Chapter 14

Yns pov:
I walk into natashas office and it feels like the temperature lowers by 4 degrees. She gestures for me and yelena to sit in a chair and offers me a warm smile. “Im sorry we have to do this so soon yn. I thought it would be better the quicker we get him put away.” I nod, tracing the lines on my palm and she continues. “Im going to ask you a few questions now okay?” I nod and she presses play on the recorder. “For the sake of the tape, please state your name and age.”

“My name is yn parker. Im 20 years old.”

“Thanks yn, now could you tell me how you got your injuries? And could you please state your injuries for the tape.”

“I got home after hanging out with a friend and when i walked through the door, my father, David Parker, was stood there with some friends i didnt recognise, waiting for me. They locked the door and David threw a punch into my face. He hit me so gard that blood spattered on the floor. I went to stand up and he kicked me in the stomach. I fell to the ground and he kicked me in the face. He then kicked me 7 times in between words.”

“What words?”

“He said ‘no child of mine will be gay’. Then he flipped me onto my back and pressed his boot onto my chest, making it hard to breathe, i pleaded with him, but he just said ‘if you can talk, you can breathe’. He said that if i even looked at a girl in a weird way, he would get a shotgun and kill her and then me. His friends then took it in turns kicking me in the stomach.”

“And your injuries that were treated by us?”

“When yelena found me i was finding it difficult to stay awake, there was blood dripping out of my mouth, my breathing was strained and found it difficult to speak. I had bruises on my stomach and face from where he kicked me. I have a big purple bruise on my chest from where he pressed his boot on me. And i had 8 broken ribs from where they had all kicked me in the abdomen.” I bite my lip to stop it from wobbling and nat gives an encouraging half smile and mouths ‘youre doing good’. Yelena holds my hand and i can see the pain in her eyes.

“And a few weeks ago, your brother brought you here unconscious, what happened?”

“My brother got home and accidentally slammed the door. My dad come out and pushed me to the floor and then grabbed peter by his shirt and punched him in the face. I threw one of his beer bottles near him to get his attention. I ran out of the apartment and he tackled me to the ground. He punched me in the face repeatedly and then smashed a vase on my face. He kicked me all over my body.” Natasha presses her lips into a straight line, her anger evident on her face. I can see the restraint it takes to ask these questions with impartiality.

“The next time we saw you, after your arrest, there was a bruise around your neck, what happened there?”

“I hit him. He grabbed me by my throat.”

“Why did you hit him?”

“He bragged about killing my mother.” Her eyes widen and it takes her a few seconds to recover. I continue the memory.

“After he started to strangle me, peter, my brother pulled him off of me and started to punch him. I managed to pull peter off and convinced him to head to the avengers compound while i waited for the police to arrest me.” She takes a steadying breath, clearly not realising how bad this would be.

“Okay, are there any other instances that you feel we should be aware of?”

“Yes. When he got back fron the hospital after peter hit him, i opened my creaky door so that he would leave peter alone. He barged into my room and pinned me against the wall with his fists while he shouted at me. He punched me in the stomach and then hit me in the back with a bat. Then he kicked me until he got bored and looked for more alcohol.”

“Okay now, lets return to what you said about your mom. How did she die?”

I take a deep breath and tears fill my eyes, threatening to spill. Yelena squeezes my hand and my voice wobbles when i speak. “When i was 7, i told my mom that my dad, david, kept hitting us. She told me to get a grip. I decided that if she wasnt going to stop it, then i would. I sneaked into his bedroom that night with a knife in hand and tried to stab him. He woke up and stopped me, but i managed to slice his arm. He was so angry. He didnt speak. Just rolled over and started to strangle my mother. When she tried to speak he leaned down and said ‘what did you say?’ And then he let go. He grabbed the knife and stabbed her right in the heart. He told me it was a lesson that if me and peter ever did anything to stop it, he would kill us and it didnt matter that we were related.”

“Is there anything else you feel we should know?”

If i tell them all the stories of him hitting us, we’ll be here all day. I decide to just keep it recent and end it there. “No, everything else is similar to what i have told you.”

“Okay just a few more questions. How old were you when he started hitting you?”

“I can only remember times when he hit me. I honestly couldnt say but he made sure to hide it from my mom. I think.”

“Did he ever seriously attack peter?”

“I protected peter as best i could. The most he got was a broken arm. My dad twisted peters arm so hard behind his back, it broke.”

“And whats the worst he ever did to you?”

“He nearly killed me. I still struggle to sit in certain positions.”

“Okay thank you, thats the end of the interview.” She clicks the recorder and places her hand on my arm. “You did amazingly. Im so sorry you had to go through all of that.” I give her a sad smile and yelena turns to me.

“Bit of a random question, but what positions cant you sit in?” My face grows bright red and i sink into my seat slightly.

“Uhhh my hip locks up if i straddle someone sometimes.” I can see her massive grin in my peripheral vision and nat raises an eyebrow as she looks betweeen us, shaking her head.

“Get a room.” My face goes even pinker and yelena chuckles.

“So when will he be arrested?”

“The police are headed over now.” I shuffle on my chair, the words feel stuck in my throat. Its a stupid suggestion but i wanna see him at his worst.

“Can we go watch him get arrested?” They both smile proudly.

“Now that is the attitude we like, get peter if you want and meet us in the garage in 2.” I quickly leave headig to pietros room. I knock on the door and wait impatiently as i hear panicked talking the other side of the door. I shout through the door, humour in my tone. “Its just me, yn, get your clothes on and answer.” Pietro answers the door with just jogging bottoms on.

“Can i help?” I smile at him and push him back with one finger because he is sweaty. I stand outside the closet and fold my arms.
“Pete i know your in there, do you want to come watch dad get arrested or no?” I hear crashing the other side of the door and it slowly opens. Hes in his boxers and i shake my head. “Couldnt find some trousers?”

“Ill pass. But good luck.” I sigh and leave, quickly walking to the garage. I get into the car quietly and nat looks at me in the mirror. “No peter?”

“He was preoccupied. In pietros room. In his boxers. And yes, i did knock.” Nat smirks and we head quietly to my apartment. We are leant against the car when they escort him out, heavily resisting. When he sees me, he goes mad shouting.

“ILL KILL YOU FOR THIS YOU BITCH! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR MOTHER?” He elbows an officer and runs towards me but yelena hits him in the leg with a baton and he falls to the ground. I feel the panic in my chest and my hands shake slightly. The police pull him up and escort him away. He was so close. He could have killed me. Yelena comes over and holds my arms “You okay?” My hands shake as i hold onto her forearms. She notices. Ofcourse she does. She pulls me into a hug and tears fall down my face. After telling them everything and him nearly getting to me again, the panic was too much. I start to sob and my whole body shakes in fear. My legs give out and i sit on the ground, her arms around me. “Its okay, he cant get you anymore.” We sit like that for 10 minutes. Its only when my hip starts to lock do we move.

“Ahh” she pulls away checking me over and i quickly stand up, pain throbbing in my hip. “Sorry just my hip locking.” I help her up and wipe my tears. “Im sorry, i didnt mean to-“

“Show emotion? Be human? Its okay to cry.” I chuckle and move further away. “Theres a coffee shop nearby i think i might need to rehydrate.” They laugh and yelena puts her arm around my shoulders as we walk. When we get there an older lady waves to me and i offer a warm smile as we head to the counter. “Hey margaret, hows the dogs?” She smiles so much her eyes crinkle in the corners.

“Bernies had a puppy, turns out bernie is bernadette.” I chuckle and she nods towards yelena whos too busy looking at the menu board to notice. “Anything new you want to tell me about?” I smirk but give a pointed look.

“Marge, this is my friend yelena.” Yelena looks up from the board hearing her name. She waves awkwardly, her arm still around my shoulders.

“Uh huh, thats sweet, is there anything i can get for you guys?” A smile covers my face, stretching from ear to ear as happy tears fill my eyes.

“You remember that extra special order? Its time for that.” Her smile somehow widens and she holds my hand supportively before turning to the others. “Anything else?”

“Ill just have a black coffee please.” “Make that 2.” Margaret nods and turns to make it. I head over to a cute little booth and slide over by the window. “So whats the extra special order?” I smirk whilst i look out the window.

“Its uh coffee with something a little extra strong in it for when my dad gets arrested.” They both look at me jaws unhinged. “You arent even 21 yet, you arent meant to drink!” I have a smug look on my face as i tilt my head. “You have heard of a fake id right?”

“Doesnt mean we condone it.” I scoff as marge brings over the coffees and congratulates me.

“And what fake identity are you guys currently using?” Yelena chokes on her coffee and starts violently coughing.

“Dont worry yel, people arent looking.” Nat teases. “So whats your plan for your new found freedom?”

I take in a deep breath, ive been thinking about this day for a long time. “Im getting shitfaced. Drinking til my liver gives out. Starting right now.” I take an exagerrated chug of my coffee, finishing the whole mug. I wave margaret over and she pours again.

“Dont forget to be careful today sweetie.” I nod but continue to drink. Once i finish, i go to wave marge over but yel holds my arm down. “Yn maybe we should take you home?”

“Great idea, i need to clean.” “No, no you dont need to clean. Your house is cleaner than a surgical room.” She pays for the drinks and thanks margaret and holds my hand, leading me out of the coffee shop. We walk back to my apartment and when we enter, my blood is still on the floor. I stare at it for a moment before shrugging and routing through my cupboards. “Yn what are you doing?” I dont respond and just pull out a big bottle of vodka and start to chug it. Natasha quickly pulls it away from me as she lectures, “Yn this isnt going to help, it will just make it worse.” I move away and chuckle as i pull out a bottle of tequila, drinking it from the bottle. Yelena confiscates this one.

“Are you serious detka? We want to keep you safe we know this is a hard day-”

“Hard? No im celebrating. Do you know how long ive waited for this day? I didnt think i would actually make it this long, but here i am!” I snatch back the bottle and head to my room, collapsing on my bed as i drink.

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Yelenas pov:
Worry weighs on my chest. What does she mean by that? Why wouldnt she have made it? Me and nat share a worried glance. “She doesnt drink.”

“Sure seems that way.” She places the part drank bottle on the side. “We need to stay with her until she sobers up a little.” I feel guilt gnaw at my insides. We should be able to help her but i cant. I just have to stand here and watch her drown. I grab a cleaning product and sit down on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Im cleaning this blood up, its just a reminder of what happened.” She sits down beside me and helps to scrub it. An hour later, its finally gone. We sit back on our hands, exhausted from cleaning when we hear a smash from yns room. I run so fast i nearly trip when i stand up. I see shards everywhere on the bare concrete floor. I see old blood stains and spatters. Then i see yn on her bed rubbing her eyes. Theres no puddle on the floor so im guessing she drank it all.

“Im sorry, think i dosed off for a minute.” I let out a shaky breath. Ive never seen her room before but i didnt expect this. Her walls are bare, but theres plaster missing in various areas, im assuming from beatings of some sort. The furniture is minimal with a bed and a small wardrobe. Natasha leaves to get a broom and i go over to yn and kneel before her.

“You okay? Have you hurt yourself?” She puts her arms around my neck and smiles before slurring her words. “Youre pretty. Your eyes are too. Like emeralds. And your accent it makes me want to…” she cuts herself off by kissing me. My hands naturally find her waist and she pulls me closer, her hands find my face as she kisses down my jaw and neck and back up again, a heat building within me. The kiss grows more desperate and my hands start to move up her torso when someone clears their voice. I quickly pull back and stand up, forgetting someone else was here. Nat.

“Dont forget shes drunk. Anything she does now she wont remember when shes sober.”

“What makes you say im drunk?” Yn whispers, her eyes already half shut as she lays back down on the dull bed. Grey bedsheets, very impersonal. Nat shakes her head and moves to clean up the glass. She doesnt even bother turning back to me to speak.

“Maybe go to another room before i have to separate you both again.” I can hear yns quiet snores as i leave the room and sit on the sofa. A few minutes later nat throws away the glass and sits next to me quietly.

“She kissed me.” She gives me a sideways glance but just turns the tv on and flicks through the limited channels. “They dont have many channels, yn had to pay for everything.” That earns a solemn look.

“Everything? But shes 20? Shouldnt she be living her life?” I take the remote and turn on the dvd player instead, percy jackson still in the device.

“She also basically raised pete and single handedly kept him safe. She never had time to live.” I feel it as the words leave my mouth. The sudden shift. The realisation as to how much she is actually struggling. She hasnt had time to live. I was on to something when i said she was zoning out a lot. I noticed. That scared her off, she said she would talk to me, but she got drunk instead. I dont pay attention to the film, questions that she avoided still running wild in my head. After 30 minutes i stand up abruptly and head to her room.

“Where are you going?” She follows in my tracks, curiosity getting the better of her. When i open the door, yn stirs, quickly sitting up. When she sees who it is her shoulder dip, more relaxed and she lets out a relieved sigh.

“Lena? What are you doing?” I kneel infront of her and ignore her question.

“You said you would talk about it. Whats going on with you? You clearly arent okay.” She looks away, ashamed even when drunk out of her mind. “Yn, you can tell me, let me help.”

“I struggle sometimes. With thoughts. The only reason im still here is to protect peter. I am exhausted. I feel it everytime i wake up, everytime i move. I feel it in my bones, and i cant get rid of it. I clean my apartment to distract myself, to erase any sight or smell of him, but it doesnt help. Nothing helps.” She lets out a humourless dry chuckle and wipes away a tear with a shaky hand. “Now, not that you arent an amazing and very welcome sight, but can you please leave?” She lays back down, pulling the quilt over her as she tries to fall back asleep. Jesus. I knew but i didnt know. I just stroll back to the living room. I dont know how to help. Natasha just sighs and sits next to me on the sofa while we think.

“Maybe we could think of ways to help her. I mean a key part of life is living. If all she does is work and get beaten, shes not living. Shes surviving. No love, no excitement, just endless sadness and pain.” We sit in heavy silence for a while before continuing the film. My heart beats difderent now that i know the pain shes in. Its hard to focus on anything, nevermind a film. I just want to hug her (maybe make out a little) and show her that everything is going to turn out great.