Never Again

Ch. 5

Tony's POV

I turned off the car engine and led Peter up to the main suite. He dropped his backpack off in his bedroom then joined me in the living room like I had told him. I patted the couch beside me and he sat down, not saying a word. I guess he must have realized whatever I had pulled him out of school for was important because he didn't ask me anything like I expected.

"Peter, you know how sometimes things happen and we're not sure why?" I asked. I wasn't sure how to begin, but I had thought about it for awhile and figured this was the best approach.

"Sure," Peter said. He was obviously uncertain about where I was going with this. I could hear it in his voice when he had replied.

I stayed quiet for a little while longer then pulled off my sunglasses and set them on the coffee table. I turned to face Peter who looked very worried about what I was going to say next.

"May isn't coming back," I told him quietly. His worry switched to confusion in an instant but I continued before he could say anything. "Her plane crashed on its way back from the Bahamas. I'm so sorry, Peter." He didn't say anything. He didn't react for a good minute or so. His face went blank and he just stared at the floor, trying to process what he had just heard.

I doubt he was very aware of his actions after that. He went from being silent to sobbing in seconds. His body shook as he cried and after a second of hesitation, I leaned forward to hug him. He immediately grabbed onto me, his arms locking around me as he cried onto my chest. I kept my grip on him firm, rubbing his back but saying nothing. I wasn't exactly skilled in this area, but I remembered vaguely what people had done for me when my parents died.

Peter cried for at least an hour. He didn't stop or slow down and I kept my arms around him tightly. After he had run out of energy, he just hiccuped then slowly became silent. His grip around me didn't loosen a bit, though, and I didn't loosen my arms around him. He stayed still for a long time before beginning to pull away from me. He wiped his face and glanced down at my shirt. I knew it was ruined, but I didn't care.

"I-I'm sorry about y-your shirt," he stuttered. I tried to smile, but found I wasn't able to, so I just shook my head.

"It's alright, kid," I assured him. He wiped his eyes again and took a deep breath. "Go take a shower. I'll order Chinese to the tower." He nodded and I helped him up. I watched him stumble down the hall into his bedroom to use his own shower. He shut the door behind him and I sighed.

I knew it would be at least another hour before he came out of the shower, so I didn't immediately order food. I was fairly certain he would break down again, too, so I didn't bother changing. I just grabbed a washcloth and wiped my shirt off. Reluctantly, I turned on the news to see if they were still covering the plane crash.

I had been one of the first few to hear of it. FRIDAY had alerted me when my private satellite had picked up on debris in the ocean. After contacting the airport, they confirmed it had been May's flight. I knew what Peter was going through, losing someone that close, so I also knew he wouldn't be himself for weeks.

I ended up not ordering Chinese. I would just wait until Peter got out of his shower then order food. However, he still wasn't out after two hours so I decided to check on him only to find him fast asleep on his bed.

I watched him for a minute or two. He most likely wouldn't sleep well, but I decided to just leave him be. I turned off his bedroom and bathroom light but left his door open. I walked into my own bedroom and changed my t-shirt. After telling FRIDAY to alert me if Peter's state changed even the slightest, I went downstairs to my lab in hopes of distracting myself.