Breaking the Rules

Chapter 3

You woke up with a start, unsure where you were. The distant sound of laughter filled the room and you rolled to your side, groaning. The light filtering through the curtains was bright enough to see by, but your eyes were still blurry from sleep.

"It's barely seven!" Bucky groaned.

His head appeared just above the mattress as he sat up from the floor. He was at eye level with you and yawned widely, not bothering to cover his mouth. You buried your face into the pillow, mumbling something about morning breath.

"So this is what you look like in the morning," he said, stretching his back. "Interesting."

You shoved him hard as you kicked the covers off and jumped out of bed. He fell back into his sleeping bag, staring up at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. You made a beeline for the window; his mother and sisters were having breakfast on the patio.

"Oh, shut up!" you snapped, your eyes shooting daggers at him. "You don't look better. Are those dark circles under your eyes or are you turning into a panda?"

"Hey, I just said you looked interesting." His self-satisfied smirk made your blood boil.

"Yeah? Well, you look interesting, too." You used your fingers to make air quotation marks around the word interesting. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a shower. Now get up and make my bed."

"What? No-"

"Rules #9, little panda," you reminded him, closing the door behind you.

When you came downstairs for breakfast, there was an empty seat between Bucky and Lizzie. Mary handed you a glass of orange juice while Winnie introduced you to Rebecca.

"You can call me Becca," she replied with a warm smile. "How long have you and Bucky been together?"

You looked thoughtful for a moment before you decided that a half truth was better than a half lie. "We've been seeing each other for a year."

"Love at first sight?" she asked.

To Bucky's surprise and shock, you burst out laughing. He jabbed you in the ribs with his elbow, making you cry out. You recovered quickly and answered Becca's question.

"Not really," you sighed, preparing yourself mentally for what you were about to say. "But now, I love him so much, it physically hurts."

You glanced at Bucky who was chewing with his mouth open, gleefully and on purpose. You drank your orange juice with a loud slurping noise that made him grit his teeth.

While the others talked about their plans for the day, Becca observed you and Bucky. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something strange going on between you and Bucky. Months ago, he had checked that he was coming with a guest, but last night, during dinner, you told them that it was a last minute thing.

She pondered the thought while they all cleared the table and washed the dishes. It pained her to see him like that; sad, distant and angry. He had been so emotionally damaged that he was now reduced to a shell of a man.

Bucky left the kitchen to return to his bedroom and found you already there, stuffing your phone into your purse. He crossed the room and flopped down on the bed, a content sigh leaving his lips.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yes, your sisters are taking me to the mall. I would have mentioned it last night, but you were too busy throwing tantrums. Mary's excited, though. She wants to move to New York and run a fashion business."