I felt out of place in the cushiony bed. Nothing was normal, but then again nothing had ever been normal for me. I stared at the blank ceiling. I started to count backward from one hundred, something I’d learned to do while trying to go to sleep.    

I Soon drifted off into a nightmare infected unconsciousness.

“Sweetheart, could you help me make dinner?” He’d smiled down at my younger self, nothing but kindness in his eyes.
The scene changed, his expression was no longer one of innocence.

“Sweetheart, I’m feeling a bit down, you don’t mind cheering me up, do you? Actually, I already know your answer.”

He approached me, ripping his shirt off and giving me a lustful look.

The scene changed again. He was giving my mother a peck on the lips before heading out to work, then suddenly I was the one he was kissing, it was forceful and disgusting.

His expression changed when he saw that I was crying, he’d gotten violent. He’d unbuckled his belt and charged at me.
“No!” I screamed. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I sat up in a cold sweat, my chest was heavy. Tony burst through the door and I jumped up, my head bolted to look at him.
“What’s wrong!?” He panicked.
“I-I  am s-so so-sorry!” I frantically apologized.

“Would you stop apologizing, what are you even sorry for?” I looked at him blankly. How do I respond to this? I never knew why I was sorry. I just knew that I would be beaten if I wasn’t in line.

“S-sorry.” I realized what I’d done, “Sorry!” Shit.

“Uh, I mean, uh-”

“Kid, just shut up,” He cut me off. I immediately stopped talking. I was shaking.

I suddenly pushed him out of my way and ran into the bathroom, kneeling over the toilet. I wretched as vomit shot out of my mouth. I flushed the toilet and leaned back against the wall, still sitting on the floor.
All of this was getting to my head. Edward. My siblings. Tony. The nightmares.

“You ok, kid?” He asked in a soft, understanding tone. I looked up at him and saw that he was holding a glass of water. That was when I realized how thirsty I was.

“No,” I muttered before taking the cup of water he offered me. I made sure to look it over before sipping on it. It didn’t look foggy, so hopefully, it wasn’t drugged. I took small, slow sips. Not wanting to upset my stomach even more.

Tony’s POV

I heard her screams, they pained me. I rushed into her room. She was sitting upright and was pale and sweaty. I never thought that a person could look that panicked.

We were in the bathroom, I felt kind of bad, I didn’t think I could freak her out enough to make her puke. Of course, it could have been the nightmare. I’d offered her a glass of water after she’d puked, it was terrifying that she felt the need to check if it was drugged,

“Nightmares?” I asked. I knew this wasn’t the place or time to try and relate to her, but I needed her to trust me. I wanted to help her so bad.

“I get them too,” I plainly stated. I closed the toilet lid and sat on it, she looked up at me. Her eyes were full of emotion, yet looked dead. I didn’t think that was possible.

She just silently nodded her head.

“You hungry? I’m hungry.” I offered. She stayed silent.

“Y’know you can talk, right?” I recalled when I’d told her to shut up.

“Sorry,” She apologized. I hated that she was always sorry, but I felt like right now I just needed to be nice. I can do that. Right?

She looked like she wanted to say something, but there was fear in her eyes as if she was afraid she would get punished.

“U-um, could we have some pizza?” I chuckled at the question.

“You bet, kid,” I responded, “What kind do you want?”

“I’m fine with whatever,” She explained.

“Pepperoni ok?” I offered. She silently nodded her head. As I walked out to order the pizza, I saw her bring her knees to her chest in an attempt to seem smaller. My heart ached. Something that no one thought was possible. Funny, I didn’t know her name, yet I’d become attached.
I ordered the pizza online and went back into the bathroom.

“I never got your name,” I stated as I walked in.

“Electra,” She said in a small voice, I could barely hear her.

“What was that?” I asked, making sure I heard her right.

“Electra,” She said a little louder.

“Electra. That’s badass,” She smirked a little, which warmed my heart a little. Then she quickly wiped the smirk off her face, I could tell that she thought it made her vulnerable.

“Is it ok if I call you ‘El’?” I asked. She nodded her head.

“Well, I’m Tony. Which you probably already knew. Considering I am a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and Iron Man.” She just slightly nodded in response.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” I questioned.
“
Sorry,” She muttered. UGH!
She must have seen the annoyance and anger on my face because she backed into the corner out of fear.

My heart hurt, what happened to this poor girl, she’s only a teenager. I slowly started to walk towards her and she whimpered as she attempted to shrink even further into the corner.  

“I won’t hurt you…” I softly assure her.

Electra POV

I tried to shrink into the wall, in hopes it would absorb me. I remembered too much of my past and began crying silently. His eyes soften and he backs up, trying to give me space.

Tony POV

“I’m sorry, kid.” I apologize as I kneel down, attempting to become less intimidating, something I thought I’d never do. The doorbell rang and she jumped at the sound.

“It’s okay, it’s just the pizza,” I said and she relaxed a little. She follows me as I went down and when I opened the door, there was just some guy who looked to be high and drunk.

“Who are you?!” I asked.
“Oh. I’m sooooo sorry siiiir. I got the wrong adresssssss,” He slurred his words because of how drunk he is. He quickly left and then the pizza guy pulled in.
I’m not concerned. It’s not like that was the first time that has happened.  However, someone else was a little bit more than concerned. I looked down to see El on the floor, rolled into a ball and shaking.

“Hey, kid it’s all good, it was just a drunk guy.” She didn’t seem to comprehend what I was saying. I saw the tears that were running down her face.