As the weeks ticked on by the screaming became less. At first Bucky took it as a positive sign, unfortunately it was only her coping mechanism and she was in fact becoming worse. Her voice quieted down until she was practically mute. Her eyes remained vacant and unseeing, words washing over her meaningless and empty. Her hair fell in ratty strings. She wouldn't move to wash her hair but she wouldn't let anyone close enough to do it for her.
At one point she'd been strapped down with IV lines sunken into her veins. Anything to get the nutrients into her system. She'd thrashed and cried but remained silent. It broke Bucky's heart as he watched her wither away. He realised that as the weeks turned into months he'd let himself go as well. All his time was consumed by this lifeless red head, so much so that his own hair reached shoulder length and he'd ended up tying it out of the way.
She didn't flinch away from him that next visit. With his hair pulled back he no longer resembled her abuser. She could see his blue eyes and remembered her name. He took note of her gaze, feeling some small hope at the minuscule change. From then on his hair was pulled back permanently into a bun.
One night he received a call from sister Powell. New medication had been authorised to be experimented on his patient. Worry gnawed at him as he hung up the phone and slipped on a coat, scribbling his roommate a note before dashing out of the door and hailing a cab.
He arrived at the clinic in record time and was sprinting through the halls. He apologised to several night wardens as he barrelled through them whilst the sister hurried at his heels, barking orders at the onlooking staff. Information was spoken to him at rapid fire and he did his best to absorb as much as he could. He heard words like "new pharmacist," and "licensed doctor" but had trouble connecting the dots as he reached Natasha's room.
She was pinned to the bed kicking and punching. Her limbs flailed in every direction whilst several people in white coats attempted to hold her down. A syringe was being prepped on the desk and the doctor holding it had a mask covering the bottom half of his face. He spotted the two at the door and tried to smile placatingly. "Everything's all right, we're just about to administer an anaesthetic. The poor dear won't feel a thing." The nurse looked livid, her face red and splotchy as she took in the mistreatment of her patient.
Her chest swelled with anger and she seemed to grow larger as she filled her lungs with air to shout. What she was feeling though was nothing compared to what Bucky was. As Natasha's gaze met his, her eyes wide with terror, his rage exploded.
-PoV-
Natasha was drowning. That's all she could feel. Things had been getting better, the blue eyed man had been kind to her. Now though she was surrounded by unfamiliar faces and was being forced down onto the mattress. The whole situation made bile climb up her throat as more hair fell into their eyes and the scent of aftershave choked her.
A man, eerily familiar, pulled out a case and she heard the popping sounds as he released the lid. Panic engulfed her and fear hummed through every fibre of her being, sparking painfully in her mind and causing a fog to descend over her brain. Her senses were on high and she flung her fists, pummelling any flesh she came into contact with. Curses forced themselves through her ears, made worse only by the supposed calming noises they attempted to distract her with, but they still wouldn't relent.
Aftershave clogged her noise and breathing became near impossible. Shouts bounced in her jumbled head followed by sharp slaps that knocked her dizzy. Her throat closed and her vision blurred. She snapped her head back and forth, whipping her hair at their faces as she tried to do something, anything to stop the noise. Fingers snatched at her tangled locks and forced her head to lie still on the pillow. Her breathing sounded raspy and hollow, her chest rising and falling in uneven jumps. Terror clamped shut her voice box and tears blurred out her attackers.
Blue Eyed Life Line
Start from the beginning
