Good At Surviving || Bucky Barnes ||

Chapter 12

His eyes were lifeless and cold as he stared at me. He was holding my neck tightly but not enough to kill me right away. He could do that. He could kill me if he wanted to.

But he didn't. Though this time the look in his eyes was different from the last time I met him.

"You ... know ... who ... I ... am." I struggled to say while he was still holding me by my throat.

"I don't." he said angrily as his grip became stronger.

"It's... me... Mia..." I said as I struggled to breathe.

His eyes opened widely. He stopped holding my neck.

"James what's going on? What happened to you?" I asked fast before he could leave again as I coughed a few times.

"Don't you get it?! I don't know what I'm doing! Actually I do everything they tell me to do!" His voice cracked as he sat down on the ground.

I looked at him but all I could see was a broken man. Broken by years of tragedy and pain forced to do unimaginable things. At that moment I didn't see a monster everyone was talking about. He was just a broken man that I met in the dark corner of the diner.

Slowly I moved closer. I kneeled down next to him.

"I want to help you." I whispered, looking at his eyes even though he was avoiding the eye contact.

"And I can't help you if you won't let me." I continued whispering.

"Why? Why are you doing that?" he asked with a broken voice. I had a feeling that this was the biggest amount of words he said in a while.

"Doing what?" I asked as I tried to make him look at me.

"Treating me like a person." he responded finally looking into my eyes.

His response hit me hard. What kind of a hell was this man going through?

"Who's doing this to you?" I asked now that I got his attention.

"I don't know." He sadly responded and shook his head desperately.

I slowly raised my hand. It was shaking and I tried to calm down. I put it on his head and slowly ran my fingers through his, now much longer hair.

He didn't even flinch. I felt like he trusted me at least a bit.

"Do you remember when you came to the diner for the first time?" I asked slowly. I was surprised when he nodded.

I smiled slightly. "Good. That means you know who I am."

He nodded once again.

"You are Mia. You prefer tea over coffee." he said quietly. I could see on his face that he was trying to remember more things.

"Wow. That's impressive. I mean ... you remember such a small detail." I chuckled slightly.

"Coffee almost costed me a date with you." he said, as unnatural, tiny smile appeared on his face.

Automatically I almost said it wasn't a date. But of course I couldn't. I just appreciated the short amount of time that I could see him smile.

I was about to say something but suddenly I could hear voices that were coming closer. His head raised up immediately.

"You have to go!" he said quietly as he stood up.

I looked up at him. "Please don't leave again."

He looked at me as he offered me his hand to help me stand up.

I held his hand, stood up but didn't want to let go.

Voices were getting louder and clearer which meant they were getting closer.

"Mia please. Leave." he said in a rush but didn't let go off my hand.

"No I want to help you." I protested. "Come with me and we will figure it out. I can ask my brother to help, he's smart he can...-" I was rushing to say as many things as I could, that could help me make him not to leave.

"Doll you don't know who I really am." he said as he let go of my hand and wiped the one tear from my cheek. He looked me in the eyes for one more time.

Then he ran away from me. Once again.