The Devil With The Face of an Angel | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 35

Peter ran out of school after the robotic club as fast as he could. Shortly after Mr. Beck confided his secret to him, he received a message from dad that Pepper would pick him up after school. So he left the class as soon as the club was over, and now he was standing outside, looking around to see if his mother's car could be seen. However, the white Audi was out of sight. But Peter knew she would show up. She promised, and she kept her promises. Always.

"Peter?" a woman's voice came suddenly beside him, and he winced a little startled. He was so focused on finding the car that he didn't notice another person joining him. And he couldn't say he was happy about it.

"It's starting to feel like a habit I don't like," he muttered as he looked at the brunette. She was a complete stranger to him, and now all he wanted, was Pepper. His real mom.

"I know you may be confused or you don't want to see me. But you should know that I want to be a part of your life," she explained, and Peter gave her a disbelieving look.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think? I do not even know you! In fact, I don't even care about you," he said in a firm voice. To tell the truth, he wasn't feeling too good in her company.

"Everyone needs a mother," Mary said softly, reaching for him. Apparently she wanted to stroke his cheek, but Peter quickly pulled away from her reach.

"I have a mom, it's just not you," he snapped, looking around the parking lot again. He desperately needed to get away from her. And maybe he should talk to dad about it. But he didn't think the timing was good.

"I'm not going to push you with anything, but believe me, I'm not giving up on you," she said at the moment Peter found the car he'd been looking for. He could also see that Pepper turned her head as soon as their eyes met. He just hoped she didn't know who he was talking to.

"Great, but I'm not interested," he blurted out, walking quickly away from her so she wouldn't be able to add anything else.

He covered the distance that separated him from Pepper in record time, and some of his worries disappeared as he sat down on a passenger seat. "Hello, Mom!" he greeted her with a big smile on his face and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Normally, he no longer practiced this show of love, but he needed to make sure she knew how much he loved her.

"Hi, honey," she returned the greeting with a smile as well. "Who did you talk to?" she asked, starting the car.

"Oh, some lady asked me about my classmate - if I didn't know how long it would take him," he said immediately, and Pepper had to do something to keep her smile from fading. She wondered when lying became a recreational sport for them.

"And how was school?" she asked another question so that they would not fall into silence.

"Quite well. A new teacher has joined us, he looks like a nice guy. And he leads the robotic club! So I was there today and it caught my interest. I will probably go there regularly," he replied with the enthusiasm that was so typical for him.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, her smile widening. She was glad that her son was... actually not her son, but Peter. She was glad that Peter was returning to the things that children his age normally do.

"Where were you yesterday?" he asked for a change.

Pepper had to do something to keep from collapsing. "I fell asleep at work! Well, would you believe that? The end of the month is approaching and the company is a complete madhouse. So many things to do. If you could see all the billing you need to send. Literally madness," she lied this time. Maybe she should have thought about her distancing plan a little better. She didn't plan to see Peter today, but she wanted to put off suspicion, so she nodded to Tony.

"You shouldn't work so hard. After all, you have a lot of people around you! Put something in their hands, too," said Peter with a wrinkle on his forehead as he frowned. His mom was amazing. She can always do so many things at once, but if she falls asleep at work, she should probably relax. Take some time off too.

"I don't like to entrust other people with what I can do on my own. It's just the end of the month. They are always the worst," she said and parked in front of the house.

Peter unbuckled his belt and opened the door. It wasn't until he had one foot out that he realized the engine was still running. "Are you still going somewhere?" he asked confusedly as he turned to her.

"I have to go get some more work done."

"Mom! We're talking about it now, take a break," Peter sighed. To be honest, he found it slightly suspicious. Pepper has always had a lot of work to do, that was true, but not so much.

"I'll take a break as soon as it's done," she assured him.

"All right, if you have to, you have to. But try not to sleep there again. We could order dinner from your favorite restaurant," Peter suggested, and Pepper felt her chest tighten. She was losing oxygen and it was only a matter of time before she will not be able to breathe.

"We'll see what can be done," she said, trying to look like nothing was happening. She hated lying to him, but she didn't have much choice right now. Definitely not after she saw him talk to Mary.

"Promise me you'll be home for dinner," he insisted.

"Okay, I'll be home for dinner," she finally promised, though it was a promise she didn't intend to keep. They became too entangled in lying, but there was no way out. She knew that if she told them she was leaving them, they would be able to persuade her to stay, and she didn't want that. After today, she knew that Mary was returning to their lives, and she wasn't going to hold on to something she would eventually lose. Plus, how long will it take them to notice that she doesn't live with them? It was a matter of hours.

"See you later," Peter said goodbye and climbed out of the car.

Pepper watched him disappear through the door. She leaned her head against the steering wheel, trying to control her breathing, which she couldn't. The tears finally found their way out, and she immediately wiped them away. She blinked the rest of the tears that formed in her eyes and took a few deep breaths before heading away toward home.