✔𝚮𝐞𝐥𝐥𝛐 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 ➳ 𝚩𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝚩𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 11: 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝛐𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝚨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 finished, Jo rose from the table, bringing her own cutlery and plate with her back inside. Her cheeks were burning, and she was more flustered than she cared to admit. She had hoped the feeling would dull at some point, but with him right next to her, the scent of him rushing over her with the wind, catching a break was God damn impossible.

Jo wasn't tired, so she started sketching random things into a sketchbook. At first, it was flowers and little trees that turned into the river, but then she turned the page, and when she looked back down at it again, she was staring at his face.

The sketchbook and her pencils were thrown across the room, and she angrily dove beneath her sheets, forcing herself to sleep even if she wasn't tired. Morning came soon enough, and for the first time since they arrived, Jo found herself alone in the house.

In silence, she ate breakfast, going for some oatmeal and milk. What she hadn't noticed earlier in the kitchen were two separate notes on the kitchen counter.

Jo, borrowed your car for the day.
Pietro and I going to see
that movie with the girls - Tony

Jodie, Steve and I are running a few
errands and won't be back until
after dinner. The house needs
work.

There was no telling when Pietro and Tony would be back then, but as their wing woman, she hoped it wouldn't be until late at night. Jo blew a few raspberries and drummed on the counter with her fingers, trying to come up with something to do. There was always painting, but her drawings last night were a disaster she didn't want to repeat.

With her lovely friends stealing her car, she couldn't exactly go far, and if she wanted to go outside that only left the river. A bright idea came to her mind, exploring. This might be a perfect time to go explore the northern part of the river.

She jumped from her stool and went back to her room. This time she glanced into the room Bucky had overtaken. There were a few things lying around, books, notes, and the things she had seen him use for work earlier. There was a pile of clothes on the floor, but she looked away from it when she saw the wrinkled underwear. Instead, Jo hopped into her own room.

She wondered where he might have gone to. Peggy didn't say he was with them, but really, she shouldn't care about that. This was a perfect time to clear her mind that had been unbearably clouded with him since she first saw him almost a week ago.

Jo put her bikini on underneath her top and shorts, in case she got too warm, and packed herself a light lunch with a few sandwiches and two bottles of water. Having a heatstroke wasn't on her checklist for the summer. Within the hour, she was walking along the riverbank upstream towards the massive mountain. 

The forest and river were as freeing as always, that breath of freedom kissing the inside of her lungs. With each stride, her body became clearer, more resolute, as if putting the house behind her put the right distance between her body and her thoughts.

The sun was scorching on her skin, and even staying in the shade wasn't an escape from the heat. It didn't take long before she came to the waterfall. It wasn't a cliff but rather a steep hill. Jo stepped out of her shoes and tied the laces together, swinging them over her nape.

Slowly, she trotted out onto the slick rocks, getting a feel for how slippery they were, but she was a fine climber. The water rushed over her feet, slashing up her legs as she welcomed the feeling, finally something to cool herself down. She avoided a few slips, and having climbed the waterfall before, she knew where the sharp rocks were. Her feet slipped once, but her hands were able to save her.