Unexpected Romance

Chapter 20

Valerie:
"...PTSD. She's hurting," I hear Tony's voice say from the kitchen.

I walk towards them but stop right outside the kitchen where they won't be able to see me.

"They tortured her," Steve says.

"It's obvious. But how exactly do you know that?" Natasha sounds frustrated.

"She told me. She came into the training room and I told her there was no way I was letting her train. I said 'even if I did let you, Natasha would kill me'. She countered that with 'Natasha isn't my keeper' and when I told her how much you cared and how you would kill anyone who tries to hurt her, she said 'then she should kill the son of a bitch that tortured me for a week'."

There's a few moments of silence.

"She doesn't look good. She's skinnier, and obviously, you've all seen the cuts and bruises all over her. Have you seen her arms? The little dots all over them? It looks like they drugged her. I don't doubt she was tortured the whole time," Bucky's voice says.

God, is the whole team having a meeting about me? I think to myself. I get mad and walk back to Natasha's room. The conversation I just heard makes my blood boil. I feel like I'm going to explode. Without thinking, I fall into a mental breakdown, throwing and breaking shit around the room, flipping Nat's desk, sending everything flying across the room.

Natasha:
I'm talking with the rest of the crew when out of nowhere, we hear loud crashing sounds coming from what sounds like my room. Everyone looks in the direction of the sounds. I have a horrible feeling and run to my room. I bust through the door to see my room completely trashed, my desk on its side, my things making a mess of the room, some broken and in the far corner of my room, Valerie. She has her knees to her chest and her head down.

"What the hell happened?!" I accidentally yell at her as I make my way over to her.

She doesn't move in the slightest. I don't want to get mad but I do.

"Valerie, can you fucking look at me? You completely trashed my room! What's gotten into you?"

"Fuck off, Natasha!" She screams back, getting up and running past me and out of my room.

"Valerie, wait!" I try calling after her but she's already gone.

Valerie:
I run through the compound with tears in my eyes, ignoring the pain. I run past a few people who try to get my attention but I ignore them. I run outside and go as far as I can. I sit on a bench and sit alone until I feel ready to confront anyone.

Natasha:
I have looked everywhere but there's no sign of Valerie anywhere on site. It's been hours and it's really late at night. I'm worried.

"Knock knock," I hear Clint say from the doorway of my room. "Need help cleaning up?"

"I shouldn't have yelled at her," I admit to him.

"I don't blame you, she made a mess of your room. You have a right to be upset with her," he tries to comfort me.

"Okay, but she clearly has some bad PTSD. She probably couldn't help it. It's my fault we can't find her."

"It's not your fault." He picks up a few things off the ground.

"She was crying in the corner of my room after having a mental break and I yelled at her. It sure feels like my fault."

"Don't think like that."

"I'm worried about her." I stop cleaning to sit on my bed.

"She'll come back. I'm sure she isn't far. She just needs time. She'll be okay and she'll come home." He puts my desk back on its legs then sits next to me.