Revenge Turned Sweet

Chapter 50: Enough is Enough

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I should be relieved, grateful, even. I should be. But all I feel is worry, worry for that child, worry for Sam and Bucky. Even worry for Wanda. I've since put together the pieces of the puzzle that was left unsolved ever since I left Westview. Agatha had instilled a bit of dark magic in me, much like what she had been using.

The thought of magic seems unreal to me. I've never had one ounce of magic inside of me, yet Agatha was able to instill some into my being. The dark magic of the darkhold was trying to corrupt me, and that's where the discoloration came from.

Now, Wanda, not having dark magic per se but somehow being corrupted by the darkness of the book of the damned. It's uncanny how our 'powers' are so alike. There are so many things that I don't know, I want answers, but I have the faintest idea on how to get them. I'm unsure if Wanda was helping me by taking that small piece of darkness or helping herself. All I know now is that it's gone.

But I should feel relief.

But all I feel is worry. Anxiety is more of the word I would choose. I pull myself off the ground, deciding not to let my thoughts spiral and drag me into the neverending drain. I pull the curtains open on my window, letting the sun come in. I close my eyes and relish the feeling for a moment. The warmth is welcome. It feels safe.

Now that it's warm outside, it feels easier to breathe. I never thought I'd be saying that, considering I favor the winter over summer. But something about the sun makes me feel like a different person. Like I'm not that little girl who was supposedly orphaned in Russia. Like I'm now an adult, an Avenger at that. My eyes snap open when I hear a few knocks at the door.

"Hey, Nadya, are you in there?"

I turn from the window and assess my frame. I brush the dust off my jeans and push my hair behind my ears to ensure I don't look like I've been in any dangerous situations. Especially ones that I can't explain. I clear my throat before answering, ensuring my voice will sound as normal as possible. "Yeah, I'm here," I answer in a small voice as I sit down on my bed.

I hear the door open just as I drop my head into my hands. Expecting to be probed for information from Bucky that he wouldn't understand no matter how much I could try and explain it. It would only lead to more questions. "Are you okay?" Bucky's voice melts into my ears, and I finally let my breath out.

"I'm fine-" I stop speaking when I see not only Bucky in my bedroom but Sam as well. I shake off the sudden shock. Bucky doesn't know what happened, and I'd like to keep it that way. I smile softly at both of them. "I'm okay."

"So, where'd you go?" Sam asks, and my eyes form into a glare fixated on him. I know he doesn't trust me. I can tell without hearing his thoughts. He probably thinks I went to a HYDRA base and gave them information.

I look down at my hands for a moment, trying to come up with something that isn't miles away from the truth. "A friend needed my help," I respond in a calm but stern voice.

"A friend?" Sam chuckles.

My brows come together as he laughs. "Is that so hard to believe?" I clasp my hands together, my irritation toward the situation only growing.

"Who needed your help?" I hear Bucky ask, but I'm too angry at Sam to even look in his direction.

Sam groans as he wipes his hands down his face. "Nadya, everything you say is hard to believe at this point!" He gestures to me, and I feel myself shrink.

"Hey, don't do that," Bucky says in a low voice, shaking his head at Sam.

"Don't do what?"

"Question her like that."