.ೃ࿔*:･𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄... dog days are over

𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 1𝐒𝐓, 2023

Dear Nat,

I can’t believe it’s been fifteen days since you’ve been gone. Every morning, I still half-expect to hear your voice, maybe calling me to spar or complain about something trivial just to make me laugh. Sometimes, I think I hear your footsteps— soft but sure —and for a split second, I forget that you’re gone. It’s strange how time plays tricks on you. Some days, it feels like the world should have stopped the day we lost you. But it didn’t. It keeps spinning, and I’m still here, trying to figure out how to live in a world without you.

Today, though… today feels different. I don’t know how to explain it. You’d probably tell me I’m overthinking, that I need to stop being so dramatic. But I think you'd understand. There’s this heaviness in the air, like something’s shifting, and I can’t shake the feeling that maybe things are going to change.

Dad and I are going to Peter and May’s for dinner in a few minutes. You should be here. You should be with us.

I think I’m finally starting to understand what you meant when you said we have to find ways to keep living, even when the world feels like it’s falling apart.

I miss you, Nat. Every day. I wish I could talk to you face-to-face again, even just for a minute. I’d tell you that we’re still fighting— fighting for something better, even when it feels like the world doesn’t make sense anymore. You’d probably roll your eyes and tell me to stop being so emotional, but I know you’d mean it in your own way.

“Ingrid! We’ll be late!” Bruce’s voice broke through her thoughts, the sound muffled behind her closed door.

Ingrid looked up from the journal, the pen in her hand tapping nervously against the page. She took a deep breath, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. “Just a minute!” she called back before returning to the letter.

Anyway, dad is calling me. Dinner time. I'll write again soon, promise.

I’ll never stop missing you. I’ll never stop fighting.

Love,
Ingrid

She closed the journal gently, as if it were a fragile link to Natasha, something to be handled with care. After sliding it into her backpack, she took a moment to collect herself, her eyes drifting over the familiar photos that lined the hallway outside her bedroom. A small, bittersweet smile crept onto her face as she passed a particular photo of the her and Natasha, arms slung over each other's shoulders.

At the front door, Bruce stood waiting, his brow furrowed in impatience. He didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow when he saw her. Ingrid caught the expression and rolled her eyes, the tension in her chest easing just a little.

As she approached, Bruce immediately reached for her hair, his hands awkwardly fiddling with a loose strand that had escaped her messy braid. He was no expert at braiding, but he had tried, for her sake. It wasn’t perfect but it was close enough. Every time she looked at it, it reminded her of the bond she had with Natasha, and of her father, trying his best to keep that connection alive.

Bruce fumbled with the strand for a few seconds before letting out an exasperated sigh. “You know what? It’s perfect. You’re perfect,” he said, his voice warm but tinged with that ever-present worry.

Ingrid smiled softly, the tension of the upcoming dinner loosening a little more. “Let’s go,” she replied.

As they stepped out into the crisp evening air, Ingrid couldn’t help but glance up at the sky, searching for something— maybe a sign. She felt the weight of the journal in her backpack, a reminder of everything that was left unsaid, everything that still hung in the air between her and Natasha. But there was also a spark of hope, the tiniest flicker of belief that maybe, just maybe, they could keep going. That she could keep fighting, just like Natasha had wanted.

And for the first time in a long time, Ingrid felt a glimmer of hope.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄!!!

that's the end of anti-hero!!! thank you to everybody who read, voted and commented!! it means so much to me.

i hope that by the end of next week i'll post the introduction chapters to the sequel!!!

until then, i'm so happy with this book and how it came out and all the support!!! thank you!