Two Sugars

Chapter Two

Your eyes painstakingly peeled open. The light hanging above you was dim, but the glow it gave out was enough to sting, forcing you back into a pained squint. Your mind was a complete blank and everything was quiet around you as your vision slowly adjusted.

Unfortunately, you were only granted a few seconds of peaceful consciousness before the agony started. It started in your ribs, then slowly seared down your limbs like fire travelling along a trail of gunpowder, trying to find the point of ignition. You panicked as the sensation grew and began frantically scanning your surroundings to find any point of familiarity, but it was no use. You had no idea where the hell you were. The ceiling above you was faintly stained with patches of damp, some of which had leaked down and formed brown streaks on the peeling wallpaper. There was a small window to your right, the drawn net curtains letting in the faint, yellow light of early evening. To your left, a wide-open door. From your lying position all you could make out was the edge of an old-fashioned looking refrigerator. What was this place?

You tried to move, but anything more than a slight twitch of the fingers sent a pain through you so sharp that it took all the breath from your lungs. It felt like you were lying there, struggling and panicking, for hours before help came.

A figure eventually appeared in the door, rapidly shooting to your side once it realised you were conscious. You blinked rapidly, clearing the tears that had been swelling in your eyes, to see Bucky drop to his knees beside the bed.

'What the fuck is going on?' Your voice was almost imperceptibly quiet, the heady mixture of pain and panic suppressing it to a breathy whisper.

'Just breathe, slowly, try to remember.'

'Where are we?'

'Outside the city, somewhere safe.'

'Safe?'

With that word came a crashing torrent of memories. You remembered the thudding, the creature, the fear. You remembered the approach of death with crushing certainty. Tightly gripping the bed sheets, you searched Bucky's eyes, pleading with him to reassure you.

'Am I dead?'

He let a husky chuckle slip through his lips. That brief, gentle display of calm was enough to dampen your panic, if just for a second.

'No, you're alive. I managed to get you out of there,' he glanced down to your stomach, 'but you are hurt.'

'How bad is it?'

You sensed some reluctance in him as he hesitated, likely debating the best way to soften the blow. 'It'll take some time, but you're gonna be okay. You just need to rest.'

So many more questions were whipping through your mind. What was that thing? What did 'outside the city' mean? Why did this guy, this stranger you'd only met twice, risk his life to remove you from that situation?

That last one seemed the most important to you at the time, so that was the one you asked.

Hints of guilt appeared in his expression. 'You were still there, in harm's way, cause of me. Any other day you might'a been home safe, so least I can do is make sure you're okay.'

Pain was still ringing through your body but his soft, calm voice had managed to soothe you a little. You weren't sure what to say. It was true, you'd have been halfway home on the subway by that time on a normal day, but you could hardly blame him for that. He couldn't have known that a colossal amount of shit was about to hit the fan.

'Well,' you took deep, shaky breaths as you spoke and tried your best to match his serene energy, 'this is definitely the weirdest first date I've ever been on.'