"Leave me alone!" She whispered, grabbing a fistful of her hair in each hand. Her head was pounding, and tears streamed down her face. "I'm not going to give in to this! You can't make me do anything!" Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she let out a sob.
In a fit of despair, rage and frustration, she punched the mirror above the sink in the bathroom. It cracked, and pieces of glass fell into the sink. She didn't register the pain in her knuckles until she flexed her hand. Tiny shards of glass were sticking out of her skin, and blood ran down to her fingertips until it dropped onto the floor.
"I'm home!" A familiar voice called from another room. "Eva? Where are you?" He called out. She heard his footsteps come closer to the bathroom. "You in there, hon?" He knocked on the door. Eva picked up a shard of glass from the sink and gripped it tightly in her hand. The jagged edges pierced into the flesh of her palm.
"Go away... Please..." Eva sobbed as she dropped to her knees. The door handle turned, and opened slowly. His expression changed from smiling and happy to shocked and horrified. His jaw dropped as he took in the sight of the girl he cared about kneeling on the floor; bleeding and crying.
"Eva!" He cried out, kneeling in front of her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. The cool metal of his hand seemed to calm her racing pulse. "Eva, baby..." He gently cupped her chin with his soft hand. His eyes locked onto hers, and he noticed how she looked so scared and confused. Her lower lip trembled.
"No..." Eva's whole body shuddered as a chill passed through her. Bucky looked over her shaking form, and moved both his hands to gently cup her hand that was holding the shard of glass. He gently pried open her fingers, and took the glass from her grasp. Tossing it in the sink, he wrapped his arms around her and held her head against his chest as she sobbed.
"Eva... Shh..." Bucky stroked her hair gently as he rocked her.
"Bucky..." She whimpered in a voice so defeated that it made Bucky's heart break. Tears stung at his eyes. He felt her grip onto the front of his shirt. She was shaking and muttering to herself. "The voices... They won't leave me alone..." Eva sobbed. Bucky ran his hand up and down her back, and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"It's OK, baby. I'm here. I'm here." He reassured her.
"Help...me..." Eva looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face. Bucky leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Don't leave me... I can't..." The brunette girl slumped against him. Bucky re-positioned his hands, and cradled her in his arms as he stood up.
"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered his reply as he carried her out of the bathroom, and sat down on the couch. She was still slumped against him, her face buried in his chest. "You're stronger than this." He reassured her, wrapping her up in his arms. Eventually, she stopped shaking and muttering. Her grip on his shirt slipped, and her hand fell limply into her lap. Bucky looked down, and saw her eyes were closed. He'd tend to her wounds once she woke up.
He understood all to well what it was like to be tormented by voices in your head. After what Hydra had done to him, it took him years to recover. His heart broke for Eva. She had been dealt a shit hand in life, and she struggled to deal with her mental illnesses on top of everything.
Despite all that, Bucky truly cared for her. He saw what a good person she was, how caring she was towards others; putting her needs aside to care for someone else. She deserved to be loved and cared for. And Bucky was determined to give that to her. No matter what the cost was.