Bruised But Not Broken - Irondad/spiderson

Peters Awake

PETER POV

Pain, cold pain, flushed through my body as a distant hum ran into my ears. My senses start to go haywire, everything burning. I can hear a pen clicking down the hall. Each click is like a jackhammer to my head. My eyes won't dare to open. I can tell the white light will make me throw up. I try moving my arm, but my body feels heavy and unresponsive. Instead, a groan leaves my lips. Where am I? What happened? The beeping of my heart monitor starts to quicken, louder, faster, and I can't breathe. I need help. Where am I?

As I struggle to regain my bearings, my thoughts race to piece together the events leading up to this moment. The last thing I remember was leaving work and heading towards my car. Was I hit by a car? Did I slip and fall? The questions swirl in my mind as I try to make sense of my surroundings.

I attempt to speak, but my throat is dry and scratchy, and my voice comes out as nothing more than a croak. Panic starts, but I force myself to take slow and steady breaths. I need to stay calm and figure out what's going on.

I hear footsteps approaching and the sound of muffled voices. A moment later, a hand gently touches my shoulder. 

"Peter, can you hear me?" a soft voice asks.

Again, all that comes out is a painful groan as my panic becomes uncontrollable. More footsteps rush in, 

"He's in here", a gruff voice croaks.

"Peter, baby! Its May. You're okay, calm down, you're safe," I hear May's sweet but worried voice echo through the now quiet room. Hearing her voice allowed me to slow my breathing. My limbs were on fire, and unable to move my body or open my eyes, I attempted to speak again. 

"argh, l-lights", I managed to breathe out, 

"quickly turn the lights out.", the man from earlier said.

The room plunged into darkness, and I sighed in relief. My eyes slowly open, and I see outlines of May's worried expression and two other figures, a man and a woman, behind her.

 "Water", I gasped.

The woman, A doctor, I think, helps me lean forward and drink from a straw; the cool liquid flushed my throat, relieving some of the pain. My body was still burning, and no amount of strength was allowing me to move. 

"It's okay, Petey, you're safe now. Your classmate has been taken away, and he will not touch you ever again," Aunt May spoke gently.

" what, what happened?" I asked in confusion; I couldn't remember a thing. "shhhh, it's okay, Peter", Aunt May hummed as she ran her hand through my hair. " I want to go home", I quivered, a tear slowly falling down my cheek. ""It's okay, baby. You were beat up pretty bad, but the doctor said you have been healing really fast after surgery."That is not surprising.

" In fact, the doctors don't understand how you didn't die after bleeding on the cold floor for three hours. Nevertheless, I'm just so happy you're awake", May spoke as her voice cracked; she couldn't lose me as well. All we have is each other.

"Mr Stark has kindly offered you to stay in his personal care while you get better. I even have a room down the hall, so I won't be far away", I interrupted my thoughts.

"Uh, what? No, uhm, May, don't, don't go." I panic at the thought of being alone.

" Its okay, Peter, I'm not going anywhere", May hushed me

" You can stay as long as you need, kid. This happened on my watch. You are being taken care of by me now." A deep voice from the back of the room spoke.

"Mr Stark?" I questioned

"I'm here kid," the voice confirmed. 

"I'm sorry this happened to you, but I promise you're in good hands now. You're safe here, and we'll ensure you get better." I nodded weakly, grateful for Aunt May's and Mr. Stark's support. Despite the pain and confusion, I knew that I was lucky to have people who cared about me. As the doctor checked on me and made sure I was stable, I tried to piece together the events of the attack. Flashes of memory came to me - the sound of footsteps, the feel of someone hitting me, the sight of a figure looming over me. But most of it was a blur, and I couldn't understand what had happened or why.

Wait... was I just talking to Mr stark? I'm his problem now? Oh gods, this can't be real. My heart starts pounding out of my chest, and black blotches start clouding my vision again. 

"Peter, calm down, you're safe", Aunt May whispers.

I'm now a burden on Mr Stark, which is not good. Flash was right. He ruined my chances of missing the test. 

"I'm so sorry, Mr Stark", I manage to slip out as my vision goes completely black, fading into the memory of being beaten and bullied. His fist just kept going.