Artemis: The Final Battle ➳ Steve Rogers [2]

[ T W E N T Y - F O U R ]

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S T E V E

"How about this one, Sir?" The sales assistant guides my eyes to another ring in the showcase, "It's a three-carat, classic solitaire."

A part of me wants to spoil Peggy and get her the biggest rock there is, but the other part of me is thinking about the practical aspects of things, with all the training she does, a big diamond just seemed unnecessary and probably inconvenient.

I pause for a moment, something about all of this just seemed off.

I was definitely picking out a ring for someone, but a voice inside of my head was telling me that it wasn't for Peggy.

"Sir?" The sales assistant regains my attention, "This lady must be pretty special to have you smiling like that, huh?"

"She is." I state, shaking the lingering thought away, "Everything I could ever dream of."

The words come out feeling out of place as I've spoken them thinking about Peggy.

"Do you have something a little smaller?" I questioned.

"Of course, I'll be right back." The man says with a smile.

Silence falls upon me as the man leaves the room, leaving me all alone with my own thoughts.

I reach into my pocket for my compass, only to find something entirely different. The item that I pulled out was a picture- a Polaroid, to be exact, as they call it these days.

The picture was of me and a lady, looking rather intimate. Her features were a blur in my head, although at the time, I was sure I knew who it was.

I thought long and hard, trying to remember a face but failed to do so.

I stuff the picture back into my pocket as the sales assistant returns.

"What do you think about this one?" He asks, passing me the ring.

I take one look at it and instantly knew it was the one for her.

"Perfect." I couldn't help but smile. 

*

I wake up on the couch instead of the bed and turned to see the bed that was supposed to be occupied by Camille, empty.

I get to my feet, searching around the house before I finally find her sitting by a window just beside the kitchen.

"Can't sleep?" I asked.

She looks over, startled, "Did I wake you?"

I shake my head, "I've been having a little trouble sleeping these days too. I keep waking up in the middle of the night after having these dreams."

Camille's eyes immediately shoot up to meet mine, "What kind of dreams?"

"They're...I'm not quite sure." I reply, "They're always pieces that missing or a blur and they always feel so real, makes it hard for me to distinguish if I'm really dreaming or not."