Skylar Stark's P.O.V.
"Jarvis? Do you know who my mom is?" I ask looking up at my ceiling in thought as I lay on my uncomfortable bed. Even after about a month, I hadn't gotten used to my bed. One more week and I would be on a plane to New York City and I couldn't wait. I had tried talking to Peter but he was always "busy", which was code for: I don't want to tell you. He was my best friend and we never lied to each other, I guess never was too long.
"That is information I can't not divulge. I'm sorry miss, Mr. Stark's orders." Jarvis informs me quietly in his British accent. I sit up straight in protest banging my fist on my bed. Why are there so many secrets lately?
"But Jar, you never listen to Dad." I whine. Jarvis has always helped me out, he's even lied to Tony for me. I thought the A.I. was rooting for me, guess not.
"I'm sorry miss, not this time." Jarvis says ending the "mom conversation". Why will nobody tell me?
"Is Dad and Pepper asleep?" I ask.
"They fell asleep on the couch in the living room. Is this helpful miss?" Jarvis wonders.
"Very." Is all I say as a huge smirk grows across my face. I slip on my blue slippers and walk out of my room. I tiptoe quietly down the sleek wooden stairs and see Tony and Pepper sleeping on the couch together. I walk quietly by them careful to not make a sound. Tony moves a little making me freeze halfway, but he goes back to sleep.
My feet carry me over to Tony's room soundlessly and I open the door. Maybe I could find some clues in his room? That's where people keep the thing they're trying to hide right? But also, Tony's not people, he's a secretive billionaire. I open Tony's bedside drawers and immediately wish I hadn't. He had a 36 pack of condoms and it was almost empty. Something I definitely didn't want to know. I forced myself to push the puke back down my throat. I closed his drawer quietly and decided to check his closet.
I crawled down on the floor to check the bottom shelves of his walk in closet. I pulled out my Stark phone for a flashlight and shined it around but saw nothing but a lot of dress shoes.
"Hey little spy, whatcha doing?" Tony asked with his eyebrows raised. I jumped scared out of my mind. I wish I would have told Jarvis to warn me when he was coming, to late now. Tony pulled me up by my arms and looked me in the eye waiting for a response.
"Umm... I was looking for umm a.... my a... phone?" I say in question.
"You lost the phone that's in your hand?" Tony asked full on suspicious. I look down at my phone forgetting that I was using it for a flashlight.
"Well I just found it, obviously." I say looking back at him nodding my head.
"Obviously. So what was it doing in my closet?" He asks smirking knowing he caught me.
"Shit." I whisper in frustration.
"Shit is right. So what were you really doing, kiddo?" He asks guiding me out of his closet to sit on his bed. Stupid me and not being a better spy.
"Nothing?" I ask, hoping to get away with no information whatsoever. I knew that wasn't going to happen, but might as well try.
"Sky?" Tony insist telling me it wasn't enough information. Damn it.
"Well...I...I was trying to find out who my mom is." I whisper looking down at my hands. Tony sighs heavily. I look up at him and he's rubbing his face with his hands. I can't tell if he's mad or sad or what emotion he's feeling.
"So you looked in my closet?" Tony asks looking at me and quirking an eyebrow in amusement.
"That's where I hide all my stuff." I say not even noticing my slip up. Not that I had much to hide, just a couple new designs for my suit.
"What stuff are you hiding Sky?" Tony asks raising an eyebrow amused. I can tell what he's doing though, he's trying to forget the "mom conversation". Why is everyone ignoring the "mom conversation" this is something I should be allowed to know. Why didn't they want to tell me?
"Do you know who my mom is, Dad?" I ask ignoring his question. He sighs loudly again.
"You do, don't you?" I conclude standing. He nods in response.
"Why won't you tell me?" I ask on the verge of yelling. I can't tell what's going through his head or what emotion he's feeling. He looks sad and maybe even angry, but not at me at something else.
"Sky, I just can't." He says looking down at the ground that didn't have a speck of dust. Do we even have maids? I've never seen one - okay, not the point right now.
"You can't, or you won't? I'll figure it out for myself!" I yell running back to my room with tears in my eyes that I won't let drop.
I'm going to find my mom whether he likes it or not.
***
Tony's P.O.V.
Sky can never know who her mom is, she'll be so disappointed and she's been disappointed enough in her life. I walk back over to Pepper who's laying on the couch. She seems very much awake probably because of all of Skylar's yelling.
"What happened?" Pepper asks concern lacing her voice. That was one thing I loved about Pepper, she was so caring. She cared for Sky even though Sky was rude to her most the time. And she cared for me, the idiot.
"Nothing, just a little fight." I responded. I didn't want to hurt Pepper. I wasn't sure if Pepper wanted to be Sky's mom or not.
"Didn't seem like anything little to her." Pepper responded truthfully. I laid down on the couch, setting my head on Pepper's stomach.
"It was about her mom, wasn't it?" Pepper asked looking down at me and combing her hands through my hair.
"Yeah. I just- I can't let her be disappointed. She's going to be disappointed. Why would she even want to know the woman that abandoned her?" I say more to myself than Pepper.
"Maybe she wants answers. To find out why her mother abandoned her." Pepper suggested. I sighed knowing that was probably it.
--
-Morning Time-
I wake up on the couch. Pepper's not here, probably at work. I open the fridge and grab some blueberries to snack on for breakfast even though it's already 1:00 p.m.
Shouldn't Sky be up by now? I walk upstairs and enter her dark room. She's still sleeping - but she's not moving.
"Sky, wake up." I tell her. I grab the blankets and throw them off of her but it's not her - it's pillows.
"Oh my god. Oh shit. No no no." I whisper freaking out. Did she run away? Or maybe she just went to the beach, she's been wanting to do that for awhile. But why wouldn't she just tell me? Why would she cover it up?
I dialed Skylar's number quickly assuming the worst. She didn't pick up. I can track her phone though!
"Jarvis! I need you to track Sky's phone!" I say quickly making my way downstairs. I quickly get dressed and head down to my lab.
"Anything Jarvis?" I ask grabbing my keys and getting into my black mustang.
"Sorry, sir, she has turned off tracking on her phone. She did buy a ticket for a bus going to Santa Maria last night, if that helps." Jarvis confirmed.
"Why Santa Maria? And with what money?" I asked Jarvis clueless. Wouldn't she go to NYC of all places. I would rather her go to New York, she would be safer there because she knows her way around and there's Peter, and Stark tower.
"She found out who and where her mother lives, sir. You might want to lock up your lab drawers better. As for money, you gave her an emergency credit card." Jarvis replies. I look through the window at my desk. There's a crowbar lying on the floor next to the drawer I keep important information in, and the drawers dented.
"For emergencies!" I yell trying to defend myself. I can't believe she found out who her mother is! I've gotta try and get there first.
I should have locked the drawer that had all her birth documents, not just a keypad. That was so stupid of me. I didn't think she would know where to look though, I mean seriously she looked in my closet.
"When does the train leave?" I ask quickly. Hopefully it hasn't already left.
"It's already left 2 hours ago sir." Jarvis replies dumping my spirits in the trash.
"Of course it has. How long is the ride?" I asked. It would take me about three hours to get there in a car. One hour in one of my suits.
"Three hours sir." He replied.
"Suit it is." I say getting out of the car and into my suit.
---
Skylar's P.O.V.
What was I thinking? This is a horrible idea. I should just get off the bus on the next stop, but I need answers. I blew out a couple of breaths, trying to reassure myself that I can do this but thoughts kept overflowing my head like:
What if Tony's mad? Of course he'll be mad. He probably thinks that I'm leaving to live with my mother or something stupid.
What if he throws you out - gives you back to the orphanage? He would never do that. Right?
What if my mother is a psycho? What if she try's to kill me? Why would Tony get with a psychopath in the first place?
What if she tells me to leave and she doesn't answer a single question?
Why the hell am I going through with this? This is the stupidest thing I've ever done, and I've done a lot of stupid things.
I need to get off this bus. But I also need answers. Stupid decisions, I've always been an indecisive person. I am going to do this. I am going to do this. I can do this. Just 30 minutes till I meet my mother, the bus had luckily had a 30 minute early start which I was very glad for.
Buzz!
Buzz!
I looked down at my phone and a picture appeared on it telling me someone was calling. It was of me and Tony, we had gotten ice cream down at Sherry's cafe. We had just smashed ice cream into each others face's and were laughing our asses off. Sherry had taken the photo quick and sent it to me. I had set it as Tony's contact background. I quickly hit the decline button and the picture faded.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" A African american woman asked beside me. I looked over at her and gave her a small smile.
"I-I'm fine. Just nervous." I told her honestly, skipping out on the horrible feeling inside of me about declining my dads phone call.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" The woman asked kindly. She looked like she actually cared. Why would she care? I was just some random kid she would probably never see again.
"I'm about to meet my mother. I had never met her before and my dad doesn't want me to meet her. So I went behind his back and bought a bus ticket to go find her. And I'm gonna be in big trouble." I rambled on and looked at her to see what she might say. She looked shocked, like she definitely didn't know I was gonna say that. I looked at her expectantly, hoping she might give me advise.
"Well shit." That's all she said. Nothing less, nothing more, that was all.
"Great pep talk. So how about you?" I asked knowing I could use a distraction.
"I'm just gonna pick up a dress. Not as interesting as your story . . . wow my life is boring." She said shaking her head in amusement.
"What's the dress for?" I asked hoping to talk a little bit more.
"I just wanted a dress." She said simply. Wow that's a great story.
"Well that's . . . cool?" I said, not sure on how to keep the conversation going.
"We have now stopped at Santa Maria, Main Street. Have a great day! Thank you for choosing The Banner's Bus." The bored sounding driver spoke. I grabbed my backpack, waved goodbye to the dress lady, and jumped off the bus. Looking around I had three words for Santa Maria:
1.) Old-School
2.) Religious (If you take a left on Main Street there's a Chapel Street and if you take a right there's Church Street. Point proven.)
3.) Run-Down
I always thought Santa Maria was supposed to be colorful and full of life, maybe I was thinking of Santa Monica. Now my mother's house was on Orange Street. Yes, that is a real street. No, I'm not making it up. I just need to take a right, go four blocks down, and it should be the orange house on the corner. I quickly made my way past a mall that was completely empty, it wasn't a Sunday so you would think it would be packed, apparently not.
I made my way past a public library and spotted the house. It was a rusty orange house with broken and barred windows, along with a barred door. Bad neighborhood? The grass and weeds went as high as my knees, and the cement was chipped immensely. Okay, this was it. All I have to do is knock and say "I'm your daughter, why the hell did you abandon me?".
I stepped up to the rusty door and knocked quietly, then again this time louder. I heard feet shuffling down the hall and the sound of glass being broken. I should not be here, what am I doing?
"What do you want?" A raspy woman's voice spoke, cutting through the air sharply. I looked up at the woman who had brown ratty hair, brown eyes that were squinted and red, as if she was on drugs. The eyes weren't what made me think she might be on drugs, the scent from the house was.
"D-Do you know a Elizabeth Wilson?" I asked quietly, nervous under the woman's gaze.
"Are you with the cops?" The woman asked, looking side to side.
"No N-no. I'm her d-daughter, Skylar." I stumbled out quickly and sharply. She took a step back in shock but soon composed herself.
"I'm her. What do you need money? Cause I don't have any. Your father does, I'm sure you can find him." The woman said curtly and slammed the door. How dare she?! She can't just close the door on me. I banged my fist on the door, loud and confident.
"What?!" The woman screeched, throwing the door open. I stepped back startled by the tone of her voice.
"I'm not here for money. I'm here for answers! You abandoned me!" I yelled at the woman, who just glared in return.
"Why? Why did you do it?" I asked calmly looking at her as if she had just stabbed my heart.
"Because I didn't want kids! I didn't want you!" She seethed pointing at me as if I had done something wrong. I took a couple steps back at how hurtful her words were. She didn't want me. Nobody ever wanted me, nobody ever wanted to adopt me. I ran away from the one person that wanted me, searching for the one that would never want me.
"Bitch." I whispered under my breath as the woman before me took a gulp of brown alcohol in a liquor glass. That's when I had to get out. I ran down the street passed all of the broken down houses that begged for repair. I passed all the palm trees that asked to be hydrated. Till I was in front of the library. The library had always been an escape for me. I could grab a book and teleport into a world of fiction where everything was fake but felt so real. Sometimes when I went to the library I didn't even ready, I just sat and absorbed myself in the world of literature. It always brought a smile to my face. I tugged on the door of the library but it was locked. I tugged the door again just for good measure, but it didn't open. Can the world not allow me a little bit of happiness? I turned my back to the door and slid down holding my knees. I felt my bottom lip tremble lightly then a little bit quicker till I was crying softly. I had no way to get home, I had left any source of money at home, I was stuck.
"Skylar!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I looked up to see my dad stepping out of his iron man suit.
"Dad!" I yelled getting up to throw a ginormous hug at him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly lifting me off the ground, like I might just slip away.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was so stupid. I shouldn't have left, I should have trusted you, and I was just so stupid." I ranted into his shoulder not wanting to look at his eyes, I didn't want to see the pain they held.
"Never do that ever again. You can never do that again. Skylar, what were you thinking?" He asked, his voice raised slightly.
"I wasn't thinking. I was mad and you wouldn't tell me anything, so I did it myself. I'm sorry." I said hoping he wouldn't hate me.
"You don't just run off though Sky. You can't just do whatever you want, I have limits." Tony said bending down to look me in the eye, pointing his finger at my face so I would get the message. My heart dropped instantly.
"Your gonna send me back to the orphanage?" I asked backing up.
"What? Where did you get that from? Sky, I would never send you back. Your my daughter and your not going anywhere. I love you." Tony said raising my head so I was looking at him in the eyes.
"B-But you said you had l-limits." I stuttered through tears. He shook his head at my thought.
"I meant, I have limits on what I want you doing, meaning your grounded. No television, no leaving the house, no phone, no laptop, no nothing for a week." He said counting the things off with his fingers.
"I love you." I spoke softly hugging him again. I didn't care that he grounded me. I was just glad that he wanted me in his life, he was the only one to ever want me, besides the Parker's.
"I love you too, kid." He responded, wiping a tear from my face.
I know this is super late. I've just been really busy. I know that's a lame ass excuse but that's all I got. I hope you guys are still reading even though my scheduling for my chapters are horrible. I'm trying to plan this out more, and I need to buy Age of Ultron so I can do that for this book.
On other topics-ish, your never going to believe what I just watched, the first showing of SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING! I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I'm really proud of Tom Holland he really pulled it off.
Well as always,
PEACE OUT BITCHES!!