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chapter nine. spider sense
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Tommy's music blared in the background.
The makeshift stand he did most of his work on —stuck in the corner of his brother's room—lay in sporadic shakes as he worked hard against it. The mountain of scribbled papers continued to pile at the embedded ruler as he nearly let another screw fall. Ever since the untimely events that had occurred, Tommy had spent most of his nights crying. And thinking. He never did the crying in front of his family though. He wanted to seem tall the eyes of his brother, for whatever reason. But on the rare occasion that cover didn't work, he pressed himself into other things to keep his attention.
Just like his newest fixation.
"Tommy, dinners been ready for like three hours! What are you doing," Al walked towards the room, stopping at the archway as he saw the disheveled appearance before him. He paused, leaning his arm onto the archway as Tommy only grew more focused. He watched his brother's shaking hands hover over the work board quicker then he ever worked. Which said a lot considering his brother's likely determination. "Tommy."
Tommy finally forced himself to look up from his task at hand. Although his empty hand still gripped the long mother board held up by his fingers. Al's eyes traveled across his younger brother's face, looking past him as he saw Tommy fidget anxiously. "What is that?"
"An early birthday present," Tommy retorted sarcastically as Al walked past him. He paused, turning around in his seat as his older brother flipped up the drawings on his desk. The pages seemed familiar. Al quickly noted where he remembered the handwriting from. This was their parent's research. Though the messy scribbles surrounding the sides were measures of Tommy's clouded thoughts. His eyes flickered up again, blinking away any sense of sudden sadness as he saw what sat on the opposite end of the bench. "You're reworking Dad's claws? I think those were meant to be the way they were."
"It's only a more modernized version, and it's not like I'm completely throwing away the original idea. I know he would like it." Tommy swallowed as he turned away from his brother. Although he kept a clean appearance, prodded curls and smiles—but definitely not real ones. Inside, whenever he thought of the night he was trying his hardest to forget, he could bring himself to falling apart. But there was a certain clarity knowing that he had at least one good thought to hold onto. And how Ben Parker had forever left him with that. "I know he would."
