Ardent [PETER PARKER]

EIGHT

EIGHT.

WILL SLAMMED THE door loudly without meaning to when she got home. She kicked off her shoes and dumped her backpack in the hallway.

"Anyone home?" she called out.

There was no response, only her own voice bouncing back, stripped and flat.

The hollow echo of Will's footsteps followed her into the kitchen.

She grabbed a cup from one of the tall brushed steel cabinets, the glass nearly cold enough to numb the tips of her fingers. She filled it with water from the sink, and leaned back against the marble counter to sip it.

The sharp edge of the counter should've been uncomfortable against her back, but there was a headache climbing up her spine into the back of her skull and she barely noticed.

Will closed her eyes against the dull throbbing. As soon as she did, her fight with Peter began to play in the dark space behind her eyelids, distorted and shaky like scratched film.

She sighed and opened her eyes.

She took another sip of water. It was freezing, just like everything in this house. Even in the summer, when the sun was low and hot in the sky, their house felt cold. Maybe it was the straight sharp walls or the chilly hardwood floors or the delicate glass tables or maybe it was just Will.

She had always hated this house.

It rose into the sky in orderly lines of black steel and white marble. Everything seemed to straighten up when she stepped inside, proud walls and floors eager to impress. It was a stiff place, unchanging in time, a monument of her father's wealth that refused to bend or sway.

As child, she had played pretend that she was trapped in a prison and had to escape without cutting herself on any of the sharp edges.

"Hey, kiddo."

Will jumped, water sloshing over the edge of her glass. She turned to find her father resting a hand on the edge of the counter.

"Dad!" she gasped, feeling her heart beat quickly. "You just scared the crap out of me! I called out and no one answered."

He shrugged. "Sorry. Must not have heard you."

"I thought I was alone," Will said. "Now I'll have to call everyone to cancel the orgy."

Adrian didn't say anything, just examined his knuckles against the gray slate tile. Will frowned. Her dad usually laughed at her jokes, no matter how bad.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

He looked up at her. His glasses were pushed up on his head, cheeks sunken. There was a strange glassy quality to his eyes, her reflection distorted in his pupils.