Chapter 21
“He said what?” Adelaide exclaimed. “That’s not true! I saw him! He was wearing that red and blue flannel he likes so much!”
“Vincent’s story is different,” Rachel said. “I went over to his house the minute Lilly called to tell me what Capt. Rogers said. Needless to say, he wasn’t unharmed when Killian went to see him a bit later.”
“You slapped him?” Addie said, shocked. Those two were even better friends than the boys!
“If you had been in my place, you would’ve done the same thing.”
“What’d he say?”
“You might wanna prepare yourself for this,” Lilly said, taking her hand gently. Adelaide squeezed gently, then nodded.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Killian put his hand on her knee.
“We’re here if you need us, Addie,” he said, and she smiled at him.
“I know. I’m okay.” Rachel took a breath and began.
“He Whom I Shall Not Speak Of said that you left for the bathroom, and while you were in there, he decided to pay the check so you two could leave and get back to the Tower on time before somebody came after you. He left his coat so you’d know he didn’t bail on you and went around the edge of the dancefloor to pay. He said that when he finished, there was no way back around the dancefloor, it was so crowded. So, he was forced to take the short cut through the dancefloor so he wouldn’t leave you waiting when you got back. He was almost there, but this drunk girl grabbed his arm and called him some other name, and he was trying to get her to let go of him, but she wouldn’t. Then, after he finally managed to get his arm free, she grabbed his head and smashed her lips to his. He struggled to get her to let go and took off towards the table. When he got back, he said that he waited for you to come out for a good ten minutes before checking the bathroom and not finding you, and that he looked for you for a good fifteen minutes after that, calling your phone and texting you the entire time with no answer. He also said that just as he was about to call the police, he got a call from your Uncle Scott to not bother looking for you, and if he ever saw him again, it’d be the last thing he saw.”
“Wait, Uncle Scott said that? Wow.” And he was usually the calm one!
“Yep. Vincent said he tried texting you a few more times after that before heading back home, and then I came over, and you know the rest.” Adelaide shook her head.
“There are way too many coincidences in that story for that to be true,” she said. “I know what I saw. There was no grabbing or anything like that.”
“Well, whether he’s telling the truth or not, he’s one limb short at the moment.”
“Killian! What did you do?”
“Nothing, Addie, I promise. It was an aftermath of the fight.”
“One of which was you getting out with only a black eye?”
“Yep. He caught himself wrong and broke his arm. Serves him right, in my opinion.” Adelaide shook her head and laughed a bit.
“The lengths you people go to to protect me astounds me.”
“I don’t see how,” Lilly said.
“You’re sweet, adorable, cute, kind, funny, understanding, and know how to stand up for yourself. You’re a great person, Addie. Anyone who’d hurt you is an idiot,” Rachel said with a grin.
“Vincent is, in fact, included in that category,” Killian clarified.
“Thanks, Ian. I’d wondered,” Adelaide teased.
“That’s it! I get no love here! I’m going to go find Thor.”
“Try the kitchen. He just got a new stash of Poptarts.” Killian left with a two-finger salute over his shoulder. “Speaking of people trying to text me, where is my phone?” Adelaide asked.
“I think someone said something about Mr. Stark getting you a new one?” Lilly said with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, come on then,” Adelaide said. “Uncle Tony hasn’t shut up about my ‘genius little friend’ since you guys left. He’ll be glad to see you.” She stood up and stretched, pulling her friends up as well.
“No, Addie,” Rachel whined. “I don’t wanna.”
“Rachel, I’m serious, he said he’d give you a job, if you’re interested. And besides, then you could spend all of your lunch breaks with me!”
“Well, that’s a perk,” she said as the three walked down the hallway.
“And I promise he pays well. If he doesn’t, I’ll throttle him.”
“You’ll throttle who now?” a voice asked, and Addie looked up to see Clint walking up to them.
“Uncle Tony if he doesn’t pay Rachel well if she takes the job we all know he wants to offer her.” Clint slung an arm around her shoulders and shook her a bit.
“You’d have to get in line, kiddo. I think Steve has a standing-order to get first swing at Tony any day of the week.”
“But he loves me, so he’ll let me go first.” Clint laughed loudly.
“You’re right; you’re right. He probably would. Where are you three lovely ladies off to?” Rachel and Lilly giggled a bit. Yep, they were still fangirls at heart; talking to Captain America on the phone wouldn’t faze them, but a compliment from Hawkeye had them giggling like school girls.
“Talk to Uncle Tony about my phone, which has mysteriously disappeared.”
“Oh yeah, I heard someone say something about that. Well, you three have fun.” He left with a wave, and Adelaide rolled her eyes at her two friends once he was gone.
“Seriously, guys? Uncle Clint is literally the most laid-back person I’ve ever met, and that set you two off?”
“What? It’s not every day you get a superhero compliment,” Lilly defended.
“Actually—”
“Aside from you, Addie. Anyone aside from you.” The three laughed as they entered Tony’s lab, and the two men inside looked up at the sound.
“And to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Sparky?” Tony asked. Adelaide waved at Bruce, who nodded before going back to whatever it was he was working on.
“I was told you might know the whereabouts of my phone?” she said.
“Oh yeah. Hey Brucie, where’d we put Little Barnes’s phone?”
“On the workbench,” the man said distractedly.
“What’s with the new nicknames, Uncle Tony?” Adelaide asked as her phone was retrieved from Tony’s workbench.
“Just trying them out for size. We updated your phone a bit more, just because it was left on the coffee table.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“And I took the liberty of texting that sorry excuse for a human being back.” Adelaide’s smile dropped.
“Oh good gravy. What’d you say to him, Uncle Tony?”
“It’s on your phone, Bit. And he already read it, so no use now.” Adelaide groaned and left the room before popping her head back in.
“Ask Rachel about that job while she’s hear. And you better pay her well!” she took off to her room again, Lilly in tow. The two skidded past her dad and Steve, who were coming out of the apartment.
“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Steve asked.
“In my hands,” Adelaide answered and she and Lilly dashed into her room and vaulted onto the bed, making the frame screech. The two men followed them back in and stood in the doorway.
“And why’s that?” Bucky asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“Uncle Tony texted him back.”
“Oh great,” Steve sighed, rolling his eyes. “Did he at least ask?”
“No. He said the phone was left on the coffee table, so he and Bruce updated it a bit and he answered the text then.” Steve rolled his eyes again. “Keep doing that, and your eyes might fall out, Uncle Steve,” Adelaide said with a grin.
“Ooh,” Bucky teased, covering up his laughs with a smile.
“Watch it, kid. I can still take you.”
“But I can still beat you.” This time, Lilly started laughing.
“Adelaide—”
“It might be best for you to quit while you’re still ahead, Stevie,” Bucky said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “You want us two old men to get out of here, kotenok?”
“I don’t really care one way or the other, Papa. And you’re not old, just vintage.” Even Steve laughed at that one, and Bucky shook his head.
“Kid, you gotta stop hanging out with Sam and Clint.” She gave him an innocent grin, and the two left. “We’re going to go get pizza! Be back in a bit!”
“Da, Papa! I’ll be here!” Once all was silent, the two girls looked down at the phone in Adelaide’s hands.
“Do you wanna wait for Rachel or Killian to get back?” Lilly asked. She shook her head.
“No. Better to get this over with now.” She unlocked the phone and cleared the voicemails, not bothering to listen to them. She went straight to the messages, looking at the ones Vincent had sent her that night while she had been breaking down.
I’m ready to go when you are.
Are you okay?
Hey, it’s been five minutes, are you alright?
Addie?
Hey, Addie, where are you?
Addie, this isn’t funny. Where’d you go?
Addie
Addie
Miss Barnes
Addie
Where are you?
Please answer me.
Adelaide, this isn’t funny. I’m getting scared.
Adelaide, please answer your phone. Tell me where you are.
ADDIE
WHERE
ARE
YOU
I swear, if you’re hurt somewhere, I’m never going to forgive myself.
Please be okay
Answer me as soon as you can, please. I’m really worried.
Addie, I just got a call from your uncle. Why is he so mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Are you safe? Please, just let me know you’re okay. That’s all I ask.
If it’s something I did, I’m so sorry. Please, just call me, okay? We’ll talk this out. Sleep well, Adelaide Barnes. Tonight was great
Then came the message from Tony.
Listen, kid, that girl is that sweetest thing that has ever walked the planet. None of us deserve her in our lives, and from the sound of things, you even less than anyone. The only time I better see or hear from you again better be to come grovel for your pathetic excuse of a life or in an obituary. I don’t want to see you around my little sunshine ever again. Are we clear? –Tony Stark
Mr. Stark, I didn’t do anything to hurt Adelaide. I swear, that is the last thing I’d ever want. I care for her a lot, more than I have anyone ever. I know no one will give me a chance to explain myself, though, so I’ll stay out of her life. Please, tell her that I’m sorry things ended how they did, and that I’m not mad at her in any way. I love her, and I know that I probably should have said it before now, but I’ve finally realized it. That’s all I want her to know. You’ll never hear from me again, any of you. I promise.
Adelaide dropped her phone from her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. She’d never heard Vincent sound so—broken. Her heart was still aching from that night, but she wanted to cry even more for her friend. He loved her! He’d hinted at it; heck, they both had, but neither one of them had ever said it. What if she had read things wrong? What if she was remembering something wrong, and this was all a big, terrible, messy misunderstanding? It was possible. After all, she’d thought that she’d seen a rabbit on skis once, but really it was just an odd shadow of a bird, and that didn’t really have anything to do with this matter, but she’d seen one thing and thought it was something else. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Maybe I should call him, let him explain himself,” she said, shocked at how shaky her voice sounded.
“No, you shouldn’t!” Lilly said, gripping her hands tightly. Adelaide noticed that her hands were shaking. “What he did was wrong, Addie! He hurt you. Worse than I’ve ever seen you hurt before.”
“But Lilly—”
“No. Move on, Addie. You’ll find another guy. The world’s full of them.”
“But—”
“No more buts. Gather yourself together and get on with your life. No man is worth you crying over.” Adelaide sighed. There were points in her life that she wondered if Lilly and her father weren’t related somehow. They both certainly had the same stubborn streak. “Now, I’ve got to go. My mom wants me home to cook a meal for a friend of hers. You take care of yourself, alright?”
“Yes, Mom,” Adelaide said as she rolled her eyes. Lilly left, only to be replaced by Rachel and Killian a few minutes later.
“Lilly go home?” Rachel asked.
“Yep. Just missed her. Did you take the job?”
“Yes, I did,” Rachel sighed, and Adelaide squealed before jumping up to hug her friend.
“That’s great, Rachel! You’ll have so much fun, I just know it!”
“Thanks, Addie. We’ve got to get going too. Have to be home by eight tonight for my brother’s birthday party.”
“Say hi to Alex for me!”
“I will.” Adelaide hugged Rachel one last time before hugging Killian.
“Thank you for defending my honor,” she whispered.
“Of course. Anytime.” The two left, and Adelaide went to sit on the couch, her phone in her hands. Bucky and Steve would be back with pizza any minute, but she couldn’t help the little feeling that was telling her she needed to call Vincent and talk things over. If that meant sneaking out again, so be it, but something was telling her that she needed to talk to Vincent and hear his side of the story, even if it hurt. The way that last message had sounded was off, even for sad Vincent. She made up her mind just as her dad and uncle came back. She was going to talk to Vincent, and she was going to do it soon.