Love in the Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 14

I've never felt like I had to preface a chapter, but I just want to say one thing because the responses during the last chapter made me a little nervous. Please don't give up on this story, even when things get hard. Bear with me please. Thank you, enjoy.

"Be Alright" - Dean Lewis

Nat ends up finding me, crying on the floor of the conference room Steve left me in. She helps me up and takes me back to her room so that I can let everything go in privacy. She lets me know that Thor took Loki back to his cell where he'll stay for the rest of the day to give him some time to cool off.

She tells me that Bucky went after Steve to make sure he's okay, and after a bit of convincing she was honest with me and said he looked pissed.

Which means I probably lost his friendship along with my relationship with Steve.

She leaves me in her room for a few minutes while she goes downstairs. And when I'm alone again I feel a crushing in my chest that just makes me sob in pain.

I know I hurt Steve. I know he feels betrayed and lied to and uncertain about my feelings for him. And I don't know what else I can do to make it up to him. To remind him of how much I love him. Of how much I need him.

Maybe talking to him again, this time after we've both had a chance to calm down.

I cry until Nat comes back, and I hear her struggling to open the door. I don't understand why until she actually manages to get through, and I see her come in with two bags full of god knows what.

She comes over, dropping the stuff on the bed and I can get a good look at what she's brought; lots and lots of junk food.

"I brought everything I could find in the kitchen." she says, and then starts to take everything out of the bags.

Several bags of potato chips, cookies, ice-cream, twinkies, chocolate, mini donuts, and then to top it off, she pulls out a bottle of tequila. She then gets up and heads to her desk drawer, opening it up and pulling out two of Thor's Asgardian alcohol bottles.

Immediately I reach out, definitely wanting to get into them first.

"No." Nat says, putting both bottles in her bra. "You need to eat first...then we get drunk."

I sigh, just wanting to ease some of the pain. "Wouldn't it be better not to eat, we'll get drunk faster that way."

Nat gives me a hard glare as she reaches over and tosses a bag of chips at me. "Eat the damn junk food."

We spend the next hour snacking as I tell her everything that happened. From the walk I had with Loki, our moment hidden in the trees, seeing Sharon and Steve, my confrontation with Sharon, confronting Steve about her, what happened with Loki and I in the alleyway. She was there for the argument between Loki and Steve so luckily I didn't have to recap that, but then I tell her about the final fight I had with Steve before he left.

By the time I'm done relieving everything, I'm so fed up that I just extend my hand out to Nat, desperately needing that drink.

"What?" Nat says as she acts like she doesn't know what I'm asking.

"Nat I will go in there and get them." I say, knowing it's not unfamiliar territory to me. "It's time."

She rolls her eyes at me, but eventually reaches in and pulls out the bottles, tossing them to me. She grabs two shot glasses, filling them both with some tequila before handing one to me. "You can't just numb the pain away." she says, despite the fact that she was the one who brought the alcohol.