Mike hadn't even been asleep for half an hour when he woke up to the sound of screaming. He jumped up to his feet and started running down the hall to the guest bedroom. He didn't even bother to knock this time as he opened the door and ran over to Peter.
Peter was on the ground, just beside the bed, sobbing and screaming, constantly thrashing around. It was frightening to see him like this.
Mike frowned and got down on his knees beside him. He quickly tried to wrap his arms around his friend, hoping it might calm him down. It didn't.
"NO!" Peter screamed more and tried to fight his way out of Mike's arms. Eventually, he was able to free himself and slammed Mike into the nightstand. The impact had caused the nightstand to fall over as well as a decent bruise to form on the back of Mike's neck. It hurt but it didn't even seem to matter to him.
Mike quickly crawled back over to Peter, confused and scared.
"P-Peter," he started. "Does it hurt anywhere? Do you need—?"
He put his hand on Peter's shoulder, which only caused him to freak out more. He yelled and began backing himself into the corner of the room.
"Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone," he chanted, putting his hands over his ears.
Peter suddenly stopped and looked at Mike, staring at him for a minute.
"Are you okay?" Mike asked softly, getting a little closer to Peter.
"S-stay back!" Peter yelled and Mike quickly held up his hands in defense.
"Okay…" he started. "But…you do know who I am, right?"
Peter didn't answer. Mike sighed.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm your friend. You can trust me."
Peter quickly shook his head.
"You can't trust anyone in this world, kid," he muttered. "They'll leave you and they'll toss you to the curb when things get tough."
Mike frowned and got down onto his knees, right in front of Peter's line of vision.
"Where'd you hear that from?" He asked, concerned. It didn't sound like something Peter would say and he hated to think of what put that idea in his head. Mostly because…he knew it was him. He was afraid of the idea that his cynicism finally had brought Peter's eternal optimism down.
"Peter?" Mike asked. "What's wrong?"
Peter frowned and stood, turning his back to Mike. Mike took a deep breath before standing as well, taking a few steps closer. It was then he noticed Peter was impulsively rubbing his arm, whimpering.
"Is your arm hurting you?"
No response.
"Peter?"
"NO!"
Peter crumbled onto the ground and curled himself into a ball, sobbing.
"Don't hurt him!" He cried out hysterically. "LEAVE US ALONE!"
Mike frowned and got back onto the ground, scooting himself right beside Peter. He closed his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the tears. But they kept coming.
Hesitantly, Mike put his hand on Peter's shoulder which caused him to stop and freeze entirely.
"Peter, it's Mike," he whispered.
"Mike…?" Peter asked, voice breaking. Mike nodded but couldn't bring himself to say anything as Peter slowly lifted up his head.
Peter let out a sob and clung onto Mike tightly. Mike tensed up but began rubbing Peter's back, trying to help calm him down.
"It's okay," he whispered. "You're okay."
Peter whimpered.
"Peter, just breathe."
"Th-they were gonna hurt you…"
"Who was?"
Peter squeezed onto Mike tighter. He sighed and offered a slight smile.
"It's okay, Peter. They won't hurt me and they won't hurt you either. I'm not gonna let anything hurt you."
Again.
Mike closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath before he spoke again.
"A-are you okay?" He asked, pulling away to get a better look at Peter. Peter thought about it and slowly shook his head.
"No?" Mike clarified, a hint of sadness in his tone. Peter didn't respond and only looked off into the distance, seeing something only he could, a terrified expression on his face. He screamed and clung onto Mike again, crying.
"Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me," Peter chanted, shaking his head. Mike pulled Peter close and began rubbing his back.
"I'm right here, Peter. Shh, it's okay. It's okay."
Peter sobbed and Mike let out a sigh.
"How's your arm?"
Peter whimpered.
"I-it really h-hurts, Mike…" Peter admitted, a slight hint of shame in his tone. "I'm s-sorry…"
"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's not your fault."
Of course, it isn't your fault, Peter. It's mine.
"Don't worry, Peter," he said shakily. "I-it'll be okay…c-can you still move your arm okay?"
Peter sniffled and Mike could feel his arm twitch slightly.
"Y-yes, but i-it h-h-hurts…"
Mike bit his lip and nodded slowly, tears filling in his eyes.
"Okay…that's okay, that's okay, Peter. If it gets too bad, we could have someone look at it later, if you'd like."
Peter nodded and sniffled, leaning into Mike more.
"Are you okay?"
Peter shook his head and Mike shifted his way out of the hug and stood. He held out his hand and Peter was hesitant to take it.
"I'm not going to let anything hurt you, okay?" Mike smiled slightly and Peter held his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. Almost instantly, the ground seemed to move beneath Peter, nearly causing him to collapse back down. Mike noticed it and wrapped his arm around Peter, who leaned into him for support.
"Easy," he said. "I got you."
Peter nodded and Mike led him back to the bed, helping him lay down. He sat with Peter until the blond was asleep. After making sure he was, Mike grabbed the cold washcloth and repositioned it on Peter's forehead. Peter groaned and shifted for a moment before he eventually became still again. Mike sighed and smiled slightly as he stood, trying not to wake him again, and made his way back into the living room.
Mike was frightened. Hell, he was terrified, much more than he should've been. He was supposed to be strong but instead he was just scared and confused.
"All men get what they deserve." That was a lie. Peter was only hurt and now he was forced to watch as his friend suffered. He didn't deserve that.
If anyone deserved to be suffering, it should've been Mike. He was the one who saw the signs but hadn't done anything while his best friend was hurting and Peter broke as the result of that.
Mike knew he was guilty, who else would be after all?
He sighed and sat down on the couch, holding his face in his hands. And for the first time since he took Peter in, Mike allowed himself to cry. He cried for what felt like all night until it eventually put him to sleep.
