Chapter Fifteen: Same Script, Different Cast
Sarah’s heart pounded as she dashed through the
compound, the echoes of her footsteps matching the frantic rhythm of her
thoughts. There was no way of shaking the overwhelming surge of emotions that flooded
her being—guilt, confusion, regret, and inexplicable longing. Tears blurred her
vision as she navigated her way upstairs, her mind consumed by the whirlwind
encounter with Steve.
With each step, Sarah wrestled with the weight of
her confession, the words she had never intended to speak spilling from her
lips in a moment of vulnerability. It was as if a floodgate had been opened,
unleashing a torrent of emotions she had long suppressed.
As she reached the familiar sanctuary of her suite,
Sarah collapsed onto the couch, her chest heaving with sobs. With trembling
hands, she reached for her phone. Her finger hovered over the screen, caught
between the urge to book a one-way ticket to Anywhere But Here and the reality
that her problems would just hitch a ride in her carry-on. Yet, deep down, she
knew that running away would only prolong the inevitable.
In a moment of clarity, Sarah made a decision. She
would leave New York, if only temporarily, to gain some much-needed perspective
and distance from the chaos of her emotions.
Heart heavier than her weekend bag, Sarah began to
pack. She tossed clothes into her suitcase with reckless abandon. Each item
that went in was another attempt to bury the what-ifs and if-onlys that
threatened to suffocate her.
Without so much as a courtesy knock, Lily entered
Sarah’s bedroom, looking on with bewilderment as Sarah hastily packed her
belongings.
“Sarah, what on earth…?”
“I’m leaving. I need to get away to clear my mind.
Coming back was a mistake... S.H.I.E.L.D. was a mistake… Everything is
just so screwed up!” Sarah exclaimed. “Honestly, what was I
thinking? Why would anything be any easier this time around?”
Lily stepped closer, heaving an exasperated sigh.
“Sarah, darling, is that the prudent thing to do right now? Your career is–”
“Could you, for once, be my aunt and not
my manager? Is that really so hard?” Sarah interrupted, her voice cracking with
emotion.
“Sarah, you’re being dramatic. Take a moment to stop
and breathe… Isn’t that what you were taught at–”
“No! I am sick and tired of playing second fiddle to
the amazing Agent Carter,” Sarah retorted, her voice dripping with bitterness.
“Second fiddle? Sarah, that’s absurd.”
“Really? ‘Cause from where I’m standing, she
has everything!”
Ah, the bitter irony of life’s grand stage. Sarah
Carter, acclaimed actress whose name adorned billboards and magazine covers,
the woman of wealth and fame coveting the (seemingly) ordinary life of her
older sister.
Sarah knew full well what she’d meant the second the
words escaped her lips. Everything? Sharon, while an esteemed S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent, hardly had everything. But what she did have was Steve.
With a final zip of her suitcase, Sarah grabbed it
along with her handbag and headed toward the bedroom door, her resolve firm.
“Try restraining yourself from setting the vultures on me this time, would you?
I’ll be back when I’m back.”
“If you love something, set it free…”
Those were Sam’s words of wisdom on their flight
back to the States. But as time ticked on with nary a call or text, Bucky
started freaking out. Had he pushed Sarah too far? Given her too much space?
Just as he scrolled through his contacts, resolved
to give her a call, a text from Sam popped up on his screen:
“Dude, what the hell happened?! Is Sarah really
gone?”
It took a moment for Bucky to react. Gone…
Sarah wouldn’t leave, would she? No, not without at least contacting him.
“Hey Google, turn on the TV… Change to Entertainment
Today…”
Right there on the screen, clear as day, a live
report of Sarah Carter’s arrival at JFK airport, surrounded by the vultures she
had hoped to evade.
“Sarah, are you leaving the compound for good?” one
paparazzo enquired. “Does it have anything to do with your sister’s wedding?”
“Sarah, what about Sergeant Barnes?” another yelled
above the clamouring fans. “Where is he? Are you two still together?”
Bucky held his breath, carefully studying Sarah’s
body language as she refused to answer the barrage of questions. Nothing about
this was good.
The moments between watching the clip of Sarah at
the airport and finding himself on the doorstep of Sharon Carter were nothing
but a blur.
Bucky sat awkwardly in her living room, feeling
feeble and ridiculous under Sharon's scrutinizing gaze as she offered him a cup
of coffee.
"Gotta say… you’re the absolute last person I
ever expected to show up at my door. What can I do for you?"
Taking a deep breath, Bucky gathered his thoughts
before responding. "Last night, I told Sarah that I love her… And she
just… she just left."
Sharon’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, her lips
curling into a knowing smirk. "Wow. History has a nasty way of repeating
itself, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… Okay, I suppose it was before your time,
but this entire scene played out the very same way five years ago. Steve and
Sarah were as close as can be, and then, without warning, she just disappeared.
This right here… the two of us sipping coffee in my living room, pondering the
inner workings of Sarah’s bizarre habits… same script, different cast, my
friend," Sharon explained, her tone tinged with a hint of amusement.
Bucky shook his head, dismissing the comparison.
"Yeah, I don’t think this is the same thing," he insisted, his voice
firm with conviction.
"How can you be so sure?”
"’Cause I know your sister. I've seen her
vulnerability, her realness."
"Barnes… Sweet, naïve Barnes,” Sharon sighed.
“Sarah’s an actress by profession. How do you know she isn’t acting with
you?"
Whether a duplicitous attempt to plant seeds of
doubt in his mind or not, Bucky couldn’t deny how eerily similar this ordeal
was. But he shook his head, his frustration growing by the second. “No… She
wouldn’t. Not with me.”
Sharon’s expression softened slightly, though the scepticism
remained evident in her eyes.
"Even if you're right, she's gone. What do you
expect me to do about it? In case you haven’t noticed, little sis and I aren’t
exactly simpatico."
Bucky took a deep breath, his knee jackhammering
away as anxiety and restlessness overcame him.
"I need to find her. I can't just sit around
and wait."
"Yeah, good luck with that,” Sharon chuckled
mirthlessly. “For all we know, my sister’s back in L.A. or on a yacht in Greece
with Leo Stone…”
Bucky stood abruptly, his jaw clenched with
determination. Leo Stone. He’d been so focused on Sarah’s relationship with
Steve that he hadn’t considered if the rumours surrounding her relationship
with the famed Hollywood heartthrob had any merit.
"Thanks for nothing, Carter," he grumbled,
turning to leave Sharon’s condo, his mind now abuzz with varying scenarios of
where Sarah was and who she was with.
“Team meeting at the compound. No excuses.-NJF”
Bucky cursed under his breath upon receiving Fury’s
text. Getting the team’s approval for some personal time was relatively easy.
But Fury…? Even if it was to find his godchild, Bucky remained
dubious, at best.
He mumbled a greeting to the others, plonking
himself down in a nearby chair. All eyes turned toward him, the same unasked
question on everyone’s mind.
“I don’t know why she left. She… she didn’t say
anything to me…” Bucky sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
Everyone–Tony, Nat, Clint, Bruce, Fury–hated the
familiarity of the situation. History was indeed repeating itself, only with a
different super soldier.
“Hey, man, whatever the reason, she’ll come ‘round,”
Clint offered from across the room.
“Right… it’s not as if she has a tendency to up and
leave without warning…” Nat retorted, earning a glower from Steve. “What? I
love the girl and all, but she’s very clearly a flight risk.”
Drowning out the surrounding chatter, Bucky spoke
up. “Listen, if it’s alright with all of you, I’d really like some time off to
find her. I’ll be pretty useless out in the field with Sarah in the wind like
this.”
There was a general murmur of agreement, indicating
consensus among the group.
“Barnes, if you wanna go after Sarah, go right
ahead. Knowing you’re out there with her would actually give me peace of mind,”
Fury replied.
Steve’s ears perked up at Fury’s approval. Being the
only one in the room with some semblance of an idea as to why Sarah had left,
he chose to remain silent for fear of hurting Bucky’s feelings.
“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” he suggested, hoping to
provide assistance in a roundabout way.
“You will do no such thing,” Fury boomed, barely
allowing Steve to finish his sentence. “Without Barnes, we’re already one man
down. I can’t take that risk.”
“You know, it’s probably best if I go alone, anyway.
I mean, once I find her, she’d probably be more likely to open up if it’s just
the two of us.”
“Right… Yeah, of course…” Steve trailed off, unable
to mask his displeasure.
In the quiet of the kitchen, Bucky and Steve
exchanged a glance, their eyes betraying the heft of their respective burdens.
Steve’s brow furrowed in deep contemplation, his mind wrestling with the shock
of Sarah’s confession and the tumult of emotions it stirred within him. He
simply couldn't shake the pang of longing, knowing that Sarah had harboured
these feelings for him all this time. What an injustice, a monumental waste of
time and heartbreak!
Meanwhile, Bucky’s gaze held both confusion and
hurt, struggling with the sudden absence of Sarah from his life. He couldn't
fathom why she would leave without a word after their heartfelt conversation.
Even though he trusted Sarah wholeheartedly, her actions left him questioning
the foundation of their relationship.
As he exchanged a glance with Steve, Bucky saw a
mirrored reflection of inner turmoil. Despite their close friendship, both men
were now ensnared. Their perspectives shaped by their respective
connections to Sarah Carter.
Bucky ascended the staircase, mentally preparing
himself for the worst-case scenario. Just as his eyeline swept over the
landing, he spotted Natasha leaving Steve’s suite. She seemed troubled, which
wasn’t exactly strange given her sibling-like relationship with Steve, but it
was enough to give Bucky pause. The night he confided in Sam… Had she heard?
Could she have told Steve? Would he have confronted Sarah? IS THAT WHY SHE
LEFT?
“Oh, my God, stop!” Bucky silently
reprimanded himself with a quick shake of the head. “Get it together, man.
You’re losing it.”
He hesitated at the threshold of Steve’s suite,
flexing his left hand as he gathered the courage to ask him one simple
question. Steve, on the other hand, cocked his head toward the door, hearing
the subtle friction within Bucky’s arm’s components. He’d recognise those faint
localised sounds anywhere.
“Should I just pretend that I don’t know you’re out
there?” Steve asked, striding over to whip open the door. “I thought you were
on your way to find Sarah.”
“Yeah…. Yeah, I am. I just…”
Bucky crossed the threshold, glancing around the
suite as if he’d magically find his answers written along the walls. His heart
pounded with desperation and apprehension. He needed answers, closure to the
mystery surrounding Sarah’s sudden departure.
“Buck, what’s going on?” Steve’s question seemed
innocent enough, but Bucky sensed underlying tension.
“Y-you talked to Sarah last night, right?”
Steve’s response came with practised ease, a subtle
evasion veiled beneath the guise of honesty. "I did, yeah," he
affirmed.
“What happened? What did she say?”
“Nothing happened,” Steve replied, softly shaking
his head. “All she wanted to do was clear the air.”
His words masked the deeper truth he chose not to
disclose, protecting Sarah’s confession like a fragile secret between them. But
seeing Bucky so distressed sent a pang through his chest.
He hesitated, his eyes clouded with conflict. “She
loves you, Buck. She just… does this thing where she self-isolates when things
get a little overwhelming. It’s not a reflection of how she feels for you, it’s
simply a coping mechanism.”
If there was any doubt in Steve’s mind that telling
a little white lie to his most treasured friend was necessary, it was now. The
relief on Bucky’s face alone confirmed that he had done the right thing.
Thank you so much for reading! 🙏 Your support means the world to me, so if you enjoyed this chapter, please show some love by liking the video and leaving a comment with your thoughts… It really helps the story reach more people! 🎥💖
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