Titanium

Chapter 3: Define "Short"

Finally, as we've all been waiting for, Blair Raven's POV:

"Uncle Tony!" I yell as I run out the door to where my uncle is with Happy and Pepper.

My uncle turns around with a smile, "There you are kid!" He opens his arms to accept my hug, "I was worried you two weren't coming to see me off."

"Mom was just telling me about how she and Dad met," I tell him.

"That's sweet," He smiles.

"And how he died right before I was born," I add.

My uncle sighs, "Tell your mother she needs therapy," He tells me in a more serious tone.

"Don't go filling my kid's head with crazy ideas, Anthony," My Mom jokes as she finally makes it over to us.

My uncle doesn't respond, but instead, they share a few looks. I hate when they do that.

"We're going to be late, let's go, Tony," Pepper says with a soft smile.

My uncle grabs me back into a big hug, "Be good, kid, I'll be home in a few days. I love you,"

I hug back, "No promises. I love you too,"

He lets me go and opens his arms to my mom, who rolls her eyes at him. She acts like she doesn't enjoy the affection, but we can all see her suppressing a smile.

"I love you, brat," My uncle tells my mom.

"I love you too, nerd," She replies with yet another eye roll.

He says something into her ear that I don't hear, and she nods in response. My uncle pats her arm with a quick smile then gets in the car, waving and smiling to both of us.

My mom and I watched as the vehicle drove away.

"What did Uncle Tony say to you before he left?" I asked, curious.

My mom looked at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile, "Oh, nothing important. Told me not to forget to do the dishes," Then she walked away, "I'll be in my room finishing some boring work stuff if you need me. Or want to save me from boredom." My mum called back to me, laughing slightly at the last part.

I didn't know what to do. The whole house was empty. Other than my Mom, though she was busy.

I went to my room to read. I guess at some point I fell asleep.

I woke up late in the morning and went downstairs for breakfast.

"What do you mean missing?" I hear my Mom say. Her voice was a mix of stress and annoyance, "Stane, you can't just lose a whole fucking grown-ass man! Especially when that grown-ass man is my brother of all people. How did you manage to lose him?" A pause in the conversation, I didn't turn the corner because I didn't want to interrupt. "Kidnapped? Stane, if he is not back by tomorrow I will hurt you, and you can hold me to it, asshole. You always say you know what is best, but I'm not so fucking sure about that. I spent years trying to get rid of him when I was a teen. If I couldn't do it, nobody could unless they knew something they shouldn't." With that, I heard her snap her phone shut.

I waited a minute before going to the kitchen.

"Good morning, my ray of sunshine, how did you sleep?" My mom asks, walking over and pulling me into a hug.

"I slept well, you?"

"Oh, me? No different than usual,"

"You always answer with that," I complain, "I don't know what usual is for you."

"I told you once when you were three. Not my fault you don't remember," She jokes back to me with a mischievous wink. My uncle always tells me my Mom was a pain in the ass, the Queen of causing problems. He once told me she ruled chaos. I never used to believe him when I was little, but as I got older I started to see it more. She tries to hide it, but it shines through occasionally.