IVANOV ~ yelena belova

𝟎𝟎𝟕

The body fell to the floor with a deafening thud as blood pooled around her feet. The thick crimson liquid stained Karina's black shoes darker. The metallic stench filled her nose almost causing her to vomit.

The entire situation made her feel sick to her stomach. She hadn't just killed anyone; she had killed an innocent child who looked eerily similar to her sister. The child's once terrified blue eyes had become lifeless and dull and the blood encircled her head like a halo as she lay still.

Karina dropped the gun, shocked by what she had just done. As her heart pounded in her ears, she couldn't take her gaze away from the scene in front of her. The sound of clapping, however, shook her out of her trance.

Her head snapped up as she noticed Dreykov approaching her. "Excellent work, Ivanov. No hesitation either, I'm proud," he said as he rested a heavy hand on her shoulder.

Karina took a step back, allowing his hand to fall from her shoulder, and glared at the man who was congratulating her on the most heinous act she had ever committed.

"Why don't you go back to your room. You're looking a little pale," he said with fake sympathy.

Karina left as soon as she heard that, practically sprinting out the door to get as far away from the body as possible. It was as if she was attempting to escape the guilt that was weighing on her in that room.

The guards continued to stare forward, as if a fifteen-year-old girl with tears streaming down her face hadn't just run past them. She rushed to the restroom, slamming the door open and reaching for the toilets.

Her knees were sore as she leaned over the toilet bowl, quietly retching but nothing came out, most likely due to a lack of food in her system. As a result, she didn't realise she hadn't heard the door slam shut. Instead, the slamming of the door against the wall suggested that someone had entered the toilets behind her.

She jumped in surprise when she felt a hand on her back after not hearing anyone enter. The hand was warm and comforting as it rubbed small circles on her back. The other hand held her hair back and out of her face.

Karina turned her head to look at the person who was comforting her, but her vision was blurry due to tears. The soft Russian accent that whispered soft reassuring words, however, revealed who it was. Yelena.

Karina turned her head away from Yelena, trying to suppress her sobs, embarrassed that someone could see her vulnerability. But Yelena just kept running her fingers through her hair, as if to tell her it was okay to express herself.

"What have I done? I just killed a chid!" Karina was now frantic, as if her mind had suddenly cleared and she realised what she had done. "Oh fuck, I think I'm going to be sick." But Karina knew she wouldn't be able to because it was physically impossible with nothing in her stomach.

Yelena grabbed both sides of Karina's face and turned her head, forcing Karina to look at her. Her face was serious as she said, "Karina, you need to calm down and listen to me. You, too, are a child. You didn't have a choice! We all have to go through it and each of us reacts differently. If you didn't pull the trigger, you and the girl could both be dead, understand?"
Karina nodded softly, clinging to every reassuring word the girl in front of her said.

Yelena had promised herself that she would stay away from Karina, but she didn't want her to hurt the same way she had when she first killed someone. So she didn't care about the rules or Dreykov's punishments as she looked at the broken and frail girl in front of her.

Yelena wiped Karina's tears away and leaned forward so they were forehead to forehead. It reminded her of when she and Natasha were small children and did the same thing. Karina smiled softly as both girls basked in each other's comfort, silently.

The sound of heavy footsteps outside the door tore them apart as they moved further away from each other until Yelena was almost on the other side of the room. The guard came in and told them they needed to return to their cell.

They walked silently side by side, not looking at each other. They were able to enter their room after the guard opened the door. Karina and Yelena exchanged no glances as they made their way to their beds.

The girls still had some time before a guard would come in and handcuff them to the bed again. So Yelena spent that time watching Karina as she silently stared at the wall in front of her as if she were somewhere outside of the Red Room. But Yelena noticed the look in her eyes and realised Karina was probably replaying what happened in that room today over and over again.

Yelena cleared her throat in an attempt to get Karina's attention, but she was unsuccessful. So she called her name, and Karina slowly turned to face her.

"Do you want me to braid your hair?" Yelena asked awkwardly, realising she didn't have anything to say. She just wanted to distract Karina's attention away from the dark thoughts and guilt she was most likely experiencing.

Karina made her way over to Yelena's bed and sat down in front of her, Yelena silently cheered in her head when she realised she had been successful. She hummed under her breath as she quietly threaded her fingers through Karina's soft hair.

"So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

"What are you singing?" Karina asked quietly, not wanting to disrupt Yelena's singing.

"A song from my childhood."

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A/N wattpad wouldn't let me upload last night, so I'm posting it now <3