The Dawn of Something New

CHAPTER: 7

Hello friends! First of all I would like to apologize for the delay. I had written this chapter weeks ago but I kept going back to make changes. I am still not sure how I feel about it. Let me know in the comments. 

Thank you for reading my story it means so much to me :)

She ended up picking a pizza place of all the places to go. They were sitting at a table by the window facing each other. The place smelled like garlic and bread, like any good pizza place should. He watched the waiters and waitresses clad in red aprons flitting about the crowded restaurant and turned to Brooke.

"You know, you could pick a fancy restaurant if you want." He reminded her.

"I'm good." She shrugged and he decided to drop the subject. After they placed their orders with a testy waitress, he asked "How many siblings do you have?"

"Two. A younger brother, Gavin and a younger sister, Dahlia."

"You all have beautiful names."

She smiled "Apparently, when I was little, I threw a tantrum because I wanted my name to be Cinderella." She chuckled and Bucky joined her.

"You guys were close?"

"Close? We were inseparable. Our dad died of cancer when I was 12. We didn't have any money left when he was gone. We had spent all of it for his treatment. So, while my mom was killing herself trying to give us a good life, I took care of those hellraisers." She looked a little teary eyed but Bucky could tell it wasn't from sadness. "I don't know if it's because he is getting married, but I am feeling very nostalgic."

"What's your mother like?" he asked her, hearing her talk about her family stirred something in him and he was desperate to understand it.

"She is the toughest woman I have ever known. After we lost dad, she fought like hell to give us a good future. I am only here because of her." She went through her phone and pulled out a photo before sliding it across the table to Bucky. He picked it up.

It was a picture of a living room on Christmas, with a big, beautiful tree in the corner by the fireplace. Sitting on the floor surrounded by wrapping paper were a bunch of people in matching pajamas grinning at the camera.

He recognized Brooke instantly as the one holding the camera. She looked a little different, her hair was longer and she was grinning from ear-to-ear in the photo. She reached across the table and pointed at a man of medium built with black hair and startling blue eyes. "That's Gavin." Then she pointed at the platinum blonde women who had her arms around Gavin. "That's the fiancé, Amy. They were high school sweethearts."

"Is that your mother?" he asked, his finger hovering over a woman in her late 50s. Her face was covered in wrinkles and smile lines but her dark brown eyes seemed to sparkle with youth and happiness.

She smiled "Yes. And that is my sister and her husband, Adam with their little kid, Grace." She was pointing at a woman who looked just like Brooke, except for her blue eyes. She was sitting beside a stocky red headed man and a little girl in a tutu. "This was taken last year."

Right after the blip, Bucky translated in his head.

He was looking at the photo as the waitress set their pizzas on their table, Brooke didn't say anything, choosing to start eating.

The photo captured the moment perfectly, their messy hair and wrinkled clothes. He could almost taste the hot chocolate and feel the warmth of the cup. He blinked. Where had that come from? He silently handed the phone back to her and picked up a slice of his pizza. He mulled over his thoughts and feelings, trying to make sense of it.

"My dad died when I was 17." he whispered.

Brooke looked as stunned as Bucky felt. He had no ideas where those words had come from but he was sure that they were true.

"My mom took on evening jobs and I worked for anyone who would hire me after school." He continued without pausing, afraid that if he paused, the words would stop. "I worked in a movie theatre once. You see, it wasn't just the two of us, I had a little sister. She was just 6 years old."

He frowned but the words had stopped.

Brooke swallowed her pizza, "What is her name?"

"Becky." he smiled at the mental image of a little girl in pigtails.

"Becky." She repeated softly with a tender smile on her face. "What's she like?"

"Head strong." Again, the words just flowed out like a water from a leak in a dam.

"Yeah?" She encouraged.

"This one time, she wanted this very specific doll. Everybody had it in school apparently. My mom told her she had too many dolls already. She was so mad, she decided, she would find a way to buy it herself. She sold refreshments from our front yard the whole summer." He chuckled. As he talked, the images got clearly, but the words always preceded the images. He wondered if this is a story he had cooked up in his mind to make him think he had a loving family once. But quickly dismissed the thought for it was too painful.

"Did she get the doll?" she asked taking a bite of the garlic bread.

"Yeah, but she forgot about it after a few weeks."

"Wow, I guess she doesn't like to be told what to do huh?"

"No." Bucky agreed fondly.

"How is she now?" She said taking a sip of water.

He didn't have an answer. She was probably long gone by now but he couldn't say that without delving into his past but he was also reluctant to outright lie to someone he valued so much.

"Happy." His voice cracked as he said it. He cleared his throat and forced a smile like everything is okay.

She didn't look convinced but didn't press any further.

"You should try the garlic bread." She said, changing the subject casually. Bucky felt his throat tighten. He swallowed hard and took a bite of the garlic bread.

He smiled at her calmly and went back to his pizza in silence. When in fact, a battle was raging in his head and no matter how hard he tried to focus on the present, his emotions overwhelmed him. He felt like he was watching a big wave approach, ready to knock him down and suffocate him. He knew that it will only leave behind devastation and loss. He also knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

The feeling was eerily similar to when he had to live with one arm. Defenseless and completely vulnerable.

Brooke was watching him carefully, perhaps she didn't believe his calm exterior. Bucky wondered if it was because of her own talent in reading him or he was a worst actor than he realized. Probably a bit of both. Subtlety was never his strong suit.

Amidst all that, he felt his heart grow heavy when he realized, he lied to Brooke for the first time. He kept trying to find a way to convince himself it was a white lie. If Becky was truly dead like he believed, she must be peaceful, and peaceful was pretty close to happy. But even he didn't believe that. He just hoped that one day he would be able to make up for his dishonesty.