Control (Avengers Fan Fiction)

[ 23 ]

Three Days Later

It was nearly midnight and everyone else had fallen asleep. Scarlett was never able to sleep properly, so instead she stood on the balcony, listening to the ocean and letting her mind wander.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. With a soft sigh, she tore her gaze away from the ocean and pulled her phone out. It was Vince.

"I didn't think you'd have the balls call me." She turned her back to the ocean so she could lean against the rail.

"Pierce told me what you're doing, Scarlett. I want to apologize for what I did—,"

"You held a goddamned gun to my head, Vince." She cut him off, speaking through her teeth to him. "I don't want any apologizes from you."

"I–Scarlett, baby. I thought you turned your back on us, on me! What else was I suppose to do? I saw you fighting our own people!"

"It's late, Vince, and I don't want to talk right now." Scarlett rubbed her temple.

"I'll call you in the morning, okay? We can talk more then. How does that sound?"

Scarlett bit her bottom lip.

"That sounds good."

"Good. Talk to you in the morning, baby."

Scarlett turned back to face the ocean. She silently hoped the waves would reach up and take her as its victim. She wanted the sea to swallow her and all of her problems. Her stomach churned from the thought of betraying Pierce, but she wasn't sure that she could do exactly what she said she would. In the past three days that she'd been in Malibu, nothing had been expected of her. She spoke when she wanted and went were she pleased. The Avengers gave her space and allowed her to stay outside on the balcony for as long as she desired. It was a sense of freedom that she had never had before. No one wanted anything from her. She had the choice to make her own decisions.

The sound of soft footsteps behind her made Scarlett turned around to face Pietro. He stood in the doorway of the house. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts that seemed to hang low on his hips. The shrapnel wounds had healed–thanks to his ability to heal quicker than normal people. Now, pink little scars were left across his torso.

"You want to go down to the beach with me, princessa?" He asked her. The two hadn't spoken much in the past three days. Anytime he'd walk into a room, Scarlett would either leave or ignore him. Now was his chance to get her attention back. He noticed how much she seemed to enjoy watching the waves. Maybe she'd like to see them up close.

Scarlett nodded her head softly. Her arms were crossed firmly over her chest. She was in a tank top and a pair of shorts. Had she known she was going to run into anyone, she wouldn't have worn such revealing clothing.

With a soft smile on his lips, Pietro led the way around the balcony to a set of stairs. The stairs led to a little pathway and then a rather steep downgrade that eventually took them to a little sandy beach. The moon was bright above, shining down and reflecting off of the water.

"Princessa? Can you tell me why you've been avoiding me for the past few days?" Pietro sat down on the sand just out of reach of the tide. Scarlett shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She hesitated to sit next to him. She didn't want to get close to him, to make any bad decisions. But at the same time, she wanted to find out what other unexplored feelings her time free from HYDRA would bring up.

Scarlett sat down next to him, her knees pulled to her chest.

"I didn't want you asking any more questions about Vince." She answered him quietly.