The Amazing Story of Altered Fates

Chapter 2: The Amazing broken man

Her beautiful blonde hair was just as he remembered it, maybe a little shorter now. But still, it reflected the sun with a glow that only Gwen Stacy could emit.

Her blue eyes were large, bright, and beautiful, holding so much intelligence behind them as well as love and compassion.

Her ruby lips stretched into a smile Peter couldn't remember seeing for a long time. Her eyebrows frowned in the same cute way they always did when something confused her.

All in all, this was Gwen Stacy, but she looked older. Not that he minded—the years had only done her good. If she was beautiful before, she was stunning now, and she had that new and special glow that enticed Peter even more.

"Hi, Dad," the woman said sweetly to the trapped man.

Oh, this angelic voice Peter missed so much. For the longest time, he had been haunted by her voice. Every time he heard it, it was her screaming his name while falling from the tower. He had forgotten how melodic her voice could be during such a casual greeting.

Peter wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't sure if this woman was a pretender or not. But she couldn't be the real Gwen, could she? How would that be possible?

Peter felt frozen in place while these questions ran through his head, competing with the images that kept trying to flood his mind.

Then those big blue eyes were aimed at him, and she asked teasingly, "Really, Bug-boy? Do you hate that window or something? You just replaced it a couple of days ago after you broke it."

The words were so ordinary. Mundane daily issues that shouldn't have brought so much warmth to Peter's heart, but still, they did. For a moment, Peter allowed himself to bask in the warmth and forget his aching body.

But then the way she called him began echoing in his head. Bug-boy. He remembered the first time she called him that. When he crawled through her window after fighting the Lizard. They kissed, and when he tried to go for another kiss, she breathlessly called him that for the first time.

Since then, it had become her nickname for him in private settings. And that's exactly the problem. It was private. No one but him and her knew about it, so that must mean...

From a frozen state, Peter could feel his shaking body moving forward on its own accord. As he got closer to the woman, he could smell the lavender scent he always associated with her.

When she was within his reach, he began raising his hands to her face while whispering disbelievingly, "Are you really here? Are you real?"

Gwen smiled softly at him. She reached for his hands and took them in hers before setting them on her cheeks, allowing him to feel her skin.

The moment their skins touched, he sucked in a breath, still not willing to believe it was actually happening. But then she spoke with that soft musical voice of hers, "Yes, Pete. I'm real. I'm here."

Those words broke all of Peter's defenses. His body began shaking worse than ever, and his legs gave out.

He sank to his knees in front of her, and his face buried itself in the woman's soft stomach. The material of her shirt felt expensive and overly soft against his skin.

"Oh, Peter." Her voice sounded so sad and yet caring that it broke his heart a little more, knowing he was causing her even more pain now.

Peter wasn't sure when he started, but by the time he noticed, both his face and her shirt were soaked in his tears, and his throat ached from the unstopping sobs. Gwen was running her hands softly through his hair.

Peter began to shake his head in denial while saying mostly to himself, "You are dead! I saw you die! It was my fault!"

Peter felt her soft hands sneaking around his neck before she pulled him deeper into the damp material of her shirt. Her own voice was wet as she tried to soothe him, "Shhh, honey. It was never your fault. I am here. I am alive, and I've got you."