Trust

I sat there for hours, watching New York go about its afternoon. A few hours later there was a knock on my door.

“May I come in?” a familiar voice asked.

It was the doctor, I didn’t exactly want him to come in. But I felt like no matter my answer he was coming in anyway. It's not like these people respected me, but I was used to it. “Yes.”

The door slightly creaked open. Revealing the doctor carrying a tray of food.

“Hey,” he greeted,” I saved you some food.

He set the tray down at the foot of the bed. But didn’t leave. I raised my eyebrow at him. What did he want?

“So, I know this is new and all, and will get some time to adjust. But tell me if you need anything.”

I rolled my eyes, and he turned to leave. But, at the last second I stopped him.

“A punching bag”

“You know, we have a multitude of training rooms. There’s one just down the hall, that isn’t used that much. You can always go there, it's a pretty impressive facility.”

I stared at him. He had to be joking.

“Oh, oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry. I’ll be going now. But I’ll get you a punching bag. And if you need anyone else, don’t hesitate to ask me, or FRIDAY.”

“Friday?”

“Oh, she’s the A.I who runs the building. You can ask her pretty much anything, and if it's not classified information she’ll tell you about anything you need to know. Here, hey Friday, what’s the weather.”

“Right now it's 42 degres fairnieritht. It is clear skies and the sun is currently setting and will be fully set by 8 p.m,” A female voice surrounded the room.

I nodded. He nodded goodbye, and then left. I carefully examined the food he had brought me. Making sure they weren't trying to poison me. When I deemed it safe I started to nibble on it. When I finished, I put the tray and leftover dishes on the side table and went to bed. I got a solid three hours of sleep when the nightmares started. Visions of the toture and experiments clouded my view. My screams of agony rang in my ears. All the pain I felt in those beginning years of Hydra came flooding back to me. I tossed and turned in bed, my covers long have been discarded to the floor. A sudden jolt woke me from the horrors of my past. I leaned over and turned on my bedroom lamp. A soft glow illuminating the room. I swung my feet over the bed, letting them dangle right above the wood. I twisted my ring around my finger, focusing on slowing down my breaths. Once my heart rate had slowed, I deemed it unworthy to try to fall back asleep, and instead stepped onto the hardwood. I ventured towards the closest, to find a small set of clothes waiting for me. I picked out a pair of leggings and a tank top and tossed my other clothes aside.

I stood in the middle of the room, the soft haze of the moonlight lit up my room. I placed my foot forward, and then pushed it backward. I jabbed at the air. Left. Right. Left. Planting my left foot, I swung my right foot up and kicked out the air. I repeated the process over and over again. Bullets of sweat dripped down my face and onto the floor. I painted heavy taken shots, uneven breaths. I took another jab at the air, and then prepared to plant my foot again.

“Mya, you awake in there,” a voice came from outside.

“Do you need something,” I fired back.

“Can I come in.”

I stayed quiet. But, I guess the person on the other side took that as a yes. The door clicked, and then creaked open. I turned towards the doorway, where the doctor stood carrying a tray. He came over to where I was standing by my bed and sat the tray down.

“Hey,” he greeted kindly.

“What are you doing up here?” I asked, but not in my normal rude tone.

“Just wanted to check on you?”

“Ok? But what are you doing up at whatever ungodly hour it is?”

“Couldn’t sleep, you?”

I didn’t answer for a minute. Not sure if I wanted to tell this complete stranger about my personal life. But, I found an odd sense of relaxation I hadn’t felt in a long time. And, if I could trust anyone, it would be him. For one, he wasn’t a spy, or a god righteous man trying to convert me to a “good guy.” He was just the doctor.

“Can’t sleep.”

“Well, I always find that lavender tea helps me sleep,” he said, gesturing to the tray he brought up.

I nodded to him. My feet were getting tired and I sank into the bed. I don’t know why I did. I would have never let myself show that weakness in front of anyone before. But, I did grow up in any sign of weakness and was punished. He gestured to the seat next to me, and I nodded. He handed me a cup of tea and I took it. I studied the golden liquid, looking for signs of drugs. Once again finding none, I started nurturing the drink. I stared back up to the doctor, his brown eyes meeting mine my green ones. A soft smile escaped his lips.

“So, Mya, tell me about yourself,” his soft voice filled the air.

“Hm, like you don’t already know everything about me from my file,” I scoffed.

“File? Fury didn’t give us your file.”

I stared at his, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Like these strangers would let a known assassin stay in their tower without knowing anything about me.

“I swear,” he tried to reassure me.

“Ok, whatever you say, actually I didn’t catch your name, I heard tin can call you Brucie, but that doesn’t seem right.”

He chuckled, “It’s Bruce.”

“Ok, Bruce. Well if Fury really didn’t give you my file, here’s a brief history. I was born, lived an ok childhood, sold to Hydra at the age of seven, experimented on, turned into an assassin at age eight, lived another seven years with Hydra, then captured by you guys. Now, I’m here.”

He stared at me astonished. Properly not what he meant when he asked me to tell me about myself. But then his expressions softened. It looks as if he felt bad for me. My stone cold expression remained, showing no response to sharing my horrible life story and none to him feeling sorry for me. Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unsure of what to say. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Bruce opened up a little about his family. But we mostly just sat in a semi-comfortable silence.

“Hey, what about you join us for breakfast tomorrow?” Bruce suddenly asked.

“I’d rather not spend an uncomfortable hour with people who don’t like me or trust me. And besides, the feelings mutual.”

He nodded in understanding. He set down the mug he had been sipping with a small clank. I mimicked his actions with my now empty cup. He gave me a small nod, then packed up the tray and left. I layed back down, the lavender tea slowly working its way through my body. My muscles relaxed and I was soon asleep again.