Quantum Entanglement

Chapter 67- Spinning Hallways.

I switch off the engine, pull the key out and open the car door. "Here we are." I tell Bucky, getting out of the car and shutting the door behind me, looking up at the building where I bought my first apartment.

"You were living good, let me tell you that." Bucky playfully jokes, stepping towards the building.

I lock the car doors and walk towards the entrance. "Here we go." I say into the air as Bucky walks up to my side.

"Ladies first." Bucky smirks as he opens the door and holds it open for me.

"Thanks." I respond, walking through the door and entering the lobby that I had avoided for so long.

"Which floor did you live in?" Bucky questions, entering the lobby and looking around.

"Floor five." I tell him, walking towards the building's elevator, each step feeling slightly heavier than the last, the floor subconsciously crumbling beneath me.

"You okay? You look like you're struggling." Bucky comments as he passes me and calls the elevator.

"I'm fine." I tell him half confident with what I said, I was unsure whether or not I was fine like I said I was.

"We won't be here for that long." He responds, pulling me into a side hug.

"Hopefully, you're right." I sigh, wanting the elevator doors to open so we could get this over with as fast as possible.

As if answering my prayers, the elevator doors open. "Perfect timing." Bucky grins, stepping into the elevator.

I follow him into the elevator, looking around, it had changed over the years that I had been gone, the buttons were replaced as well as the counter. "I guess the tenant requests finally got through to the landlord." I tell Bucky as he pushes in the 5th-floor button.

The elevator doors close, my body being lifted up for a second before it adjusts and I begin to get closer to where it all began. "I guess I'm just fully facing my past." I mutter under my breath, not wanting Bucky to hear but ultimately failing.

"Just think of it finally putting the past to rest." Bucky nudges my shoulder.

"It feels like I'm taking a scab off of it." I tell him, watching the number go up before it finally reaches 5.

"You're making this out like it's the worst thing you've ever done." He responds, exiting the elevator after the doors open.

I stare into the long hallway that I always trekked up and down starting my day and ending it. "I-i don't know if I have it in me to enter the room." I stutter, my eyes widening slightly as I stand frozen like a statue.

"Lara, standing there won't make you feel better." Bucky sighs, stopping a few steps outside of the elevator.

As if it was a movie, the hallway spins around me, rotating anti-clockwise as if it was undoing all the time I had spent away from here. "Lara, you have it in you to not be stuck, constantly rewinding to that moment." Bucky speaks up, breaking me out of my trance.

I blink three times, unconvinced that the hallway had suddenly stopped spinning. I wanted to move but my mind had forced me stuck in a position like I was stone, watching the world progress but constantly stuck in one position. "Lara. Come on, you're better than your past." Bucky continues talking, now walking to me and putting both hands on my shoulders, my view now obscured.

"I d-don't think my body will let me." I tell him, looking him in the eyes as my voice shakes for a second.

"Take a few deep breaths, ground yourself and remember you're doing this for Wanda." Bucky responds, letting go of my shoulders. "Take your time." He tells me.