Light & Shadow

Chapter 13

My fingers anxiously tap out a string of messages to my contacts as Peter is in the kitchen explaining everything to May. I can barely look in their direction without wanting to vomit. There's no way I can talk Peter out of this, which means I have to be even more careful than before.

"Lia?" May calls as she approaches me. It takes everything in me to not fall apart on the spot. I hate myself for bringing her into this—for falling in love with her nephew only to bring endless chaos into his life. Now, I'm taking him away from her to live on the run.

"I'm so sorry." I sputter out.

"Hey," she whispers and kneels in front of me. "Don't apologize. You know I love you as much as I do Peter."

"But I shouldn't be dragging him into this."

"You're not dragging him into anything. I know my nephew, and he'll do anything to protect you. All I ask is that you stay safe and take care of each other, okay?"

"Okay." I whisper back as she wraps me in a tight hug. "I promise, I'll take care of him."

"Good." She pulls away and wipes her eyes. "He should be done packing, and I know you two need to leave as soon as possible."

"Yeah. Happy said he'll make sure you stay safe too until everything's cleared up." I pause halfway out of the room. "May? He's a really great guy, and for the record, I think you two would be great together."

I leave her to think about it and walk into Peter's room. "I'd keep your suit on. There's no guarantee on who we'll run into." He nods and slings his backpack over your shoulder. "Got everything I told you to pack?"

"Yeah, and a couple extra things just in case." I nod and strap my own on. "What's the plan?"

"We stop in at a friend's. He'll help us get to where we need to start." The words feel sluggish coming out of my mouth. No matter how much I expected this to happen, I wasn't prepared for it. All I can do is reach out my hand. "Let's hope we've practiced enough to pull it off."

Peter doesn't hesitate to take my hand. "You got this."

It makes me feel a little bit better. "Remember. Hold on tight, and just take a step back." I remind him as I wrap him up in what to everyone else probably look like a simple hug. My mind takes a second to clear, and once it does, I mentally build a bridge connecting to both places.

Then, I step.

The world looks like it blurs past as the space between the two places begins to shrink. By the time my foot touches the ground again, we're inside the Sanctum Sanctorium. Peter looks around with wide eyes, taking in every detail.

"Where are we?" He asks as he takes a step back, while pointedly keeping a hold of my hand.

"Like I said, it's a friends." I tell him as one of the wizard's like Strange does rushing down the stairs, sparkling orange circles in front of his hands. "We're not here to cause any trouble. I just came to see Strange. Is he around?"

"I said I'd be if you ever needed me. It's okay; they're friends." His voice drifts through the large foyer, and I awkwardly shift on my feet. "I'm assuming you need help? I saw the news."

Peter offers me a confused look as I sigh. "It's more complicated than that."

"Come on, we can discuss it over a cup of tea." He nods over his shoulder, but I shake my head. "It's that bad then?"

"Worse." My hand squeezes Peter's for reassurance. "I've been running from some dangerous people, and if we don't move fast, they'll hurt everyone I care about to find me, which is why we're here."