Anamnesis [Lacuna #2] {Completed}

Chapter Fourteen

"Anagapesis (n.) No longer feeling affection for someone you once loved"

~Erin~

Erin couldn't wipe the astonishment from her face. By the looks of it, her friend couldn't believe it either.

            "Erin?" Jill questioned looking at her as if she were a ghost. In some ways, Erin supposed she was. "Wh-what are you doing here? In New York? Where have you been?"

            Erin's mind went blank. She was still processing the fact that Jill Pierce was standing in front of her. In the middle of New York. Erin could scarcely believe the odds. How could she possibly explain to her friend where she had gone and what she had done? 

Erin came back to her senses and remembered that they were still out in the open and exposed. "Jill, I promise I'll tell you everything I can, but first we need your help." Erin spoke urgently. She didn't like standing in one place too long, especially when she knew they were being watched.

            Confusion flashed in Jill's eyes before they traveled over Erin's shoulder. For the first time, Jill noticed Bucky standing behind Erin. She eyed him for a moment.

            A questioning look covered her face as her eyebrows scrunched together.

            Erin glanced behind her at Bucky. His eyes were stone cold and wary. "You can trust him." She said turning back to Jill. "Please."

            Jill looked from Erin to Bucky, the expression on her face unsure. "Come on, my apartment is a few blocks over."

*****

"Europe? Wakanda? Jeez, Erin is there anywhere you haven't been?"

Erin had given Jill the barest of details of what she had been doing since seeing her friend four years ago. She told her of her European travels, ending up in Romania, and ultimately Wakanda. She didn't mention anything about the safe house or Steve Rogers and his team, but she told her what she could.

Bucky had silently agreed to follow Jill to her apartment.

"We can trust her," Erin had whispered to him as they had followed Jill through the New York streets. "And if she knows who you are she won't give you up."

"How can you be sure?" He asked skeptically.

"She was my best friend."

"Was. What is she now? You said so yourself you haven't seen her in four years-"

"You don't know her like I do." Erin could taste the bitterness in her own words, but for the moment she didn't care.

Bucky didn't say anything after that. He simply followed them without another word.

Jill's apartment truly had only been a short walk. The apartment complex was a quiet building next to the Whitney Museum of American Art almost on top of the Hudson River. Erin noticed as they walked up to the fourth floor that you could probably jump from the top of the building and land safely in the river.

Erin was now seated at Jill's kitchen counter. Her apartment was small but comfortable. The furniture was nice and it seemed to be in good condition, which (if you know anything about New York) can be hard to come by without breaking the bank.

"I know things were hard after your dad and brother." Jill continued. "Then your mom, I couldn't imagine..." She trailed off quietly looking out the window. "But you... You just disappeared."

"I know," Erin said. 

Jill gave her a small smile. "Do you want some tea?" She offered and then looked at Bucky who was looking around the living room behind Erin. It was the first time he had taken his skeptical eyes off of Jill since they had entered the building. Erin had the feeling he was making her uncomfortable. "Does your... friend want some tea?"