When You Saved Me

Chapter 30

Callie P.O.V

It's the morning after Daddy pulled me away from Uncle Bruce and I'm keeping my mind off of the sadness daring to overcome me by practicing my new found skill. I have my plate of eggs levitating about a foot off the table and slowly rotating it so it resembles a UFO. It's easier than I expected, but regardless I am quite proud of this accomplishment. I'm just about to try raising the pepper and shake it over my breakfast when Tony's voice cuts through my train of thought.

"Callie this is Madame Beatrice, she's going to be your nanny."

I quickly set down my plate so as not to give myself away, and I slowly turn to face my father behind me. Between him and Pepper there is a strange woman. She is tall, unnaturally so for a lady, and her salt and pepper hair is pulled back into a harsh bun. It is so tight, in fact, that the skin around her eyes is pulled taught giving her a rather sinister look.

"Hello Callie," she says in a low, flat voice. I slowly raise my eyes to meet hers and what I see there sends a chill down my spine. The way she is looking at me is familiar, it's the way they all looked at me—eyes empty of anything resembling sympathy or kindness, eyes full of hate.

My mouth is dry, if I were to use my hands they would shake—this very aura of this woman is giving me horrific flashbacks.

I look to my Dad, his eyes meet mine for a moment before he quickly looks away, "I have work to do in the shop," he says at last, "You'll stay with Beatrice."

"Madame Beatrice," corrects Pepper smugly.

Tony rolls his eyes, "yeah, sure. I'll see you later Callie," he says forcing a smile and begins turning away from me.

"No, wait." I say, causing him to pause, "I want to come with you." I plead, rising to my feet.

"Sorry buddy, that kind of defeats the purpose of a nanny," he says scratching the back of his head, "you'll be fine." He assures me, before carrying on his way.

My heart sinks as I watch my only ally in this God-forsaken house abandon me.

"I'm sure you know what you're doing," Pepper says to her evil counterpart, "let me know if you need anything." She flashes me a fake smile and turns to leave the room.

Suddenly I am overcome with anger, this red-headed witch is slowly stealing away all of the family I've just gained, isolating me from the first people to ever make me feel safe and secure. As she steps on to the slim, slate grey rug that runs the length of the hallway, I use my mind to quickly slide it backwards. It moved only slightly, maybe an inch, but it was enough to cause Pepper to stumble and fall to her knees, "shit!" She mutters, hissing at her torn nylons and scuffed knees.

I get up slowly, determined to leave the room before I'm alone with the nanny. Pepper's head snaps toward me at the sound of my chair softly scraping the floor, "you did this, I'm sure of it!"

"What? From across the room? How could I possibly have made you trip?" I ask, giving my best impression of innocence.

"You tell me, you little witch!" She spits, her words having little effect on me.

I just shrug and casually walk past her, "I'm sure I don't know." I say calmly turning the corner.

Once I'm out of site I propel myself up the wall with lightning speed and silently crawl across the ceiling as fast as I possibly can. When I reach the stairs that descend to Daddy's shop, I leap across the width of the stairs and descend using the wall, reaching the bottom in record time. I then cautiously creep back up to the ceiling to conceal myself from eye-view. The entire wall entering the work space is glass—almost like a viewing room, making it incredibly challenging to sneak in unseen.

I can see him in there, preparing to test mechanical suits, or fix cars, or create some kind of machinery that goes well beyond my limited knowledge. He's ordering his robots around to clean a space, while he slips on his glasses and rolls up his sleeves, and I decide I'll wait until he turns on his music and starts making noise before I attempt opening the door.
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Tony P.O.V

"Hey you, tidy up over here," I order the tall robot arm briskly. I'm always glad to have these robotic helpers in my shop as opposed to human ones. Robots do as their told without a fuss, and if I'm in a bad mood I don't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings. I shake away the image of Callie's desperate eyes, begging me to let her tag along.

I try not to let myself think about whether or not bringing her back here was a mistake, it's too late for that now.
"Jarvis start the music," I bark, reverting to my common practice of drowning out my thoughts with 70s rock n' roll. Promptly the room is filled with the sound of Angus Young shredding and I can finally focus on the task before me. I throw the blueprints of the next "Iron Man" suit into the air, this one has improvements and modifications that I am super excited to start working on.

I am just starting to take bits out of the old helmet that need replacing when the music turns down, "Jarvis, what's going on with my music?" I ask, irritated.

"Hello Miss Stark," Jarvis greets, I quickly look up and carefully drag my gaze across the room.

If Jarvis just greeted Callie it means she has to be in the room but I can't see her anywhere. However the door is slightly ajar, conforming Jarvis' statement. "Callie are you in here?" I ask, knowing full well she is, but the kid is the master at being silent.
I sigh, "Jarvis where is Callie hiding?"

"Sir, she is..." Callie drops down literally in front of my face, interrupting Jarvis.

"Damn robot," she huffs.

"What are you doing in here kiddo?" I ask gently.

"I don't like the nanny," she says crossing her arms aggressively.

"Callie she hasn't even been here an hour!" I laugh, not admitting that I also was slightly off-put by the stern looking woman upstairs.

Just as Callie is about to retort the door opens and in walks the woman in question.

"Speak of the Devil!" I say without thinking and instantly regret it.

"So you agree, she IS the..." I quickly clap my hand over Callie's mouth, pulling her in-front of myself.

The woman tuts and makes her way towards us, "there you are Callie," she says briskly in a strong Russian accent, "come along now, we need to start getting acquainted." She grasps Callie's shoulder pulling her away from me and leads her out of the shop and up the stairs, all the while Callie is looking at me, her eyes pleading to be saved.