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chapter twenty-six

     ⚠️ trigger warning; abuse

Sunday

May was shorter with him than usual.
"You want me to break your other knee?" She'd asked when Peter was being too loud. He wasn't really sure why, but he wondered if it had something to do with his staying with the Avengers. He kept thinking about what she'd asked, about if he'd talked about her to the Avengers. What did she mean? He sat on the question for the majority of the day, distracting himself by scrolling through his phone and cleaning.

'Hey kid. How's the knee?'

Peter's face brightened at the text, resting the broom against the wall so he could reply.
May glanced up from her seat at the kitchen table. "I didn't say you could stop cleaning."
"Sorry, I was just replying to Mr. Stark," Peter replied, slipping his phone back into his pocket and grabbing the broom. May stared at him for a moment in thought before she got up and made her way over to him. She held her hand out and Peter stared at it. "Er... What...?"
"Your phone."
"Oh... May, please, I won't do it again. I'll keep cleaning," Peter shifted, clutching the broom. He didn't want to lose his phone; it was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.
"What did you call me?" May's eyes flashed in anger.
"Ma'am," Peter corrected, uneasiness brewing in his stomach.
"Give me your phone," she demanded.
"Please, I-," he began, but May slapped him. Hard.
"Give me the phone!" She snapped.
"S-Sorry," he fumbled with it, handing it over.
"Look at how you're treating me!" She scoffed, voice raising. "Those stupid Avengers brainwashed you! You owe me respect!"
"They're not stupid," he mumbled, head ducked down. He knew she heard it when she clenched her fists, gripping his shirt.
"How dare you talk back to me?!" May held up the phone with her other hand and slammed it on the ground, shattering the glass.
     "No!" He cried, ripping himself from her grasp and picking up his broken phone. He tried turning it on, but it wouldn't budge. He stood up, furious. "Why would you do that?!" He screamed. He was exhausted of tolerating her behavior and couldn't bother being obedient any longer.
     "Because you deserved it," she seethed, jabbing her finger against his chest. "You will never contact the Avengers again, understand? If you do, I'll kill you!"
     "I won't stop! They're my family!" He dared, fists clenched tightly. Angry tears rolled down his face. His spidey sense went off in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.
     "You stupid boy," she punched him, "I wish you died instead of my sister!" She kicked his broken knee, making him fall to the floor in a cry of pain. She kicked him in the ribs, over and over. When she stopped, it was to scramble on top of him to pound her hands on his chest. Peter put his hands up in defense, trying to avoid her hits. They were both crying, for vastly different reasons. "I hate you!" She screamed, banging her fists on his face. She had never punched his face before, as others would notice the bruises. "I'll kill you!"
     "Please stop," he managed to say, wiping the blood off his sleeve. He was scared.
     "Shut up!" She grabbed his head and Peter's spidey senses were going off like an alarm. She slammed his head onto the floor, and pain shot through the back of his head. He groaned, and fought her hands off when she started lifting his head again.
     He easily overtook her with his strength. His vision danced with black spots as he flew out the door, down the steps and out of the apartment. He bolted down the sidewalk, pushing through clusters of people. She was really going to kill him! He'd never believed she'd take it this far.
     Adrenaline pumped through him as he ran, until he made it to a small grocery store. He ran in, vision tunneling until everything went black.

     Strips of light fell into the room, the sunlight soft in its nature. Peter's eyes peeled open, and he blinked away the sleep. He looked around, head unmoving, at the plain room. He was confused, and his head hurt.
A woman walked in with a clipboard, eyes laying on Peter.
"You're awake," she said, smiling gently.
"W-Where...?"
"You're in the Medical Bay. You collapsed in a grocery store and were brought to a general hospital. Tony, because he is one of your emergency contacts, was called, and he transferred you here," she explained.
"I'm-I'm at the compound?" Waking up in the MedBay seemed to be routine now.
"Yes," she nodded. "You should go back to sleep, we'll explain everything later."
"My aunt—where is she? Was she called?"
"Your aunt was taken into custody."
"What?" His eyes widened. Was that possible?
"You should get some rest," the nurse insisted. "I understand you want to know everything that happened, but we need to focus on your health, okay?"
"I'm fine," Peter insisted, sitting up with a soft groan. He reached for the back of his head to find his fingertips brushing against cotton bandages. "T-Tony," he mumbled. "Where...?"
"Mr. Stark is waiting outside. It would be best if you-"
"Get him, please. Please," Peter pleaded. His head was spinning. "I want- Please."
The nurse sighed. "I'll get him, but you have to go back to sleep afterwards."
"Thank you," Peter closed his eyes, trying to wrap his head around it all. Was May really in custody?

"Hey kid."
Peter opened his eyes, and emotion flooded his senses. "Tony."
The man pulled up a chair and sat beside him.
"I'm so sorry," Tony shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "We knew something was going on. We were trying to get you out, but they wouldn't let us." He opened his eyes. "Said there was no evidence of abuse, that a transfer of custody wasn't necessary," he swallowed. He was angry; it was clear. "And when she came and got you... I didn't want to let you go, but I had to. Or they'd never give me a fighting chance. But it's over. Finally, it's over. You're safe now."
     Tears welled in Peter's eyes, so he buried his head into Tony's shoulder. The man wrapped his arms around the boy, comfortingly rubbing his back as he cried.
     He'd been wrong. May didn't love him. He cried for freedom, but also cried for loss. "You're safe now," Tony whispered. For the first time in his life, he believed it.

author's note;
hey 🖐😀
lots of things happened in this chapter... OUR BOY IS FREE!
vote and comment if you enjoyed! ❤️