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Chapter 2

-Jianna-

"You can put me down. I can walk." I said timidly.

He kept walking like he didn't hear me, so I raised my voice slightly.

"I said you can put me down."

He stopped walking and looked down at me. "I don't think so." and started walking again.

I looked up at him, and the sun hit his face just right that it looked glowing. "Who is this man?" I thought. There's a familiarity to him that I can't quite place.

"So... we're just going to walk TO the hospital?" I asked him, trying to make small talk. He doesn't say anything.

"Not a big talker, I see?" I commented. He looked down at me briefly but kept walking. "I guess I can just holler for help and see how that goes." I hoped he would worry about what I said, put me down, and leave me there, but instead, he kept walking.

"Look, I don't care what you say. I'm taking you to the hospital. You may have a concussion. You went down pretty hard. Besides, I interfered with your...situation in the subway, so I might as well see it all the way through." he said in a monotone voice. "We're almost there anyway."

Defeated, I found myself resting my head on his shoulder as I looked at the people we passed by. I saw a couple of them glance in our direction and did a double-take to ensure they saw what they thought they saw.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm being carried like a damn baby. Keep it moving." I rolled my eyes as the thought passed my brain.

As we approached the hospital, I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards this mysterious stranger. Despite his indifference, his words and actions showed a concern that caught me off guard.

"Thank you," I mumbled. Tears threatened to fall as the adrenaline from the incident started to wear off.

He looked at me again and said, "Did you say something?"

"I said, th-thank you. For helping me." I stammered. Feeling vulnerable, I buried my face on his chest, hoping he wouldn't see me cry.

I felt his chest heave, and his heartbeat quickened, but then I heard him sigh. "You're welcome." He said coldly.

I felt a slight disappointment in his response. I wasn't expecting anything, given that we didn't know each other, but his frigid reply surprised me.

"We're here." He said as a matter-of-factly.

I didn't realize he had already carried me for a couple of blocks and hadn't even broken a sweat. I expected him to put me down finally, but he continued to walk into the hospital with me in his arms.

As we entered the emergency room, I noticed that there were a lot of people in the waiting area. The room fell silent as we walked through the lobby to the front desk, and I felt eyes on us as we approached the receptionist, their curious glances piercing my skin. I felt my face turning red again.

"Hi. She's here to check in." He said as he leaned forward to put me down.

The receptionist, who looked like she was in her early 20s, turned around and was stunned. She looked at him for a while, possibly scoping out for a ring by the looks of it, then looked at me from head to toe and slightly scoffed. She looked back at him, gave him what I assumed was a killer smile, and said, "Of course."

She looked at me and asked in a slightly condescending tone and a fake smile, "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Jianna. Jianna Spencer" I said.

She turned around and started typing on her computer. "Date of birth?" She asked without even looking up.

"January 12, 1998," I answered.

"Do you have your ID and insurance card with you?" She asked.

“I…ummm…” I realized that I didn't have my bag on me. I look around, trying to remember the last time I had it.

"Ummm…"

Then I see a hand extend beside me.

"Here you go." He said as he handed me my bag.

"Oh. Thanks." I said quietly.

I grabbed my bag from him, and as I did, my sleeve went slightly above my wrist to reveal several scars. He noticed them, and as I realized what he was looking at, I immediately snatched my bag from him and adjusted my sleeve.

I rummaged in my bag to find my wallet and give the receptionist what she asked for, all the while thinking about what this stranger must think of me now.

"You'll probably never see him after this anyway, so no big deal. He doesn't know what I've been through." I thought to myself. "Besides, you don't owe him or anyone an explanation."

I started to feel my head throb as I waited at the window for the receptionist to finish checking me in. "I guess I did hit my head pretty hard." I thought as I placed my hand up to the area of my head where the pain was.

I started to rub my head and felt something wet just as my hand got to my right temple. I took my hand off my head to see what the wet spot was and saw red on my fingertips. "Shit!" I mumbled. "That's not good."

The receptionist didn't even have to ask what I was there for, so it's safe to assume she had a good idea just by looking at my state.

She finally looked up from her computer and handed me a wristband.

"Ok. This goes on your left hand," she started. "And you and your boyfriend can take a seat over there. The nurse will call you back shortly." She said as she pointed to a couple of the open seats in the waiting area.

"Oh, he-he's not my boyfriend." I stammered.

She turned to me with a surprised and what appeared to be a relieved look and said, "Oh. I'm so sorry. I just assumed since he was carrying you when you walked in. My apologies."

I thanked her and headed to one of the seats she pointed at. I sat down, expecting the mystery man to sit with me, but he remained standing.

"I have to go. You're good?" He asked.

I nodded, trying to hide the sadness I was starting to feel.

"Thanks again," I uttered.

He gazed at me for what seemed like an eternity, then turned around and started to leave.

"Wait!" I called out. "I didn't catch your name."

He turned around and looked at me.

"James. James Barnes." He said and then turned around and left.

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