Toxic

20 | Closet

"You're right, it won't bloody happen again."

She continued to crawl back until an intense heat crept up her back, and she came to a halt. She froze, stuck between a rock and a hard place- between two hazards.  The heater and Loki.

Of course, Loki only used that to his advantage. He smiled devilishly and stood over her until she was flat on her back. He placed his boot on her throat, pinning her to the ground. Her head was mere inches away from the heater and she swore she could smell her hair singeing from the sheer heat of it. She clawed at his legs, desperately trying to get away from the heater.

With a tilt of his head and a tick of his jaw, he asked in a mocking tone, "what's suddenly got you so clingy?"

He released her and she immediately crawled away from it- and him- until she was thrown back against it. Caught off guard, she screamed as her side accidentally grazed against the hot metal.

"Did I give you permission to move!?" He sneered and stomped closer.

Still on her hands and knees, she flinched as he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and shoved her face first dangerously close to the metal heater.

"No, please, no!" She cried and tried to move away, but that would only result in being pushed closer to the heater. She could only pray he wouldn't push her any closer. She was already so close she swore she'd lose some of her eyebrows and eyelashes.

"Are you ready to be obedient again?" He asked, calmly.

"Yes! Yes, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, I'll do anything!" She sobbed and she was almost certain the heater evaporated her tears.

"Anything?" He tested and squeezed her neck tighter.

"Yes, anything!" She cried, not thinking all the way through, too concerned with having her face burned off.

"Good." He decided and dropped her. She crumbled to the ground in a heap and she sobbed in relief. "The garage seems to be too much of a privilege to you... come, we're going somewhere else."

She couldn't do anything as he dragged her out. From then on, he used the closet for future punishments.

•••

It's been a few days since they landed on Midgard and Summer stayed in her room the Avengers provided for her unless told otherwise. Her whole body was achy, a side effect of being so far away from Loki.

She tried not to show it around Siv, but she was scared out of her mind. She didn't know what to do or who to trust. For the past several years, Loki had made all her decisions for her. Now what does she do? She felt so lost, so conflicted, and confused.

For the most part, she remained silent when different members from the Avengers would check on her. They came and would take Siv to get her out of the room every so often, and Summer couldn't do much to protest, no matter how badly she wanted to protect her daughter.

Today, however, Wanda came in the room and sat on the end of the bed where Summer was sitting. "Hey, how are you doing?"

Her watery eyes glanced up at her for a split second, before the glanced back down. Was she supposed to talk to her? Would Loki approve? She's on her bed, Loki always said no one else should be on her bed but him.

"Summer.... when was the last time you showered?" She asked, noticing her greasy hair. She also hadn't changed her clothes, even though they provided some for her.

"Umm...." when was the last time Loki let her shower? "I-I'm not sure." She didn't know how long it's been since she's been here.

"Do you want to shower? Or a bath?" She asked. "You can, you know."