The sky's dark blue soon faded to a light pink as the sun started to rise, giving Annabelle something to smile at as she circled the monuments of DC.
"On your left," Steve called as they passed another runner for the third time. Steve started going ahead, but Annabelle continued her pace, even though it was behind her brother's. "On your left," he said as he passed the man again.
"A-huh. On my left. Got it." Soon, the sky turned brighter, the shades of purple and pink disappearing as they continued their laps. "Don't say it! Don't you say it!" he called as Steve started to close the distance between them again.
"On your left."
"Come on!" he yelled, trying to run faster and Annabelle laughed before sharing a nod with Steve and peeling off in the other direction, slowing as she approached the large stone in front of her, flags in the ground. She scanned over the names, even though she had committed most to her memory by that point, stopping as she reached a certain one.
Bryce Adams, Finn Homer, Logan Turner, Jonathan Banks...
She let out a sigh as she focused on the name written in stone in line with the 58,000 other names listed on the memorial. "I miss you," she whispered. Closing her eyes and giving a small smile as she remembered the sound of his laughter. "Thank you for your service," she whispered as she did every time before starting to run again, meeting up with Steve.
"How'd it go?" he asked, panting slightly.
"Good. The flowers are still fresh, so I shouldn't need to get new ones until next week." He nodded, trying to hide the sadness in his smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did you meet the guy on your right yet?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
"No, but I probably do owe him an introduction."
"I mean, you did piss him off for his entire run." He chuckled, shaking his head and walking forwards as they found him on the ground, leaning against a tree in the park.
"Need a medic?" Steve asked as they walked up to him and he laughed.
"I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran, like, thirteen miles in thirty minutes."
"Guess I got a late start."
"Really?" he chuckled. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Trust me, he is," Annabelle said with a straight face before the corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards.
"You should take another lap," he told Steve.
"I agree. You should," Annabelle nodded, looking at her brother.
"Did you just take it?" he asked as Steve didn't move. "I assume you just took it."
"What unit you with?" Steve asked, pointing at the man's sweatshirt.
"58th Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA," he held his hand out and Steve took it, pulling him up before shaking it. "Sam Wilson."
"Steve Rogers."
"I kinda put that together."
"Annabelle Rogers," she shook Sam's hand and he nodded.
"Must have freaked you both out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."
Steve sighed. "It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam," Steve said, turning to walk away before Sam spoke again.
"It's your bed, right?" Sam called, making them stop.
"What's that?"
"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground, use rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed and it's like..."
"Lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor," Steve finished for him.
"I was thinking more of a cloud, actually," Annabelle spoke up and Sam chuckled.
"How long?"
"Two tours. You must miss the good old days, huh?"
"Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better. We used to boil everything."
"Instant coffee and Cheetos are pretty great."
"No polio's good," Steve continued. "Internet, so helpful."
"Once you agreed to finally learn how to use it," she looked up at him and he rolled his eyes, Sam smiling at the siblings. "I told you, pretty much anything you wanna know's out there. Plus some stuff you don't want to." She turned back to Sam. "There's been a lot of night reading through the Internet trying to catch up."
Sam thought for a second. "Marvin Gaye, 1972, Trouble Man soundtrack." Steve nodded and pulled out his notebook and pen as Sam continued. "Everything you missed jammed into one album.
"I'll put it on the list."
"Got it," Annabelle pointed to her head before they both pulled out their phones as they vibrated. "These things are pretty cool too," she said as she logged in.
"Yes, they are," Steve mumbled as he read the update. "Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run," he shook his hand. "If that's what you want to call running."
"Oh, that's how it is?"
"Oh, that's how it is."
"Okay," Sam laughed before shaking Annabelle's hand. "Nice to meet you."
"You too."
"Hey," Sam called after them as they walked to the curb, "any time you want to stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."
"I'll keep it in mind," he told him as an engine revved and a car pulled up beside them, the window rolling down.
"Hey, fellas," Natasha called. "Any of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a couple of fossils."
"That's hilarious," Steve told her as he and Annabelle got in.
"I don't know, makes us more rare," Annabelle shrugged.
"Pretty sure we already qualify for that."
"How you doing?" Sam asked as he looked at Natasha.
"Hey."
"Can't run everywhere," Steve smiled at Sam.
"No, you can't."
And the first chapter is up! This book took me so long to write for some reason. Not sure why. Probably procrastination. Hope you liked it though! I'm really excited about this one! It's gonna be good!
YOU ARE READING
For Better or For Worse - Book 3 (The Winter Soldier)
Fiksi Penggemar"I need to see what I think of the world first. It may be a new world, but in some ways it's still the same." Annabelle woke up in the twenty first century after spending almost seventy years in ice. Not only is she thrust into a new world, she also...
