a promise unkept

Chapter Twenty-One: Screams

Peter's POV

"Gwen, Gwen, it's me," I say as I lean down. It scares me to see how weak she looks. Her head wound is bleeding, and her voice was hoarse and hard for me to hear, and the rock covering her..

Crap, no, her ankle. I can only imagine the kind of pain she must be in at the moment, and I admire her for being able to hold it in. 

"I'm going to help you up, alright?" I grab her hand and squeeze it for reassurance. She does't say anything, she only nods. 

Being as careful as I can I use my Spidey-Strength to cautiously pick up the rock and move it over to the side. Once getting that was out of the way, I make my way over to where her ankle is, and bend down to examine it. 

"How much does it hurt?" I ask her.

"Not much," she quietly says, but I can easily see through her lie.

"Gwen, look at me," I say, and she obeys, "You don't have to pretend in from of me, alright? I love you no matter what."

She smiles and nods.

"Does it hurt?" I ask again, "Be honest."

Gwen nods her head, tears are visible in her eyes. 

I fight back a cringe at how bad her ankle is. Blood is oozing out, and whenever I barely even graze it with my finger, and though I can tell she tries to hide it, she noticeably winces.

But what really worries me isn't the fair amount of pus coming out of it or how swelled up it looks. What worries me is how I can clearly see down to her bone.

Looking up at Gwen, I can see her trying to find to fight back tears. My heart breaking at how vulnerable she looks, I tell her, "Gwen, don't be afraid to ever show your emotion to me, it's best to just let it out."

Gwen only nods her head and allows a tear to fall down her cheek, before I wipe it away. I want to be able to kiss it away, but now is obviously not the best time to be showing any kind of intimate affection- no matter how tempting it is.

Her head doesn't look too good either. I begin to tear off a section of my suit before Gwen places her hand over mine. I raise my eyebrows at her in surprise, before she quickly rips a piece of cloth of her hospital gown she was wearing.

Sighing, I say, "Gwen..."

But she cuts me off and hands it to me, giving me one of her famous You-better-do-as-I-say-Peter-Parker looks. I know, I know, she has her own look for me, but hey, I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me feel special.

Anyway, reluctantly I took the fabric and wrapped it around her forehead, doing my best to make it tight but not to the point where it was squishing her brain. When I finish tying it, I look at her and realize our faces are only mere inches apart from kissing. So quickly leaning foreward I give here a quick, but loving kiss on the lips.

When I pull back, despite everything happening around us, she smiles, and it makes me smile too.

I look back at her ankle before saying, "Okay, Gwen, I'm going to lift you up and carry you out of here. Hold onto me, got it?"

She sighs and starts to say something, but I cut her off, "No, just save your voice and listen to me."

Rolling her eyes, Gwen nods. As softly as I can, I lean over and scoop her into my arms. Automatically she wraps her hands around my neck and buries her head in the crook of her neck. It had been a while since I had been able to hold her, and despite the conditions we're in, I can't help but marvel at how perfect she seems to fit into my arms.

Using my other hand to lift her legs up, I begin to carefully make our way back outside, before I see something or someone, laying on the ground that makes my blood run cold. 

I try distracting Gwen and making her look at me, but it is too late. She sees her. "Grandma," She breaths out and a tear falls down her face, which is soon followed by another, which then leads to her sitting there, simply letting out strangled sobs in my arms.

"Shhh, Gwen, it's going to be okay," I whisper against her ear, but her shoulders continue to move up and down with her cries. I can feel my shoulder getting wet, but that's the bare minimum of my cars or worries. 

She hiccups, "May-maybe she's not dead, maybe she's unconscious." She's mostly trying to convince herself, but I know better than to hold onto false hope. 

"Darling..." I begin to say to her, but she interrupts, "No, Peter! What if she is fine! We can't leave her!"

Something in my eyes must give myself away. She was always able to read my thoughts and emotions that way. Reading my features, Gwen lets out a strangled scream that only seconds ago I wouldn't have even found it possible for her to do so. But she does. 

It pierces through me like a knife to her her in such physical pain. "No, baby, stop. I'm going to be okay, I'm here," I repeat over and over to her, but she continues to hysterically sob. 

Without thinking, or even planning on it, I grab her face and kiss her harder than I ever have before. I need her to know that I'm here, and how I'll always be there for her. 

It doesn't take long before she too, responds to the kiss. Tightly gripping on my hair, pulling me closer to her. 

When we finally break apart, each of us gasping for air, I say, "Gwen, you can do this. You're strong."

She slowly nods her head and looks once more to where her Grandmother now lays. Her mouth opens once again to cry out, but instead of doing so, she breathes heavily. Then she nods again, this time faster. 

"I'm ready." She says, and holds out mask that she had been holding. She grazes her lip over my own, brushing against it, before she lifts her hands up and places the mask over my face. I smile, even though she can't see it, before replacing my hold on her and swiftly carrying het out of the ruins. 

A/N

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