Chapter 2.
My life had changed so much since that week in a cave in Afghanistan with Yinsen. I have him to thank for that. He was the one who operated on me placing an electro-magnet in the middle of my chest and hooking that up to a car battery, with several wires and tubes including one up my nose.
He really was the one who made me Iron Man. Apart from the technicallities.
But still vivid past memories remain with me. The great Howard Stark. Sure..
'DAD!" I tried my best efforts to fend him off. My gangly teenage arms pathetically held his arms away from me as my father pushed me up against the wall.
Empty gin bottles and half full ones lined our kitchen in our home in New York.
My father, Howard, held a broken one tightly in his fist as his aggressive drunk side emerged. Aiming for me with the rugged broken bottle.
Blaming me for anything, everything.
His short black hair was ruffled up on the top his head, his usually tidy straight moustache was messy too, probably from downing drinks and afterward removing the evidence. Dark purple circles betrayed my fathers ageing face, hanging under his eyes.
His tie loosened, some of the buttons on his pinstripe shirt were undone. Also one side of his braces hung down
.
Tears streaming my face. My grasp slipped and the broken bottle surged forward breaking the skin on the left side of my neck.
Crying out in pain made my monster of a father smile more, hot trickles of blood gushed out, and rolled down my neck staining the collar of my t-shirt.
Black hair flopped down onto my wet cheeks obscuring my vision as I failed to protect myself.
His leg hooked mine from behind yanking me down, making me topple onto the floor.
Sobbing openly on the floor my 17 year old body crumpled and gave up the fight.
My mother watched from the stairs. Saying and doing nothing. She also looked upset beyond belief. Make up stained her face and her rouge lipstick was smudged. The buttons on her blouse were undone to a unrespectable amount. Skirt roughly pulled up, My mothers dark hair fell lankly around her shoulders falling out of her usually tidy do - Curls. It didn't take me long to figure out what he did to her.
"Howard. Oh." She gasped under her breath.
My father came down on me hard and forcefully, digging in the empty, broken gin bottle to where ever he could cause me pain.
Next, he forced the bottle deeply, painfully into the centre of my chest. Pain erupted-
That dream.
I woke up screaming and bolting upright. My chest heaving, sweat covered my skin in a thin sheen. Some droplets tumbling down my face, neck and chest. Some landing on my arc reactor casting a faint blue glow of it, slightly distorted on the opposite wall.
JARVIS's voice slicing through the silence made me jump.
" The nightmares seem to have returned, sir."
"Certainly have." Still trembling, I defensively curled myself into a ball, head falling into my hands as I fisted my hair.
I hardly noticed Pepper entering the room because after each nightmare I try to block my surroundings as much as humanly possible.
Pepper's soft strawberry blond hair brushed my bare arm, neck and face. She didn't say anything because she knew she didn't need to. Pepper's hair smelt of vanilla and strawberry's a home comfort to me, she rested her chin on the top of my head wrapping her arms around my torso. Whispering almost silent "ssshhh's" every now and then whenever the horrible memory etched it's self back into my conscious mind.
Pepper left me for a brief minuet, with soft protests from me only to go to the other side and join me.
"Tony?" Pepper whispered to me, probably because tears were still falling down my cheeks.
"Hm?" I whispered back.
"Its the anniversary-" Pepper checked the clock on the darkened panelled windows. It displayed the time and date. Which was early hours of the morning.
"-Tomorrow isn't it?"
All I did was nod and buried my face in her hair inhaling her potent vanilla and strawberry scent trying to fall back into a dreamless sleep. That very dream was the last time I saw my parents. After that, my father dragged my mother out of the house and into the car that he would later crash, and destroy beyond repair no matter how much money we had. Even though I don't know the exact order of events of their crash, my mind had unconsciously sketched its own idea to also haunt me in my vulnerable dream state. That one also visited me frequently throughout this time of year.
Never the less, I did visit my parents graves every year since their death and lay flowers for my mother.
The next day was too hard to face, It was the day before the anniversary of my parents death and I usually spent that day in bed or isolation myself in the shop working on my hot rod. Or my suits. Today I was down in the shop.
Whilst working on my Mark 3 suit that familiar sound of Pepper approaching became louder.
"Tony. " Pepper's tone sounded stressed. Being my girlfriend, organizing my life, deputy CEO of Stark Expo and keeping my sorry ass in line. She generally had a lot to do.
"Yeah?" Maybe if I look distracted she'll leave me be..
"I've cleared you're schedule for this afternoon and all of tomorrow so we have time for the cemetery tomor-" Pepper stopped when I made eye contact with her. I don't know why she paused, probably my haggard face from lack of sleep, bloodshot eyes ect.
"You should sleep. Or at least try." Pepper pondered. I lost it then. It was like she was suggesting I hadn't tried.
"I CAN'T!" I flew off the handle. Although I never have before. Especially in front of Pepper. It was like all of these submerged emotions over this past year suddenly rose up and boiled over taking my temper beyond my control. My emotions do usually get the better of me this time of year, but I never have once directed my anger at anyone personally.
Next it was Pepper's face. She looked hurt, and I was the one who caused the emotional damage.
Instantly sorry I rushed over to her shocked and slightly pissed of face.
"Sorry." I was gasping to control my temper. Watching Pepper's face changing to get calmer, I tentatively curled my fingers around her wrist gently showing her I calmed down.
She gently pulled out of my grasp and took a step back.
"Like I said I-" She carried on.
"Pep."
"Cleared your schedu-" She carried on again.
"Pepper? Sor-"
"For this afternoon and the whole of tomorrow." Pepper didn't look at me once through her discontinued speech.
"Pepper. I'm sorry." I whispered.
"And the flowers need to be collected from the florist. Happy will be here with the car around 1pm. Make sure your ready." Pepper turned on her heel, punched in the code for the door and left. Before she vanished from sight I noticed her hand swoop up and swipe away something from her cheek.
