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Natasha wasn't a perfect mother, she knows that, but she really does try. Seeing that happy smile and feeling those strong arms wrap around her has always been a priority. But sometimes, she has to see the tears and the heart break just to protect you. That's always been most important. She would do anything to protect you, and this time that meant ignoring you.
She was too good for you to ever realize how much she struggled at shutting you out, using her robotic-like composure until she was alone. You would never know how many times she has fallen asleep with tear stains down her cheeks in the past two months. You would never know how much it pained her to hear you sob at night and how many times she had to stop herself from reassuring you with a bone crushing hug.
She hated herself everyday for ignoring you and she hated how it was starting to take a toll on you. Why wouldn't it? To you, she was simply giving her own daughter the silent treatment over a mistake any teenager would make.
But to Natasha, by giving you the silent treatment, Jake had no way of knowing she was onto him.
___
Bang!
You shot up, scrambling out of your tangled sheets in a hurry as the gunshot rang through your ears. Your groggy state had you stumbling down the hall, hoping that the gunshot was just a part of your dream. Though, the sight of your mother's bedroom door wide open and the sounds of her painful groans coming from downstairs had alarmed you immensely.
You sprinted down the stairs, coming to an erupt stop on the bottom step as the horrendous sight before you had you crumbling to the ground.
"Mama?" You choked out, crawling over to her. She was surrounded by a pool of her own blood, her arm weakly draped over the gunshot wound to her stomach. She looked at you with so much sorrow, her eyes continuously drooping as she struggled to keep them open.
"Go..." Natasha coughed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
You shook your head, checking your surroundings for the gunman. It was a terrible time for the team to be out on a mission, every single one of them. You had no one to help you.
"Y/n...please..." Natasha tried again, raising her arm to stroke your cheek. "Go."
She had to stay conscious, to make sure you make it out alive. But you wouldn't move and her eyes had drooped for for last time just as the gunman stepped into the light.
You gasped upon seeing Jake, his gun raised to your head. You had no weapon on you and you were alone in the fight.
"You lied to me, Y/n." He growled, cocking the gun. You're brows furrowed as you sat there staring straight into the barrel of the gun. He gestured toward your unconscious mother, scowling. "She was always two steps ahead of me."
