Silence

Thirty-Three

I got back to the house, having a couple of hours before I need to head to my meeting with Sam. "Dad!" I shouted through the building, getting a shuffling sound in return. He popped around the corner a few moments later and gave me a surprised look. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon. What's up?" I held up a paper, most of it hidden. "I need you to sign a paper. I got accepted to a college and they want to make sure that I am who I am. It'll be just one single signature." He smiled and I handed him a pen. I put my hand on the top of the paper and he quickly signed what I asked him to. "I'm proud of you for finishing school through all of this." A twinge of anger hit my stomach and I swallowed it, he's only proud of me for completely school after I got attacked. "Thank you." I debated whether to tell him that I heard his conversation with Sam, tell him that I know he doesn't want me anymore. "When I start school in the spring, you won't be hung up if I come home a few times a month, maybe less?" He shook his head and I forced the sigh of disappointment to remain silent. "G-Great. Sam and I won't be home for dinner." I pulled him into a quick hug and released him. "Also, you and Pietro make a great couple, don't blow it." I warned halfheartedly and he smiled, this time it reached his eyes.

"Friday do we have extra boxes laying around?" I figured I would have to go out and buy boxes, but I wasn't sure. "No sir." I sighed and went to Wanda's room, knocking quickly. She opened the door and saw that Bucky and Steve were sitting on the floor. "Hey what's up?" I made eye contact with Steve and looked away. "I need to go grab some heavy stuff from work. Could I borrow your car?" She nodded and left her door open to grab her keys. "Thank you." I mumbled quietly and went back to my room. I grabbed my wallet and house papers. "Karen what's in my savings account?" I asked, putting my finger to my ear. "Seven hundred and sixty thousand dollars." She responded and I quietly thanked her. I gathered all my stuff and left my room, Wanda's keys in hand.

I got to the U-Haul store and walked in. "Hi how can we help you?" A girl, I vaguely recognized from high school smiled at me. "I need forty boxes, twenty large ones and ten of the medium and small." She nodded and went into the back. I waited and she came around the counter after about ten minutes. I helped her load them in Wanda's car. "That'll be a hundred dollars." I quickly swiped with my card and signed my name. I smiled and left, getting in the car and driving to the bank.

I headed in and went straight to a free bank teller. "How can I help you?" I smiled and handed them my ID. "I need to withdrawal four hundred thousand dollars, check form please and I need a bank statement for a mortgage." The teller smiled and pulled me up. It was thirty minutes before I got what I needed. "Here is your money and your statement. Have a great day." She handed me a check, the amount of money and bank name scrawled on it, to which I quickly signed my name in the box and a piece of paper. I thanked her and left, hoping in Wanda's car.

I got into the compound and ran into my room, setting the money and papers on my desk. I ran back down stairs and gathered all the boxes from Wanda's car. They barely felt like anything when I lifted them. "Peter, what are you doing?" Bruce asked when I entered the hallway. I dropped the boxes in my room and breathed out deeply. "Packing." I answered and he gave me a worried look. "I got accepted to college. I start in spring. I'm moving into the dorm in the end of January." He smiled and gave me a fist bump. "Proud of you kid." He left me alone and I went to Wanda's room. I knocked and Steve answered the door. "Thank you for letting me borrow your car Wanda! I promised I didn't get hurt this time." I said jokingly and she laughed sarcastically. Steve took the keys and I retreated back to my room.

I started sorting through my clothes when Sam walked in. "W-Woah." I had taken down all my posters, pictures and lights. My walls were bare. "I'm going to college." I answered his confusion and worry. "Oh. Ready for our meeting?" I nodded and got up from the floor, dusting off my pants and looking at the mess on the floor. I grabbed my compound keys, wallet and leather jacket. I followed him out of the compound and I got into the passenger seat of his car. "Any ideas for dinner?" I shrugged and he nodded. "Fine Italian it is." I chuckled and buckled up. "How are you feeling?" Sam asked, backing out of the garage. I looked out the window. "Great. Excited." He hummed, tapping the steering wheel. "Dad hates me doesn't he?" Sam nearly stomped on the break and he turned his head to me. "What made you think that?" I shook my head and Sam picked up speed on the empty road. "Come on Sam. I'm imaginative not stupid. Besides, I heard you and him talking outside Scott's house. I know he can't wait for me to move out and he's not sure if he made the right choice adopting me." Sam sighed. "He doesn't hate you. You've put him through one hell of a year and he's not sure what to do."

"Sam don't sugarcoat it. Please." I felt like I was going to start crying. "What else do you want me to say Peter? That he's so scared of you exploding that he's not sure if he could be your dad anymore? You're nearly an adult, you don't need a dad anymore." I squeezed my hand into a fist and put it to my mouth. "I always need a dad Sam. In case you don't notice, my only other family is a twelve year old who is not allowed to have anything to do with me. Of course I need him. I've always needed him." I wiped away the tears and put my eyes on the open field outside the window. "I'm sorry Peter. These past seven months have been extremely hard on you and the fact that you blatantly lied to me just to punch Wilson in the face really was the breaking point. For all of us." I pushed on my knees and sighed. "I don't think you understand how much I needed to do that. None of you did. The fact that I got to look him in the face and tell him that he doesn't own me, that lifts a weight off my shoulders. The fact that I got to dish out the same medicine that he spoon fed to me. It felt amazing and I don't regret it. I wouldn't change that moment for the world. That sick fuck took a lot of my life from me and I didn't want him to have anymore of it." 

"You lied to us Pete. I stuck my neck out for you, just to get you to San Francisco and then you pull that. Did none of that mean anything to you?" I pushed a hand through my hair. "Of course it meant something to me. I had to lie, I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. I need you to understand that what I did was for myself. I needed to heal and I just wasn't getting past the point that I had gotten to." I played with the hem of my shirt and Sam pulled into a restaurant. "I think that after this meeting, we need to set you up with someone different. I have to look your dad in the face and tell him that you're making progress when you really aren't." I sighed and pushed myself up out of the seat. "In that case, I'll pass on getting someone new. I'm not talking to someone I don't trust."