FIREWEAVER | A Spiderverse Fanfic

Chapter Twelve

Esme trudged home, staring at the cracks her feet passed over in the concrete. Sophia walked beside her, though silent, her presence was none the less comforting.

She sighed and rubbed her jaw, the bruise becoming darker from last night's events.

"Do you feel.... Any better?"

Esme looked up, Sophia's hesitance apparent on her face and the tremble in her voice telling Esme it had not been an easy question to ask, but one Sophia had been waiting to say nonetheless.

Esme focused her gaze back down. "No. Not really."

"...My mother said she could help you and your tio with the arrangements..."

Esme nodded, static filling her ears. She hugged herself, her sweater doing nothing to ease the chill that ran up her body. She wasn't sure what she was doing right now. Walking back from Spectre Labs to their apartment, ignoring the pings from her watch that seemed to go off in intervals.

She lifted her wrist, her tío's name in bold. She lowered her hand back down and kept walking. Sophia cast her a concerned glance back down to Esme's watch, pursing her lips.

"You should really answer that. You haven't talked to him in three days."

Esme sighed. Sophia was right, she needed to talk to him eventually. But she didn't want that time to be right now. She was... scared. Scared of what he was going to say. After all, it was her fault that Maria...

She couldn't even finish the thought, rain clouds pooling beneath her brows. What if her tío blamed her too? Over the fight at the house, dragging the two of them out late at night- and for letting that criminal walk right into her beloved tía. Her tía, who always ever wanted to help those in need. Even if it was for a person like Tania.

Esme was pathetic. The first thing she did with her powers was chase after revenge. Sullying her tía's last words- doing something selfish when it had been an act of selflessness that Maria had died for. Like a saint. And here Esme was, becoming a sinner.

Water dripped down to her chin and she stopped walking, her vision too blurred to see where she was going. Sophia stopped, noticing quickly Esme's state, and wrapped her arms around her tightly, pulling her close.

"There there, it's okay. Let it all out Esme. Come on girl." She squeezed Esme tighter, and she couldn't help but release a sob into Sophia's shoulder.

She wrapped her friend in an embrace in return, feeling the tears spill out of her as she struggled to maintain the dam that threatened to snap. She couldn't be crying right now. She couldn't be so weak.

Esme sniffled, pulling away and seeing the trail of snot and tears she had left on Sophia's nice new square neck and chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I'll get you a new one-"

Sophia looked at what she was focused on before giggling. "Girl it's fine I can wash it. Do you feel better? That's what matters right now."

Esme nodded shortly. "Yeah, yeah I think I do. A little bit."

Sophia smiled. "Good. Now come on, we're going to your tío."

Esme faltered. "Wait, what?"

Sophia just shook her head and grasped Esme's wrist, turning around on the street and heading backwards.

"You need to have it out with him. He's worried sick- he just lost his wife, he can't lose his only sobrina too."

Sophia was right. Deep down, Esme couldn't deny the wrench of her heart to think of how her tio must be feeling in this moment. She couldn't be the only one hurting- she just lost sight of that. She wasn't really a logical person, always caught up in her own feelings and forgetting others had it too. She was a terrible person in that sense, and she wanted to curl up in a ball and hide again.