Waiting For Spider-Man | An Amazing Spider-Man Fanfic |

Chapter 23 - She's Talking to Angels (Bonus)

Two months later...

(Annabelle's POV)

Two funerals. Two in one year, both were family members. Both were gone too soon. Haven't I suffered enough? You take my father, you take my sister and then you take my friend. Are you going to hurt me more or can I finally catch a break?

I sat blank faced staring at Gwen's grave stone. I think I've visited here the most since she died. My life has been rough since that day. I can't remember the last time I really smiled. I felt so empty. Peter and I had been very distant with each other. We tried hanging out but nothing seems right anymore. There's always silence because almost anything we did reminded us both of Gwen and it's hard. I blame myself and Peter blames himself. But I could never blame him for what happened. He couldn't have predicted what Harry would do. No one could have.

"I miss you, Gwen." I whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you like I promised. I dragged you into this mess. It's my fault." I had begun to cry again. I tried to wipe my tears away but they just kept falling. There was a sudden movement next to me which caused me to jump but I relaxed when I saw it was Peter. He sat down next to me silently and handed me a small package of tissues. I took a few out and dried my face as Peter wrapped an arm around me. When I finally stopped crying he spoke.

"It wasn't your fault." He said. "Gwen chose to join you, she could've walked away whenever she wanted but she chose to stay by your side." Peter tried to comfort me.

"How can you say that to me, when I know you don't believe it yourself?" I asked. Peter sighed and I turned to look at him. "We both blame ourselves but not each other. So how can we help one another if we don't believe what we say?"

"You're right, we're not doing much good for each other." Peter answered. "But I can't sit off to the side and not do anything to help you."

"And I can't do that to you either." I argued back. I leaned against Peter again. "We're an absolute mess." I felt Peter rest his chin on top of my head.

"We can figure this out."

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When I walked through the door, I found my mom in the kitchen putting some dishes away. She turned around and smiled at me.

"Hi, I just finished making dinner, we're having chicken, with corn and mashed potatoes." She explained as she resumed her task of putting the dishes away. I took off my shoes and sat down. That's unusual for her to make dinner especially one as big as this.

"Why such a big dinner?" I asked.

"I invited May and Peter over for dinner. They should be here in a moment." She answered and sat down next to me. Her and May must be plotting to help Peter and I again. I really suppose at this point we should let them help. We can't help ourselves or each other.

"Sounds fun." I mumbled.

"Honey, you can't keep blaming yourself, it was never your fault." My mom sighed. "I understand that Gwen's father asked you to take care of her but this wasn't something you could save her from. When will you realize that?"

"I don't know." There was a knock at the door and my mom stood to get it. I heard May and Peter greet my mom as they followed her to the kitchen. I put on a smile and stood up. "Hi May." I said and hugged her.