Hawkeye's Sister

Chapter 2

***Claire***

I stare at the man in front of me. Standing there, he looks the same as he did when I last saw him, albeit grown up. He had definitely put on muscle, and grown a foot or so. I look at his eyes. The brown eyes, that were so similar to dad's, stare at me with confusion and joy. Seeing those eyes, however, is the last straw. I sob, and turn away from him into my pillow. I hear footsteps, and a hand touches my shoulder.

"What is wrong, Clairebear?" Clint's voice comes from above me, and I open my eyes to see him standing above me, with his hand on my shoulder. I jerk myself away from him, and crawl to the corner of my bed that was farthest away from him.

"What is wrong? You tell me what's wrong, Clint? Are you here to throw me out again? To tell me you never loved me? Can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you? Why did you abandon me? Do you know how much pain that has caused me? Do you know how betrayed I felt?

Our parents had died, and then my brother, my partner in crime, decides to just up and leave. I woke up in the morning, expecting a cheery 'Good Morning Clairebear'. Only to find that there was no one home. No note, no phone call, NOTHING!!!" Tears streamed down my face as I continued.

"I feared the worst for you, and I went looking for you. And not just the house, I searched the whole town. You left me unprotected. You left me alone in that house with no one to help me. And remember Matt, yes the man with the beard and missing teeth, well without you there he was able to do whatever he wanted.

Yes, whatever he wanted. I never left the house except to get food. I was always wanting to be there when you came back. You see, I still believed in you. I thought my wonderful older brother would come and save me from everything.

That was until 13, when I figured out you were never coming back. Do you know how heartbreaking that is? To figure out that your brother did not love you enough to stay with you. I constantly blamed myself for you leaving. I would spend evenings thinking of all the things I could have done so that you would have stayed.

Worthless, pathetic, home-wrecker, freak. I called myself all these names, and I believed them. I starved myself, not that it made any difference, as I could barely get any food anyway. Then, at the wonderful age of 14, I got sick. I was sleeping outside, as I couldn't find any shelter and no one would give me any. I already was sick, and getting soaked from the rain upgraded it to what I have now.

So here I was a 14 year old sick, raped, distrustful, and self harming girl, who was a danger to herself. Then Pamela found me. She took me in, loved me, helped me, gave me everything she could, even though she had next to nothing herself. I learned to trust again, even if it was only one person. I stopped self harm, and she helped me see that it was not my fault that you left.

And you know what, I learned how to forget. I learned to put the past behind me, and start new. And now you come back into my life, as a part of a group of heroes. People praise you for saving the world, and yet the irony is that you destroyed me. People praise you for protecting them and their kids, but you left me alone.

So, Clint, there is your answer to 'what's wrong'. And when you are feeling particularly heroic, you can remember all you've put me through, all I've suffered, and you will see yourself as I see you. A backstabbing, heartless, traitor of a brother." I finish my rant, staring with unbridled fury into his eyes.

Breaking eye contact, he looks away, and I follow his eyes to the red haired woman by the window. A pang hits my heart as I realize this must be who he cares for. My breath comes in short waves, and pain bursts through my head. I cry out in pain, falling over onto my bed. My head spins and I hear people rushing, and I fall unconscious.