The Butterfly Effect: a Peter Parker Fan Fic

Part 47; Wings

His voice is airy and seems very distant as he begins to speak, "we are gathered here today to present the will of Keith Michael Stark, late father to Mariposa and Cameron Garcia."

Way to make it sound like it's a marriage, man!

Peter sits next to me intentionally. It wasn't said verbally, but it was implied that the both of us thought that it would be beneficial for me if he was the one who sat next to me, to calm me down. He leans over to my seat and raises an eyebrow, "Mariposa?"

Great. Way to go, lawyer dude! I roll my eyes and whisper, "I'll explain later." Even though there's nothing really to explain. It's my first name and I hate it.

The man continues to drone on and on and on about law-related things that I don't understand. In all of the crime movies and shows that I've seen, lawyers are supposed to be engaging. How did this guy pass law school?

Imagine an infomercial in Severus Snape's voice.

That is how it sounds.

And finally, finally, I hear that he is about to go into the giving away of stuff. "To Aurora Davies, or as stated here, Rory, my love," I can see mom flinch from the corner of my eye. "He leaves half of his total earnings and a couple of smaller items such as a pair of earrings, a suit..."

He continues to speak and these seem like very minuscule objects, things of low importance. But as I glance over the seats to examine Rory's face, these items are of sentimental value to her. Her eyes are tearing up and with each object announced, her reactions become larger and larger.

He hasn't talked about the lab yet.

"To his daughter, Mariposa Garcia," my heart accelerates suddenly. "He leaves behind a quarter of his total earnings in a trust fund to be accessed when she turns eighteen. He has also left behind a watch. Now, onto his son, Ca--"

"That's it?" I blurt out. Everyone's eyes land on me, knowing something was about to happen. "All he left behind for me was money and a watch?"

"That is what is stated here and that is what he had discussed with me. Keep in mind Miss Garcia, that the sum of money is abundant and--"

"--I don't give a fuck about money, jobs exist for a reason!" I state the obvious. "But then who is the lab going to? Or in law terms, his estate?"

He sighs and lowers his glasses to the tip of his nose, "if you had let me finish, it would have come to your attention that he has left the lab behind to his ex-wife, Linda Garcia."

Murmurs arise in the small crowd consisting of my family, Peter, Rory and a few other lab staff members who are gathered here. Mom seems the most shocked of us all, her jaw dropping to her feet and the rest of her as still as a statue. Rory and I exchange a look as if to say, what was he thinking? It's as if the world around me stops.

He gave mom the lab.

Not me, not Rory, not any staff member, not his own brother, but mom who has never even stepped foot in the lab until today, who never even supported the idea of it.

My throat closes up, in betrayal and dismay and anger and fury. At the moment, all I need is space, air, anything. We are in Malibu, in the lab, where my favorite room is located. My legs carry me there before I can even process it.

The walls of each hallway seem to be smaller, closing in on me. My throat feels clogged and my vision, blurred. Why am I so angry? I don't know. The idea of her having it infuriates me. Cam deserves it more than she does! 

How I mange to find the Butterfly Room is unbelievable. Typing the four digit code in is easier said than done because of my trembling hands. Even through the tears, I somehow manage to do it.