CHAPTER 3

Bucky hiked through the woods for about an hour before he began to regret his last minute decision.

"Protect her."

He shook his head. 'Stop it.'

"Your life's mission is to protect her."

"Stop," he muttered as he continued on in his trail.

"Soldier, I drew you something."

He stopped in his tracks and covered his ears with his hands.

"Do you like it? What's your name? Don't you ever eat?"

He growled from agitation as he fell to his knees, "Stop it!"

"Bucky?" It was her real voice this time. He looked up at her and let his hands drop from the side of his head. She found him. Before he could say anything, she offered her hand to help him up. As he reached out for her hand, his metal finger were suddenly wrapped around her throat.

He gasped as he jolted from his sleep. It took him some time to realize that it was a dream and that he was still in the motel room with Allie. He planned to leave her that night, however, he couldn't leave. He needed to know what it was that she needed protection from, maybe then, he would be free of her.

She woke up to the sounds of cloth rustling, tin cans clinking together, and the zipper from her backpack zip and unzip. Allie forced her heavy eyelids to open and adjust to the dim lit room. Bucky was packing their things away, full dressed and ready to leave at any moment. As she sat up in her bed, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was 4 o'clock in the morning. Her body ached as she stretched out her limbs before she released a yawn. She reached out to the lamp and turned on the light. Bucky snapped his head at her direction and bolted toward the bed. He quickly turned the light off and sighed.

"I can't see," she said in a hushed tone.

"You're eyes will adjust. Get dressed," he said, curtly.

Obediently, she got herself out of bed and began to take off her pajamas to replace them with the clothes she wore the previous day. Bucky picked up the clothes she dropped on the floor and put them in her backpack. When he opened it, he found a decent amount of notebooks. He glanced up at her to ask about them and caught a glimpse of her naked breast. His muscles slightly constricted around his manhood. The feeling suddenly made him uncomfortable, which caused his stomach to twist into knots. He forced himself to keep his eyes away as he continued to pack away their things.

Once she was completely dressed, Bucky picked up their bags and exited out of the room.

They sat in silence across from each other in the old, small diner. Allie studied the menu carefully as Bucky stared out the window. She told him to trust her, however, it all seemed too easy. He would glance back at her every now and again.

"You should eat something," she suggested without looking away from the menu. "Carb up as much as you can. This will be our last good meal for a while."

He took the menu from her hands to take a look.

"Um - excuse yourself, Mr. Rude," she snipped at him as she snatched the menu from his hand. "You have a menu right next to you."

He looked to his side and saw the menu. Bucky took it as he checked his surroundings before he glanced back down. So many options. Too many options. Allie tenderly tapped his normal hand to get his he looked up at ber, she gave him a small smile.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't know," he hesitantly answered.

Before she could respond, a waitress walked up to their table. "What can I getcha?"

Bucky kept his head low to avoid eye contact. Allie smiled kindly, "We're gonna go with the pancake sampler. Over easy, country stlye potatoes, and bacon. Oh - and, can I get a side of fruit and sausage?"

The waitress nodded her head, tiredly, "Ya, sure. Should I get two plates for ya?" She continued to wrote down the order.

"No, we want a sampler... each," Allie replied.

The waitress raised her eyebrows. "Oh - uh - sure thing, darlin'. Can I getcha anythin' else?"

"Some coffee would be lovely, thank you."

When the waitress was too far away to hear them, Bucky leaned in closer to her, "Why are you doing this?"

"You were having a difficult time making a decision, so I helped you. What I can't finish, you can eat. We seriously have to make sure we eat as much as we can until we get near Florida," she answered in a hushed tone.

"Why are you helping me?"

She felt her face heat up. "Can't I just do something nice for someone and not ask anything in return?"

Bucky stared her down before he let out a sigh. "Who do you need protection from?"

"What?"

He looked down at his hands, "You're father said I needed to protect you."

"I actually question that myself. I did some research, but all I found was that Alexander Pierce wasn't my biological father. Which explains why he wasn't too concerned while experimenting on me. I should've got him 'the world's best father' mug," she took a sip from her water cup.

"Who's Coulson?"

"He's someone we can trust. Once we get to the border of Cuba, we're going to meet someone there with a jet. They'll fly us to Scotland, so we can stay at a safe house until the media dies down about us."

"Us?" He repeated.

The waitress came back with their coffee and set it down in front of them before she walked away.

"Yes, us," she poured sugar into her cup. "Since I ran away with you, most people have noticed my disappearance."

"Once we get to Scotland, we'll part ways," he said gruffly. 'She's too distracting.'

She tried her best to cover the hurt expression on her face and forced a smile. "Yeah, yeah - sure."