"So, what? It was too dangerous
for me to fight against Iron Man
and Black Widow last year because
I was too young and it was too
dangerous, but now some alien dude
wants to destroy the planet and I'm
suddenly totally cool to fight?"
Sequel to...
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CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR | HIGH HOPES
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you love him. the story still ends.
-there is no absolution for the fallen, only the dying // p.d
__________
"Do you have any plans for your birthday next week?"
Frowning, Bella shook her head. Twenty-two years old. Ever since 2012, she'd had the brilliant idea of posting something witty in reference to the Taylor Swift song "22" on her twenty-second birthday. Eleven years had passed since that song came out, and five years had passed since the idea of social media became useless to Bella. Five years had passed, and she still had no idea what to do on birthdays and holidays. Mostly, she'd gotten takeout with May and tried not to cry about how Peter should have been with her.
"No," Bella said. "Flash wants to go out, but he just wants to set me up with his friend Justin and I'm not really interested."
May nodded understandingly and handed Bella a mug of tea as she sat down on the couch. "It's okay to move on, you know. Healthy, even."
Bella shrugged. "Doesn't feel right. Nothing feels right without—" She trailed off as Peter's name tangled itself in the base of her throat. It had been a while since she'd spoken his name out loud. She didn't think she could bring herself to say it, even now. "I just, I don't think I'm ever gonna stop missing him. It— even the idea of going on a date with someone else... it feels like cheating."
May squeezed Bella's hand. "I know how you feel. The relationship didn't end because of a break up. He—" Bella could see the tears in May's eyes. "Peter died."
"He was... It's just, he should be here. We should be in the process of picking out an apartment and moving in together. I shouldn't be mourning him. And I know it's been five years and that I should be over it but— I can't just forget about him."
Wordlessly, May took both of their cups and set them on the table before pulling Bella into a hug.
"Blake called me last night." Bella sniffed when they pulled away from the hug and swiped the sleeve of her flannel over her wet cheeks. "He was going on a date."
"Yeah?" May asked, rubbing Bella's shoulder gently.
Bella nodded and pulled her sleeves over her hands. She sniffed again and wiped at her nose.
"You know, the weekend all of this happened, he and Alex were up in The Hamptons. It was their two year anniversary, apparently. Blake was gonna propose." Again, tears filled Bella's eyes to the brim. Her brother was so close to his happy ending, and he was ripped away from it. "Weird, isn't it? If everything had gone right, they'd be married for four years now. I'd have a brother-in-law, maybe even a nephew." "Or a niece," she added in an afterthought.
