Chapter 22
Adelaide had a flurry of different emotions rushing through her chest at the moment. She was nervous, angry, hurt, and scared. There were so many ways this could go. They’d dated for a year! She’d trusted him with so many things that he could use against her! Of course, nobody knew about Hydra, and hopefully they never would, but there were so many secrets she’d told Vincent about herself that this conversation could literally go anywhere. She honestly hadn’t meant to dress up for the occasion, but Wanda was taking her to some special thing later, and she’d had to get ready before leaving, so she looked on the nicer side of casual at the moment. Speaking of Wanda, the woman was around here somewhere, much to Adelaide’s comfort, but she was still scared out of her mind. I don’t know if I can do this, she said to Wanda
I’ll be right here, Addie, I promise.
We might have to get Piet to get me out of here again. I don’t think I can handle this.
You’re not alone, Addie. You’ve got me, and Scott’s around here somewhere, as is Clint. All of us are here for you, and you know it. Adelaide sighed and nodded, even though she knew that Wanda couldn’t see her.
Okay. Okay, I’m okay. I can get through this. We were friends first; that’s why I want to talk to him. I’ve known him for two years, and this is completely out of character for him. That’s why we’re doing this. I can do this.
There you go. Now, go on. Wanda went silent, and Adelaide sighed before stepping into the café she was standing in front of. She looked around and sighed. She didn’t see Vincent anywhere, but she was early anyway. She sat down at a small table near a display for shirts and waited. First she looked up towards the door to see if he walked in on time; then, she looked at fifteen minutes; later, it was thirty. Adelaide sighed.
He’s not coming, Wanda.
I suppose not. Do you want to eat, or shall we go ahead and go?
Let’s go. I tried. I guess it’s really over. The thought made her heart pang. She’d lost more than her first love; Vincent was one of her best friends. Their little group of friends wouldn’t be the same if he chose not to hang out with them anymore or something else terrible like that. It hurt. It hurt a lot.
I’m sorry, Addie.
Let’s go, Wanda. I’ll meet you on the street corner. Adelaide texted Clint and Scott to tell them that Vincent was a no-show and disappeared into the crowded streets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone sat down next to her on the couch, and Adelaide looked up from her phone, where she was texting Lilly and Rachel. She was met with her father’s smiling face. “What’re you doing, kotenok?”
“Nothing much. Just talking to Rachel and Lilly.”
“You up for some fun?” he asked. She gave him a suspicious look.
“What kind of fun, dear father?”
“The kind that requires a jacket and shoes?” She smiled and nodded.
“Sure.” She ran to her room and got aforementioned items before returning. “Where’re we going?” she asked, telling her friends she had to go before putting her phone in her pocket.
“You’ll see.” He took her down to the garage and hopped into the Impala and starting it up. He drove through downtown Manhattan and out into the rest of New York City before heading even farther out of town to the rural areas.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“We can’t just drive?” he replied.
“Well, we can, of course. I was just wondering if there was a purpose here, or you just wanted to spend time with me.”
“Both, rukavitsy.” She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath in Russian. “Watch your language, kotenok. Don’t want Stevie to hear that kind of language,” he teased.
“Um, excuse me. I was saying what a prat you’ve turned into in the past few years! You’ve called me that nickname more times in three years than in my entire life! It’s bad enough you made a nickname for a nickname!” Bucky laughed and grinned over at her.
“Love you, printsessa.”
“Love you too, Papa.” They drove in silence for several minutes, that faint sound of music playing from the radio to fill the lack of noise.
“How long has it been?” Bucky asked suddenly. Addie sighed.
“Four months.”
“And nobody’s heard from him?” A head shake.
“Not even Rachel, and she lives next to him. She even called him mom to check on him, but they were out of town that week.”
“Have you tried? I know he was your friend too.”
“Yes. I’ve sent him several messages, but he’s not answering.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s working through it, too.”
“I know, Daddy. But don’t you think it’s odd that he’s shut out Killian and Rachel and Lilly too? I mean, I can understand avoiding me, but them? They were all friends before I came along. That’s just weird.” Bucky was silent for a bit longer.
“You don’t have to wait on him to move on, you know,” he said to her. “I understand being worried about his silence, but you don’t have to wait to know that Vincent’s okay before getting on with your life.”
“I know. I just—” Her voice trailed off.
“—just what, kotenok?”
“Haven’t found the right one yet. He was great, Daddy. A gentleman just like you and Uncle Steve and Uncle Clint wanted, fun just like Uncle Sam and Uncle Scott wanted, understanding like Auntie Nat said she wanted. He was literally every check box in the ‘Boyfriend Material’ list. I just wish it hadn’t ended like it did.” A hand gripped hers tightly, and she looked over at her dad with watery eyes.
“I know, detka, I know. And I’m sorry.” He squeezed her hand tightly, and they drove on in silence again. Suddenly, Adelaide’s phone rang. She pulled it out to see Killian’s face on the screen.
“Do you mind?” she asked her dad, and he shook her head. “Killian?” she asked when she answered the phone. “You never call me. What’s wrong?”
“How soon can you get to General Hospital?” he asked, and Adelaide sat up straight in worry at the tone of his voice.
“Um, I don’t know, thirty minutes? Maybe more? Why?” She looked at her dad, who was giving her a concerned look.
“You’ve got to get here right now.”
“I’m outside NYC, Killian. There’s no way I can get to General right now.”
“Then call Pietro to come get you. You have to get here quick.” Her dad turned the car around and floored it. There was literally no one around for miles, so they took off down the street.
“Killian, you’re avoiding the question. Why do I need to be at the hospital?”
“Because Vincent’s here. We finally got in touch with him.”
“What? Why is he—? What? Killian, you better start talking, gosh darn it.” Bucky huffed a tense laugh at that, but he kept driving.
“There’s a toll road I can take,” he said to her while she waited for Killian to respond. “It’ll cut about fifteen minutes off of our time.” She nodded.
“Killian, answer me.”
“There’s no way you’re going to believe me,” he answered.
“Try me.”
“He got beat up. He just showed up on a subway train heading towards Brooklyn, beaten and bloody.” Adelaide gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.
“Is he okay?” she asked. “Do they know who did it?”
“Addie, there’s too much. Just get here soon, and I’ll tell you everything. How soon can you—?”
“Thirty minutes. We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay. Hurry.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adelaide jumped out of the car, letting her dad go park while she ran inside to find Killian. He met her at the front desk and took her back to the private waiting room Vincent’s parents were in, as well as Rachel and Lilly. The two girls jumped up to hug her, and the four friends went into the hallway to talk. “Okay, I’m here. Start talking,” she ordered, looking at the three anxiously.
“Vincent’s mom said that he’s been acting weird for several months now,” Rachel started. “Going out late, coming in early, grades floundering a bit, lying—everything that’s not his norm, he did.”
“Then, about three days ago, she said she got a letter,” Lilly continued. “There was no return address, and it was from Vincent, saying not to look for him, and his room was empty when she went to check on him.”
“And she didn’t call us?” Addie exclaimed.
“No, because it also said not to tell anyone about it,” Killian answered. “Of course, Mr. Samuel found out when he got home that night, but she was so scared that she didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t even call the police. Well, this morning about 10:00, someone called in that there was a boy on the train heading into Brooklyn that looked like he’s been severely abused or beaten, and an ambulance came to collect him. They found two things on him when they checked his pockets: his driver’s license, and a letter.”
“A letter?” Adelaide asked.
“Addie, it’s addressed to you,” Rachel said, giving her a sad look. Adelaide felt her heart stop. She phone buzzed again, and she looked down to see a text from her dad.
“Killian, can you go get my dad?” she asked shakily. He nodded and left while Adelaide stepped into the waiting room again, going over to Vincent’s parents.
“Oh, Addie!” his mom exclaimed, jumping up to hug her. “Thank you for coming!”
“Of course, Mrs. Carloynn. How is he?”
“They haven’t told us anything yet.” Just then, Killian and Bucky entered the room, and Bucky came over to greet the two adults while Adelaide sat down next to Rachel. Bucky came over and sat on her other side, and everyone waited in tense silence for a moment.
There was a letter on Vincent when they found him, she said to her dad.
That’s weird.
It had my name on it. Bucky’s eyebrows went up slightly.
That’s even weirder. Have you seen it yet?
No. They might not even let me see it.
They probably will, if his parents have anything to say about it. A doctor came in at that moment.
“Are you the family of Vincent Barkley?” he asked. Everyone nodded. “Well, he is out of surgery. He’s lost a lot of blood, and there are three broken ribs, as well as a broken arm. He has multiple bruises on his face and torso, like he’s been hit repeatedly. Would any of you know anything about this?” They shook their heads.
“We haven’t talked to Vincent in months,” Rachel said. “He hasn’t been talking to us at all.”
“And he left the house three days ago, and I haven’t seen him since,” his mother said. The doctor nodded.
“Has Adelaide Barnes come yet?” Addie raised her hand.
“That’s me, sir,” she said.
“Are you aware that your name was on a letter found on Mr. Barkley’s person?” She nodded. “Do you wish to see it?”
“I would like to, yes. I’m curious as to what’s on it.”
“I will see about getting that taken care of. Mr. Barkley is in recovery now, but family can see him.” His parents got up and followed the doctor out while the rest of them sat in tense silence.
“Papa,” Adelaide said to Bucky, who looked over at her.
“Yes?”
“Mozhem li my nazvat' dyadya Toni, chtoby uvidet', yesli on pozvolit Vinsent ostat'sya na bashne v vosstanovlenii? Roditeli Vinsenta ne smogut pozvolit' sebe eti bol'nichnyye scheta.” Her father nodded while Rachel, Lilly, and Killian looked at her in astonishment. It’s not like they hadn’t heard her speak Russian before, but it was still a shock to them. (Can we call Uncle Tony to see if he’ll let Vincent stay at the Tower in recovery? Vincent’s parents won’t be able to afford these hospital bills.)
“YA budu nazyvat' yego, kak tol'ko my znayem nechto bol'sheye,” he answered. Adelaide nodded and smiled at him. (I’ll call him as soon as we know something more.)
“Spasibo, papa.” (Thank you, Daddy.)
“Dobro pozhalovat', kukly.” (You’re welcome, doll.)