Stirring awake, Peter reached over to the other side of the bed, expecting his arm to land around Gwen's waist. Though when it landed in a cold, empty space, he opened his eyes and rubbed them clear of sleep as he sat up and threw back the covers. Taking a sip of water from a glass left on the nightstand, he stood up and headed out of the bedroom towards the stairs. He paused as he passed the bathroom, taking a step back as the sound of retching reached his ears. With a frown crossing his face, he tapped lightly against the door.
"Gwen?" He questioned.
"Pe-" She began, but broke off as another retching sound bounced off the walls. "Peter?" She managed to say.
"Everything okay?" He asked, concerned.
"Ye- Yeah, you don't need to worry." She called out.
"Can I come in?" He questioned, his hand slowly reaching for the handle.
"No, don't!" Gwen almost yelled. "Don't come in here! Trust me, you don't wanna see this. This is gross." She added.
A smirk etching its way onto his face, he continued to reach for the door handle anyway and twisted it, allowing the door to swing open. His eyes dropped to Gwen, sat on the floor next to the toilet bowl, her back and head leant back and resting against the wall.
"Are you deaf? I told you not to come in." She groaned, unimpressed by his entrance.
"Whoops. Sorry… I just couldn't help myself." He chuckled.
"Sure you couldn't." She said with a small smile.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, the concern from earlier returning to his voice.
"Yes, Peter. I'm fine, really. I just had a nightmare, woke up really early, couldn't get back to sleep and shortly after a little morning sickness kicked in." She explained. "You worry too much." She added.
"I do. But it's because I care." He told her. "Are you feeling better now?" He asked.
"A bit." She informed him.
"Then mind if I sit with you?" He questioned.
"Hmm, I don't know… Not sure I want you to see me throw up again." She hesitated.
"Come on… I've seen you worse than sick, Gwen. I've held your broken body before, please." He pleaded.
"Well… Alright." She agreed.
Satisfied with her answer, he sat down with his back against the wall opposite to where she was sitting and tried to think of something to say.
"So, a nightmare huh?... Care to share?" He prompted.
"Meh, I don't know…" She said reluctantly.
"Then, perhaps what it was about?" He pushed.
"Oh… It was nothing. Just about the night that we fought Harry." She admitted.
"That's not nothing." He responded, surprised by her revelation, but also dreading to think of the conversation that could follow.
If only she knew.
He sighed. All traces of humour vanished from his voice. The same guilt that hit him every time the subject was brought to the surface jolted through his body like electricity and he wanted to grab hold of Gwen and apologize for lying. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't do that because she had no idea that he had ever lied in the first place and if she ever found out… He stopped that line of thought before it could make it to the top of his head, not wanting to imagine the pain that the truth would cause her.
YOU ARE READING
The Afterglow
FanfictionSEQUEL TO SHOWING HER THE ROPES. 1 Year after they left for Oxford, Peter and Gwen are now back in New York City and newly married too. They had left thinking that Venom was gone, along with Harry Osborne. Harry is dead. But Venom could still return...
