The closest thing to a daughter

Season 1 Episode 23

When Abigail stepped through the door into her room, she immediately tossed her black backpack, trimmed with red accents, onto an armchair by the large window overlooking New York and walked over to a full-body mirror to take a closer look at her rib injury. She pulled her hoodie over her head and rolled up her tank top to get a clear view of the bruises and red marks. The fall seemed to have darkened the color a bit more, and Abigail wasn't sure it would ever turn back to its old skin color. A sudden knock on her room door, snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her attention back to the present. "Abigail let me in," Natasha's voice rang out from outside the hallway. "Why?"

"Open the door or I'll open it myself!" she threatened when all that came from Abigail was a childish reply. Abi knew she meant it that way, so she smartly gave in and ran for the door. Before she did though, she grabbed a shirt and pulled it over her head. "Fine!!! Just give me a second. What Nat?" she asked a little annoyed and opened the door for her. "I brought you dinner..." she replied, pulling out a filled tray. Disapprovingly, Abigail looked down at the pizza slices and wrinkled her nose. "I told you I wasn't hungry!" It wasn't that she didn't like pizza or wasn't grateful for Nat's attention, but her stomach didn't feel particularly good to eat anything right now. "You need to eat, Abigail," Nat said more seriously now, her eyebrows drawn together. "Yeah, whatever," she waved it off, wanting to close the door again and go back to the middle of the room. But Natasha managed to hold the door open with her foot and pushed her way into the room as well. "Do you want to talk?" she asked lovingly, perhaps to finally learn the truth behind her strange and distant behavior. "About what?" Abigail playfully asked ignorantly the counter question and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Slowly but surely Natasha was tired of her games, after all she wanted nothing more than to help her and above all to finally show her how nice it was to have someone who cares about. "Anything," she therefore answered simply and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hmmm no, I'm fine," she grumbled in reply while turning her back to her.

"Abigail ... are you being bullied?" Abigail laughed out and turned from the window back to Nat. This time, far from being a fake laugh, it almost sounded like an ironic and pained laugh to the Black Widow. "Am I being bullied?" she unnecessarily wanted to know from her. It broke Natasha's heart, because she already knew the answer and she just couldn't help blaming herself for her suffering. Unintentionally, a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and rolled down the older redhead's cheek. At that moment, she didn't even bother to wipe it away. "Do you really want to know? I'm not being bullied Nat I'm sorry, I'm just tired and overwhelmed with the new school and everything." Natasha looked up. Was this her game now? She was sadly sure it was and she. But what now? Was she serious and it was really just the many efforts? Or did she already regret to have confided in her and therefore rowed back again to avoid a longer lasting conversation. She didn't know, but one thing she knew too well.

Continuing to talk to her about it now would not go well for either of them. "Well, then you should sleep now," she said coldly, got up and left the room. As soon as Nat closed the door, Abigail sank to the floor by her bed, sighing and clawing her fingers in her hair, while tears began to run down her cheeks like a waterfall. Why did she hurt everyone who cared about her for the first time in her life? Why couldn't she just talk to Nat? It's not that she didn't trust her, but something was holding her back. But what and especially why?