Battle Scars {An Iron Man FanFic}

Chapter 33: Lost

A/n: This is dedicated to @dracosgirl1 ! thanks for  reasing, so glad you're in love. However you may experience some heart break with this chap :( 

By the way, I am sorry to @keelciee and everyone else reading this chapter. Prepare for extreme heart break, I'm sorry. Well it depends, maybe you won't be sad, but let's just say I'm pretty sad just thinking about writing this chapter. .-.

. : ☼ : .

Chapter 33: Lost

Rhodey's POV

                James Rhodes walked down the streets with determination. He wore light blue jeans and a smoky gray t-shirt with dark gray shoes. He readjusted the dark pair of shades over his eyes and stopped at a red light. Waiting, he pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen. He had received no new text messages from Tony, who hadn't stopped for the past two days. His fingers ran quickly over his business phone, which was still tucked into his pocket, knowing for a fact that there had not been any messages, verbal or written, sent to him.

                He walked down the street and placed his phone back into his free pocket. As he bustled down the street, no one directly in front of him, he shut his eyes for a few seconds. An image of Tony's face, grave with desperation, appeared behind his eyelids. He quickly reopened them so as to forget the pain. Ever since Andy had left almost a week ago, Tony's been losing more and more ground. He struggled to search for her, forgetting about the most basic needs of his health.

                Both Tony and Pepper had only worsened, their eyes betraying their weakly placed smiles. They were worried, so horrifyingly worried that they were becoming sick with it. Tony tried to find her, searched the whole city over three times. He even went as far as finding her heat signature, but she always seemed to evade him. But maybe she wasn't trying to hide; for some reason she just couldn't be found.

                Rhodey looked over at the freeway ahead of him and thought, "This must be it." He walked swiftly for the large structure and looked around him, but he could see no trace of Andy or anyone else for that matter. He looked down at the ground, keeping to the sidewalk, and searched for any sign of intervention. He knew it was foolish; anybody could walk through under this pass. But, for him, he had to start at the basics. He was determined to find her and could only do so as efficiently as he did on the field. His eyes examined the pavement, from the end of the overpass back to the beginning, or the side he had entered through. Once there he spotted a trail of red dots near the curb and followed them with his eyes. Missing it before, know he saw a large drying puddle of red in the middle of the street.

                His ears picked up a small sniffling sound and his head immediately turned. In his way were the decorated floral arrangements the city had made besides the on ramp. He heard the sniffling again and walked over slowly. He pushed aside most of the bulk with his hands and smiled sadly when he saw Andy's sitting body on the dirt floor. He walked forward to greet her but stopped when he saw the bundle on the floor. It was covered in a thin blue shirt, a heavy red stain at one end. Rhodey took in a steadying breath before stepping forward and calling out her name in a low voice.

                Her head turned instantly, caught off guard. Her eyes were a stinging red, tears still flowing so freely from them she didn't even seem to notice.

"Rhodey?" she asked, voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah" he said quickly as he walked over and squatted next to her. He wasn't sure how she would react but he knew he just wanted to hug her tight, to make sure she wouldn't leave again, to have the proof so evidently in front of him that she wasn't dead. She turned her head and placed her hands down in her lap.