Fractured Mind

Chapter 6

Three weeks.

That's how long it had been since Peter had seen Gwen Stacy. He continually visited her grave, but lately his dreams had been strangely blank. It seemed like the second his eyes closed to succumb to sleep, he awakened within minutes and it was morning again. There was no escaping through the dreary hours of the night. The guilt and pain he had was steadily growing inside him.

It had also been nearly three weeks since Mary Jane had spoken with him. She had told him she had gotten the part for the play she auditioned for, "The Importance of Being Earnest." Although he didn't want to get close to her, the fact that Harry had spoken to her was deeply unsettling to him. Harry hadn't tried contacting him whatsoever; no threatening notes and nothing strange being reported on the news.

In her free time, his Aunt May was spending a lot more time with her friend Anna next door, both of them excited that Mary Jane had come back to live with Anna. Without being able to speak to Gwen in his dreams and without much human contact over the last three weeks, Peter realized he was getting rather lonely.

With his back against his bed, he put his cell phone to his ear to listen to his uncle's voice again, "Peter, I know things have been difficult lately, and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling."

He ended the voicemail and tossed his phone on the floor, unable to listen to the rest. He wished things were difficult for him. Difficult would be a breeze for him. Difficult would be peaceful. Manageable. He couldn't find the words to describe how he felt right now.

Downstairs, the front door opened and Peter heard Aunt May and Anna Watson come inside, laughing. He was glad that their friendship was keeping Aunt May happy. Ever since Uncle Ben had passed, she had put on a strong face for him, but he knew she was hurting.

One pair of footsteps began up the stairs. Peter unlocked his door, knowing his aunt was coming to talk to him, most likely to ask if he was fine or not. She had paused outside his room, the shadow of her feet slipping through under the door. Then, with a small sigh, she knocked.

"Peter, honey, may I come in for a minute?"

"Sure," he said getting off the floor to sit on his bed.

The door opened and Aunt May gave a tentative smile. She had on a dressy light blue cardigan and she had taken the time to put some curls in her hair.

Raising an eyebrow at her he asked, "what's up?"

"Anna and I are driving to the city in twenty minutes to go see Mary Jane's play. It's her first showing and I—well, we—wanted to know if you wanted to come with us?"

"No, thanks," he said resolutely.

"Don't you want to get out of the house?"

"No," he repeated.

"I'm sure Mary Jane would be happy if you came..." she tried.

"No...thanks," he repeated more slowly.

Aunt May nodded her head and shut his door without another word. He heard her walk downstairs again and begin talking with her friend again.

Suddenly there was a small bang against his window. He abruptly jumped up and opened it looking all over but seeing nothing except for another note taped against the glass How does he keep doing this, Peter wondered.

"See you at the premiere."

Peter took it off his window and walked over to his bed staring at the piece of paper. Harry was going to be there tonight. Had Mary Jane invited him? She hadn't even let Peter know about the show tonight, not that he would have told her he was coming anyways. Was Harry planning something tonight?