Don't You Worry Child

Nervous Girls

Chapter Summary: Screams in the night and clothes shopping - suffice to say that Samantha's mask of confidence gets shattered in a mere twenty-four hours.

Soundtrack: Nervous Girls by Lucy Hale

A few moments of silence followed before they heard a familiar terrified shriek.

The first thing Tony did was grab his baseball bat, unsure whether his daughter was being attacked or whether it was another of her newly rare nightmares. He crept quietly down the hallway to Samantha's room and gently pushed the door open, unsure as to what he would see. What he saw wasn't exactly what he was expecting, a man – dressed all in black, including a black hooded jumper – leant over Samantha as she tried to push him off of her. Instinctively, Tony pressed a button on his watch, calling for his Iron Man suit.

He heard a low, gravelly voice – which, Tony assumed, must have belonged to the hooded man – say "You're mine now," his tone was almost predatory and it was just enough to make Samantha scream for her father and in reply, the voice said "There's nothing your precious Daddy can do about this,"

Adrenalin surged through Tony's veins as he leapt into action saying "I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," his voice strong despite the fear and worry that was attempting to take over him. He picked up his daughter's attacker and pinned him against the wall, the sounds the suit made echoing throughout the house "Who are you?" Tony asked through gritted teeth, a feeling of anger rushing through him.

"You're daughter's worst nightmare," was the reply that made Tony scoff.

"Very original," he replied sarcastically before removing the man's hood and ordering "JARVIS, run facial recognition on this idiot and call the cops," as he took in the man's long blonde hair and green eyes.

"Match found sir, his name is Matthew Watson," JARVIS informed after a couple of seconds.

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Twenty minutes passed before two officers from the Malibu Police Department arrived and, while one carted Matthew away, the other remained at the mansion to take statements from Samantha, Tony and Pepper. "Did you know your assailant prior to this incident?" the officer asked carefully.

Samantha nodded and said "He's my ex-boyfriend," her voice shaking before she started to cry into her father's chest, seeking the comfort and protection only he could give at that point.

"Is there any chance we can do this in the next couple of days when Samantha is a bit calmer?" Pepper requested politely, realising that an actual answer was unlikely with the young brunette remaining in such an emotional state.

After minutes filled with sobbing and sniffling, Samantha lifted her head and Tony felt the need to ask "Was that the same ex-boyfriend who dumped you just before your mom died?" he looked down at her and watched as she nodded in reply, then he felt the need to ask another, if more personal, question, unsure as to what her response would be 'When you two were together, was he ever violent with you?"

A part of Samantha couldn't answer the question she just couldn't allow her father to see her as any more of a victim than he already did. She'd never told anyone about what Matthew did to her, not even her mother. She'd come home with bruises and cuts on her face and had explained away the questions with excuses like 'I fell over' or 'I walked into a wall'. When she'd come home in tears after Matthew had forced her into having sex with him, she'd wiped them away and when her mother queried about the tears and told her that she and Matthew had argued but be she'd fine the next morning. She hated how stupid Matthew had made her feel, how small he made her feel, how small he made her seem, she hated how he'd belittled her and how silent she'd become. She hated that he'd turned her into a liar and that meant she had turned into the opposite of the woman her mother had raised her to be. Matthew Watson had twisted and turned and moulded Samantha Montgomery until she became a victim who piled make-up onto her face on a daily basis to cover injuries she didn't realise she didn't deserve, a puppet controlled by fear. That was why she loathed herself and the relationship that was the one thing out of her whole 16 ½ year existence that she regretted.