The Thing About Soulmates || Tony Stark

The Marks

A/N: There is mentions of  almost rape, so if you wouldn't like to read that, skip March 13, 1995 until the double bold x's. And if you don't like, um, feelings (?) I guess about the aftermath for the victim's, then skip to the triple bold xx's 

~~

A few weeks went by before you received another mark. But these marks were different than the rest.

January 8, 1992 - 11:46 a.m.

When you awoke, something felt off. The sunburn on your back hurt as usual -you just got back from your vacation yesterday- and your dog, Georgie, was asleep at your feet. Everything in your room looked the same as it did before you drifted off into a dreamless sleep, but something was still different. 

It took you five minutes to notice the itching. It was just something that came with sunburns, right? Sometimes they itched, no big deal. So you took the risk, itching your back even though you knew you would regret it soon after. But something stopped you. A line. A single line on your back, or so you thought. 

You stumbled out of bed, running to the mirror closest to you. You turned around, ripping your shirt off, not caring that you were bra-less.  The scratch on your back that you thought was alone, led to three other ones down on the lower part of your spine. 

At first, you thought they were simple cuts, maybe he climbed a tree. But as you looked on, you noticed how the cuts went deeper than the simple tree scratch. This led your mind to one thing.

I thought his dad had died? 

The second day you heard his voice, he was mumbling about some funeral. '...stupid funeral. I don't even care that my dad died, why do I have to go to his burial?' It didn't take you long to piece together the clues.

Your eyes traveled back to the marks. They couldn't be whip marks, could they? They would have to go much deeper, right? Your mind fed you pointless excuses as to why it couldn't be true. But as you saw the purple mark on your neck, you sighed in relief. 

"He just had some fun last night," you whispered, a short smile covering your face. Wait, should I be happy about this?

Yes, he wasn't hurt, but that means he slept with someone. Was he not happy with me?

How could he not be happy with me? We haven't even met yet. He was probably just lonely. Yeah, just lonely. I could see that. 

Then it's settled, you decided. He was just lonely. You nodded your head, hopping you convinced yourself well enough in case it ever happened again. 

xx

And it did. Countless times. Almost every other night, actually. It was rare to wake up without claw marks or love bites, especially the love bites. They replaced the old bruises, and it made you wonder which one was better. 

But they did stop, for a few weeks. It was right after the incident, and it was like he was giving you some time to recover. And his thoughts were filled with worry most times.

He actually cared about me. 

The thought saddened you, that you were surprised when you thought he could care after so many late nights. But it made you happy that he thought of you. That he considered your feelings while going through this. 

March 13, 1995 - 9:03 p.m.

"Come on, [Y/N], the party is starting!" Bea giggled, dragging you through the doors of your favorite club. 

"Hold on, hold on, no need to rush. We have all night," you smirked.

"Whatever."

The two of you walked over to the bar, ordering the same drink you always do.

"Two cosmopolitans, please?" you paused, looking over to Bea. She nodded. "Yeah, two cosmopolitans, please."

The bar tender turned around, fixing up the drinks. 

Once the drinks were done and the tab started, Bea spoke up, looking over your shoulder. "Hey, I'm going to go talk to Mr. Muscles over there, let me know if you need me."

"Okay, have fun!" you yelled over your shoulder, but it was pointless because she was long gone. 

---

It took a few minutes, but eventually, you heard someone walk up beside you.

"Hey," they said, "Can I buy you another drink?"

Looking down, you noticed your martini glass almost empty. "Sure."

"I'm Sam," he smirked, grabbing the drink from the bartender.

"[Y/N]," you giggled, taking the drink. Something about him just made you want to laugh.

After a few minutes of conversation, you started to feel uneasy.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sam whispered, grabbing your arm to stop you from falling.

"Oh, y-yeah. I'm fi-" you cut yourself off as you went to fall again. 

"Here, let me get you out of here," he stated, starting towards the door with you in tow.

"No, it's fine, I think I'm going to go find my friend," you struggled out, your words slower than the pace that you were being pulled.

"No, no, it's okay, I got you," he said, his grip tightening. 

"Hey, let me go!" you yelled, but it was too late. You were already outside and almost in the alley behind the bar. 

He pushing you against the chain-link fence, eyes running over your delicate figure. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

He tied your arms to the fence, fear washing over you.

"Help!" you screamed, useless because your brain wasn't working.

"Shh," he whispered, "It's alright, I've got you."

He kissed you hard, bruising your lips. Then he moved on to your neck. And then your chest.

---

Luckily, by the time Bea and 'Mr. Muscles' arrived, he hadn't done anything too serious. 

xx

Just thinking about that incident made you shiver. 

You hoped that your soulmate wouldn't be able to notice the extra bite on his neck, but there was no hiding the bruises on your wrists or the scratches on your chest. 

You felt empty for a long time. Like you were a worthless rag doll that had no purpose here. And Bea felt even worse. It was her idea to go out that night.

But I never should've been so careless.

And you could never blame her. 

After a while, the numbness began to go away and you started getting better. The good days started to out way the bad. And you were able to get back to as normal a life as you could. 

xxx

Sorry if you had to skip to the end of the chapter. 

But this is the end of the prologue chapters, so the next story will mark the beginning of the actually story. 

And please, always watch your drink and never let anyone else touch it, even if only for a second. If you set it down, don't go back to it. Buy a new one. A few dollars isn't worth the risk.