Rift (Spider-Man fanfic)

Chapter 22: Strangers

Diana's POV

I start to squirm, getting impatient. I take a sip of water from the glass on the table and pull out my phone.

Where are you? It was a 7:30 reservation, I had to sit down just to make sure they didn't give it away.

I know, I'm sorry. I know we were looking forward to this, but a family emergency popped up. I can't make it.

What's wrong?

I sigh and see someone approaching me. "Ready to order, miss?"

Since I'm alone, I decide on just getting an appetizer. "Um... some fried calamari. That's all." The waiter nods and walks off.

We lost my grandma.

What? I'm so sorry!

Ahh, not what I meant. My mom and I took her shopping and we can't find her. We've been here all day.

I try to stifle a laugh. MJ's grandma can be fun, but she also likes to make life difficult. Just for the fun of it. I look around the restaurant and see some people waiting, so when my food arrives I scarf it down so I don't make anyone wait for just one person to eat.

I pay my bill and tip the waiter before heading out of the restaurant. I'm disappointed my plans with MJ didn't work out, but it was nice to get out of the house- Er, tower. I start walking down the street to the parking garage. Parking in New York is a nightmare, so I have to walk a couple blocks to get to my car. Happy offered to drive me, but it's been a busy day for him so I declined. I quickly send a text to Tony.

My dinner with MJ is canceled tonight, she has a... family issue. I'll be home in around 30 minutes.

I turn a corner, and I suddenly feel the hair on my neck stick up. I get an uneasy feeling, but I don't know what it is. It could be anything, but it could also be nothing so I just ignore it. I walk for a few more minutes before the feeling is overwhelming, so I turn around. There's a man, about 15 feet behind me, who stops walking when he saw that I stopped. You're just being paranoid. I turn around and keep walking, and I finally make it to the parking garage. I turn around again to check if he's there, but I don't see him. My car is on the first floor, thankfully. I walk up to it to take out my keys and notice something on the windshield. I pick it up to look at it, and it's a yellow, dirty shirt. Gross. I toss it behind myself and finally find my keys. Before I even take it out of my bag, the same man from earlier comes out of nowhere and starts yanking me and my bag apart. I haven't unlocked my car yet, so there's no escape there. My heart starts racing and my adrenaline kicks in. The man's face is fierce, and he's getting annoyed with how roughly I'm resisting. He takes out a pocketknife, and I freak out. I swing my leg up as fast as I possibly can and hit him in the crotch. He bends down in pain, and I yank my purse from his grasp. He's too close to my car for me to get in before he stops me again, so I run out of the parking garage. I'm still a tiny bit sore from the plane crash that happened, even though it's been a few weeks.

I quickly run out of breath, and I stop for a moment outside the parking garage. There's a few buildings around me, but this is one of the quieter- if there are any- places of Now York. I lean against the back wall of one of the nearby buildings. I figured it would be the best route, but now I'm not so sure. He's less likely to know I'm here. But if he does, I'm screwed.

I stay behind the building for another minute, catching my breath. I get up again and peek my head around the corner to see if he's still close. But there's no one in sight. I turn the corner, still being extremely cautious. Just then, he comes from behind me and puts one arm over my stomach, holding me in. His other hand is over my mouth, and he's pressed against me. "Should have just given me the purse. Now I gotta do this, too." I look down at his arm over my stomach, and he's flipping open the pocket knife. My breaths become quick again. Is he going to kill me? Or just hurt me enough to take my purse without a fight?