The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Chapter 47

I lay in bed and put on a random romantic comedy. I don't know why I just need to laugh, but it doesn't work. It just reminds me of how empty I am. I miss all of them, I miss all my friends. I don't know how I'm supposed to last without them for the rest of my life when I feel like this after one month. I barely leave my room, the only times I do is when Steve makes me come to training sessions and I take care of Bella. She's the one who's kept me moving throughout all this.

I've barely been eating, I've just not been hungry but the team has been making me eat. I don't know what type of punishment Wanda and Rhodey went under but they had apologized and Wanda offered to make me forget them but I refused. I don't know how I could allow myself to forget them. Every day a different Avenger comes in to check on me, to make sure I ate something and that I drink plenty of water.

Slowly, I get out of my bed and go into the bathroom. My body feels numb, it feels like something else is controlling my movements but I'm still controlling them. I stop and look at myself in the mirror, my cheeks seem to be a little more hollow and my eyes are still dry and puffy along with my mouth. I take the water bottle Nat left me last night after she checked in on me and chug it down before getting undressed and hopping in the shower, silently crying as the tears are washed away.

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"I could really use you for this mission, Grace," Steve says. He's in his uniform and is standing in the doorway. Without glancing at him, I shake my head. I can't pretend everything is normal when it clearly isn't, I'm not ready yet. I hear Steve's footsteps come over and stop in front of me, I look up at him and he just gazes down at me. "Please, Grace, this will help."

I just shake my head again, unable to croak the words out of my mouth. He just sighs before sitting down at the foot of my bed. I slowly rise and look over at him as he looks down at his hands.

"What's wrong?" I ask. It sounds weird to hear words come out of my mouth, it's been almost a week since I've said anything. He looks over at me and smiles.

"It's nice to hear you talking again, to be honest," he chuckles. "I've started to miss your little comments on missions or even when we are training." I can't help but smile at this. "There it is."

"What?" I ask looking at him, he's smiling at me before getting up.

"You smiling," he says. "We've all missed it." I nod at him and he walks back in front of me. "Are you sure you don't want to come on this mission?"

"Yeah, I just... It just doesn't feel like the right time, you know?" I ask, "Maybe I'll go on the next one."

"Promise?" Steve says smiling at me.

"Promise."

"Alright, if you need anything, Vision will be in the compound," he says before turning to leave. I nod my head at him to let him know I was listening.

As he leaves the room, my vision fills with light, as it zooms out I see a beam hitting Steve's shield before I giant foot comes in the way. I get pulled back into reality and look around to make sure that I'm back in this time period. What could that mean? What does the future have in store for me? For the team? My thoughts transfer to what the whole vision was. I pull out my sketchbook and begin to sketch the last memory of it, which is still burning in my mind.

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"Miss Moriarty?" Vision asks from the doorway, I look up and see a worried expression on his face.

"Vision, what's wrong?" I ask and he just walks over to turn the TV on before sitting at the foot of my bed. He switches a few channels before a newscaster shows a video of people being rolled out on beds, some are covered and others are not. The team is standing in the background, comforting Wanda who is on the ground sobbing. My hand automatically travels up to my mouth as I realize what had happened, our team caused this to happen.