THIS BOOK IS PART OF A SERIES. THIS IS THE THIRD BOOK IN ZOLA's STORY.
Make sure to read "In Their Hands", followed by "Control" before reading this story!!
Zola returns with her mom after a fight regarding the mischief behind both HYDRA & SHIEL...
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Wakanda, 2016
It felt like this was the first time that I had been somewhere that I was completely unfamiliar with. I had never heard of this land, nor its people. It wasn't Iowa, where I always went back to once things had settled down, but for now, it would have to be home. I was safe here and I was going to be here for a while. Things were very different here, but out of all the places I had ever been, it was my favorite.
And even better, I was here with Bucky. Steve was out here too, but he wasn't always around. I knew that he would be on his way soon. Steve was good at staying in hiding, but that didn't mean that he liked to.
It had been almost a year. Since I had seen my mom, since I had heard from her or my sisters, or my dad, and anyone else from the Avengers. Which, now, was no more. The Avengers didn't exist anymore. Everyone had gone their separate ways. I had no idea where those ways led since I hadn't been able to talk to anyone from outside of this country.
And as I stood here with Bucky, throwing these piles of hay and grass around, I wondered, where was my mom? And when was she going to come and get me? I knew when I got here that it was going to be years. I was going on nineteen now, and I wanted my mom to be with me when it happened. My mom, at least.
"Hey kid," I heard Bucky call from a few feet away. I looked over my shoulder, holding my hand over my brows to shield my eyes from the sun. He was sitting on top of one of his hay stacks proudly. I smiled gently and made my way over. "Mine is bigger," he comments as I came up to take a seat beside him.
I shrugged my shoulders and stared off into the distance even if I could feel his eyes on me. "I wasn't even trying," I joke, pulling my legs up to my chest. I needed the break anyway. They usually had us out here to do work, seeing as we were criminals. In return for their hospitality, we just worked. It was good, though. It was giving me my strength back. And it gave me some free time with Bucky.
I had been having a good time getting to know him. Things slowly became more natural between us. We were able to talk more, laugh together more, and have fun together. It was nice finally getting to meet my hero. And thankfully for me, he was actually a good guy.
And you would think that I had had enough time to speak with him about all of the things that I used to wonder. All of the things about us, and all of the things about him and about me. There were a lot of things that I was supposed to speak to him about. But as time passed, they became things that I would silently wonder. As I became closer to Bucky, those things weren't as important to me. They were just things I remembered. Things I would ponder. Something told me that I didn't really want to know, and I was okay with that for now.
Being here in this country was teaching me to be more at peace. It was teaching me to be more relaxed. To be calmer and more patient. It was like a retreat, and I feel like it was bringing out the best in me. And happily, it was bringing out the best in him too.
