Ghosts From The Past

Chapter 2

Upon hearing the noise of the apartment door opening, your husband, Baron Helmut Zemo, turned his head to see who caused that noise. His initial thought was that it was the boy he had hired years ago to keep the safehouse filled with provisions, but he was very wrong. When he turned his head, his eyes met yours. 

While his eyebrows had initially been furrowed (as it wasn't a day when there should be a delivery), as soon as he saw you, his face softened into an expression you last saw the day that Carl had been born. 

"Mein schatz?" (My Darling?) He said, his voice cracking and eyebrows lightly furrowing. You noticed that his eyes started watering as soon as he saw you. 

You nodded your head weakly before you attempted to step forward. However, before you could do so, your knees buckled, and you found yourself teetering forward.  Seeing this, your husband ran forward and caught you before you could hurt yourself. You both fell to the ground, and you were suddenly enveloped in his arms. 

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The last time he had held you in his arms had been 7 years prior before your small family had been torn apart. Helmut had insisted that you and Carl leave the city as the situation became more dangerous. You tried to reason with him and tell him that you didn't want to be split apart, but he wouldn't listen to you. He instead instructed his father to drive you and Carl out of the city. However, on your way out of Sokovia, falling rubble crashed into the front half of the car. You and Carl, who had been riding in the backseat, were safe, but, unfortunately, Helmut's father perished at that time. You and Carl were trapped in the car until you were rescued hours later by an emergency responder. The two of you stayed in a kind family's home for two weeks, waiting for news of Helmut. Every day, there were reports of those who had been found alive or dead. Every day you listened as the names were read aloud in the center of the small village where many of those who had survived fled to, and every day you feared that you would hear your husband's name under the list of those found dead. 

After two weeks, it was decided that everyone who may have still been alive in the rubble was most likely dead. The searches were called off, and you still had no idea if your husband was dead or alive. You didn't want to continue inconveniencing the family that you had found shelter with, so you decided to travel to your family's second home in Latvia (where you knew you would be safe). You had always assumed that Helmut had been killed, never allowing yourself to possibly consider that he may still be alive. For those 7 years, you had bottled up all of the emotions that you had felt, never wanting to let them out in fear of never being the same again.

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But now, with his arms clinging to your body, you couldn't stop the flood of emotions. You reached up towards your husband's coat, balled your fists in the lapels of his coat, and buried your face in the fabric, sobs racking your body. Helmut tightened his hold on you. 

"Shhhhhh.....Meine gelibte....Ich bin hier.....Ich habe dich...." (My beloved, I'm here. I've got you). As your sobs subsided, you slowly raised your head and turned your eyes to meet his. You noticed that his warm, brown eyes were leaking small tears, so you reached up towards his face to wipe them away with your thumb. After you had done so, he took your hand in his and placed light kisses on your palm. 

The two of you had been on the ground for several moments before you heard someone clear their throat behind you. You jumped and quickly turned around to see two men behind you. One was an African American man (who was sitting on a couch), the other, a Caucasian man, was standing by the kitchen counters.