The Ballet Teacher

Chapter 5

Steve couldn't believe his night. He'd been a cop for 10 years now, practically a vet and not once has he ever gone this far with a victim as he had tonight. He recalled her fiery red hair and beautiful soft skin. She was much shorter than him and was a sight for sore eyes. He knew he shouldn't have come up with her, but he couldn't help wanting be near her and talk to her more. She had been through a lot that night and seemed to relax a little with him near her. He enjoyed that.The night was almost perfect besides her small outburst in the Chinese restaurant, but that was water under the bridge.

As he left her house, he couldn't stop the fluttering in his stomach. He shook his head at the feeling. What the hell was happening? He hadn't felt this way since Peggy...Peggy. Boy did he miss his best girl, but that was another time, long gone now. Steve made his way towards his own apartment. He lived on the corner fifth ave in Park Slope. His drive was short as he pulled in front of his building parking by the overnight meter.

The red brick looked dull in the night. The streets had a few pigeons pecking at the left over food that tourist typically threw down. He skipped up the steps making his way to the third floor. His shift was finally over after 12 hours. All he wanted to do was collapse on the bed, but his mind kept drifting off to a certain redhead. He smiled thinking about her while he got ready to shower and go to bed. Boy, he count wait until Saturday.

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Natsha's POV

Another day, another dollar. I glanced over at my clock and it flashed 6:00 a.m. I had to be at to work in two hours. I groaned as I lifted my head from the pillow. It wasn't the idea of going to work, it was the pain from head. I felt it softly gently grazing the medium sized bump that formed overnight. I knew I should probably take today off, but I needed something to distract me from my own thoughts. Slowly, I got up, making my way to the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was horrified at the sight. My face was a shade of purple and blue, while my neck had a light bruise. It obviously looked much worse than it felt, but I knew that the kids would have a thousand questions, if they saw it. I ravaged through my medicine cabinet looking for the one small bottle of foundation I knew I had. I rarely ever wore make up but its times like these that I am glad, I at least tried it. I found it placing it on the counter, so I'd have it ready when I got out the shower.

45 minutes later, I was adding the finally touches to my look. You could barely see the marks, but my face was slightly swollen. It wouldn't be enough for anyone to truly worry, at least not the kids. I grabbed my lesson plans and hurried out the door, giving Liho some fresh food and water.

I made it to Marvel Daycare relatively quickly. It was only 20 minutes away from my house, so I typically hopped on the boss and made it by 7:30. Classes started promptly at 8:00 and I prided myself on being early. It was nice to have a bit of piece and quiet before classes began. I walked through the building and was greeted a few friends. Clint and Maria. Clint taught the special needs children, while Maria taught the advanced level ones, who were ready for 1st grade. I taught regular daycare kids. Typically just let them take naps and work on coloring and numbers and a few other things to help them get ready for Kindergarten.

"Hey guys" I said smirking at them.

"Hey, Nat." They spoke in unison.

"How's it going?" I said finally standing in front of them.

They didn't answer though, instead they stared at the swollen cheekbone that was nicely covered with foundation.

"Nat what happened?" Clint said as he cupped my face.

"I got into a little trouble last night with some men. Don't worry. I'm okay." I said with a soft smile.

"What the hell happened?" Maria yelled in a hushed voice and her face creasing into worry.