Relapse ★ Bucky Barnes

It's Just Not Enough

It was growing darker and darker with each passing second, but Marlena didn't seem to care much; she didn't seem to care much about anything at the moment.

Miranda's funeral had ended several hours ago and it hadn't exactly settled well within Marlena. Saying goodbye to her mom was something she never would've imagined doing, at least not so soon, and the pain she felt because of it had resulted in her leaving halfway through the service.

All Marlena could remember was standing beside Bucky and Mason at the cemetery, her hazel eyes fixed on her mother's flower-covered coffin as the preacher spoke words that seemed to enter one ear and exit the other; she could remember becoming fed up with just standing there and being surrounded by so many pained people, all of whom Marlena could feel to a horrible extent; she could remember Bucky grabbing her arm as she walked away, and she could also remember yanking it free; she could remember the watchful eyes of her mother's coworkers and friends as she hurried to her car; she could remember speeding out of the cemetery at an illegal speed in search of something, something that would help take the pain away, even if just for a moment at a time.

Now Marlena sat on the ground perched up against the front tire of her Jeep. Her black dress was no longer neat and tidy as it had been hours earlier, and was instead messy, covered in the dust from the ground she sat on. She had thrown her black heels elsewhere, leaving her feet exposed and dirty. Her hair was a mess as well, but that was another thing Marlena couldn't bring herself to care about. The only thing she seemed to be even remotely interested in was the large bottle of tequila she had taken from Greyson's cupboard.

Marlena had never been a fan of drinking; she didn't exactly like the way alcohol tasted, regardless of what it was. She was desperate, however—desperate for some sort of escape from all of the pent up emotional pain she had endured, and for some reason unknown to her, her sober mind seemed to believe alcohol would do something to help her, and it did.

It was only a mere half hour after she began consuming the contents of the bottle that she began to feel the effects of it kicking in. Fifteen minutes more had left her quite drunk, yet she still had less than half a bottle left.

Though she didn't necessarily like the taste of the drink she had been drinking, nor did she like that fact that she was drunk, she loved the feeling it gave her. It numbed her senses and relaxed her immensely, which was something she needed after dealing with not only the pain of her mother's death, but everything else going on in her life.

A giggle escaped her lips as she heard quiet rustling nearby. Not only did the alcohol make her feel quite relaxed, it also made her feel a bit goofy. She wondered exactly how she would act were she to be around others rather than just sitting by herself in a lonely field.

"Whoever or whatever you are, I suggest you leave," Marlena slurred slightly. "I'm not afraid of you."

And she wasn't afraid. Her abilities made her just a bit stronger than any living being on the planet. The only thing Marlena feared was her abilities themselves.

Bucky stepped into the vicinity, his blue eyes falling on the bottle Marlena held in her hand. He had known by the sound of her voice that something was wrong, but he assumed it to be due to her emotional state, not an enormous bottle of alcohol.

"Oh my gosh," he muttered as he ran a hand over his face. He let out a deep breath and hurried over to her, kneeling down in front of her.

Marlena's eyes brightened slightly at the sight of him, though she was a bit uncomfortable given their close proximity. "Whoa there, buddy. You're a bit too close for comfort," she snickered as she extended her hand, placing it on his face in an attempt to push him away.