Listen With Your Heart Chapter 1
A loud beeping alarm blared throughout the air awakening the only inhabitant of the room. Phoebe groaned from beneath the covers not wanting to get out of bed, but forcing herself to anyway. Head burrowed underneath a pillow Phoebe blindly waved for arm around searching for the alarm clock. When she did she instantly shut off the annoying sound.
Throwing off the covers Phoebe sat upright in bed yawning and stretching all the while trying to shake the sleep off, saying "That was the strangest dream."
During the night an image appeared in her dreams. She was standing alone in the middle of the thickest fog she'd ever seen. No matter which direction she turned there was no path leading out. The same thing happened when she called for someone to help her. Then a distant shadowed figure seemed to just appear out of thin air literally. The figures back was facing her so it wasn't easy to for her to tell the identity of this person. Judging by the stature of this man she simply assumed it was her father. Smiling she ran towards the man calling out to him as she went. At the sound of her voice the shadowed figure slowly begun to turn. Then at the exact moment when Phoebe was about to get a look at his face her alarm clock went off waking her before the mystery was solved.
Finding it unusual, but waving it aside as another regular dream she got out of bed.
Going over to her closet Phoebe pulled out an outfit she already selected prepared the previous night before. Whish were a pair of leggings, a tunic, and black flats to match. Once that was taken care of Phoebe carefully brushed out her long beautiful hair leaving a trace of a wave through the strands. Phoebe always took very good care of her skin so no amount of makeup big or small was necessary to apply. Her schoolbag an purse were already finished so there was no rush to take care of those leaving a small amount of extra time on hand.
"Papa," called Phoebe, entering the kitchen searching for her father. "Papa!" But the man was nowhere to be seen in the open layout.
Thinking her father might by chance still be in his room Phoebe checked in there to see if he was sleeping. Unfortunately he wasn't located there in face there weren't any signs of anyone had slept in there at all in the night. Then the solution struck her. It was so obvious she was mentally slapping herself for not thinking of it sooner. If he couldn't be found in any of the previous places there was one other area he could be.
Opening the door to the basement Phoebe walked down the spiral staircase entering her fathers spacious lab. Unlike the laboratory he was privileged to at Oscorp Curt Conners had this one to use both to continue work along with his own private personal projects. His daughter often found him down here asleep exhausted at his desk that is exactly where he was now. Really he was that predictable. Phoebe figured he must've deep into his work last night judging by the mess of books and papers surrounding his head on the surface of the desk. Maneuvering around the desk to his side phoebe gently shook his shoulders attempting to wake him up.
"Papa," whispered Phoebe, leaning forward to gently kiss his head. "Papa, wake up."
Releasing a small deep groan Conners slowly straightened in his chair rubbing a hand to his face to clear the drowsiness from his head. Putting on his glasses Conner's saw who'd shaken him from slumber.
Smiling drowsily, Conners said "Ah, Phoebe, good morning." He then hesitated unsure. "It is morning isn't it?"
Nodding, Phoebe said "Yes it is."
Conners took in his surroundings coming to realize here he was. He chuckled knowing now he'd fallen asleep in his lab again as he'd been caught doing multiple other times before in the past.
He sighed "I feel asleep down here again didn't I?"
Nodding, sympathetic, Phoebe said "I'm afraid so."
Running a hand over his uncombed hair, Conners sighed "How many does that make it now?"
Going through the routine that's become second nature to her in rearranging the mess or papers on the desk into neat structured piles, Phoebe shrugged, saying "Don't recall. To be fair I lost count once we got passed a hundred." The exact moment Phoebe spoke this a grin cracked her lips a humorous twinkle appearing in her eyes.
Immediately Conners knew Phoebe was just having a little bit of fun messing with him. It was both for her own amusement and to get him to smile.
Rising, Conners scoffed "Very funny."
With Phoebe leading the way holding Conners hand to her the two climbed the spiral stairway returning to the main level of the house. The second they got to that section Conners went for his bedroom to freshen himself while phoebe went into the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast. By the time he returned Phoebe had an egg sunny side up, bacon burnt to a crisp, and a small side of toast his favorite was waiting for him.
"Something smells good," said Conners, eyeing the food Phoebe had laid out on the counter attempting to adjust his tie. Like a majority of the time it was proven to be extremely difficult with the use of one hand.
"It looked like you had a rough night and I had just enough extra time on my hands to make your preferred breakfast," I said smiling as I put the food at his place on the table next to the daily newspaper. "Let me help you with that."
Taking the disgruntled tie out of his grip I set to fixing the disaster it'd become. Once it was properly arranged Phoebe smoothed the creases on his shirt, saying "There all done. Now you can go to work without resembling someone just coming out of a late night bar."
The final part was added in since she knew how sensitive he still was on the subject involving his lack of a right arm. She saw it in his eyes each time she assisted him in this fashion and this was no different. The right cure for this ailment of his was to cause him to laugh and like always it worked like the perfect charm.
Conners chuckled "What would I do without you, my little Phoebe?"
Shrugging, she said "Probably wasting your life away all alone a mess with only numerous experiments to keep you company day in and out."
"Wouldn't that be the way to live," joked Conners, sarcastically as he told his seat at the table.
Laughing Phoebe joined him there with her own smaller proportioned morning meal another sunny side egg and toast. As she went to take the first bite she nearly had a heart attack when she looked at the time. A single glance at it made her jump.
"Omg," screamed Phoebe, bursting out of the kitchen to her room, I'm going to be late for school!"
"Do you need a ride," offered Conners, concerned, "I can drive you."
"No, no," refused Phoebe, coming back out with her purse and school bag hanging off of her shoulders, gesturing for him to stay seated, "finish your breakfast, Papa. You know I'd rather take my bike to school. It's good exercise for me."
"All right," conceded Conners, "but you should at least eat something. You haven't even touched any of your breakfast yet."
Waving a dismissive hand, Phoebe said "I'll eat at the school. If I leave now I can still make first period with a few minutes to spare."
"Phoebe," warned Conners, brow raised.
Clearly annoyed Phoebe marched back over to the table grabbing the toast from her plate. Glaring at her father, reply muffled by the toast, she said "Happy?"
"Quite so," said Conners, satisfied. She may only be consuming toast, but it was something until she got to school.
On the way to the front door Phoebe bent to give her him a fleeting kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Papa," she said, "I'll see you later."
"Be safe, Phoebe," said Conners.
"I will," she said, exiting the house. Taking the front steps down two at a time until she reached the driveway.
Punching in the code to open the garage Phoebe entered making a beeline for her bike. Finishing the slice of toast in three large neat bites she rolled the bike out of the garage. At the edge of the driveway before she mounted onto the vehicle Phoebe turned to look back at the house particularly the large window from the kitchen overlooking the front yard outside. The table was positioned right next to it allowing them to see each other.
Waving at Conners Phoebe blew him a kiss she got onto the bike and riding off. There was no longer any time for her to delay in the departure. As Phoebe pedaled away to school Conners waved back watching his daughter until she was out of sight. When that was so the smile he had disappeared entirely from his face.
Weighing heavily on Conners mind were the results of the experiments he'd done at work the day before and tried to formulate all night long. He'd constantly gone over the equations multiple times, but no improvement could be found. He knew his employer was getting impatient had been for a long time. Mr. Norman Osborn wasn't going to tolerate failure for another round of tests. It was time and money they weren't willing or going to spend. The decay rate algorithm was proving to be the one problematic aspect hindering the progress of this crucial research. Perhaps today's experiments would hold anything remotely close to being the breakthrough he needs.
If not…then time was running out leaving him and Phoebe vulnerable in serious danger. That was something he was never going to allow to become reality. He would keep Phoebe safe from harm at all costs. After all he di make a promise one he would rather die before breaking ever.
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