I Don't Want To Go [A Bucky Barnes Story]

Six: Uninvited

A/N: Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

***

The bar was busy, busier than usual, as Alexis ran ragged, trying to get all the orders in and made.

Thank God she didn't make food.

The end of the Summer would always be Alexis's favorite time of the year, mainly because it meant that all of the university kids would be back in school, and her bar would return to normal. As much as she appreciated the business, she enjoyed being able to hear herself think even more.

Alexis made her way back behind the bar, making a string of shots for one of the groups of girls in the corner when she caught the amused look in Denis's eye.

"You seem chipper," Alexis called out to him.

"Haven't seen you this busy in a while!" He said to her, sipping his beer. "It's good!"

"Yes, well, I could certainly do without the screaming," Alexis rolled her eyes. The group of girls was louder than any other in the building, including the billiards tables. A small smile crept onto her face as she looked back over at Denis. "It is good to see this place busy again."

"You're going to need help if it keeps up," Denis said.

"So get up off your ass and help me, then!" Alexis laughed.

"I think I can help with that," a familiar, sultry voice chirped. The voice matched the smoky-eyed woman now seated beside Denis. Her hair was sleek and dark, falling just below her shoulders. She was dressed in all black, from her button-down blouse to her slim-fit pants and tall heels.

Alexis felt a chill run up her spine, and her blood ran hot as she turned to see her old friend, Nadia, staring right back at her with a wicked smile.

"It's good to see you, Lexi," Nadia took a slow sip from her glass. Alexis knew it wasn't her that had served her and figured some poor, desperate patron must have bought it for her.

"Funny, I can't seem to say the same," Alexis rolled her eyes. "You're not welcome here."

"Don't be like that," Nadia took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag before blowing the smoke in Alexis's face. "Is that any way to treat your best friend?"

'Ha!' Alexis laughed to herself. 'Some best friend.'

"You abandoned me to join a cult and took my boyfriend with you," Alexis said sternly. "I would hardly call you a friend."

"You're still going on about that?" Nadia rolled her eyes.

Of course, she was still mad about that. Who abandons 12 years of friendship for one night of adultery?

Nadia Morozova, that's who.

"Is Dmitri here with you, or have you left him somewhere too?" Alexis asked, trying to sound casual. Though she attempted not to sound hostile, her face betrayed her. "What are you even doing here? Isn't there a small country you need to overthrow or something?"

"You're still so dramatic, Lexi," Nadia smacked her lips together. "Come outside with me; we can catch up."

"I'm working, Nadi," Alexis scoffed. "I have actual customers to get back to."

"I can wait."

Always the stubborn one, Nadia was.

Alexis rolled her eyes, catching her tongue between her teeth before she said something she would regret.