short time span, even if it is to bail his ass out and get him out of her hair.”

“You bailed him out?” Luther says, shocked. “Diego. You bailed Diego out of jail.”

“I bail out Klaus all the time,” she states.

“But you like Klaus, and this is Diego we’re talking about.”

“You wouldn’t if called upon?” She tries to make this less about her.

“He called you to bail him out?” He asks in utter disbelief. Diego hated her almost as much as he hated him.

“Of course not, no one called me-” She realizes her slip-up as Luther’s eyebrow raises.

“Wait, no one called you to bail him out, and you did?”

“He’s still our brother, Luther,” her voice a bit quieter than it had been when she adds, “Even if he hates me.”

“But how did you…wait, you didn’t-” Luther starts, but she is quick to change to the topic.

"Luther, do you really think he had something to do with our father's death?"

Again Luther goes to say something about the previous topic but remembers this was why he was there in the first place."Well, someone had to have done it, and Diego hated him and keeps insisting it was just heart failure."

"Because that is what the coroner’s report said. Pogo would have talked to the coroner as well. If this is some big cover-up by Diego, do you really think he’d have that power? He didn’t even have the power to not get arrested by Patch like yesterday. And for the record, we all hated Dad for something," she states.

"That's not true," Luther says.”Are you really defending Diego right now? You?”

"Luther, you are the only one that thinks that there was any good to Reginald Hargreeves. And I cannot imagine why even you think that. Luther, he left you on the moon, alone, for how long? He put you somewhere even I couldn’t find you. And I tried. Doesn’t that upset you?” She wanted to grab him by his oversized shoulders and shake him, but that seemed ridiculous, so she continued to argue her point. “Look at what he did to us, Luther. He pushed and encouraged Allison to rely on her powers so much that she now is struggling not to use them after they cost her her marriage and custody of her kid. He was downright cruel to Klaus, locking him alone in a dark crypt filled with ghosts until he passed out. He spent so many nights in my room just to survive the nightmares and hell our father made him endure. I spent so much of my life being his personal nightlight, and I will never forget those nights. Or regret them. Same for Ben. And look at Vanya. He treated Vanya terribly like she was no one. No, that implies he saw any of us as people. We were weapons, Luther. Tools. He used us. And do you even know what he did to me? I mean I know what he did to the others because I would watch it all. Just like I did yesterday. I send tiny little pieces of me out there,” she gestures to the world outside of them. “To look after all of you. Do you want to know why? Because Reginald Hargreeves pushed me to it. Got under my skin so that if I don’t know what is going on, then I’m weak. That if you, or them, get hurt it’s my fault for ignoring my gifts. I know he was doing it to not only keep tabs on everyone, to spy. And that wasn’t even half of what he did. Sometimes he pushed just to see how many Wisps I could create, control, and put myself into, knowing full well it not only left my actual body vulnerable, risked stretching myself so thin I might forget to breathe. He knew it messed with my head, my senses. Do you know how overwhelming it is to have your senses being attacked from every direction from multiple perspectives and your mind has to somehow process it all simultaneously while still attempting to fight and protect yourself? It was like my brain was on fire. It was overwhelming, and it hurt. But he still pushed. He’d tell me to move between them faster. Focus better. Fight harder." She shook her head. "And he still expected me to be at breakfast the next morning like my mind hadn't been broken apart and forced back together. Like my senses weren't screaming, overwhelmed, and overstimulated until I thought my head or sometimes my whole body would just explode. I know you cared for him, Luther, but most of us stopped caring for the sake of our sanity. I did. I know V did. And I’m pretty sure Diego did too."

"But you didn't kill him," Luther states.

"No, I didn't,” she replies, her tone even and sure. “Do you need my alibi?"

"No," Luther says. “Even if you let your emotions get the best of you sometimes, you’d have walked away, like in the courtyard. I mean, you haven’t killed Diego yet. That’s saying something. And Diego, well, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

"I haven’t killed you either, and the two of you destroyed Ben’s statue,” she counters.

“It was an accident,” he argues, “And I didn’t want any of that to happen. I just wanted Dad to have a memorial. Someone killed him, and no one seems to care but me!”

“The worst part of all of this is I do care, Luther. I do. I keep telling myself I shouldn’t, but I do. I just don’t see it, Luther. I’m sorry, but do you think dad would really go that easy? Like, without even the slightest fight? No defensive wounds? Diego is trained, but do you really think any of us are that good? This is the man that trained us beyond the point of exhaustion. That wanted us to keep training and fighting even after Ben died.” She turns to the massive form of her brother and made sure he was listening. “Did you stop to think that Dad didn’t want anyone to have his monocle? Maybe he did something with it. That he didn’t want to give Klaus the chance to sell it or give Diego the satisfaction of breaking it? Or maybe he lost it. He was old. I don’t know, Luther. Maybe it was someone, but there has to be an explanation that isn’t Diego killing him. As much of a pain in the ass I think Diego is, I don't think he did. And even if he was going to, which again, I don't think he would, it would have been as soon as you were on the moon and no longer in his way. I don’t think he’d have had the patience to wait this long."

“Well, I’m still going to look around,” Luther says.

“Don’t let me stop you,” she waved him off.

They settle into awkward silence. She had just trauma-dumped their childhood like she was recapping Vanya’s book and then practically spelled out the pain she didn’t let anyone see. It was almost to much for Luther’s mind to handle. So he focused on what he was there to do in the first place. He could deal with his sister later, right? She was never one he needed to worry about. She could fight like the best of them. Gave as good as she got. Sure, he knew she took the losses of their siblings hard. That was clear from the cold blue tone of her once-warm glow. But she would always seem to rally. She kept going. That was just how she was. Most of them were. He tried to shake off any doubt he had while he looks around. Though he did glance over at her as she sits down and summons a Wisp orb. The eerie blue was like the stories Pogo had originally told. Like its namesake. Her namesake. He goes back to looking as she starts shifting it between her hands as if it was a toy, a distraction. He was genuinely glad she had been using it when a knife darted through the air toward him, and she knocks it out of the air with the orb.

"Hey!" Luther shouts.

"I could smell you," Diego tells Luther as he makes his way down the stairs. "And she's about as subtle as a strobe light."

“You could have killed me,” Luther says with a glare.

“If I wanted you dead,” Diego replies, “You'd be dead.”

"Lovely to see you too, brother,” she says, not even bothering to stand up. “I see you managed to stay off the police radar since I left.” “You little-” Diego spat. “You never let me finish what I was saying. And why are you still spying on me? Dad’s dead. You don’t need to fill him in on what I do anymore.”

"Oh please," she chuckles. "As if it was just you. Klaus knows I check in on him. A lot. Luther didn’t seem to care when I told him.” Luther opened his mouth to point out he hadn’t actually said anything like that, but she kept going. “And Klaus was with you. You just happened to be doing the more stupid thing between you two." She was absolutely not going to admit she was watching out for him, more so than the others. She’d take that to her grave if she had to.

"I'm trying to figure out what is going on in this town. It can't be a-"

"Even if it isn't what do you think you can do about it? You're not a cop, Diego. Impersonating one will not end well. I bailed you out once already.”

“I DIDN’T ASK YOU TO!” Diego actually shouts. Because she still wasn’t listening to him. It’s the same argument, just a different day. Luther actually flinched as the normally blue glow around her shifted to a heated red. Even her eyes started to change. But unlike before, or really any time he’d seen her eyes change, the Wisp was nowhere in sight. It was just her. He was starting to think when she said it made her feel like she might explode earlier, she wasn’t exaggerating. He was honestly glad her ire was at least not focused on him anymore. It was focused on Diego. He was starting to wonder how these two survived being at each other's throats all the time. Then again, Luther had also just heard her defend Diego.

"I KNOW BECAUSE YOU HATE ME! I GET IT!" She screamed.

Diego started seeing red at that point, and it wasn’t just his sister’s heated powers. “YOU STILL AREN’T LISTENING! YOU NEVER DO! YOU-”

“Enough!” Luther says. “Whatever this is about, it can wait. Because you keep screaming at each other, one of two things is going to happen. One, people in the gym are going to notice and we all get kicked out. Or two, the Wisp is going set off the sprinklers, or melt something at least.”

Neither Luther nor Diego missed the way the light around her nearly vanished. The rapid shift in lighting meant it took a second for their eyes to adjust. It was like someone threw a bucket of cold water on a campfire on a dark night.

“Why are you even here?” Diego asks. “Both of you.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Luther asks.

“Tell you what?” Diego counters, annoyed at the vague nature of the question.

“That you were fighting the night that Dad died,” Luther clarifies. “I checked with the guys out there.”

“Well, I shouldn't have to prove my innocence to you…” Diego states then glances at their sister. “Or anyone else in this family.”

“Yeah,” Luther admits. “You're right. But, I just thought that…”

“Yeah. I know what you thought.”

“Do you think I would bail you out if I thought you killed Dad?” She asks once Luther is finished talking. She pulls her jacket tighter around her as the chill of such a temperature shift sets in. “Do you still have that little faith in me?” Her brothers both look at her. “Especially after Five asked me to talk to you.”

“Is that what all this is about, something Five saw?” Luther asks.

“What did Five ask you to do?” Diego asks, it's been a constant question in the back of his mind since she’d bailed him out and had mentioned him.

“To get you to help him, to help us,” she admits.

“Is that why you’re being nice to him,” Luther gestures to Diego. “Because Five asked you to? That actually makes a lot more sense than-”

“You’re both assholes,” she tells them through clenched teeth before storming out.

“What just happened?” Diego looks at Luther.

“Did she ever tell you that using her powers made her feel like her brain was on fire and that she might explode? Or that when she splits off into different Wisps, I guess it’s like having her brain scrambled and then trying to force it back into the shell?”

“What?” Diego just stares at him like he’d grown a second head.

“Yeah, that was news to me too,” Luther says before going to follow her out.

"Told you he didn't do it." Y/N says when Luther finally catches up to her.

"So is it because of Five you’re defending him or what?"

"Yes and no. Yes, Five asked me to try and get everyone on the same page. Five thinks he might need our help. I’m not sure what for, but I guess I’m team prep. And no, because Diego might be an asshole, but he is still our brother, Luther. You’re still my brother, too."

“Do you usually use your powers to follow the others around?” Luther asks.

“Not usually, or at least for a while, I didn’t. I do it from time to time just to make sure everyone’s okay.”

“Even me?” Luther finally just asks.

“Well, I couldn’t reach the moon if that’s what you wanted to know. I mean, I’m not as powerful as the sun. Space is a bit too much for me. But before that, maybe once or twice, outside of Dad’s demands. You’re still my brother, and if I have to live with these stupid powers making me glow like a neon sign, I might as well use them to my advantage.”

“Two things. One, you said it hurts to do that, to split off and have all that stuff coming at your brain, so maybe don’t push. Phones exist, you know that, right?” Luther says. “Two, seems like an invasion of privacy.”

“Please don’t lecture me. I don’t do it much these days like that’s the first time since Vanya’s book came out I’ve followed anyone but Klaus.”

“Why Klaus?”

“Because someone has to. He needs someone to look after him, and we all know he isn’t going to do it himself.”

“Maybe you coddle him too much.”

“You find your brother passed out in a drunk tank, or worse, unconscious on a dirty mattress in a flop house with no one around that cares, and try not to worry.”

“He’s that bad?” Luther asks.

“Yes, Luther. He can get that bad, and sometimes I don’t blame him. If I could take something, a drug, anything, that could make the Wisp vanish and not start glowing like the Vegas strip for a few hours, I would, but I can’t. If I could just leave the Wisp at home and go about my day, I would, but I can’t.”

“You tried that, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, and the only way I can manage that distance is if I split my consciousness, and that’s more of a headache than any hangover.”

“Like your brains on fire, I got that.” Luther grumbles. “You’re not the only one that sticks out in a crowd now.”

“I know, big guy, I know.”

“But maybe just give your brain a break. You don’t have to fry your brain because of us.”

She let out a sad laugh. “I’ll try, but being back at the academy, it’s like nothing changed. I just want to know that everyone is fine. And it's dumb because Diego is right. I started it because Dad made me. I don’t have to do this anymore. But my brain won't let it go. Like I can’t sleep.”

“Maybe we work on that,” Luther states.

“Maybe,” she sighs.

#the umbrella academy x reader #diego hargreeves x female!reader #diego hargreeves x reader #diego hargreeves x you #diego hargreeves x y/n #female!reader #tw: neglect #tw: child neglect #tw: abuse #tw: mentions of death #tw: ghosts #tw: manipulation #tw: depression #tw: violence #tw: physical pain #tw: torture

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feyariel · 1 year

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Life continues to improve. -.-

Short version: car died, Mom threw a temper tantrum because of Dad and refuses to help, I'm basically left hung out to dry (again). Plus other stuff.

The Car is Dead

Earlier in 2022, I took my car to Big-O Tires for an oil change, thinking I could stand to see competition for Meineke (which has been upcharging us on oil changes since the latest desk jockey took over). Apart from that being a poor choice, the engine started running oddly -- the noise it would make while running was deeper than usual. I knew this could be a big problem, but knowing that it would be a major expense that I would have to foist onto my parents, I avoided touching it for as long as possible. Unlike with other such expenses, I knew I was gambling by procrastinating and not simply making do without, but hope springs eternal.

On New Year's Eve, I had a number of issues crop up, so I took the car into our usual mechanic (the people we trust for regular repairs) sometime after the holiday (I forget how long I had to wait; I'm pretty sure I got it in on a Wednesday). They replaced the engine gaskets and did some other work; $1400 total, which is quite a bit for a 2007 Hyundai Sonata (worth $4k-$5k). Afterward, the oil lamp light would come on and the engine would rattle when I started the car, but as my driveway is on an incline and these would go away once I got onto level ground, I figured it was just needing an oil change.

Then last Thursday's cold snap came. The rattling and light didn't go away; by the end of the day, the check engine light came on. It was late, so I didn't take it to O'Reilly's until the next day (mistake #2: by the time I took it in, the mechanics were closed for the weekend; I didn't know they closed incredibly early on Fridays). The O'Reilly's person checked the light and said it was throwing a signal about the intake cam shaft sensor; when I said that I'd just had engine work done, he said it's possible that they simply didn't reattach something. My hopes went up.

It took until today (Wednesday) to get the car in. They called me back after 1 pm and told me that the timing chain had slipped, doing damage to the engine, which would require a rebuild; they couldn't do that kind of work, they weren't sure the shop they'd recommend could do it (because the car's a Hyundai), and it would be a $4k-$5k job (number sound familiar?). The car can be driven for the moment, but it's only a matter of time before the chain slips again and the car stalls completely. Greeeeeaaaat.

Interrupting Cow

There's a saying that things keep happening one after another. There's also a counter saying that that is a lie: things don't wait for other things to stop, but pile on as they please.

Mouth Cold Sores

For several weeks now, I've had sores in my mouth. I don't normally get more than one, let alone have them back to back, so I went to urgent care and was told I had cold sores on my tongue. Great. I was prescribed Valacyclovir (Valtrex) every eight hours and Nystatin (an anti-fungal swish/gargle -- for the pain) every six hours; hooray sleep deficit! It seemed to work, but slowly, and by the time I was to run out, I knew I'd need to get the refill on the Valacyclovir because I kept getting sores. Currently, I have a cluster under my tongue that is quite painful, but only ibuprofen to treat that (and it's not helping much).

Work

I've been working as a proofreader for court reporters (and an editor for ESL grad students) for several years now; I don't know how many. However, I hadn't really built up my clientele, so it wasn't lucrative. Last November, I managed to get ahold of someone working for a court reporting agency who was looking for proofreaders to recommend to her reporters. That has led to a trickle of clientele. Yesterday, I got back-to-back emails: one from someone needing a rush job and another simply asking for a permanent proofreader. Huzza--

The transcript was abominable: 200 pages of accountantese. I read it in halves (she couldn't get it all to me at once) and had to reread it for quotation mark usage because she was worried about inconsistency. I managed to get it done, but was nodding off the entire time due to lack of sleep.

Everything Else

Today, we had the bug inspector come, which meant I needed to get my room together in such a way that he could make it to the crawl space.

A friend passed away suddenly just before Thanksgiving. Since she was one of the few people I talk to anymore on a regular basis, that's been looming over everything. We have no idea why she died and the autopsy results either haven't come back yet or aren't being disclosed, so I have no closure.

[insert D&D fuckery here] = "You mean I have to learn another system I don't like just so that I can run an RP resource blog?!" 5e isn't just D&D with training wheels, it's herpes: the gift that keeps on giving. With all seriousness, I wish it had never been made in the first place, let alone become popular.

My therapist's office called, saying that they needed to cancel my next appointment, as he wouldn't be in. Mind you, there's been a scheduling crisis going on with all of his patients: people aren't getting their usual slots (which is a big problem for behavioral health) and no one can schedule more than three appointments at a time (contrast with last year, when we scheduled the entire year's appointments at once as an offhandedly easy thing to do).

There's been other stuff, but I can't think of it off-hand. It's just not been a particularly good time, more clients notwithstanding.

Long Live the Car

I went upstairs and delivered the news about the car to the family. There are of course two options: make the expensive repairs on an older car and wait until something else inevitably goes wrong or buy a new used car while the used car market is bad. Neither Mom nor Dad knew what to do. Mom started looking online to see what we could get, but we didn't know the mileage (the car was still at the mechanic's). I began digging through Dad's horribly disorganized pile of paid bills for the invoice, but didn't find anything.

It was at this point that Mom threw a temper tantrum and left me out to dry. Again.

For those who do not remember, in May of 2017 I got kicked out of the house after one such tantrum. Mom and I had gone to pick up my brother's car from the community college (Dad had taken him somewhere for reasons I don't remember) and were planning to get dinner at Panera, where I could get a salad and avoid using some insulin. We were nearly at the Panera when I was rear-ended (driving my brother's car) and hit my Mom's bumper (barely). The car was totaled; it crumpled as you would hope, but wasn't drivable (we tried). We spent an hour waiting for a tow. Mom was frantic, but for herself, despite the fact that her car was pretty much fine and I was the one in the nearly destroyed car. When we got home and Dad decided to drive through Wendy's (which I hate), I said I'd just have a sandwich. Mom flipped out about it ("you're spending too much insulin!") and kicked me out. I spent the next couple of months with friends in Columbia, Missouri while trying to put my life back together.

It was during that time, after needing further repairs to my beloved but overly expensive New Bug (don't recall the year), that we bought this car from one of Mom's coworkers.

This time, I'm not sure how much of Mom's anger is directed at me (for not knowing the mileage off-hand and not being able to find the invoice) and how much is at Dad (for being a useless slob who can't even learn to use a computer), but she has refused to help at all. Because, of course, I can be expected to do everything on my own, despite having no idea what I'm doing.

I don't know when Mom became this raging bitch that she is, but it's become worse and worse with age -- except right before she had to have a hysterectomy (sometime around the turn of the millennium).

Anyway, I took some initiative just before working on the last 100 pages of the transcript. I've gotten word from two friends; one is commiserating but not providing much practical help (despite having practical knowledge) and the other has a friend who runs a car lot whom he'll contact for me. I've gotten a non-offer from CarGurus for just under $4k (they won't take the car because I indicated that I wasn't sure if it was drivable or not), which lends hope to the idea that I can get something for it, but I have no idea how I will do that in practice (I've never traded in a car in semi-undrivable condition). There are some cars in the area going for about $6k, but I'm not sure how good any of them are.

I really don't know what to do at this point.

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