Don't Let Me Forget

XIII - Don't Let Me Forget

/!\ Mature content below. Violence described. It is implied that there is sexual and physical abuse. Do not read it if you're not comfortable.

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"It is not the bruises on the body that hurt. It is the wounds of the heart and the scars on the mind." - Aisha Mirza

It was dark, cold, and empty. Nothing could be heard. Not a sound. It was intimidating. It was frightening.

It had been four days since she freaked out and gave up on herself completely. Stuck in the memories of her past. She was emotionally drained. Emotionally exhausted.

When Nick Fury and Maria came to her apartment two days after the incident, the way they had found her was terrifying.

She hadn't changed, hadn't dared to move from where she was. Sitting in a corner of her apartment, knees to her chest, head down in her hands.

Her eyes were blank, empty. The same way they were when Nick Fury first laid an eye on her at the orphanage six years ago.

After not hearing from Natasha for two days, Steve had decided to call Maria to let her know what had happened. If somebody could help her, it probably could be her best friend.

His heart was still broken from what had happened, but a big part of him needed to know that she was safe, that she was okay.

In those two days, Steve had texted her twenty-one times, all of his messages remained unopened and unread. He had called her fifteen times, all going straight to her voicemail. And he had left eleven voicemails, all saying the same thing all over again.

"Hey Natasha, it's me, Steve. Please call me back, I just want to know that you are safe and okay."

"Hey Natasha, it's Steve. I still didn't hear from you and it worries me. Please, please let me know if everything is okay."

"Hey Nat, it's me. Can you please let me know if you're okay? I'm really worried about you."

And it went on and on for eleven messages. With his worrying taking over him, he knew he would need to ask for help from someone else to make sure that she was safe.

So when Maria told him on the phone that she hadn't heard from her since Friday night, and that she was not answering her phone either, Maria decided to go check on her best friend, to make sure that she was okay.

Maria knew she would need more than herself to help Natasha in case something was really up, that's when she knew she needed to call Nick Fury, her foster dad, to let him know what had happened between her and Steve. To let him know that she had possibly gone back to her worst nightmares.

Nick had first decided to call her workplace to know if she had presented herself to work on Monday or Tuesday. When the director of the Children's Hospital answered that she hadn't come to work on both days and was not answering her phone, Nick knew something was happening. Natasha hadn't shown this kind of behavior since he had rescued her from the Red Room.

On Tuesday two days ago, when Nick and Maria arrived at the building where Natasha's apartment was, they had to let themselves in with the help of one of Natasha's neighbors. She wasn't answering her dial and it wasn't a good sign.

Arriving at her floor and in front of her apartment, Nick knocked on her front door but there wasn't any answer. They were patient enough to wait a minute before deciding to let themselves in, with the key that Natasha had given to Nick when she first moved here.