2 | FREE FALLING ( Peter Parker )

TEN

CHAPTER TEN | THE FALLOUT

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she wanted a storm to match her rage.

-a feast for crows // george r.r. martin

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A thick layer of dust coated every surface of Bella's apartment and cobwebs hung in the corners. Bella's stomach twisted at the sight. It felt like she was fourteen again and begging her father for her life. Feeling rather like she was in a movie, Bella let her backpack drop onto the floor, sounding out a loud bang through the otherwise silent apartment. Every footstep she took unsettled the dust on the floor and furniture. Holding her breath, Bella walked into the living room and froze.

Just below the shattered TV screen was a dark, dried blood stain seeping into the wooden floor.

Clapping a hand to her mouth, Bella turned out of the living room and sprinted into the bathroom. She fell harshly to her knees and emptied her stomach into the toilet bowl. She stayed on her knees, coughing until nothing but spit came out and her throat roared in pain. Bella wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and blindly closed the toilet lid. She sat down on the lid with a loud groan, clutching her head between her knees.

What the hell is going on? Where's Alex?

Forcing herself up, Bella left the bathroom and walked back into the living room. From there, she walked up the stairs and towards her bedroom. Nothing that had ever belonged to her was in what she was sure was her bedroom. Instead, drab curtains were pulled tightly over the windows and boxes were piled high in the middle of the floor. Nothing showed proof that someone, a living, breathing girl, lived here.

The only thing Bella was sure of was that this had something to do with Peter and her friends not recognizing her earlier.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Bella pulled her phone from her back pocket and scrolled to Alex's contact. She pressed the call button and held her breath as it rang and rang and rang and rang.

Finally, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Alex?" Bella breathed out.

"Uh, yeah," he said. His voice was stiff. "Who's this?"

Bella's chest restricted. Her mouth dropped open and it felt like her throat was closing up. Tears swum in her eyes and she silently fumbled for words. Her brother. The person closest to her in the world, the person she shared DNA with... and he didn't even remember her.

"Hello? Who is this? How'd you get this number?"

Unsure of what to say, Bella hung up. Running a hand over her face, Bella looked down at her phone. The wallpaper staring back up at her was a picture of her and Peter— a selfie of them he had taken in Central Park that summer; he was staring directly into the camera, laughing and she was ducked into his arm. This picture, and all the pictures in her phone, were proof. Proof that she was real.

And then, it hit Bella.

You don't see that blinking red light?

A blinking red light... she wasn't sure what that meant, but it had to lead to something, didn't it?

[ ... ]

Biting down on her thumbnail, Bella took a sharp left from the alley beside her house. Eyes focused downward as her mind raced a mile a minute, she was knocked to her senses as someone literally knocked into her.

"Oh, my God!" Bella exclaimed, staring at the giant coffee stain she'd created on some random man's shirt. "I'm so sorry! I should've been watching where I was going and—"

"It's okay," the man said, smiling down at her. He had a thick accent and wide blue eyes. "My fault, not yours."

Before she could stammer out another apology, he side-stepped away from her and continued in his path. Sighing, Bella wiped the coffee on her hand off on her jeans and started walking. Frigid wind blew violently against her face, but she could barely feel it. She wanted to scream. Not caring about who saw her, she teleported from her spot on the street and landed in her room in the Avengers compound. Just as she'd expected, the room was back to looking like a generic hotel room. Every ounce of her personality had been soaked away from it.

"Who the hell are you?"

Bella spun around on her heel, eyes wide. Tony stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"I— I'm Bella," she said, voice cracking. "You— you— you know me. I swear. But— something's happened, okay? It's like I've been erased from existence!"

"So you have no way of proving that I know you, but you expect me to take your word for it based on... what?"

At least he was still an asshole. But it really wasn't what she needed right now.

"Dude, I used to go to fancy dinners at your house with my parents and brother! I'm Bella Parsons. My brother is Alex. My dad—"

"John Parsons never had a daughter," Tony scoffed.

"Yes, he did!" Bella shrieked, throwing her hands up. "He used to beat me every day and make Alex heal me with his powers! He murdered my mother in front of me to get me to teleport! And last year he escaped prison and was murdered by my best friend's dad! The Vulture! Ring any bells? He tried to rob you!"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, like he still didn't believe her. She supposed she couldn't blame him, but it was still irritating. Before he could respond, Bella's phone rang in her pocket. Liz was calling. Which meant that she remembered. Relief flooded through Bella's veins. Without thinking, she teleported away from Tony and back to her apartment.

"Liz?"

"Hey! I know you're at lunch right now, but—"

"Liz!" Bella exclaimed, cutting the girl off. "You remember me?"

"Are you on drugs? Why would I forget who you are?"

"Because literally everyone else did! It's like I was erased from existence!"

"What the fuck?"

Bella ran a hand over her hair and pulled it out of the ponytail it was in. The back of her neck was slick with sweat.

"I think it has something to do with a blinking red light in the sky," Bella said, biting down on her lip. She swept her palm up and down her thigh. "You didn't see one?"

"No," Liz answered. "Maybe it was just a New York thing? Bells, do you wanna come stay with me?"

"No," Bella said, an idea forming in her head. "I have a plan, I think. If it didn't get to you in Portland, there's no chance it got to Europe."

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This maybe sucks but I just had to get it out so I can continue with the plot

Let's go bitches

-peterparrker