So You Do Love Me
Another two weeks passed. Peter and I didn't talk about the ending to our night. That seems to be our main problem, we never talk about our feelings for one another. We never have.
When I moved in I thought Peter was cute and I did have a crush on him but I thought it would be too much with us living in the same building just a few doors down and working together. I didn't want to complicate things. So I dated other people trying to not think about Peter. I rejected those feelings for so long that I kind of forgot they were there. Until that night and now this baby is coming and being complicated is here in full force.
I know that we needed to figure it out ourselves before the spiderling made his debut. It was a Saturday so Peter and I were both home. Preparing for finals in just a few short weeks and then we would both be high school graduates. The closer the end of school got closer we got to the due date. Somehow the ending of something we had been working our entire lives for felt like a blip compared to the arrival of the baby. I took a deep breath and knocked on Peter's door.
“Come in”. He yelled from the other side.
“Hey”.
“Hey”.
“We need to talk”.
“Ok what about”.
“You know what we need to talk about Peter”.
“I'm sorry I tried to kiss you the other night”.
“Don't be sorry. I wouldn't have rejected it if it wasn't for everything else we have going on. I'm still not on board with raising this baby and you are 110 percent. I love that you are so committed and excited but I'm not there. I never have been. It wouldn't be fair to either of us or him to act on anything when we are going in two completely different directions”.
“I know. I have loved you for a really long time, Iris. I only started liking MJ to try and forget about you but I never could. It has always been you, Iris. However, I know that I have to try to forget about you for the sake of my son who I love more than anything in this world”.
“Did you love me because of the baby or did you love me before that?”.
“I knew I loved you about two weeks after you moved in and you had woken up in the middle of the night and I caught you baking while having a silent dance party by yourself and then you saw me and taught me how to make strawberry pie”.
“All this time and you didn't say one word”. I was crying at this point.
“You didn't say anything either Iris”.
“You're right. I didn't because I didn't want to lose you. You are my best friend. The first person who really got me. I didn't want to risk it”.
“I didn't want to either”.
“Why are we like this?”. I stifled a laugh through my tears.
“Because we are too protective of each other's feelings. We care too much, that's our problem”.
“What are we going to do? Are we just going to go back to forgetting we don't love each other or what”.
“So you do love me”.
“I do love you, Peter”.
“I love you too”.
At that moment FRIDAY came over the intercom in his room, “Peter you are needed urgently for a mission. There is an unidentified creature attacking the city”.
Peter got up and kissed me on the forehead before heading out the door. Leaving me to sit on his bed with my head in my hands crying over what had just happened. I couldn't believe he has loved me for two years.
To think where we could have been if one of us had spoken up sooner. We are so stupid. I was so stupid. I was thinking back on every conversation we ever had. Even in the last few months. It was always me and now I don't even know what we are. All this emotion was too much for me. Before the team, before Peter, before the baby I was closed off I tried so hard to control what I was feeling and now every week felt like emotional vomit.
“Iris there is someon-” FRIDAY alerted me before being cut off.
“Fri, FRIDAY”. I called out.
I left Peter's room and made my way down the stairs. There was a man standing in the living room. I recognized him. It was the scientist from Valentine's day. He must have broken out of jail. I tried to silently make my way back up the stairs but I was too late. He saw me. I quickly masked my bump. I didn't want him to know.
“Just the person I was looking for. How's the husband? Oh, wait you tricked me remember. There is no husband. And don't you want to ask me about my wife? The one who had cancer. She died. SHE'S DEAD AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. AND I CAN'T SEE MY SON ANYMORE BECAUSE I WAS IN JAIL. HE WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM ME AND NOW I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU AWAY FROM THEM. AND I WON'T MISS THIS TIME”. I cocked his gun up and pointed it at me.
“WAIT STOP. Please I'm pregnant”, I unmask my bump, “Please. I'm not due for another two months and after that, you can kill me.. or hurt me… or do whatever you want to me but please…. please don't hurt him”. My voice wavered as I clutched my stomach.
“How do I even know that's real? You can change your appearance whenever you want and you already lied to me once”. He still had his gun pointed at me.
“I swear to you I'm telling the truth. Please I'll try and get the government to let you see your son and we will set up a fund to pay for your wife's medical bills or um maybe I can convince Tony to let you have a job here at Stark Industries when you get out of jail. You seem very talented with technology”.
“You can't make false promises to me. You have already ruined my life”. He clicked his gun.
“He's kicking…I'll let you feel”. I couldn't stop the tears from coming.
“Fine”. He waved me over with his gun.
I took his hand and placed it where he was kicking. His features softened for just a split second before they hardened again. He grabbed my wrists and threw me against the wall pinning there and began kneeing me in the stomach.
“YOU ARE A LIAR. A DIRTY DIRTY LIAR”. He kept kneeing me and screaming. I tried to get away but the pain was excruciating. My entire body burned. He moved his hands from my wrists to my throat. I felt like I was going to puke and the room was spinning. I could hear someone coming through the window and I was dropped to the floor and then everything went black.