Number Neighbors- Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Chapter 17

You don't know why you went out in your part of town this late at night. You were just trying to cope with your feelings for Nat and your confusion about Leon and it was all getting to be too much. Not to mention the recurrence of your PTSD.

You just needed your comfort food and now it was going to cost you your life. Or your dignity.

You suck in a sharp breath as you take another left, several feet behind you the man in a dark hoodie does the same.

Was this really how you were going to die?

Your phone buzzes frantically in your hand but you're terrified if you look at it he'll suddenly be right behind you.

The occasional glance behind you is doing you no favors and the nearest police station is a mile away according to Google Maps.

Could you make it there before he made it to you? Would he sense where you were going and attack you?

The sound of your phone ringing spooks you as the ringtone blares.

A ringtone you set specifically for Nat. A ringtone you weren't sure you'd ever hear.

Mind racing, you wonder if it's an accident. You wait a second for her to hang up or for your phone company to send you a text that says "Haha you were so desperate we decided to prank you! Now pay your phone bill!"

But the sound continues and you stare at her profile picture as your heart pounds. It's a picture she sent you of her flipping you off. It's only a shot of her hand and some grass but you saved the photo immediately nonetheless.

Your finger hovers over the accept call button.

Now that the moment that you'd been waiting for had finally come, why did you feel so scared?

Pressing the accept button, your phone is suddenly thrown out of your hand as a body bumps into yours.

Usually, your first instinct would be to apologize but considering what they interrupted the first word out of your mouth is a frustrated "hey!" before you take in the figure in front of you.

Your blood runs cold and you glance behind you to see that the man that was following you is no longer behind you.

The man in front of you gives you a menacing smile, his teeth are yellow and crooked and you subconsciously take a step back, causing the man to reach out and grab your wrist.

"Hey now, this doesn't have to be hard if you don't make it hard"

A shiver runs down your spine and you try and pull your wrist free from his grip to no avail.

"Please," you try and plead "please let me go"

"I just want some money that's all" his eyes are red and irritated and you realize that you might not be dealing with a sober person right now. The thought does nothing to help your growing fear. He takes another step closer to you and you flinch "C'mon I just want-"

The man stumbles back clutching his head. Your head is spinning and you don't understand what happened until you see your bag of ice cream on the ground. Looking down at your shaking hand you see it stuck in a swinging position.

When did you do that? I guess in a flight or flight situation you were fight.

You pouted at your ice cream on the ground before an angry grumble from the man in front of you turned your attention back to him.

"You fucking bitch!" Spit flies from his mouth as he screams at you and you cringe, taking another step back as the man pulls something from his pocket.

Terror fills your system as you notice it's a pocket knife

"All I wanted was some money but you had to go and make things worse for yourself didn't you?"

The man lunges at you and you quickly move to the side, trying to remember what you could from your rewatches of Criminal Minds. You really should have invested in some self-defense classes.

The man stumbles forward, almost losing his balance. Maybe you could use his intoxication to your advantage.

Attempting to throw him off, you try to push him to the ground while he's frazzled but his hand catches yours as soon as it touches him. He jerks his hand with the knife forward and places the blade uncomfortably on your throat.

You swallow and feel the cold metal move as your throat bobs.

Tears immediately pricked your eyes. Was this how you were going to die? You were just starting to make friends with people from work. There was so much you still wanted to do. People you still wanted to meet. Your eyes drop to your phone on the ground, the screen is black and it looks like there's a crack across the top.

You were so close to hearing Nat's voice. The thought turns your fear into frustration. Staring into the eyes of your assaulter you notice his face is drawn in anger.

Why is he the one who gets to be angry? Why is he screaming? He attacked you.

Your thoughts turn from frustration to rage and your body is fueled by adrenaline. You swiftly knee him in the balls and push him off of you.

He crumples in pain for a second before sloppily swinging his knife in your direction.

The blade manages to slice your left shoulder and you hiss as a stinging pain takes over your arm.

You feel warm liquid seeping into your shirt, it's a stark contrast to the cool night air but you ignore it in favor of defending yourself.

The man attempts to swing at you again but is unable to keep his balance in his inebriated state and he falls forward on his arms. He grunts in anger and attempts to get up but both of you spot the blood on the floor at the same time.

You freeze and blood drips from somewhere under him and you notice he fell on the arm that was holding the knife.

"Ah, shit-" The man attempts to move again but flinches, all he can do is sit there panting in pain. The sight of the sticky shiny red blood on his hand makes you dizzy. You don't know what to do or how to even begin helping him.

You take a step back, crouching down to grab your phone and wincing when it shoots pain through your shoulder. You deduce you probably need stitches as a pained voice pleads behind you

"Hey hey hey wait- don't-"

"Hey!" A boyish voice shouts from somewhere not too far away and panic fills you. This does not look good for you. Not to mention you weren't feeling all too great from your wound either. If there was another voice nearby that meant this guy could get help soon and you could run.

You spared one more glance at the guy who ruined your night and then booked it in the other direction clutching your shoulder. Hoping that whoever else was there wouldn't follow you.

~

A few minutes of running later your shoulder is throbbing and your shirt is thoroughly ruined as blood still trickles from your wound. You couldn't put as much pressure as you wanted because of your running and you feel a little light-headed from blood loss when you spot the police station a few buildings away.

Relief floods your body as you push yourself toward the building and when a kind female police officer rushes over to you in the lobby you don't even realize you're crying until your vision gets blurry and she's whispering comforting words in your ear.

You hear her call for a medic before exhaustion overtakes you and you pass out.

A/n: Giving you two chapters this week because I love you guys and I hate cliff-hangers ~Starry