Bucky tried not to worry.
Not that his fiance going missing just 24 hours before their wedding was something not to worry about, but he tried to give Willa the benefit of the doubt as often as he could. He trusted her, despite everything they'd been through. It's why he knew she was still the one for him.
Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread. It emanated through his mind, pulsed like a pounding speaker, blurring all his thoughts. He couldn't clear his head.
He tried her phone – for what must have been the twentieth time – but the response was the same as it had been for the last day: 'Number not reachable. Please try again later.'
Perhaps it was a work thing. Perhaps it was pre-wedding nerves, and she'd turned her phone off and taken some time to herself. Perhaps something had happened to her.
The thought made his mouth dry up, and he swallowed down the feeling that fought his urge to try to call again, call anyone who might know what was going on.
Not Phil, he thought, picking up the receiver. He didn't want to butt in on their vacation time unless it turned out to be an actual emergency. The office. He'd try the office. If it was a personal emergency, he was sure her partner would know. She told Charlie everything.
As if the decision to call had triggered something, like the world was waiting for his choice, his cell began to ring as his fingers hovered over the numbers on their home phone. He slammed down the receiver again and dug out his phone, hoping, praying it would be Willa.
“Barnes speaking,” he sighed as he answered.
“Hey, Bucky right?” Said the unfamiliar male voice at the other end. “This is Charlie Hart.”
Charlie, her partner. Bucky breathed a sigh of relief; he was yet to ever meet the man, but he heard enough good things about him from Willa every evening to trust him. It had to be good news.
“Is Willa with you?” Bucky butted in, before Charlie could announce why he was calling.
There was a long moment of silence. Too long, long enough to send chills down Bucky's spine. “...that's what I was calling about,” Charlie replied, a hint a worry in his tone. “I was hoping you'd seen her. She didn't show up for work this morning..”
Bucky closed his eyes, breathing slowly, feeling like the world was rushing around him. Calm down, he told himself. Don't fear the worst. “She didn't come home after her shift last night,” He said simply, gulping down the stress.
“Oh,” the other man said, but he didn't sound as stressed as Bucky felt about it. “She left yesterday afternoon, she wasn't feeling well. With some blonde guy, I think his name was--”
Bucky didn't need to be told twice. He felt his blood run cold, his worry melt away into fury. She'd left with Wesker. A thousand new worries filled his mind. Had she really gone? Had she left him for that bastard? Were they going to raise the baby, be a happy little family? He hung up the phone without another word, pounding the familiar numbers of his boss' private line into his phone. He'd tell that slimeball where to go. Willa was his.
