Webs And Wishes - Tom Holland

Chapter 16.

Day 16
Lily's POV

The phone rang.

"Hello?" I hadn't opened my eyes before picking it up, so when my parents began to speak, I was totally unprepared.

"I'm so sorry..."

I was taken aback. In all the years they had - or rather hadn't - been there, not once had I received an apology. Why on earth were they ringing me?

"W-w-what for?" Was this the moment I had been wishing for ever since the first time they left?

"I told the papers, we were short on cash and we want to go to this little Spanish town and it was just such a good story and I didn't think about what it would mean for you and-"

"What are you talking about? What did you do?" The shock quickly morphed into anger. What did they do now?

"You're sixteen. And they know. I told them, I just needed more money, I didn't think... I..." My so-called mother stuttered before hanging up on me.

She told them? Back home in England, no-one would give my age a second glance, but here in New York the law, and the people in particular were a little less forgiving.

As if the recent news story wasn't bad enough to cope with, now the people that abandoned me went and did this. I stormed into the bathroom, seeing my visibly furious expression in the mirror. It was better when they left me alone. Bitterness and anger finally overwhelmed me in a wave, and I shook with all the emotion I had held back for years. Almost as if it was miles away, I was dimly aware of my hands slamming into something, then there was glittering jewels of glass and crimson staining my pastel jumper.

Something snapped as I saw the blood leak from the gashes on my hands from the broken glass still in my fists. All the tension and frustration vanished, replaced by pure desperation and a numbness I couldn't quite place. Somewhere in the back of my mind a thought of Tom tugged at the sanity I had left, but even he couldn't stop me from sliding further into the pit of depression I had found myself in.

As my salty tears joined the mess on the floor and the sobs coming from my frail body echoed throughout the house, I faintly registered the door open down stairs.

And at that moment all went black.

Tom's POV

"Lily?" I called up the stairs. No answer. Strange, I knew she was home...

It's fine, I'm sure she's just asleep. My muscles ached from the intense training, since Spiderman apparently has to be even more ripped for this movie.

I slowly reached the top of the stairs, and I turned towards the open bathroom door.

There, in a gruesome picture of glass shards and scarlet, there she was.

A low moan of pure terror escaped my lips. "What happened?" I breathed to her unconscious form. I might as well have been made of ice at that moment for all that I could do.

Once my eyes picked up the state of her hands and how dangerously close to her wrists the cuts on her hands were, I snapped out of it.

One knee on the cold floor, I propped her up on the other.

"Hey baby, wake up... Please wake up..." A sharp knot was forming in the pit of my stomach, growing ever tighter even once her eyelids moved slightly and the sights of her gorgeous orbs were visible.

She turned slightly, the side of her head clearly cut too. I wasn't feeling anything right now, too in shock to register what was going on, yet I knew that she needed to get to the hospital. Fast.

"Can you move?" Her eyes widened a little at my question. I took this as a no. "Okay, I'm going to call the paramedics, I'll stay with you the whole time. Just keep your eyes open for me okay? You're going to be fine, you have to be..." I wasn't sure whether my assurances were for her or me, but from the way the edge of her lips curled up slightly, I knew it was working.

"Hello? Yes, I need an ambulance, now..."

Lily's POV

My vision slowly returned, although it was still blurry. My hands and head were throbbing, but I seemed otherwise in tact. The past few hours had been nothing more than flashing lights and Tom's voice sounding so very distant but so very comforting. It gave me hope, more than anything else. He gave me hope.

"Hey Lil..." That exact voice spoke to me now. As I continued to see clearer, I could make out his brown curls and gentle smile.

"Hey." I tried to smile back, but somehow sent myself into a coughing fit.

"Water." He gently placed the cup to my lips, a gesture which somehow seemed more intimate than what we usually shared together on a daily basis.

"Thank you." I paused for a moment. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay darling. I know why it happened. Your mother was calling you constantly, so I answered it. She told me everything before I said a word, so I hung up straight after that. I can't believe they could do that to you..." He trailed off, his eyes growing glassy.

He made his way over to me, his arms comfortably enveloping me. His chin rest on my stomach, which I felt grow wet. He was crying. I couldn't believe I had caused this. I was the reason he was crying.

"Never do that again, you understand me? I love you. So much. I can't believe how hard I've fallen for you Lil. I can't see you get hurt." He sniffled, his eyes red.

His lips gently pressed against my forehead, and he remained with his arms wrapped around me, keeping me safe from all the monsters in the world.

The monsters like my parents.

In that moment I promised myself that this was the last time they would hurt me. I didn't need them, and I never had. I will never speak to them again.

Ever.