Chapter Eleven

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~Amelies POV~

River stared at me, her tears no longer falling over her cheeks as she gulped. "Amelie-"

"It's okay River." I tried to smile as I knelt before her, holding her hands in mine. "It's okay."

"But I killed him."

"I've killed a man before." I blurted out. Rivers shocked face met mine, and I could see a flash of worry behind her eyes. I jumped at the chance to explain myself. "I was kidnapped by HYDRA, you know, the group that always tries to kill Captain America?"

River smiled weakly at my lame attempt at a joke, and nodded.

"They, I don't know what exactly they wanted with me, and I didn't want to stay there long enough to find out. A lot of people died that day, and one of the men was at my own hand." I bit my lip, and turned back to Bucky, hoping he could start talking as I felt the overwhelming need to cry.

"I killed too." Bucky stepped forwards, rubbing my shoulder in his attempt at soothing me. I stepped back, and moved to the sink so I could excuse myself momentarily. "I was the, er... Winter Soldier."

Rivers eyes widened again, "I thought you were the White Wolf."

"I am." He smiled softly, "I was brainwashed and used for years. When my mind was manipulated my body killed. I killed. And I know it's really awful River but you need to talk about it." He carefully sat in the chair beside River, reaching out to hold her hand. She gripped his fingers, her knuckles turning white as she opened her mouth. "River, tell us what happened."

She sucked in a breath, then spoke. "We met at school. He became obsessed, and at first I pushed him away. But then he took up football, weightlifting, cross country... his exercise pushed him to the edge, and he became... crazy."

She sunk into the chair, reaching out to hold onto the mug of tea Bucky had made her. "I went on a couple of dates, and he treated me like a princess. But then he slowly became manipulative, controlling. He only let me get the job at the bar because it meant he would get more money-"

"He?" Bucky looked over to me. "Why would he get money if you were the one working?"

River shook her head, "he was in charge of all finances in the house."

"You've only just left school though," I stepped forward, "darling, why didn't you say something when you first started?"

"I didn't know if I could trust you." She squirmed under our gaze, and I sunk back onto the floor in front of the sink.

"Sorry," I whispered.

River nodded again. "He hurt me. He said that I was his and only his, but when my soul sign grew he got angry. It used to be tiny, but it grew to be this big." She circled it with her finger, the small, coin-sized blue waves staining her wrist. "I assumed that meant I was closer to meeting my actual soulmate, but he wasn't happy with that."

"He tattooed you with his mark?" Bucky filled in the quiet that settled around us.

River nodded. "With a burning knife."

I felt the bile rise in my throat, and I looked away for a moment, trying to steady my breathing. "What happened tonight?" I asked.

River gulped. "My mark changed colour. It used to be red. It changed, and I hid it for a little while but he noticed tonight. He was undressing me and-"

She shook with a shuddering sob, heaving under the weight of her pain. A minute passed as she rubbed at her face. "He hurt me a lot, and I reached out to stop him. He kept a knife hidden on his side of the bed, as a threat that he could hurt me at any time. It was a fluke that I found his hiding place, and I reached out but he'd already thrown his body weight on top of me..."

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