𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓬 ❖ 𝓫. 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼

C H A P T E R (25) - P R O M I S E

After Cassie had remembered the bone-chilling words, they never left her head. The way that the person had said them still sent a shiver down her spine, and every time she closed her eyes, even to blink, she would be back there, lying on the forest floor, bleeding and alone.

She sat up from where she lay in the forest, still surrounded by darkness. She couldn't exactly tell what time it was, but guessed it was early morning. Bucky had fallen asleep next to her the night before when he refused to leave her side, just in case anything else happened. His arm lay across her stomach, still in deep sleep. Cassie didn't get a second of slumber, too overcome with fear to even try.

Finally admitting that her own body would never accept defeat, she stood up, carefully placing Bucky's arm by his side so she didn't disrupt him. She glanced around and noticed that no one else was awake, so she walked over to where that night had begun; at the tree stump.

She sat down cautiously, now overly aware of her surroundings. She gulped, and taking in a deep breath, let her eyes gaze up at the stars. She smiled, a small but genuine smile, at the familiar night sky she had known for years. Her best friend. Her far away home.

"Your eyes are always on the stars."

The voice made her flinch, her head snapping in the direction of where it had come from. Her shoulders relaxed and her racing heart slowed as her eyes set on Bucky strolling over and sitting down next to her. Their arms grazed each other, creating a pleasurable warmth in the cold morning.

"I need to tell you something. If I don't tell you now, I never will and if I never tell you then-"

"You're rambling, Cass."

"Right," she began, fiddling with her fingers in her lap, "That photo."

Bucky physically tensed at the mention of the fight they hadn't spoken about. He wasn't mad at her, no matter how hard he tried. The only thing that saddened him was her not telling the truth, he didn't care about the kiss. It was visible that she hated Ryan, there was no doubt about it. But he had never truly known why.

"We were friends when we were children, only at school. But one day, a few months after my mother passed, I was wearing the necklace. Her one." Cassie began to explain, Bucky watching her as her eyes stayed glued to the sky. "He tore it away from me, said it was his. Said something about it belonged to his father, I don't really remember. All I do recall after that is taking the necklace back and hating him. Ever since then, he's tried to screw up everything good I've ever had. Including you."

"It's a petty story, but since that day the hatred between us grew with every look at each other. He somehow got the idea that Steve had the necklace, causing him to try and take it from him, but I had it. So then he tried to take it from me, succeeding by stabbing me."

"Technically-"

"If you're going to use my own words against me, I strongly advise against it."

Bucky smirked as he tore his gaze away from her, following her eyesight up to the stars she gazed at, trying to see what she saw. It's like she saw a puzzle up there that only she could solve, a language that only she could speak. And that was one of the many things he loved about her.

"That picture was two years ago, a time when Ryan suddenly reappeared in my life and tried to get me to go out with him. I never wanted to, so I declined. It seems Ryan has a problem with the word no."

She didn't continue her story, most of Bucky's questions had been answered, all apart from one. But not even Cassie knew the answer.

"Who did this to you?" He asked, his fingers tracing over the lines still imprinted into her skin.

All she could do was offer a shrug, "If I knew, I wouldn't be sat here helplessly on a dead tree. But I don't, and here I am."

Bucky sighed as he assessed the damage that had been inflicted on her, his eyes lingering on her face. She felt his eyes on her, causing her to turn her head to meet his gaze. All she did was blink, watching him through her eyelashes as he carefully placed a hand on the side of her face.

"When I was in that hell being experimented on, all I thought of was you. I thought back to the night before I left, and for the amount of time I was on that table, ran over the millions of scenarios I wished had happened instead of the one that did."

Cassie let out a small sigh, her warm breath grazing against his hand. When he brought it away, her cheek was suddenly ice cold, sending a shiver down her spine at the sudden drop in temperature. When he brought his hand back, she noticed the dog tag in his palm.

"I found it in the forest before finding you. Some part of me thought you had taken it off..."

Cassie enclosed the dog tag in her palm before placing it back around her neck, adjusting it to face the right way before turning back to where Bucky sat.

"I promise to never take it off."

She could see the way his eyes lit up at her words, sending her slowed heartbeat racing once more.

"I'll hold you to that."