The Lost Daughter

Chapter 2- 12 years later

*Trigger Warning*

Amelia wakes early to the sound of her alarm buzzing across the nightstand. The stench of booze fills the 17 year old's nose as she forcefully shuts the phone alarm off. The alarm reads 6:30 am- it is time for her medication. She groans and slowly gets up realizing her naked body under the sheets next to a fellow classmate. 'Damn it.' She thinks trying to scan the room for her clothes. Quickly she grabs her bag and her clothes and run into the bathroom to change. The party last night was wild to say the least, but to Amelia it was a typical night. She gets extra high from mixing her medication and alcohol at parties, sometimes she even mixes pills. Anything to numb herself up. Whatever happened during the process, meaning who she slept with or what she did means nothing to her. She's a troubled teenager with deep inner demons mixed with being forced to go to college due to having a "mind far beyond its years." Amelia tries to blame her father- he declared that her mind shouldn't go to waste. Now while she works to get a piece of paper, her mind will be torn apart from her mental cages. No matter what life obstacles she is facing, Amelia cannot break free from her own mind prison. She could never truly explain why she suffers with herself the way she does. The relationship around her and her father focuses around guilt, she is in constant run-ins with SHIELD 'checking' on her, and being the daughter of Tony Stark had an unnecessary amount of pressure and fear. Tony told her that when she was five there was an accident involving Gamma radiation meaning she has to be on medication forever to keep her alive, but he is forever guilty. She notices the way he sometimes looks at her, like he is scared of himself for what he did to her.  Not to mention how all of Tony's enemies attack and try to kill her, making Amelia live with a serious target on her back. Also the stress from it gives bad reactions in difficult circumstances. 

"Fuck hell." Amelia mumbles, fully clothed now. She is not in any way putting on those heels again. Instead she quickly rummages through the closet of whoever's house this is and steels some slippers. She quickly leaves and walks to her father's tower. The medication she is forced to take comes every month in an unnamed bottle but the side effects vary such as hallucinations, depression, fatigue, heart issues (which she has an irregular heartbeat with palpitations), headaches, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. The mental side effects of her medication make her feel the worst. Amelia finally gets to the tower, her stomach turning with regret. She really hopes her father doesn't catch her this time. She is not shameful of her actions, honestly she could give less of a shit what people say or think, but she does care about her father's opinion. All these years she spent so much time in getting him to not be guilty and to fully appreciate her. The elevator dings and the teenager walks through the doors into the penthouse. The apartment looks untouched besides a note on the the table :  

' Heya Peanut, Pepper and I are gonna be home tonight for dinner. Join us ? Love you! '

Amelia decides to quickly shower, throw on some comfy clothing and get to work on her thesis paper.  

 By the time 1 o'clock came she started to feel dizzy and exhausted. It isn't the first time. Hours must have passed without her noticing until she heard the elevator ding. The sudden noise causes the young girl to jump but Tony's laugh quickly calmed the girl down. "Hey Dad, hey Pepper." Amelia called out, tugging on her dark hair. 

"Hey kiddo, whats wrong?" He asks, noticing the slight red look under her eyes. 

"Just a headache, nothing crazy." She underplays how shitty she actually feels. Tony knows this but doesn't say anything. 

"I got some takeout, I bought your favorite." A big smile appeared on her face as she jumps to eat with them. Pepper and Amelia are pretty close. Pepper practically stepped into the mother role and she loves Amelia like a daughter. Amelia's real mother is a mystery to her, her dad told her that she left him and never wanted to contacted. It hurt her a lot, especially when she was younger. Slowly but surely she got over not being wanted- her dad and Pepper want her and that is enough. Amelia fills her plate with fried rice, dumplings and chicken as she half listens to her father's ideas. She is finding it harder and harder to concentrate lately. "Wanna come, peanut?"