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( warning! there is blood and violence in this chapter! )
"DO YOU want to talk about what happened to you three months ago?" Dinah asked, notepad set aside, but still twiddling a pen around in her hand. Eli shrugged slightly, staring anywhere but at the psychologist. "I understand it's hard, but so far all you've stated is how the Avengers saved you, in extensive detail. Your memory of that week is incredible, which means instead of blocking it out, your mind committed every single detail and action to memory." Dinah explained, eyes trained on Eli, gauging her reaction. The blonde flinched slightly, barely noticeable.
"I don't remember posting the picture beforehand," Eli said, the first words she'd spoken since the session began twenty minutes ago. "I know that doesn't matter, but I don't remember posting it. I know I did, can see it every time I go on Instagram. But whenever I try to think back to that moment, I never remember actually posting it. I think it's the only think I can't remember." She explained, eyes finally meeting Dinah's.
"Do you remember anything specific before waking up in that cell?" Dinah asked, treading lightly with her words. Eli liked to focus on her rescue, on the happy ending, but that wasn't helping her process.
"Bits and pieces," Eli muttered with a shrug, rubbing subconsciously at her left hand. It had healed, but it still ached often.
"Then let's focus on what you do remember." Dinah suggested, the pen stilling in her hand. "What do you remember?" Eli shifted back in her seat, eyes trailing from the floor to out the window. The New York City skyline stared back at her.
"There was a party."
–•–•–
THREE MONTHS AGO
"Shit," Eli grumbled, realizing she'd just locked her keys inside of her apartment. After a moment, she decided to leave that problem for the future. She was already running behind, and if she didn't hurry, Eli was going to miss her train. With her wallet and phone in hand, Eli quickly slipped on the jacket she had grabbed before hurrying down the stairs, and out of her apartment building.
Eli was glad that the boots she was wearing didn't have too high of a heel, because she knew that she would've gone tumbling down the sidewalk the moment she tried to run. Quickly dodging around a couple, she ran nearly a block before checking her phone. The subway was a few minutes away now, and she still had twenty minutes before her train. Slowing to a walk, Eli unlocked her phone, eyes glancing over the messages she received from her friends already at the party — Tony Stark's party, because apparently she was friends with the Avengers now.
Something hard hitting the side of her head made Eli stumble to the side, dazed for a moment. Her left hand came up to touch her head, pulling it back once she made contact with something wet. Blood coated her fingertips, and while she was confused, Eli knew that it was a bad sign. Someone shoved her roughly, sending her tumbling to the ground on the wet pavement, her phone and wallet clattering to the ground with her. She looked up, realizing now that in her momentary daze, she had stumbled into an alley. Two figures stood over her, but she couldn't really make out what they looked like. One figure spoke to the other, and Eli realized it was a woman's voice, and that said woman was holding a gun in her hand.
