<<Delilah>>
"Friday, scan the package."
"Scanning package," she pauses. "Contents of package seem to be three dolls and one action figure. No danger detected."
Mr. Stark brings the package over to me, but I want nothing to do with that thing. I know all too well what the contents means. I have so many questions, but at the same time, I don't want any of them answered. How did the package get here? Who delivered it? Who did it come from? How did they find me? What if Friday is wrong and there is an undetectable danger? Well, looks like I'm hyperventilating again.
Ms. Natasha takes my hand and gives it a little squeeze. I look up at her, hoping that she understands something. She looks up at Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts like she is trying to do the same thing.
Ms. Potts kneels next to me. "Honey, does the contents of the box mean something to you?"
I can only nod.
"Are you okay if we open it?" Ms. Natasha asks.
I nod again. Mr. Stark takes a pocket knife out and cuts the box. He takes out the items, and as soon as I see the first doll, I know exactly where they came from. How someone got them, I don't know. All I know is that those are the same toys that Mr. Atkins had to represent us at his house.
When I first arrived, there was only one action figure. There was only one other boy living there at the time. It was really late that night, so the doll didn't show up until a few days later. It was the first and only nice thing that Mr. Atkins ever did. He gave me a doll. He didn't let me keep the doll with me, though. It had to stay on the windowsill in the living room. A constant reminder that he was in control of us.
"Hey Delilah?" A voice says.
I snap out of my trance like state and realize that I have just been staring at the box. The voice talks again, and now I know that it's Ms. Potts.
"Delilah? Nancy is here now. Do you want to go downstairs? We can wait a little if you want."
None of my thoughts are clear. I understand what she is saying, but I can't figure out how to respond. Between everything that happened today, everything is just melding into a black hole that is starting to suck me in. I can't get away. It's just pulling me closer and closer, taunting me with fear. If they can find me here, who's to say they can't find me somewhere else? Somewhere where no one can protect me. SI is the first place where I have felt safe in nine years.
"Delilah," Mr. Stark says. "Do you want Nancy to come up here and meet us? Then she can walk you out. Would that be better?"
I nod. I like the sound of that. Something about Ms. Nancy just makes me feel better. Mr. Stark leaves to go bring her up, so it is just the girls in the room. Ms. Potts sits next to Ms. Natasha and me.
"Hey," Ms. Potts says. "You know that you'll always be welcome here, right? We will always be here for you."
Her voice is so soothing. I know that she is saying the words, but how am I supposed to know she means it? How am I supposed to know anything? All I can hope for is everything being over. I just want everything to end. I never want to see his face again. I never want to hear his voice. I just want to be able to leave and never go back.
The door opens.
"Delilah?" A voice asks. "Are you okay?"
I look over to the door. Ms. Nancy is standing there with Mr. Stark. She looks at me and walks over, kneeling in front of me.
"Hey, do you want to go home?" She asks.
I nod. I have no words right now. The best that I can do is nod. I can feel my hands shaking, and I don't know what to do. She places her hand on my shoulder.
"Delilah, are you okay? Is there someone you want to be with you?"
I don't know. There isn't really anyone that I know can help. Everyone just kinda exists. I also don't want to upset the people that are here. When this happened in the past, there wasn't anybody. Sometimes one of the girls would just sit by me and lay their head on my shoulder, but that's about it. They didn't know what was going on, which is good.
I hear the door open and close, so I look up. Mr. Stark left the room. I know that he says that he isn't upset, but why would he leave.
"He just went to go get something," Ms. Potts says. "He'll be right back."
<<Tony>>
The kid is still really shaky and stressed, even though Nancy is there. I go to get some sour candy that I know we definitely have, hoping that it can help ground her. Pep taught me that after she saw one of mine. It has worked for me and a few other Avengers, so I think we should give it a try.
I'm looking through the cabinets in the kitchen because I know that we always keep sour candy for this exact reason, but I can't seem to find any of it, which doesn't make any sense. Whenever we get low, someone either goes to get more or leaves a note saying we need more. Some of the people in this tower are really lazy and don't want to go get things themselves.
"Hey Mr. Dad," a voice says. "Looking for something?"
Knowing it's Peter, I turn around. "Hey kid. Just some sour candy. I want to see if it helps ground Delilah."
"Actually, use something salty. She doesn't like sour candy, and it doesn't work. I know that pretzels have worked before, though."
"Good to know, kid. Thanks."
He grabs his own snack and leaves while I'm grabbing pretzels. I don't need to know how he knows that pretzels work, I'm just glad he does. I head back to the room with the pretzels, hoping that the situation is a little better.
I walk in, but I only see Pepper and Natasha. I gesture to them because I doubt that Delilah calmed down enough to leave. Pepper comes over to whisper to me.
"She is sitting in the closet with Nancy. Apparently that's her safe place. I think it's working. Although that's also me hoping it's working. Uh, pretzels?"
"I was looking for sour candy, but couldn't find any. Pete came in and said that she doesn't like sour candy, but salty food has worked before."
"Well okay then. I guess I never thought of that."
"Yeah, me neither. She's very reserved, but Pete seems to know her pretty well. At first he seemed like he only knew her from one class, but then he gives weird details about her. That kid."
"I agree."
Natasha hasn't said anything since I got back, which would be normal any other time but now. Something just seems off with her. I want to say something, but I don't want Delilah to think anything of it. Obviously, nothing is her fault, but I don't want her thinking it is.
Nancy and Delilah come out of the closet. Nancy makes eye contact with Pepper, then she and Delilah walk out. I hope she doesn't feel bad about today. There is definitely something going on the she isn't telling us, but given how she reacted to the toys, I don't think it is something worth pushing.
<<Delilah>>
Ms. Nancy and I walk down the stairs to the lobby. It's definitely a lot of stairs, but anything is better that the elevator. We pass Ms. Grace, but I don't see Ms. Kayla. I give her a small wave before we leave the building. I just want to get out of here before anything else can have a chance to go wrong. Part of me is still sad that I won't be going to the internship tomorrow, but I am also relieved that I have a day to calm down before I have to think about the elevator again.
I know that it's stupid to be so worried about the elevator, but after everything that happened after the elevator, I just don't want to think about it. Mr. Stark and the Avengers must think I'm crazy after today. I still don't know why Mr. Stark wants me to stay the weekend. I'll have to talk to Ms. Nancy about staying next week when we have off school, but I also don't want to push it. She seems so nice, but I don't want it to seem like I'm taking advantage of her because she feels bad for me.
We're driving back to Ms. Nancy's house, and I just can't bring myself to say anything. I just want to get to the house and lock myself in the room I'm staying in so I can be alone. Ms. Nancy also doesn't say anything, but I can tell she wants to. I feel like everyone is walking on eggshells around me, and I just want them to stop. Ms. Nancy and all the boys at the house seem to treat me like I could have a nervous breakdown at any moment, and I keep messing up at the internship, which makes everyone there concerned. I just need to stop making everyone around me nervous.
We arrive at the house, and I just go right up the stairs and collapse on the bed. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to think through everything that happened. Everything is just spinning, and I want it to end. I just want to sink through this bed and into a place where I won't have to deal with any of this. It's all just too much. I make sure the door is closed, the. I just go to sleep, already dreading tomorrow.
A/N: I AM SO SORRY! This took so much longer than I wanted it to, and for that I apologize. I do hope that you guys liked the chapter, and I hope to update quicker than this. I will be on Thanksgiving break after tomorrow, so hopefully I can get another part out to you guys. Gracias para leer el libro, mis niños. Me encantan ustedes.