Aurelia Stark, the girl with everything. Only daughter of billionaire, Tony Stark, she has anything a girl could of ever wish for. But when her father goes missing in the Afghanistan desert, the cracks in her seemingly perfect life start to show.
Wh...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oh, 'cause they will run you down, down 'til the dark Yes and they will run you down, down 'til you fall And they will run you down, down 'til you go Yeah, so you can't crawl no more -Way Down We Go, KALEO
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
August 25th, 2010
Somewhere Above Europe
After the man was arrested, I was taken to some hospital, where more doctors than necessary fussed over me. Dad disappeared just after I got there, Pepper said he was at the jail talking to the man or something. Whatever the case is, it would have been nice for my own father to stay with me in hospital. Still, I didn't have to stay there for long. They did a few scans and shone lights in my face, then said that I may have a concussion and some first-degree burns, but nothing too serious. So now here I am, on the jet back to Malibu.
It was an awfully short vacation.
"It's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy. I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years, and here we are in Monaco realizing, these suits exist now. I mean, the man can't even protect his own daughter, never mind our country.", Stern rants.
Dad walks in, "Mute.", he says and we both watch him in silence, "He should be giving me a medal. That's the truth."
"What is that?", she asks, looking at the two covered plates in his hands.
"This is your in-flight meal.", he places one plate in front of Pepper, and one in front of me.
"Did you just make that?", Pepper asks.
"Yeah.", he nods like it's obvious, "Where do you think I've been for three hours?". He looks at the gash from where the whip caught my forehead and kneels down in front of me. He rolls up the sleeves of my jacket and looks at my burn-covered arms, "Are you okay?", he asks nervously.
"I'm fine.", I say, bluntly, my irritation clear as day.
"Those burns don't look great."
"Dad, I'm fine. Really. I'm twenty, I can take care of myself. I'm not seven anymore.", I tell him.
"I know.", he says, sadness lacing his voice, "I know."
Something's up with him, he's never soppy like this. Not even with me. Even after Grandma and Grandpa died, he just cut himself off and got drunk. Lately, though, he's constantly telling me how much he misses the good old days when I was little. Plus, he gave Pepper the company- that's an actual nice act. I don't know what, but something's up with him.
Apparently, Pepper thinks the same thing too, because she asks, "Tony, what are you not telling us?"
There's a long silence, as he just stares at the two of us, "I don't want to go home. At all. Let's cancel my birthday party", great idea, "and... We're in Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"
"Oh, yes.", Pepper lets out a breathy laugh.
"And Lia, you remember, Switzerland? Bern? That was fun."
"No, that wasn't a fun trip.", I shake my head.
"It's a great place to be... healthy.", he says.
"Dad...", I close my eyes and inhale deeply for a moment, "We can't."
"I don't think this is the right time. We're in kind of a mess.", Pepper tells him.
"Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time. 'Cause then we can...", he trails off with no good reasoning.
"Dad, we can't just disappear, as much as I'd love to.", I say.
"And, I think as the CEO I need to show up.", Pepper says.
"Uh... As CEO, you are entitled to... a leave.", he reasons.
She raises an eyebrow, "A leave?"
"A company retreat.", he corrects.
"A retreat? During a time like this?"
"Just a ride. Well, I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out.", he explains.
I sigh, "Not everybody runs on batteries, Dad."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A message from the author: Hope you all had a good week! Remember to vote and comment! See you all next chapter! (;
