Still Breathing

Chapter 15: Foolish games

Bucky Pov present day 2022

Board of Directors weekend getaway at Barnes country estate.

I roll over and look over at the empty side of my bed. a bed I once shared with Marley. I stretch my arm out to her side, where she would've been, if he was here with me and not another man. I groan as I think about her in bed right now with him. thinking about him touching her is literally driving me insane. What the fucking hell was I thinking. My mind flash to his hand on her lower back. him touching her face at the dinning table. Kissing her. I run my hands over my face. was I wrong for trying to break them up? if she is happy then I should just let he be happy. I shake my head. everything in me tells me that's not the case. She cant be happy with him. and if she is, I need her to tell me that, after she explains to me why she left.

I sit up and decide, nothing will stop me from going through with my plan. I will talk to her and convince her she belongs with me. I just need to get her alone and make her remember what we had. The last time we were here, we said we would spend forever together. I just need to make her remember.

I stand up and go into the bathroom and hop in the shower. as I stand under the spray of water, I think about the last time we showed here together. she was so beautiful. I lean my head against the tile and think about her wet body pressed against mine and the way she used to smile up at me. when she was mine.

I go through the list of obstacles in my head. there is my father obviously. Stephen. I groan. The Maximoff's twins. They have made it very clear they don't like me. and Eve. For obvious reasons. I laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation. This would be so much easier if Steve, Sam, and Nat were here.

When I get done, I put on a white polo shirts and beige slacks and head down to breakfast. My mother had a self-serve buffet set out. food ranging from fresh fruit to oatmeal, to French toast. I grab some eggs and fruit and go sit with my mother on the veranda. She had the servants set up tables on the lawn. She is the only table set up in the shade of the veranda. She is sitting alone reading and sipping what I hope is coffee. I pick it up and sip it. thankfully, it is. I make a face, she smiles. Its cold.

I ask her, "have you eaten."

In a voice so delicate and without tearing her eyes from her book she says, "no."

I get up and put some fruit on a plate and grapefruit juice and set it in front of her. I watch her as I eat and wonder how could my father not love this woman. it boggles my mind that he could go out of his way to hurt her, like he hurts everyone. I shake my head. and I don't understand why my mother stays.

I turn in my seat and scan the area for my obstacles. I spot the Maximoff twins and their father at a table by their self. The boy and his father looks to be having a heated argument. The girl seems to be in her own world looking in any directions but the conflict in front of her.

I take in their clothes, and it looks like they are dressed to play golf with my father. If that is the case, they will be out of my way until this afternoon.

Then I see my father at a table with several men. Some standing, some sitting, just wanting to be near the money. I shake my head. I take in all the men, and I smile when I see the good doctor is with him, and he is also dressed to play golf.

I turn in my seat to look for Marley. He don't let her out of his sight. so she must be close by. I frown when I don't see her. I literally flinch when I hear Eve say, Good Morning. She rolls her eyes and smirks at me. she looks at me like I'm being ridiculous.

I mutter a "good morning." Quickly realizing that the one job my father gave me, keep Eve and my mother away from each other, I've failed. I turn back towards the guest. Oh well. I'm silently hoping something will slip out and my mother will finally leave him.