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Chapter Four Stay, Please.

"I have to leave soon as possible."

"Hope? You're with me?" Tony asked, seeing the little girl lost in thoughts.

Hearing his voice made her refocus and drew her out of her thoughts. She blinked a few times and tried to remember what he just said.

"Okay, I need a plan. I need a plan."

"I asked if you're okay if I call people who can help you." He repeated himself, narrowing his eyes towards her.

Hope just nodded slowly, trying to figure a plan that could get her out of this situation, but Tony didn't seem convinced.

He didn't understand the reason, but the girl's insecurity bothered him, so much so that he felt the need to assure her: "Hope, it's gonna be okay. I promise you. I know you're scared and probably have a good reason to be. But you have to let us help. Okay?"

To Tony's disappointment, Hope's face was still detached and indifferent. Cold. She didn't appear to be 12, but someone much older, who knew the injustices and difficulties of life. That thought made him shiver, making Tony suppress a grimace.

"What you're going to do is bring my death, Stark. I knew I couldn't trust you. You just want to get rid of me."

She put up a mask on her face, as she always did in situations like this. in the hopes that Tony would be convinced this time, that he would believe she trusted him to the point of accepting his help.

Tony ignored the pit in his stomach and nodded, accepting the silence and the girl's brave gaze in response without question.

It was weird. Tony thought that once that girl was no longer his problem, he would feel relieved, but that was not what he was feeling at that moment.

As much as he wanted to ignore the feeling of growing anxiety every time he looked at Hope's arms full of purple marks and the girl's battered clothes, he couldn't. Tony felt that something very bad was happening to her, and he didn't know how to behave in the face of the situation.

"Great. Now, eat. I'll make a call and be right back." He said, getting up from the chair and grabbing his phone from his suit pocket as he walked away.

Hope waited until she heard distant footsteps, then stood up without making the slightest noise, went to the door and looked at the large corridor. He was nowhere to be seen.

She pulled her head back into the room and started to pace back and forth trying to think about something.

"I don't have time to plan something more elaborate, I'll just go, without bringing attention to myself. I'm good at that, right?" She looked around the kitchen, feeling scared. Food. I need food."

Hope knew that hunger might even be forgotten at that moment, that she was sated, but eventually she would be hungry again, and not having anything to eat on the street was more complicated.

She hated stealing. Gabriela had taught Hope that it was wrong and dishonest. And after what happened that night, she even hated the thought of taking something that didn't belong to her. It made her feel like him.

But desperate situations called for desperate actions. She was not willing to starve.

Hope filled her dirty pockets with everything she could get her hands on and then ran. She peeked through the same door that Tony had come out to see if anyone was around, and luckily the hall was still empty. She was alone.

Hope ran silently in the opposite direction that Mr. Stark went. She passed through down a hallway, then another, that's when she stopped to think.