The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 33

I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. I was still curled up in Ben's old chair, clinging to the blanket he had wrapped me in all those years ago on the night that Dad left. Although I had slept through the night, my body was still exhausted. The memory of the pain from that night...the hole left in my chest...the hurt that came with it...it was too much to bear. I knew it was all happening inside my head, but something about the dream had felt so...real. Like I was reliving the moment all over again.

I tried my best to shake off the ghosts of my past, yet I couldn't help but feel as though something about that night had changed. I don't remember hearing what they were arguing about. I could have sworn it was just muffled voices. The sound of the TV playing softly in the background brought my attention back to the present.

"Good morning," May sang sweetly as she set down a cup of coffee on the kitchen table. "I made eggs, do you want any?" she asked, tilting her head as she watched me carefully.

"Yeah, that sounds great," I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. "Thanks," I said while wrapping the blanket around my shoulders and rolling out of my comfortable position on the chair.

My phone slid out of my lap and fell to the floor. I reached down to pick it up and scanned my notifications, hoping for a message from Peter with details about his walk with Flash yesterday.

Nothing.

I sighed, trying my best to hide my disappointment as I joined May at the kitchen table.

"Hey, May," I said quietly, furrowing my eyebrows. "Have you heard from Peter today?"

"No, I haven't," she sighed, shaking her head as she set down a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee in front of me. "Come to think of it, I haven't heard from him since he left yesterday."

"Me either," I exhaled, staring at the eggs. Peter, what are you getting yourself into? I looked up, noticing May's worried look. "Maybe he spent the night at Flash's house or something," I added quickly, offering a weak smile in hopes of easing her mind.

"Maybe," she hummed, lifting her eyebrows.

"I'm getting coffee with Flash later," I mumbled while shoving a forkful of eggs into my mouth. "I can ask him if he saw him today."

May turned her head to stare at me. "Do you know what you're going to say to him when you see him?" she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Who? Peter?" I mumbled while trying to chew my food. "I'll probably just say thanks for talking to him yesterday and ask him how it went," I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

"No," May smiled, shaking her head. "I meant do you know what you are going to say to Flash."

Oh.

"Um," I pondered, furrowing my eyebrows. "No, not really," I admitted while pushing my eggs around the plate with my fork.

"Well," May sighed, placing her hand on my arm. "You might want to think about that a bit before you-"

Her words were interrupted by the loud 'Breaking News' jingle playing on the TV.

We both turned our heads to stare at the screen, wondering what was happening that was so urgent. My mouth hung open when I read the words scrolling under the reporter who was speaking.

"Spider-Man was spotted late last night," The reporter's voice boomed through the speakers. "Witnesses say he was last seen chasing after a group of men through Times Square..."

I felt a burst of excitement rush over me.

So that's where you were. Good. He's back.

I smiled to myself, satisfied that Spider-Man was back in action. I had been worried that Peter was too upset over what happened with Dr. Connors at Oscorp that he wasn't going to put on the suit again.