𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗.
Charlie Stark-Rogers has grown up in the shadow of the world's greatest heroes. But spending your entire life in the face of danger takes its toll on anyone. She has secrets, thi...
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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒, and today was no exception.
She hugged the soft yellow towel from Laura close to her chest, rocking back in forth slightly. Her legs trembled and she forced herself to sit on top of the toilet seat, willing herself not to pass out. One hand clutched her abdomen, which seemed to be cramping more by the minute.
She dreaded the moment she would have to get in the water.
It wasn't the fact that she was getting wet that bothered Charlie. The problem was that there was a bright blue shower curtain she would have to use, and it would block her view from the rest of the bathroom.
And she just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was going to hurt her again.
But her stomach was hurting, and she felt dirt under her fingernails, and her back was all sweaty, and the feeling of being unclean had overtaken everything else. She bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood before standing quickly.
Just a quick shower.
Dads are right outside the door.
No one can get to you.
No matter how she tried to convince herself, it still felt like a lie. She felt a tear slip over her trembling lips as she pulled back the shower curtain. Charlie lowered herself to sit in the bathtub, her legs shaking too hard to keep herself upright.
She had her eyes squeezed shut, awful whimpering noises coming from her chest. "Please, please, please..."
She didn't even know what she was asking for.
She just didn't want to hurt anymore.
After a minute or two, she forced her eyes to open. She trained her gaze on the little fish stickers stuck to the tile, red and purple and yellow and orange creatures the size of her thumb. It was such an innocent thing, so childish. More childish than anything she could remember using as a little kid. This bathroom and shower were infinitely smaller than her own at home, she noticed, and she couldn't decide if that made her feel more or less safe.
But it definitely felt like someone's home, and a small voice in the back of her head told her she was jealous of the childhood these kids were getting.
There was a muffled voice outside the door that Charlie recognized as Tony's, clearly speaking to Steve. The walls here weren't soundproof like they were at the Malibu house or the Tower, which Tony obviously hadn't realized yet. She caught her name and instantly felt a flash of embarrassment.
