𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐌━︎━︎ W. Maximoff ✓︎

𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
CAN'T SLEEP?

HER HAND CLAMPED AROUND HER throat, struggling to breathe. She felt like she was drowning, her lungs filling with water, and she desperately wanted to breathe in a fresh gulp of air, but she couldn't open her mouth. She winced at the gunshots filling her ears, looking up and watching as the door in front of her was kicked in. Her vision was blurry, she couldn't see jackshit and she was panicking. All she could make out was the barrel of the gun being pointed at her before it went off.

That's when Salem shot up violently in her bed. Her heart slammed against her breath as she tried to breathe. Wanda woke up, having fallen asleep next to the girl and immediately placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing Salem's hair from her face.

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Wanda softly assured. "You're alright." Salem continued to gasp for breath, turning her head towards Wanda. Her eyes were glossed with tears as she looked at the female. Wanda continued to tuck Salem's hair behind her ear, searching the woman's face with worry whilst softly assuring her that she was alright.

"I―︎" Salem swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to slow her heart beat. "Sorry. It was just a nightmare."

"You want to talk about it?" Wanda gently questioned, watching as Salem ran a hand through her dark locks. The girl rubbed her eyes before shaking her head.

"No, I'm fine." Salem assured. She removed the blankets from her body, standing up. "Just go back to sleep."

"Where are you going?" Wanda asked, watching as Salem opened the door.

"I'll be back in a minute." Salem assured. "Just go back to sleep." With that the teenager quickly slipped out of the doors and made her way down the hall. She couldn't help the faintest of blush that formed on her cheeks at the thought of Wanda worrying about her. But she was fine. It was a nightmare that the girl had often. She sometimes wondered if there was an unknown meaning behind it. The girl walked the facility until she made it to the training area. She entered, thankful that it was empty.

The girl wrapped her hands up in cloth, looking at the punching bag for a moment before she finally started punching. She didn't come to the training room as often as she should, that was a fact. And she knew that it constantly got her in trouble with Natasha who only wanted the best for the female. But as she stood there, slamming her fist against the leather of the bag, the sound of her fist connecting with the leather sounded like a gun shot going off in her head. Her dreams haunted her, and they only got worse, but she didn't know how to make them go away. All the girl ever wanted was night filled with no dreams, no nightmares, just a blank mind. But apparently that was too much for the Alexander child to ask.

The girl didn't even notice Natasha standing there, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched her furiously beat the bag. She watched as Salem paused, closing her eyes as she took big intakes of breaths. Natasha knew of the nightmares that haunted the girl, and she wished she knew how to help. But Salem had a complicated mindset, one that was usually filled with what if's. She doubted too many things, and that would be Salem's downfall. But doubts made her human, and Natasha couldn't rip that from her. Not with how much HYDRA had ripped her humanity away from her.

For someone who had been with HYDRA as long as Salem had been, the teenager turned out alright. She still managed to smile and laugh, even caught onto to Tony's sarcasm, though Natasha was sure that the girl was growing worse than the billionaire. But every time Salem cracked a joke, or made her mission to make someone else smile and feel welcome, it made Natasha's heart warm. She wished she could've turned out like Salem. She wished that there had been a chance in her life where she had walked out of the Red Room with sarcasm as her weapon instead of guns and widow bites that electrocuted people.

"Can't sleep?" Natasha finally decided to make her presence known. Salem stopped, glancing up at the woman, and watching as she made her way down the steps and into the actual training area. She stood a few feet from Salem, her arms still crossed over her chest as she offered the teenager a gentle smile.

"You could say that." Salem answered with a sigh, though she offered her mother figure a smile.

"Nightmares?" Natasha softly asked. Salem nodded. Natasha walked closer to the girl so that she was standing right in front of her. She placed a hand on Salem's shoulder. "Wanna talk about it?"

"It's the same thing." Salem answered. "Only this time I couldn't breathe. I don't know why. And this time the gun was pointed at me." The girl let in a shaky breath. "I wish I knew why I'm having this same nightmare over and over again, just with different scenario's coming with it. It's never what actually happened."

"I think I know what it is." Natasha softly told her.

"Please, enlighten me. 'Cause I'm getting pretty fucking annoyed, and cutting off my breathing is just taking it a step too far, if you ask me? I wish there was a way I could control it."

"You think we regret saving you." Natasha informed the girl. Salem frowned, shaking her head.

"No―︎"

"Sal, no matter how many times Clint and I both reassure you that rescuing you from that horrid place was the best thing we've ever done, there will always be that little ounce of doubt dancing in the back of your mind, telling you that we regret it, and that you don't belong." She moved Salem's hair from her face, looking right in her eyes. "But I will say this as many times as I have to, you belong. You are loved. And you aren't with HYDRA anymore."

Salem's eyes started to water, getting choked up. "But what if this is all a dream? What if I wake up one day, and I'm back there. What if you never came and rescued me and my thirteen year old mind was just so desperate that it imagined it. I don't want that to be true, Nat. I can't--"

Natasha pulled the girl into a hug, giving her a kiss on the top of the head. This seemed to be happening a lot more recently, and Natasha was worried for the girl. "This is real, Sal. You're here with me. You're safe."

"I'm sorry." The girl whispered.

"Don't be." Natasha shook her head. She pulled away and wiped away the tear that had fallen down Salem's cheek. She gave her a small smile. "Go and get some rest, alright?"

"Okay." She nodded her head. She gave Natasha one last thankful smile before turning on her heel, and walking back towards her room.