Spider-man: Alone in New York

~ Chapter 26 ~

The beginning of the ride back home was quiet, other than the music that was playing softly in the background. I was staring out of the window mutely, in my own thoughts, and fiddling with my hands. Was Mr. Stark mad at me? I snuck a look at him. His expression was neutral. The only thing that gave away that he was a bit riled up was that his fingers would tap on the wheel whenever we stopped in front of a red light.

"Peter," he said, and I jumped at the sudden sound, "How are you holding up?"

"With what just happened? I'm alright." Flash had always frustrated me, but at least this time I did something, and while I may feel guilty, at the same time I felt relief that I didn't end up with pain and bruises. 

He shook his head. "That too, but I mean everything in general. I know it must be difficult for you with how your aunt is missing."

He wasn't aware that I probably wouldn't have been aware of her going missing if he hadn't driven me to the apartment. I would have gone to Ned's place, perhaps one day feel guilty about what happened and check up on her. But that would have taken a bit more time. 

Now I only needed to somehow convince Mr. Stark that May and I had a great relationship and that it hurt me that she was gone. I cared for her, that's for sure, but he was probably wondering why I wasn't bawling my eyes out when we first realized she was missing in the first place. It may seem for him that I am taking this too lightly.

I wettened my lips and forced out, "Uh... well, I miss her. It's very different without her." It was very different without her, but a good different. I didn't have to live in fear of her at this point.

"Of course. That's understandable," Mr. Stark tried to comfort me, "Don't worry. I make sure I get constant updates. If anything arises, you'll be the first to know."

I attempted a smile, but it turned out to look like a grimace. At least his eyes were on the road and not on me. "Thank you. I appreciate it a ton." It's not that I didn't want her to be found. I wanted her to be happy and have a good life. I just... I didn't want to see her anymore. Or have anything to do with her. Is that wrong? Am I a bad person for feeling this way? 

Mr. Stark turned into the garage that was under Stark Tower and curved into a parking place. Shutting the car off, instead of getting out, he stayed seated and turned to me. "If you need anything, you know, you can talk to me. About anything."

"Y-yeah, of course." Did he feel like I was hiding something from him?

We got out of the car and headed to the elevator. While waiting for it to arrive, Mr. Stark asked, "Peter, I have a question."

"Hmm?" I hummed, wondering what he wanted to ask me. Surely not how I could easily outmatch Flash and his minions, right? Maybe I could say beginner's luck. Or I could say I had some karate lessons years back when I was-

"Remember that day, the first day, when we met?" he said, and my eyes slightly widened as I remembered how I had 'bumped' into him, "Well, I was wondering... why were you... why were you malnourished?"

I looked down, more that he couldn't see my face than avoiding his eyes. "Um..." I tried to find an excuse. 

Seeing my unease, Mr. Stark said, "You don't have to answer. I know that's a private question." The elevator arrived, and we stepped in. I knew that Mr. Stark deserved to know, at least a little bit, after all he had done for me. I could trust him.

I cleared my throat. "I, well. Sometimes we, my aunt and I, don't have enough money, so I try not to eat what is remaining at home to save money." Wasn't a complete lie, but wasn't the truth either. May had used all of the money for alcohol, so we didn't have much left for food, and what we did have was for May because she wouldn't let me eat. I looked up and saw that he was surprised I gave him an answer. Or maybe it suddenly occurred to him that I was poor and wasn't used to having food whenever I wanted.