The Other Stark

CHAPTER THREE

The man had been a pain in the ass to drag into her apartment. Jennifer cursed him for not collapsing further in the doorway so she could have at least closed the door before helping him. She prayed that none of her neighbours had seen her drag an unconscious man into her home, she didn't think that they could take any more strangeness from her. Walter seemed surprised enough to have visitors during his dinner-time and promptly ran back into Jen's bedroom upon seeing the man.

As soon as she had dragged him fully inside she started to work on him. The first job was to stop the bleeding, which was the biggest killer from these wounds. She winced as she noticed the streak of blood that had been dragged across her wooden floor, she hoped that it would come out or else she would have to buy a large rug to cover it up. She grabbed her emergency medical kit from a cabinet, grabbed a whiskey bottle from the countertop, and placed it next to the man. She took the scissors out of the bag and started cutting away his shirt near the wound.

"Oh wow, Jesus. Right, remember your medical training Jenn." She thought aloud as blood spilled over her hands as she touched his skin.

She grabbed some medical wipes and cotton swabs from the bag and ripped open the packet with her teeth. She started to pack the wound with cotton swabs to stop the majority of the bleeding. Suddenly, she heard a spluttered cough and looked up. The man had regained some consciousness.

"Oh god, no please stay sleeping! I can't work if you're in pain and withering around!" She gasped panicking.

The man groaned shaking his head. His black hair plastered on his forehead with sweat.
She moved up so he could see her. He looked at her with panic in his eyes.

"Look, I'm really sorry I just need to...." she lifted her arm back and balled her hand into a fist.

WHACK!

Her fist landed squarely on the man's face and he was knocked out cold.

"Christ." She said holding her hand as she scrambled back down to the man's open wound. "That should keep him down for a few more minutes." She thought.

Her attention was quickly drawn back to the wound as the cotton swabs had ceased from working. She grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured some of it over the wound to sterilize it. She took a swig of it to calm her nerves and stop her hands from shaking before resting the bottle down beside her. She riffled through her medical bag and pulled out some stitching equipment which she unpacked and threaded up.

"Ok, good luck to me." She prayed silently and started to work.

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It had been approximately 23 minutes since the man had gone unconscious the second time. She had successfully managed to stitch up the wound, which she was secretly proud of, and had taken to sitting on the floor next to him taking frequent swigs of the whiskey bottle, her adrenalin still coursing through her veins

She was sat watching him not daring to fall asleep as he could wake up at any moment.
Suddenly, she noticed a glint of silver flashing between the man's sleeve and glove as the light flickered onto it. Thinking it was a knife she grabbed a scalpel from the bag for protection and crawled slowly towards his unconscious body. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she got nearer to him. She suddenly regretted not calling the police and realised how dreadfully isolated and without help she was if the man woke up and turned out to be a serial killer. She lifted the sleeve of his jacket and gasped. "No fucking way!" She thought. She had to be mistaken. It had to be a knife. Just a really big knife that was shaped like an arm...

Carefully, she grabbed the scissors and cut up the sleeve. She sat back heavily in shock as she pulled the fabric away. He really did have a metal arm. This night was just getting stranger by the minute.

☆

It had been a further 20 minutes after finding out the man had a fucking metal arm when he woke up. Jennifer was sat on her countertop watching him like a hawk and clutching a small knife as he groggily opened his eyes. She watched as he sat up and immediately laid back down again clutching his head and stomach.
Jennifer cleared her throat loudly

"I guess your wondering where you are?" She said her voice failing her and ruining her façade of confidence.

The man looked up again propping himself up on his elbows.

"No." He said simply. "I came here last night... I've been stabbed." He said the last part with less confidence his eyebrows knitted together as if trying to remember what events had led up to last night.

"You punched me?" He said finally looking into her eyes with a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah well, you wouldn't keep still. And I don't think you can complain, I stitched you up nicely."

The man lifted what was left of his shirt to reveal a white medical bandage which he immediately tried to rip off.

"No don't do that," Jenn said with more confidence than she felt. "That needs to be on for at least one week. I mean you should probably get it re-done at a hospital."

The man looked up sharply.

"No.... no hospitals." He said angrily.
Jenn jumped at his sudden outburst and clutched the knife in her hands tighter her knuckles turning white. The man's face softened when he noticed this.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." He said pushing himself off the floor and clambering onto a seat.

"If it's all the same to you I'll keep a hold of the knife seeing as though a random man collapsed at my doorway last night half dead and did I mention with a FUCKING METAL ARM!" She shouted the last bit hopping off the countertop but still maintaining a large distance between her and the man.

The man stood up and took a step towards her.

"No stay back, I warn you I'm not afraid to use this" she stated holding the knife high in front of her waving it with every word.

The man kept stalking towards her with slow confidence. He was almost upon her now. Jennifer stared up at him realising the height and size difference between them and how easy it would be for him to overpower her. She started to panic, she had let a stranger into her home not knowing anything about him. God, he could be a psycho killer for all she knew!

The knife was just inches away from his chest now. Her breath quickened as her eyes darted around the room looking for a way out. He stared at her with eyes she couldn't read. Jennifer waved it threateningly again hoping it would ward the man away. It didn't. She lunged towards him with the knife raised. He moved in a flash, grabbing her wrist harshly forcing her to drop the knife into his metal hand. Jennifer yelled out in pain. He yanked her towards his chest and wrapped his hand around her mouth to prevent her from making any more noise.

"Please, be quiet." He gasped quickly not wanting Jennifer's neighbours to hear her yells.

He set the knife on the countertop and slid it out of Jennifer's reach. He slowly turned her to face him, his metal arm grabbing her arms and pinning them together while his other stayed firmly on her mouth. They stayed in this position, the man allowing a moment to pass before allowing Jenn to turn her head towards him. Her body felt weak underneath his. She turned slowly to look at him. His piercing blue eyes begging her to stay quiet.

"Please, please stay quiet!" He implored, "I don't mean to frighten you...please. Just don't try to do that again."

Jennifer nodded cautiously. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth. She glanced at the knife which was glinting at her on the countertop. Sensing her instinct the man moved to stand between Jenn and the knife staring it at her with hard eyes.

"You are right to be cautious, it shows a good survival instinct," He stated, referring to her almost immediate betrayal.

Jenn carried on staring at him unsure as to what was supposed to happen next. Seeing that she didn't say anything the man started to speak.

"My name is Bucky, Bucky Barnes."

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A/N
Duh, Duh, Duhhhhh
:) happy reading
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