With a list of names written in his little brown book, Bucky Barnes is determined to make amends for all he has done. But when he can't make amends with the man that saved the world, he has no other option but to turn to his daughter - Estella Stark.
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The warm sun that beamed through her thin pearly white curtains and into her peaceful eyes caused for the soon-to-be college graduate to stir in her sleep, her eyelids fluttering open to meet with the bright light. Her eyes squinted against the bright light as a long and painful yawn fell past her lips and her arms stretched themselves out above her head. The movement of her arms had only caused for an aching pain sensation to ache down her spine and spread to every bone in her body, almost making her refuse to get out of the comfort of her bed and the thick blankets she laid beneath.
Whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to get out of bed today. Soon, Estella Stark would be graduating college with her peers, and with what was left of her family standing in the crowd staring at her with more admiration than she thought she was worthy of. The paparazzi, the group of people who so clearly failed to have even a hint of compassion, would no doubt be following her every move today as well – doing everything they could to get a picture of the orphaned daughter of the late Tony Stark. She could already see the headlines in the magazines, papers, and online articles about her graduation, and the thought alone was enough to send her craving for a day of swallowing her sorrows with a nice bottle of red wine.
The sound of a ding, the short-lived sound that had always given her anxiety, forced her to roll over lazily. Her warm hands hit the cold nightstand as she blindly searched for her phone through the several empty premixed alcoholic cans and empty shot glasses scattered messily across her nightstand. Most dropped to her tiled floor in the midst of the desperate search for her phone, until her hand landed across the familiar rubbery feeling of the baby blue phone case that held her phone. She grabbed at it tiredly before shifting in her bed, her thumb pressing against the cracked screen lit up her face. She had almost forgotten that the picture of her lock screen was still her and her dad, all she do was stare at the loving picture blankly as her heart sank further into her chest.
It has only been three weeks since her father's funeral, and his final goodbye. Stella thought, maybe hoped more so, that being in the city would help her take her mind off her father, though she was very wrong. Everywhere she went, whether it was a bar in the middle of the city or a cafe barely anyone had heard of, he somehow managed to force himself back into her life, despite being dead. Her regular coffee shop had pictures and children's artwork of Tony hung on their walls in memory of the man who sacrificed everything to keep everyone safe. So, unfortunately, she could no longer go into that store – which was a real shame, because they had the best hot chocolate in the city. However, the little coffee shop was not the only place desperate to hold onto the memory of Tony Stark. Memorials were plastered on the sides of buildings and even on billboards, it was just a never-ending cycle of reminders of what she has lost.
She thought she would get a break from the pain she felt at her parents' house but being in the city only caused her more.
With the city and their memorials, bless their hearts, caused her more pain, she found a way to take that pain away. You see, Stella was never much of a heavy drinker before she moved back to New York. She would drink only on special occasions, such as birthdays or other celebratory matters, though she never enjoyed the taste or the hungover that came after a night of drinking. However, she loved the way alcohol could make her feel, if she had enough of it. She craved the way that it relaxed her body and allowed her to forget everything that made her feel like she was drowning. She could do anything and be anyone with the confidence it gave her. Alcohol took away the barrier of her anxiety and her grief, allowing her to forget about it all just until the morning.
