Somewhere Only We Know

Joanna

"Kill her and get this over with." My stepfather says to my mother as I step into the swirling purple portal. I needed to get away, and it brought me face-to-face with her. Other than her frame, she mainly stayed the same. The same hatred glowing on her face. The same malice burning in her eyes. Same hands, still red from the pain she inflicted on her daughter.
She threw her hands forward and gripped the collar of my dress, lifting me off my feet before throwing me out the door and onto the curb in front of two young men.
"Are you alright?" One of them asked as he helped me up. I was just about to answer when my mother caught sight of them and stormed towards us. The man who spoke swiftly picked up both the smaller man beside him and me and ran.
"What are you doing? Put me down!" I cry out before he stops running. He puts me down.
"Do you want to go back there?" He asks, holding onto my shoulders. I shake my head and look down.
"Good, then you're staying with us." Steve smiles before taking my hand. "What's your name, kid?"
"Joanna." I sniffle before Bucky kneels down to my height.
"She really hurt you, huh, princess?" I nod again before he scoops me up and places me on his shoulders.
"What's your name?" I whisper.
"I'm James Barns, but you can call me Bucky," Bucky says as I nod.
"And I'm Steve." Steve smiles as I squeeze his hand.

Once we get to their place, I find a mirror and give myself a once-over. I look to be about 6 or 7 years old; I'm wearing a grey-blue dress with puff sleeves that stop just above my knees, with a dark blue collar. I have tall white socks and black Maryjane-looking shoes. My hair was the original brown blonde that I used to have when I was younger, other than the fact that it reaches down to my mid back, and it has big thick curls that cascade down my back. My eyes were the same blueish grey they had always been, and my skin had a slight tan to it. I was probably about 3'7, and I wasn't too happy with that, nor the fact that I lost not only the nice figure that I had grown into but also my boobs; I had grown quite accustomed to those. I frowned before shaking my head and walking back into the main room where Bucky and Steve were sitting and talking about the enlistment. I sat down next to them and just curled up and fell asleep listening to the radio static in the background; my ears caught someone saying the year 1942 before I quickly fell asleep.