CHAPTER TRIGGER WARNING: TALK ABOUT SUICIDE
Chapter Four: May
Tony didn't know how long he stayed beside Peter's body. Finally, he roused himself. "F.R.I.D.A.Y.," he said, "call an ambulance and report of the suicide of Peter Parker." His voice cracked. Saying those words had finally made it real for him. Peter was dead. He had killed himself, and he was never going to come back. He was gone.
"Done," replied his A.I. "An ambulance is on the war. Estimated arrival is 10 minutes."
Tony nodded. "I need to call May," he realized. "Damn it, this is going to be hard."
He pulled out his phone, took a few deep breaths, and dialed May's number. "Pick up, pick up, please pick up," he whispered. Each second exponentially increased the anxiety building his his chest. After what seemed like an eternity, though it was only a few moments, May answered the call.
"Tony, hey," she said. "You're lucky, I'm in the middle of a shift right now, but I've got 15 minutes of break. I haven't heard from you in while. How are you doing?"
"May," Tony began, then stopped. "May, I don't know how to tell you this, but-"
May cut him off. "What happened? Is it Peter? Is he ok?"
"No," Tony murmured, his response barely audible.
"Shit, Tony, what happened? Please, tell me," she pleaded.
"Peter, Peter, he-" Tony started crying. How would he be able to tell May?
"What happened, Tony? What happened to my boy?"
Tony took a deep breath. "May, he's gone."
"What?" May's tone was one of complete and utter disbelief.
"He's gone, May. He killed himself. He's gone, May!" Tony was sobbing. "He's gone." His voice trailed off; only the sound of his weeping remained.
"No," whispered May. "Don't say that, Tony. Tell me it's not true! Please!"
Tony was silent. He heard the sound of May crying softly. "I'm coming home right now," she said. "Are you with him? Are you at the apartment?"
"Y-yeah," said Tony, gruffly.
"Ok," said May. "I'll be there in a few minutes." Then, she hung up.
Tony looked down sadly at Peter's still body. "Oh, Peter," he sighed. "I'm so sorry. I failed you, Peter. I should have been there for you. And I wasn't."
Tony wasn't sure how long he sat on the floor. He started blankly at Peter's body. The tears had stopped, but his thoughts were still racing. How did this happen? Why, Peter? How did I not notice?
A loud knocking on the door startled Tony out of his thoughts. Slowly, painfully, he walked to the door. It was the EMTs. "Tony Stark?" one of them asked. The man nodded wearily. "Are you the one who reported the suicide of Peter Parker?" Again, Tony nodded. He lead them into Peter's bedroom, but returned to the living room to wait.
They talked to him, he thought, but he was running on autopilot, not really aware of what was happing. Until May arrived. With a single glance at Tony, May's last, desperate hope that it wasn't true vanished. Peter was dead. Her Peter, her little boy, was had killed himself, and none of them had ever noticed anything out of the ordinary. A 15-year-old kid had felt that death was the only escape, and none of them had been there for him. Peter was dead. Nothing could bring him back. He was gone.
A/N:
IMPORTANT TRIGGER WARNING NOTICE:
PLEASE DON'T READ THIS FIC IF IT MIGHT BE TRIGGERING FOR YOU (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SELF HARM, SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, & ANXIETY)