Love you?

Outside In The Dark Chapter 67

I wait until I hear the last pair of footsteps fade away before slipping out from under my blankets and walking to my door. I need to get out of here. 

I wrap a sweater around my body and pull on my boots. 

Dad's still out with Clint and Tony. It's....almost midnight. I can't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep for a few days. I've been too busy picking on myself. 

Who needs bullies when you've got a conscious like mine. 

I slowly open my door big enough so I can slip through. I creep down the hall, towards one of the elevators. I doubt anyone will think much if I use one. They'll think I'm dad and his friends returning from the bar. At least, I think they're going to a bar. I don't really know. 

I lean back against the elevator wall as I wait for it to get to the first floor. 

" Miss Aura, should you be out this late? " I jump slightly at Jarvis'voice. 

I sigh in relief as I recognize his voice. " Jarv! You nearly gave me a freaking heart attack. Don't scare me like that. " 

" Sorry. " He apologizes. 

I sigh. " I know I'm not supposed to be out. " Shoot. I should've remembered Jarvis. " Don't tell. I need some time....I need some time out of here. I need some time to.....clear my head. " 

" I don't know Miss Aura. You could get hurt out there. I can only do so much in here. What if something were to happen and I was not aware. I could not call anyone to help you. " Jarvis warns. 

" I'll be fine, Jarv. If anything happens, I'll scream bloody murder. It's the busiest part of New York. Someone's bound to hear me. Plus, I have powers. Remember? I'll toast them to crisps if they touch me. " 

" What if they put another band around your wrist that prevents you from being able to use your powers, or inject you with something that knocks you out? What will you do then? " 

I sigh. " Jarvis, do you always have to make things so complicated? " I look up at the ceiling. " I will figure everything out. I'm not going to be out long. Maybe a few minutes. Now, will you please open the door before I freeze your wires? " I warn. 

" Are you threatening me, Miss Aura? " 

I nod. " Yes Jarvie. Yes. " 

"  And here I thought we were friends. " He opens the door and I step out with an affectionate pat on the wall. 

" Thanks Jarvis. I love you, bro. " 

" Yeah yeah. Now you love me. You better come back in quickly or I will call someone to retrieve you. " 

" Wait. Tony programmed you? I didn't think he knew big words like retrieved. " I joke. 

" Hush hush. Mr Stark will be very aggravated if he hears you saying things about-" 

" You won't tell, will you? " I ask. " We're BFF's. " 

Jarvis sighs. " You will be the death of me, Miss Aura. " 

" You can't die though. " I point out. 

" Just hurry back. " 

I smile and Jarvis lets me out onto the street in front of the tower. I lean against the wall of the building and sigh, letting my eyes close as I listen to the sound of cars passing by. I let myself sink into the shadows of the wall and try to get the insults that are swimming around in my head, out. 

All of a sudden, I start crying. Crying in sadness, in anger, in....well, everything that's negative. I'm tired but I can't sleep because of my thoughts. All I can think about is the negative. Why?! 

I'm a freak because of my powers. I'm a loser that has no friends. I'm not pretty. No one loves me. Everything's wrong. 

I slide down against the wall with my arms covering my face from the slight rain falling down. I sob a bit as footsteps of multiple people stop by me. 

" Are you okay miss? " Clint's familiar but, slightly drunk voice asks. 

I shake my head and look up at bit. I try to keep my face hidden, knowing my dad will overreact if he sees me. 

My dad's drunkenly leaned against the wall a little farther behind Clint, chatting happily with Tony. 

" Aura? What are you doing out here? " Clint asks with worry. " What happened? Why are you crying? Where are my kids? " 

" What the...? " Dad asks, my name catching his attention. " Did you say Aura? What about Aura? " He's now a little bit more sober as he tunes into what Clint's saying. He glances down at me and sobers up fully. " AURA! What on Earth are you doing out here?! It's raining! You are going to catch a cold! " He runs to me, totally forgetting about Tony, and yanks me up, pulling his waterproof jacket around me. " Who let you out? The adults were supposed to be watching you children! Did something happen? " He asks about three million different questions at once. 

I start to feel dizzy as dad shakes me a bit. " I don't.....I don't feel so......so good. " I mumble before my eyes roll back into my head and I fall to the ground.