Us Against The World ｡ Peter Parker [2]

5 - These Dreams Won't Fade

In life somethings went smoothly, sometimes they did not. For months I had been coming to terms with what my life had become and what I had lost but also, what I had gained. For years I had been the girl with a dead brother, trying to stay true to a promise that he never intended for me to actually keep. I had grown to hate a boy because I had taken spoken words literally and out of fear and guilt, grew to build up walls to keep him away. But then he had become a boy who had a dead uncle, then the world shifted once again, allowing us mend what was broken inside together. Now, I had a superhero boyfriend and a secret about Norman Osborn between us. But although that seemed like my new normal, when things were finally getting back on track, everything changing. 

Flashes of dreams danced along my eyelids, things that I hadn't seen before. Snippets of girls falling, screams howling, a hand wrapped in green and a blood stained face and black hair floating in water. It was always the same dream, just different fragments making the whole story. I could never understand what was truely going on, it was a mess of a picture show in my mind, always so unclear.  A loud scream echoed through my ears, so loud my eyes snapped open and the dream vanished. 

The train came to a screeching stop, the lights flickering for only a second before the doors slid open and a pour of New Yorkers came and went. For a second I was clueless as to where I was but then Peter's face came into focus, slowing down my racing heart. "The dreams again, huh?" His voice was quiet as a lady fell into the seat next to him, a strange scent coming off her in waves and turning my stomach. 

"Hey, at least I got a few minutes of rest." I tried giving him a smile but I could tell it didn't reach my eyes. The nightmares were plaguing my every sleeping moment, making it almost impossible to fall asleep at all because I was too worried they would show me something I did not want to see, hence the insomnia. Peter didn't smile at my attempt of a joke and I knew he was worried. I slipped my hand into his, inching closer as the train moved forward on the tracks. "You worry too much, you know that?" I went on softly. 

Peter Parker drew his bottom lip in with his teeth, shaking his head. For the boy that pulled a mask over his face and went into the dark night to stop criminals alike, he did carry a lot of weight on his shoulders and I didn't want to add to the heavy burden. Not when dreams faded, not when I was perfectly fine. "Who will worry about you, if you don't, Florence?"

 The question hung in the air and I blinked across at him, having nothing to reply with. 

I rested back against my chair, letting my head fall upon his shoulder. I didn't like thinking about the dreams because truthfully, they scared me and I wasn't sure why they kept plaguing my head at night when all I wanted was to sleep peacefully. As the train roared along the dark tunnels, Peter let his attention move towards the windows and he didn't notice the tremble in my hands. 

***

It was a few days later after school one day when I arrived home, dropping my bag to the floor and sighing in the smell of freshly baked apple pie. My mother usually didn't bake, only when we had family coming over, which explained the new coat hanging off the staircase banister. With a frown, I made my way into the living room and spotted a familiar face sitting next to my mother. 

"Aunt Emmy?" I questioned, a thrill echoing in my voice. Emmy Parsons, my father's younger sister and the only family he had left. She was a stringy type of lady, her arms long and her legs following in suit. She was very tall, something my father did not inherit. She was pretty in that professional way, eyes covered with glasses and her fair hair swept up into a tight ponytail. She lived in New Jersey and had married a fellow therapist, a man with a thick beard and a southern accent, Geoffrey Dales. It was quite surprising seeing her though, she usually only visited for my father's birthday. "What are you doing here?"