BUCKY.
for a moment, the breath in his chest is caught on the journey between inhale and exhale. there’s no movement, no flinch, no twitch when he sees the full extent of the damage. there’s nothing but the quiet, simmering rage he’s spent days at the docks and garage trying to forget. but here, with rebecca’s eyes downcast and her body curling in on itself, bucky feels the slight tremor in his fists. and when did his hands knot together? another moment passes and he remembers the steps: exhale, relax, inhale, unclench fingers, exhale, inhale.
the anger he can take care of later, knuckles finding purchase somewhere on robbie’s no-good, bulldog face. right now, however, he has a responsibility to his sister to be there for her. it’s a big, bad, broken world out there and becca’s just learned that not all men are for loving. bucky has to make this right. he HAS to.
“ c’mon, becks. ”
his voice is softer now, allowing her to make her own choice. she could go to her room, work through this on her own, or she could let bucky clean up her face and wrap his arms around her slender frame. there’s still pancake batter left in the old, chipped bowl on the counter with enough for at least two more. come on, he thinks, let me take care of you. it’s what big brothers are for.
“ let’s get you cleaned up? i got pancakes on the stove. ”
rebecca stood FROZEN IN PLACE as she looked on towards her brother. she was too young to remember much of her mother, but she remembers her father talking about her a lot and how much he loved her. she had always hoped that she would find a guy to love her the way her father loved her mother. a relationship that was built on trust and love. she never expected robbie to act the way he did and she was left devastated. a soft whimper passed through her lips as she nodded her head. taking a small step forward, she inched closer and closer to her brother before she hugged him tightly.
the tears that she had been holding in finally RAN DOWN HER CHEEKS as everything sunk in. she had trust robbie. she gave him her heart and loved him with everything she had; then he went and did this to her. he was a horrible man and she never wanted to see his face again; she wanted nothing to do with him.
“ I’ll head over to the bathroom and wait for you there. ”
her voice, normally so cheerful and full of life sounded weak and dull. taking a SMALL STEP BACK, she looked down towards the ground and with her arms wrapped around herself tightly, she made her way down the hall towards the small bathroom. opening one of the small cabinet doors, she pulled out the first aid kit they had along with a small bottle of pain killers.
filling up a small glass of water, she put one pill in her mouth and swallowed it down with the water. her face was sore but she knew it would get worse by morning. moving over, she sat down on the toilet seat, her eyes focused on the wall in front of her as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.