Save | Bucky Barnes [3]

chapter vii

CHAPTER vii.
retrouvaille (n.) the joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation

1951

TO WINNIE, IT FELT SHE WAS IN A CONSTANT LOOP IN TIME, FOREVER HEARING THE WORDS THAT SHOOK THE GIRL TO HER CORE. She couldn't stop the echoing voices that rang through her ears, nor could she stop the sinking feeling in her heart. 

Her body was trembling in distress and she couldn't control it. Tears built up in her eyes as her heart clenched in her chest. All the sounds around her faded away and became muffled and she began to feel her breathing shorten.

It took a minute for Winnie to realise what was happening but when she did, it made all of it all so much worse. She was having a panic attack.

Everything in her life felt like it was a lie, every memory, every feeling, everything. For so long, what happened was just a freak accident, it's what Winnie remembered happening. But now... it's more than a freak accident. It was murder.

Small black dots started covering her vision, making it hard to see so she squeezed her eyes shut, praying that it would all stop. The room began to spin around her making Winnie feel the need to through up.

Heavy sobs escaped her lips, hurting her throat. She didn't care how loud she was being, hell, she could hardly hear how loud she was crying. All she cared about right now was getting rid of the pain in her heart.

Winnie felt two arms wrap around her body, pulling her close. Instantly, she enveloped her arms around the person's torso, begging for some sort of comfort. Arthur held onto his daughter tight, trying to help her as best as he could but considering the undeniable distance between them was making it difficult.

As much as she hated her father, she was glad that he was there to help her. This was the first time that the two had somewhat hugged in over two decades. It's a sad fact, both of them knew that but they couldn't change the past, only the future.

Soon, Winnie calmed down with the help of her father. Her breathing was back to normal but her heart still ached. It ached for the thought of killing her own mother, something that she didn't even know she did.

She needed to know everything.

"How..?" she whispered, her voice hoarse from all the crying. "How did I... How did I kill her..?" 

Arthur sucked in a deep breath. He wasn't so sure that it was a good thing she knew what happened, that she might not be able to handle the truth. But he knew she had the right to know, that she needed to know.