Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 4

I'M IN THE SHOWER long after the water runs cold, but I don't think I can feel the change in temperature. At this point, I still can't stop thinking about the two men in the alley. There's been no news of them still - I may or may not have Googled it - and the police scanner app I downloaded to my iPhone doesn't seem to be working correctly.

"Chloe?" I hear a voice calling to me, along with a loud banging noise on the wall. "Chloe -- come on, let me in."

Shit, it's Ari.

I turn off the water, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my body. I turn the police scanner app down and hurry through my bedroom to the front door so I can let my sister into our apartment. We had one of those deadbolts installed last year that can't be unlocked from the outside after Ari had a stalker scare with a former classmate, meaning we lock each other out of the house more often than you'd think. It's a pain in the ass, but it helps her sleep better at night. Well, that and the Ambien.

"I'm sorry, sorry," I mumble, unlocking the deadbolt and twisting the door handle open to see my sister standing there - hands on her hips - surrounded by a small crowd of her friends.

"Uh...Chloe?" Ari motions at my appearance, and I blush when I realize that I'm standing - practically naked - in front of a bunch of my sister's friends.

"Oh god," I back away from them, kicking a chair, "Dammit, oh god. I'm sorry. I'm just..."

I continue my retreat back to my bedroom, hobbling as pain shoots up my leg from smashing it against the leg of a chair. The door slams behind my back and I rest my forehead against it while trying to lower my heart rate. Now is definitely not the time for there to be a bunch of strangers in my house, and I certainly don't think it's a good idea for me to get all upset considering...whatever is happening to me.

A light tap on my bedroom door startles me, and I can hear Ari's concerned voice coming through the wood, "Hey, Chloe - you alright? I thought it was wine + dine night with Mara. What's going on?"

"N-nothing," I call out, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to project confidence. "I...um...I'm just running late. Got caught in the rain, so I told Mara I'd meet her later."

"Ok," my sister says, clearly unconvinced. "Are you gonna let me in, or do I have to stand out here like an idiot?"

"I, um.." I swear inwardly. "I'm putting my clothes on, Ari. I'll be out in a minute."

She murmurs a response that I can't hear, so I drop my towel and run to my closet. Obviously going out in public right now would be the very definition of a bad idea, but Ari's a snoop - a sweetheart, but a snoop - and I know she won't leave me alone if I feign illness. God, unless she thought I was dying of the plague, she'd probably force me out of the room to socialize with her and her friends.

Grabbing a pair of jeans, I jerk them on over my underwear and pull a long-sleeve black t-shirt over my head to cover my arms. My skin is still crawling from the man in the alley, the way he touched me, so I pull on my leather jacket as well. Anything to provide an extra layer of padding between me and the outside world. I briefly consider a pair of gloves, but I don't want to make Ari even more suspicious, so I stuff them inside my jacket pocket instead before pulling on my boots.

My purse is still soaked and covered in mud, so I grab my wallet and keys out of it before snagging my phone and running out of my bedroom. Ari and her friends are sitting in the living room, laughing about something that one of the guys just said, and my sister's eyes snap to mine when she sees my clothing choices.

"You going out like that?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. I'm not known for my sartorial prowess, given the fact that I basically live in the nursing home's required uniform of scrubs, so the amount of leather is giving me an uncharacteristic amount of edge. "It's pretty warm out, Chlo."

"Yeah, I know," I say, backing up toward the door in an effort to keep my distance. She stands, taking a step toward me, and I fumble for the door handle behind me. "I, um...everything else was dirty, and my other jacket is still soaked, so..."

I push the door open with my back and step out into the hallway. Ari is watching me as I retreat, her friends oblivious to what is going on (and probably convinced I'm on drugs, let's be serious), and my eyes land on the full basket of freshly-folded laundry sitting on the kitchen table from last night right before the door slams shut in my face.

Okay, so I never said I was a good liar.

Without a plan, I take off down the stairs and out into the street. It's kinda hard to figure out what to do when you've been mugged, nearly raped, and discover you have some kind of freak mutation all in a span of fifteen minutes, so I don't really blame myself for not having a clue what to do next. I just keep replaying what happened in the alley, and before I know it, I'm back where it happened.

This was a bad idea, I scold myself when I spot the darkness of the alley up ahead. Oh, god. This was a bad idea. Turn around. Go back home. Lock your bedroom door, and get some sleep like Mara said.

My feet ignore my head, and now I'm staring into the shadows only to discover it's empty.

The two men? Gone.