Evermore

Chapter 3

When Natasha got home, she was exhausted and what was worse was that she and Yelena had to be at the town meeting.

She couldn't stand Thaddeus Ross. He was cruel and did not care for the people who lived in the town. Most of the townspeople respected him because he was once a military man and the only one who volunteered to take charge when a new leader was needed. They didn't see his flaws, but she did.

Most days Natasha wished someone would strip Ross of his power along with his left and right-hand men, Emil Blonski and Samuel Sterns, who were just as bad. Sterns was a genius with a big ego, while Blonski was a former military man who was freakishly strong.

Natasha was putting her bag down when Yelena came in and Fanny ran to the door to greet them. Natasha shook her head in amusement as her sister greeted the dog first.

Yelena rescued their American Akita off the street when she was a puppy. She was put in a box at the edge of town labeled, "free dog," so they ended up keeping her. Natasha took her to work a few times until Pierce told her to stop. Fury and Hill were nice enough to puppy-sit her at his shop while the girls were at work until Fanny was old enough to stay in the house on her own without needing to go out every three hours.

"Hey," Natasha greeted her sister.

"Hi."

"There's a town meeting tonight, so we have to leave for that in an hour. How was work?"

"Ugh!"

"That sums up my day too."

"Can we move to a city far away from here?"

"You know we can't do that."

"I know," Yelena sighed.

Both girls were born in Russia, but Yelena was the only one who kept her accent. Natasha's accent only came out when she spoke in their mother tongue.

An hour later they were sitting in the same row as Laura, Hill, Fury, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Rick Mason. Ross was in the front, on stage. Blonski on the right and Sterns on the left of Ross.

"Order," Ross called out to the room full of people.

No one in the room heard him, except Natasha and a few other people. She watched as Ross turned to Blonski and nodded.

"QUIET," the man exclaimed.

Everyone in the room turned their attention to the men on the stage.

"You're all probably wondering why I called this meeting on a weekday, rather than over the weekend, so let's get to it," Ross said. "Beginning next week prices on everything from taxes to groceries will go up. I know some of you will have questions, so please...."

Natasha became distracted by people whispering behind her and turned her head to see Scott Lang bothering Agatha Harkness with card tricks. Then she saw Valentina Allegra de Fontaine speaking in a low voice on her phone. Natasha rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Ross.

"Right now, I need to speak with the business owners only, everyone else may leave," the man said.

Natasha tapped her sister on the arm as a cue to go. After they stood up, she smiled at Laura and Fury before leaving the room with most of the other people.

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"So, what are we going to do," Yelena asked. "Tomorrow we could be unemployed and even if we're not, our paychecks will be cut."

"I don't know. We still have a bit of money in the bank, but we can still sell a few things, like the chair we never use and the vase."

Yelena was quiet for several seconds before saying, "We could- we could give Fanny a new home."

"No! We're not giving away Fanny. She's family."

"Oh, thank goodness," Yelena exclaimed relieved.

"Maybe we could give away some of mom and dad's stuff. Dad's pocket watches and cuff links. Mom's jewelry."

"I guess we don't have a choice, do we?"

"It would be a last-case scenario, I promise. I'll just stop putting half of my paycheck into the safe jar, and take a few extra shifts during the week."

What they had left of their parents was everything to them, but a few people had shown interest when one of the girls wore a necklace or ring. They had Fury take a look at the items once and according to him, everything they owned that once belonged to their mom and dad was worth hundreds total.

Natasha thought back to when they first moved. She was unpacking and found the small box that contained their parents' belongings inside her backpack. She realized her mom must have snuck it in with their family photos. As if her parents knew they were not going to make it out alive that night.

She shook away the memory so she didn't start crying. The two girls spent the rest of the evening going over what they could spare from decorations to furniture.