Present of the Past || TONY STARK fanfiction

Chapter 4: ''My past. My future. My hell.''

1938

Ransom.

"Listen here you good for nothing child!" my father spits while grabbing my face into his hand. "If you interrupt me one more time, I'll kill you" he warned. I did not doubt that he wouldn't come back to the promise... He pushed me against the vanity. I'm sure I heard a rib crack. "Now get decent" he pointed to my face. Make-up was running down my face and my red lipstick was smeared all over. "I need you at this party" he walked out throw the door closed behind him.

The loud bang of the door made me jump up.

My body was bruised. Some were old turning yellow/greenish. Now new ones were appearing. Now, lucky for me he always missed my face.

I wiped the makeup from my face and applied new fresh makeup. I got out of my old clothes and changed into a dress. It was a red velvet evening dress. The bruises on my body were visible once I took off my clothes. My ribs started to go purple. Every time I took a breath it hurt but I had to bite through this for the night.

I looked into the mirror going through my hair with my fingers. I just decided to leave my hair hanging over my shoulders with loose curls. Once I was ready I walked out. My father had already left the house and left his men behind to take me to the event. "Ready to go Miss?" Jack asked. "Yes," I said not even making eye contact. I wanted it to be over as fast as I could. Jack stuck his arm out.

When walking I bowed a little because of the pain. It just made me groan out of pain. "He did it again didn't he?" This time I locked eyes with Jack. "No, I lost my balance and fell against the vanity" I lied. He knew that I lied because this wasn't the first that I did. If we weren't so pressed on time Jack would interrogate me like the true agent he was. He just let it slip for the time being.

Jack let the other guy go out first so that he could start the car. "Jack, who's that?" I whispered. "Ray Krzeminski," Jack said. "Your dad hired him a few weeks ago." Jack sighed. "What's wrong?" I asked. By this point, Ray got very annoyed. "Thompson we don't have all night" he yelled but also immediately dropped his hat. He looked like a 5-year-old child. Jack sighed again and shook his head. "He's not so bright" Jack whispered. "I can see that" I giggled. I regretted that immediately.

I got into the car. Ray sat behind the wheel and Jack sat in the passenger seat. I sat still looking out of the window. My left side hurt more and more with every movement. Jack looked at me in the mirror and saw my face contort. "Miss, are you alright?" I looked up. "Yes, nothing a good whisky can't fix" I smiled. Soon we arrived at a club called 'La Matinique'.

It was a trendy place for businessmen. I was told by my father that I am to keep Howard Stark company. He needed this deal to make more money because of hard times. The great depression and all that. I also had a pretty face that men liked. According to my father.

It was not meant nicely.

Once the car was parked, Jack opened that door for me and stuck out his hand. I grunted again when stepping out of the car. Jack leaped forward with worry in his eyes and almost carried me out of the car. "Are you sure that you should be here?" He asked. "If I'm not, I'll be dead" I stated. Jack sighed. "I'm here all night," he said squeezing my hand. "Shine your wristwatch if you need me" he showed me how to do it.

The three of us walked inside. I pulled away from Jack. He held my hand before I walked in. "I am serious. If you need anything even a whisky I will fetch that for you" I smiled. "Yes, thank you, Jack" This time I walked in. Ray and Jack were far behind me.

I bit through the pain and straightened my shoulders. I looked around the room scanning for faces I might recognize. As I was looking I recognized Howard talking to my father. I sighed and made my way to the bar. My dad made eye contact with me and gave me the mark. It used to be a fun mark. An inside joke my dad and I had when we pulled jokes. It just made my stepmom go crazy. You know before she died. 

I walked over to Howard once my father left out of sight. "Hi, Mr. Stark" he looked up at me and straightened his shoulders. "Oh, hello" he smiled half a smile. "What's your name darling?" he asked. He smiled innocently. "Ransom Evans" I smiled. "Rogers kid?" my jaw tightened. I nodded in response. "When he was talking about you I didn't expect a woman" I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "My apologies," I said.

Howard smiled again. It was almost blinding. "I truly don't mind" he took my hand. I smiled with relief. "Please, sit. Can I order you something?" I sat down, biting the inside of my cheek. "Whisky please" The man behind the bar poured a glass. "Here you go miss" I nodded. "Thank you," I said in a soft voice.

I took a sip. "So, tell me what is a beautiful woman like you doing here?" I smiled. "Entertainment" I simply said. Howard frowned. "Nothing more entertaining than watching old men get drunk or get hit in the face," I said. Right at that moment, a man got hit in the face followed by a full glass of whisky.

"See?" Howard laughed. "Yes," it echoed through the room and it made my heart beat faster. He took a sip from his drink. "When I mentioned entertainment I thought u were talking about another kind of entertainment." Howard grinned.

Boy, he moves fast...

"You do?" I played coy. Music started playing. "Care for a dance?" Howard stuck out his hand. I panicked. "Eh... I was thinking of something else" I stood up and rubbed his cheek. He grinned again. "I like that idea" I pulled him out of the room into another. Howard looked around. "See you found the private bathroom" Howard laughed and took a few steps forward. "Come here" he pulled me into him softly. His arms embraced me. I honestly didn't want to do this. I felt soo guilty.

I made eye contact with him. His eyes were soo soft that they calmed me down immediately. My eyes scanned his face. Howard pulled me in for a kiss. I moved my hand to his cheek. He pulled me in closer. But the moment he did I pushed him away and almost screamed in agony.

He stumbled back. "Dear God, what did I do?" he sounded panicked. I grabbed the side of my chest. "I'm sorry" Tears sprung from my eyes. I tried to breathe. Howard stepped back forward. I locked eyes with him again. "It's not you," I said. "I just slept wrong" I lied again. Howard shook his head. "No that's not it," he said. "I may be obnoxious at times but I ain't stupid" His heavy New York accent came through. "Show me" Fear made me shake on my feet. "Please?" Howard said softly taking my hand.

I turned around and moved my hair out of the way. "Go on then," I said and he zipped down the back of my dress. It fell off my body revealing all of the bruises, cuts, and scars. I looked into the mirror. My chest went from a small bruise to a gigantic one. Tears appeared in my eyes again. "Dear God" Howard muttered covering his mouth with his hand. I picked my dress back up and put it on.

"Who did this to you?" he asked. "My father" I whispered.