Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 40

TW: depressing thoughts at the end of this chapter.

Armed with a cup of coffee, Ava finally sat down in front of her research wall. After her evening at Jim's two days ago had ended so horribly and she had spent the past day in bed with a hangover that was killing her and shedding a few tears over James, she had gotten up this morning with renewed energy.

She had already wasted one of her days off this week, but today, her second day off, she would finally get something done. Staring determinedly at her research wall, Ava's eyes fell on the Instagram photo of Wanda's brother Pietro, which she had printed out after finding out that Pietro had been a key witness in a case about arms exports. Ava's heart began to pound and the realisation hit her like an ice-cold shower. The realisation that she had simply forgotten Wanda, her most important informant. In all the drama about James and in her – that she had to admit to herself – miserable pity party, she had completely forgotten to visit Wanda in prison.

Ava felt horrible. How could she be such a bad friend after Wanda had risked everything to get all that important information? In a hurry, Ava was about to storm out of the flat when she paused. Was Wanda still in custody at all? Ava thought back. It had been over two weeks since she had visited Vision and received the absolute shit news that her boyfriend was a double agent. If Vision had really gotten Wanda a good lawyer, she should have been out by now.

The ringing of her phone snapped Ava out of her thoughts. Hastily she took the call, firmly convinced that Vision could read minds and was now calling her to let her know that Wanda had indeed been released from prison. But it was April who greeted Ava joyfully on the other end of the receiver.

"So, what about next Saturday? Any plans yet?" asked April excitedly.

"Not that I know of," Ava replied, a little unsure. Was she supposed to have plans? Was there a party going on that she wasn't invited to?

"Perfect. I've already talked with the others about it and they're all in, so we're going to Jim's to celebrate your birthday!"

"Wait, what?", Ava replied in irritation. She had forgotten all about her birthday and had little interest in spending it without her best friend Nat. On the other hand, she didn't want to sit around depressed and alone in her flat eating frozen pizza either.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything and I'll throw you the best birthday party ever!", April happily rattled the words on, "Well, I've got to get going now anyways. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

And with that, the conversation ended. For a moment Ava stared at her phone, a little befuddled, then she regained her composure. She couldn't worry about her birthday now. Her full attention had to finally be on Wanda now.

Completely out of breath, Ava had reached Vision and Wanda's apartment complex. She had started running from the subway station and only stopped in front of the big, grey building. Now she was a little nervous; after all, she couldn't imagine Wanda being particularly happy about her visit. Especially not two weeks after her arrest. If, that is, she was even out of prison again. Ava shook her head to get rid of her negative thoughts and pressed the doorbell with determination. She didn't have to wait long and heard the familiar buzzer. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she climbed the stairs to Vision's front door, who greeted her with a serious look.

"Is she home?" asked Ava cautiously.

"Yes, but I am not sure if she wants to see you," Vision replied coolly. He was pissed, Ava was sure of it. First she left Wanda hanging when she was in Portland with her mother, then again when she hadn't visited her in prison.

"Who's at the door?", Ava heard Wanda's voice from the flat.

"Ava finally showed up," Vision replied without taking his eyes off Ava.

Suddenly there was a rumbling in the flat and the next moment a furious Wanda was standing in front of Ava. The air in the hallway suddenly seemed stuffy and too hot.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here!" hissed Wanda immediately. Her eyes were strangely wide and her hair was sticking out in all directions.

"I came here because I was worried about you," Ava retorted, trying to remain calm. Wanda just snorted contemptuously.

"I'm sorry you got into trouble with the police because of the research," Ava tried again, but she seemed to have hit a sore spot with that.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't get into trouble because of the research, I got in trouble because you were whoring around with a fucking corrupt cop."

Wanda had better not have said that. Ava was now seeing red too.

"For one thing, he double-crossed both of us, and for another, he's not corrupt," Ava hissed back.

"Corrupt or not, you have not been honest with me," Wanda now yelled at her.

"Jesus, are you really going to blame me for not telling you everything about myself? Because you're not going to win this argument then. When the hell were you going to tell me that your brother was a goddamn key witness in one of the most important arms export cases in New York history? Don't you think that information would have been absolutely vital to this investigation?", Ava yelled back and she felt tears gathering in her eyes out of anger and frustration.

Wanda stared at her in horror, unable to get a word out. Vision put a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her with concern. Ava fervently wished she could take back the words. She had wanted to keep things calm about Wanda's brother, but this way, Wanda would never talk to her about it.

"I think you should better leave now," Vision said, giving Ava an unmistakably disappointed look.

"Fuck," Ava muttered, wiping the tears from her face, "I'm sorry."

Then she hurried down the stairs. A restrictive feeling was spreading through her chest, as if the weight on her shoulders was becoming too much. She had lost too many people in the last few weeks and she had never felt so alone. Ava wasn't sure how to keep going. How to move forward with her research, let alone how to live a full life again. Everyone had left her. She had even lost Peter.