Grant Ward - Prey

Part 13

My brother was shouting at me, yet I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was as if I had gone deaf, his words didn't reach me. My emotions were taking over, making me feel so much pain and hurt just because I saw his face again...Then it was replaced by a strange numbness. Even the warmth of Grant's hand seemed to have faded.

"I hate you" It was barely a whisper that came out of my mouth but Hunters lips stopped moving, he was staring at me shocked. It looked like he wasn't sure whether I directed that at him or someone else. I blinked furiously to snap myself back to reality and to finally face him.

"Jessica?" Hunter tried to reach out for me but I refused to have any of it. "Jess, we've found you. Just walk over to us and you'll be safe again" 

"No!" I shouted even making Ward flinch. "I was safe! I was happy! Then you came along and ruined it again!" 

"She's been brainwashed" Hunter turned to Agent Coulson who was trying to figure out what was going on. "Coulson, what do we do!?" Hunter panicked but Coulson seemed more focus on me.

"She hasn't been brainwashed, she's been manipulated" Coulson whispered, turning back to Hunter. "That's what Ward does, he manipulates people" I felt Ward's hand tense a little but when I looked at him, his face was blank, not showing any emotion whatsoever. 

"Jess, I don't know what he's told you or said to you but it's all lies" Hunter stepped forwards but Coulson stuck his arm out to keep him back. 

"He hasn't said anything! He's just been there for me! He actually looks at me and see's me as a human being. He's actually been there for me but you wouldn't understand that!" I screamed at him tearing up. "You ruined me and Ward fixed me! He's looked after me, he's protected me and now you want to take me away and kill him so you can send me back home and go back to ignoring me!" I stepped forwards this time but Ward pulled me back making the guards tense. 

"I only did that to protect you!" 

"Well it destroyed me!" I cried out, I couldn't control my emotions anymore, I couldn't stop crying. He had to understand what he had done to me and our parents. "We needed you and you was never there for us! You were family, Hunter! Does that word even mean anything to you now?" I asked but he looked speechless. " I tried so hard to forget about you but you was always there for me when anything went wrong. Then when you left things turned south and I had no one to turn to. Mum and dad couldn't help me, they didn't understand me like you did! I had to bottle up so much and it ended up destroying me! Then they died and you still wasn't there!"

"I didn't know!"

"You would have known if you was around! Even if you sent us cards telling us that you're okay, that you're alive! Mum and dad was worried sick! You just didn't care about us!" 

"You think I don't care about you?" He asked, tearing up himself. "Of course I do Jess! I had to join Shield because I wanted to protect people! And here you are, siding with the one who wants to kill everyone!" He snapped and glared at Ward.  "You have every right to hate me for what I've done, don't get me wrong...But siding with him will not help. He wants to destroy shield, Hydra's pure evil yet you're standing in front of him, protecting him and holding his bloody hand! He's used all that hate that you feel for me, twisted it into seeming like he's helping you and then manipulated you to join them! He wants to use you to get to us!" 

"Just stop it Hunter!"

"Why!?" He quickly walked forwards before Coulson could stop him and stood in front of me. "You want me to stop because you know it's true. He's been telling you how bad I am right? How I never cared for you and how I just left you so all that hate builds up inside you so you'll do anything to get rid of it, including hurting me"