Fractured Mind

Chapter 16

Two months had passed since Peter had returned to being Spider-Man, and life for him couldn't be any better.

With Spider-Man's return to the city, Peter was able to get his photography job back at the Daily Bugle. Despite the fact that Mr. Jameson continued to try to demonize him, the people of the city were overjoyed with his return. There were so many people protesting the newspaper that, eventually, Mr. Jameson grudgingly began publishing stories that showed Spider-Man in a better light.

Mary Jane began working part-time at Pita Pan's Diner. She worked four nights a week, which was perfect because Peter was usually out in the city during the evenings.

She was upset because she had almost lost this job due to having some sort of flu for the past two weeks and several days at work. Peter had a hard time leaving her during those couple weeks but she insisted he get out of the house.

Aunt May continued her nursing job. She was delighted that Peter had gotten his old job back, although she was troubled that, again, Peter was coming home late, sometimes with bruises on his face.

Peter tried to keep tabs on the members on the Sinister Six, but it was difficult. He wondered why they hadn't made an appearance yet, especially since he had been back in action for two months now. The most he saw of them was a trail of sand that lead away from bank robbery that he had arrived to a moment too late.

What Peter was most grateful for was that Harry hadn't tried to contact him again. He was also glad, although he wouldn't admit it aloud, that Harry had kept his word and hadn't told the others about his identity.

Peter checked his phone and saw that Mary Jane would be leaving for work in an hour, so he swung home to see her before she left. Plus, he was hungry.

He pulled open the front door, smelling lasagna. "MJ, you home?" he called as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Up here, Peter!" she shouted from the room.

Peter took the lasagna out of the fridge and cut himself a hefty slice before setting it in the microwave. A minute later he strode up the stairs with his food and walked into the room, where Mary Jane was fixing her makeup in a small mirror she had hung on the wall.

"Hey babe," she said as he entered the room.

"Hey," he said with a mouth full of lasagna. She turned from the mirror and jokingly rolled her eyes. Peter continued to shovel the food into his mouth.

"You keep eating like that and you're going to get fat," she joked.

"Hey, swinging through the city and fighting bad guys burns a ton of calories, for your information," he retorted.

Mary Jane suddenly froze and wrinkled her nose. Peter threw her a questioning look. She bolted into the bathroom and instantly retched into the toilet bowl. He set down his plate of food and hurried to the bathroom.

"MJ, you okay?" he said as he pulled her hair out of the way.

She nodded her head at him, but then got sick again.

"You want me to call your work?" he asked as he started towards her phone.

"No, no. I can't call in again," she shook her head. "I thought I was over this, but all of a sudden I felt so dizzy and then I smelled that lasagna and it made me feel sick."

"I'll be right back," Peter ran out of the room with his plate of food and put it into the kitchen sink. When he got back upstairs, Mary Jane was fiercely brushing her teeth.

"Sorry you had to see that," she said as she spit into the sink.

"Don't apologize to me. I just wish you weren't feeling so sick the last two weeks."