"Argg! Whaaa! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I yell as I'm angrily beating the punching bag with rapid fire punches. I'm all by myself in the gym at three in the morning. I couldn't sleep.
I give the punching bag one more smack, and then I fall to the ground and cry. I felt hopeless. It made me mad at myself. I was also so far beyond exhaustion that the tears came and I just let them fall.
"Is someone in here?" I hear a voice ask. I'm so spent I don't even bother to see who it is.
Steve walks into my line of vision. "Beth? What are you doing? It's the middle of the night."
"I couldn't sleep. So I came down here and punched a bag for an hour. Then I felt even lamer because I can hardly move one while you punch yours off the hook." I raspily reply, my voice gone after all the yelling and crying.
"You aren't lame. You are just normal. Besides, I hate having to constantly replace the bag anyway. Are you alright?" He asks as he sits down next to me.
I sit up and look at him. "Captain Rogers, if you see a girl crying on the floor, a good question isn't 'Are you alright?' Do I look alright to you?" I say with a small smile on my face.
He chuckles. "Okay then. Why are you upset?" he tries.
"Bingo." I say. "I was in bed, thinking about how my dad was never around because of S.H.I.E.L.D., and then that got me thinking about how I could never talk about him a lot because of that, and how I never really had a relationship with him, and I became a big wad of self-loathing. Then I came down here." I say.
"Wow. That's heavy. I understand." Steve says. "Before the super soldier serum, I was a big wad of self-loathing. Because of my many medical problems, especially asthma, I had to stay inside for most of the time and watch other people run around outside. I would just sit there and feel sorry for myself. You can't do that Beth. You are too important around here."
"Geez, I had no idea you had to deal with that. And, thanks." I reply.
"Besides, the punching bag doesn't really make you feel better. It just bruises your knuckles. How about you go to bed. It's pretty late." he suggests.
Steve stands up and offers me his hand. I take it and he pulls me into a standing position. I walk up the stairs, and I realize that even though I can't redo my relationship with my dad, I have some pretty cool brothers, uncles, and an aunt who do just fine.