Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 4

The next morning, Ava woke up with her head buzzing. Her eyes fought against the sun shining through the window next to her bed and she pulled the covers over her head. Then the memories of last night slowly returned and all at once she was wide awake and pulled the covers back down.

Natasha's voice from the kitchen snapped Ava out of her spiraling thoughts. She seemed to be talking to someone on the phone, but Ava couldn't hear what she was saying. She was whispering into her phone, something that she normally didn't do since she usually had a very loud and present manner about herself, with little care about what other people might think about her. Ava sat up slowly and held her head.

"Hello sunshine, are you feeling as good as you look?"

Ava grabbed a pillow, pressed it against her face and screamed into it. Then she put it back behind her and looked at Natasha with a serious expression.

"I totally blew it with James."

Natasha picked up two cups from the kitchen table, sat down in bed with Ava and handed her one of the cups. The smell of fresh coffee made Ava momentarily forget that she had thrown up at James' feet last night and that he probably never ever wanted to see her again.

"You didn't," Natasha lovingly stroked her tousled hair out of her face, "I just got off the phone with him. He called me three times before I answered. He was desperate to know if you were okay. He was seriously worried."

Ava's heart leapt and hope filled her body. Maybe he didn't find her totally repulsive after all. Or maybe he was just trying to be nice. Or maybe he was just making sure that she was still alive and hadn't died of alcohol poisoning, which he later would have to answer to in court. The spark of hope was extinguished as quickly as it had been kindled. Ava had to consume the coffee in her hand before she continued to rack her brains. It was still too early and her hangover too strong.

Natasha glanced at the clock. "Crap, I have to go, sweetie. Are you going to be okay without me?"

Ava looked a little lost in thought, but then gave Natasha a smile. "Sure. Work or Steve?" she asked with a big grin.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Work. Apparently there is more to the vans and warehouses after all. My captain called this morning and he wants to discuss the matter with me. With any luck, I can work on this case. Then this thing would be a huge career move for both of us."

Ava was happy about that. Firstly, they would have a joint work project and secondly, she might get some inside information. After Natasha left, Ava took a long shower and hoped that, combined with the coffee, it would alleviate her hangover. She had some work to do, so she didn't bother blow-drying her hair. Instead, she put on her oversized Taylor Swift shirt, which looked gigantic on her slim body, and underwear and sat down in front of the still blank wall behind her kitchen table. This would become her research wall.

After two hours of work (most of which she spent concentrating on not throwing up) she looked at her finished work. She had pinned all the information that she had on the case so far on the wall. But since she really didn't have much yet, except for a few tweets reporting on the vans and the bad photo of her stranger, the wall was pretty blank and sad to look at. Ava felt stuck. Things were moving more slowly than she had hoped and she was beginning to doubt herself. Maybe Ranner had been right and the whole thing was just a waste of time. Frustrated, she went to her coffee machine, made herself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down thoughtfully at her small kitchen table. In front of her was a small piece of paper that she only now noticed. She unfolded the note and immediately recognized Natasha's handwriting:

"If you ever need help, Steve is a nice guy."

Underneath she had written Steve's number in her scribbled handwriting. Without giving it much thought, Ava called him.

"Steve Rogers, hello?"

"Hey Steve, it's Ava."

"Ava, hey! Good to hear from you," his voice sounded warm and sincere and Ava was glad that Steve and Natasha were dating.

"Nat said you might be able to help me – with my research, I mean," Ava bit her lip, hoping he was still any help to her.

"I'm probably not much help, but if you want, we can meet at the café on the corner of the park in an hour and I'll at least tell you everything I know."

"Great, see you in an hour."

Satisfied, Ava put her phone down on the table and took a moment to breathe. She was excited to meet Steve. It was the first time the two of them were going to spent time alone. She was also curious to see what he was like. Natasha had dated quite a few assholes so far, who were mainly interested in her big boobs. Steve seemed different and that made Ava happy. She finished the last of her coffee, threw on some jeans, grabbed her phone, keys and wallet and was out the door. With a tingle in her stomach, she headed for the café – hopefully Steve had some useful information for her. And Ava didn't just think about her article, but also about James.