ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ɪʀᴏɴ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ

Skipping School

{Chapter Six}

Abby stood by her locker collecting her books for her next class with her friend, Violet. She didn't have as many friends at her school in Malibu as she did in New York, but that didn't bother her. Violet was a great friend who started school six months after Abby did.

Violet didn't care that Abby's father was famous, she just wanted someone who could relate to being the new girl. Abby struggled with school, not academically, she got great grades but socially she had a hard time. Abby was shy when she started at the new school. She no longer had the bubbly personality she had when she was in New York. She struggled to make friends and when she did, she couldn't seem to keep them.

When the kids at the school realized she was an easy target they decided to be cruel to the girl. It was because of this Abby focused on her studies, to distract her from her troubles. When her father disappeared and her name appeared in the news constantly the kids would get harsher.

The two friends made their way to their last class of the day.

"So you're not living with Sofia and Olivia any more?" Violet asked.

"No, my dad's back so I was sent home." Abby smiled.

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah. I missed being home."

As they made their way through the corridors they passed by a group of boys who made it their mission to make Abby's life hell.

As they passed, the tallest of the group shoved Abby so that her back hit the lockers, hard. Abby squeezed her eyes closed as she felt a wave of emotions hit her. So many that she was sure some of them weren't even hers.

Though Abby didn't remember much of her condition. She remembered when her mother took her to the doctors she worked with to help her. She was three at the time, and she barely remembered it.

It was times like this, though, times when she felt vulnerable or hurt that she felt overwhelmed with different emotions, so many that she couldn't explain it.

Taking a deep breath, Abby opened her eyes. Not looking at the boys that had pushed her she walked away. Violet followed after her in a rush.

"Abby!" Violet called after her. The young Stark continued to walk until she reached the toilets.

Abby leaned against the wall of the toilet trying to control her breathing and rid herself of the emotions that are overwhelming her.

"Abby are you okay?" Violet asked from beside her.

"I'm fine." Abby breathed, "Go to class, I'll be right behind you."

Abby didn't leave the bathroom until she heard the bell ring to signify the end of the school day. It wasn't the first time someone had pushed her or tripped her or thrown something at her and it wouldn't be the last. She made sure to get on the bus after everyone else and sat at the front so she didn't risk getting pushed or tripped, there was no way to avoid having things thrown at her all she could do was hope.

When the bus finally arrived at her home, Abby quickly got off and made her way into the house.

"Welcome home, Miss Stark, how was school today?" The voice of Jarvis spoke when she walked through the door.

"Hi, Jarvis. School was... as good as any other day." The girl sighed. "Is my dad downstairs?"

"Isn't he always."

Abby made her way downstairs, she stood at the door and saw her father stood with machines. Quietly she pressed in the code to open the door and stood in silence watching him.

She watched as he spoke many words she didn't understand and then counted down from three. She watched as he flew into the air and hit the wall.

"Daddy!" She screamed running over to him, she kneeled down beside him her heart thumping rapidly in her chest.

Tony wheezed slightly laid on his back, before laughing. Abby looked at him confused before asking, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He laughed, "That was, not supposed to happen."

"You could have been hurt." Abby pouted.

"I'm fine, munchkin," Tony assured her. He stood up from the floor and walked over to a desk with one of his many computers sitting on top, Abby following behind him.

Tony sat at his desk pulling Abby up to sit on his lap as he worked.

"How was school, munchkin?" Tony asked looking down at the girl.

"It was great." Abby lied, plastering on a fake smile.

"Really?" Tony asked skeptically.

"Yeah."

Tony sat the girl on the desk sighing.

"I got a call from your principal today. Well, actually, that is a lie, your principal called Pepper and she told me about it. You skipped a class, Abby. And I know it's not the first time either. The first couple of times I let it go, I skipped a couple of classes when I was young. But it's the fifth time it has happened." Tony looked at his daughter with concerned eyes. He knew she enjoyed school, she was always studying or reading and she got good grades. So, why was she skipping classes?

"I'm sorry," Abby whispered looking at her hands in her lap.

"Don't look down, look at me," Tony said, placing his hand beneath her chin and moving her head to look up at him, lightly. When she looked up he could see the tears clouding her eyes, "What's going on, munchkin?"

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to. I just, need to get away from the big groups. It feels like people are screaming at me but I can't hear them. Sometimes I can breathe and they go away but sometimes it takes longer. I'm scared, dad. I'm scared every time that it happens and I don't know how to make it stop." Tony's heart broke at the desperate look on his daughter's face and he realized how hard school had been for her. Five times she had skipped class because something had happened to scare her this much, five times he had just let it slide.

"It's okay." Tony sighed, wiping the tears from beneath the girl's eyes and moving her so she once again sat on his lap. "It's gonna be okay, baby."

Kissing the side of her head Tony allowed the girl to lay in his arms as she cried until she fell asleep.