Saving Greer ((Prequel to "Red on my Ledger"))

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Greer

The air was fuzzy and claustrophobic.

The air was dark and Greer felt a remembering anxiety inch inside of her gut, causing her to swallow down her empty stomach, which clawed at the tip of her tongue. She was paralyzed into moving nor squirming underneath the walls as they threatened to enclose on her, inching towards her shoulders of which were too weak to protect herself from their dark grasp.

The air was noisy and bustling with quiet regret, yet Greer could not interpret the white noise as she sat in the cold cell, her torn and ripped dress no longer providing her any warmth. It was times like this where Greer missed the hair that had grown to her knees in captivity, warming her once frail body. She shivered against the cold, dark air, pulling her arms around her as she examined the darkness in the cells with a sickening claustrophobia.

The past events had haunted her. She had lost control of herself. She had despised what she had become. A monster. A demon. She was no different than the men she would chase after at night, the men that would lurk in dark corners, awaiting the arrival of their victims.

Her mind wrapped around itself as she heard the inching of footsteps echo in her mind. She perked her ears for a moment as she saw figures approach the bars that outlined the brick walls, though it was too dark to see the figures, she felt the presence of their suited gestures. She blinked for a few moments, allowing her eyes to adjust as though she had been hallucinating as she examined the suited man, whose skull had been lined and wrapped with clean bandages, stitching lining the outside of his face. His eyes were bruised and bloodied, his pale green eyes splotched with blue from popped vessels spilling into the white of his eyes. His right arm was wrapped in a white cast, which was perched against the front of his body. Greer felt a familiar feeling of agitation, guilt, and regret inch towards her throat and she retracted her eyes as the guard, who escorted Coulson, placed his key into the cell, allowing a click to sound as he pulled the cell open in one smooth shuffle. A bag was held in Coulson's right hand, which smacked against his thigh as he stepped into his cell, wafting a teasing, testing scent into Greer's noise, causing her to shiver with yearning, her stomach biting at her insides.

As Coulson stepped into the dark cell, his presence questionably unafraid, the cells were clicked shut at Coulson's signal and the guard walked away, though he didn't forget to narrow his eyes at Greer, as if in a warning signal.

Coulson watched the man walk away for a few moments, his footsteps echoing in Greer's sensitive ears, before the steady man turned towards Greer who simply struggled to avoid the gaze of the man's strangely sensitive eyes.

"I brought you some food," the man's voice echoed in the darkness after a few moments of quiet longing, as he outstretched the brown paper bag, which was bent at the top to seal its contents, in his good hand towards her. Greer eyed it questionably, before she raised her trembling hand and slowly pressed her fingers around the rim of the bag and placed it onto her lap, not yet tearing into the contents despite the biting hunger in her abdomen. The man stayed in his spot, examining Greer expectantly as she simply examined the man's face, searching for any emotion, though she did find none. "I didn't know what you ate, or if you did at all, so I got you a hamburger and some fries. You know, because who doesn't like Mcdonald's?" despite his forced humor, Greer did not reply, her hands simply clutching the bag, as if she was suffocating it. A few moments of silence passed before either spoke again, the tension hanging in the air as tight as a noose around Greer's neck as she inched to run away from the man who simply eyed her with tightness. "You know, you're the youngest person to have taken out a SHIELD operative. Natasha Romanoff a close second, of course. And you're the youngest person to be on SHIELD's threatwatch." Greer did not look up quite yet, her hands beginning to sweat and tremble. The strength and bravery she had once felt had left her in a wave, replaced by the salty aftermath of depressed exhaustion. "That man went through six years of martial arts training, weaponry disarming. Beaten by a girl of your age. That's...impressive," he finally admitted, a bit grudgingly.

"Did you know?" Greer sighed out finally, the question hanging in the air as if a person swinging from a tight noose. It felt as if she had just vomited her insides in a wave of fire as she asked that single question.

"Know what?" Coulson raised a single eyebrow at the question, though he seemed to sadly know the question.

"About...me?" The question came out in a wave of hesitance and stuttering and she cursed herself for being weak, clenching the warmed bag in her fists to keep her measly fingers from trembling.

The man raised a single hand, running his fist through his hair, which was cut short at his hairline, before giving a small wheezing noise. "No. I didn't." Greer gave a low nod, averting her gaze towards the ground once again. "Your mom and I only discussed a fling. She didn't want to get married or...have kids with someone who may not come back the next night," Coulson gave a small, slightly angered sigh, his voice slow and cautious.

"Why are you here?" Greer's voice came out a bit harsh, catching Coulson off guard as her shocking blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I nearly killed you."

"I know. But you feel sorry for what you did." Greer grit her teeth at this, though she did not tell him otherwise. "Look, this cell is cold and dark and I assume that their food is pretty nasty. I have an extra room that I could...supply you." His voice was slow once again as if he was picking and choosing his words. At this, Greer was suddenly shocked, her head beginning to heighten to his vision, her eyes a bit glistening with sadness. Coulson's mouth inched into a smile, which twitched slightly against his cheeks. "Now, eat your burger."