"Ouch!" I moaned, gripping my ankle. It hurt so badly. My ankle was twisted, and my left knee and elbow were bleeding.
I reached into the pocket of my jeans, only to find my phone screen cracked and my power at 8%. What a way to add insult to injury, especially after the day I'd had!
I saw bright lights from a car coming down the street. "Morgan?" I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
"Morgan?"
"I'm right here!" I responded.
"Are you alright?" I looked up to see my big brother leaning over me.
"No," I said, my lower lip trembling, more tears escaping my eyes.
Peter sat next to me in the dirt, pulling me in for a hug.
After letting me cry until I had no more tears, he said, "I know today is hard, that you feel like you're all alone, but you're not. I've got you. We've all got you. You're not alone in this."
"I know, but it's just so hard, it feels like he abandoned me here."
"Look at me," he said, gently brushing my hair out of my face.
I looked up to meet those deep, soul-filled eyes.
"Your dad loved you with all his heart. He died so that you could live, so the the universe could live. I'm sure if you were the only person in the universe, he still would have done what he did so that you could live."
"Does that help?" he asked quietly.
"A little bit," I nodded.
"Good," he answered, smiling a little bit, "and I totally get how you're feeling. I'm the world's leading expert on losing parents. Trust me, I've lost four of them," he said with a little laugh, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Does it get any easier?"
"Honestly?" he said, smiling a little.
I nodded, wiping my nose on my sleeve.
"No. Some days are better than others. Sometimes I forget that they're even gone, and I want to tell Tony or Ben something about my day, and then I remember that they're gone, and it gets harder. Days like today are the worst."
"What do you do?"
"I try to remember that it wasn't my fault. That they loved me and they wouldn't have left if they had had the choice. It took me a long time to realize that I was angry at them, especially Ben and Tony, for leaving. I realized that I had to forgive them and be at peace with their loss so that I could continue to live my life."
"Did it help?" I asked, my lower lip quivering.
"A little," he said, taking a deep breath, "How about we take you to the E.R.?"
"Why?" I asked, brows lowering.
He gave the slightest smile, "Because you fell off your bike and that ankle looks like it hurts."
"What about M.J.?" I asked.
"Don't worry, she's not going to pop today, and she'll call me if she does," he answered, shyly fingering the ring on his left hand.
I smiled a little. I couldn't wait to be an aunt. Talking about the baby always made me happier.
"Okay," I nodded.
He reached down and carried me into the front seat of his car bridal style.
"Why don't you call your mom while I drive? I'm sure she's worried."
I made a face. "I don't even know if she knows if I left the party. Anyways, when I tell her, she'll just say I was being impulsive like Dad."
Peter laughed. "I'm sure she will! Tony was kind of impulsive when I met him, but I'm sure he was worse before I knew him. Your mom tamed him quite a bit. You should ask Happy or Rhodey to tell you some stories about his younger days, though. Apparently he was a menace."
I smiled a little, my heart feeling a little of the heavy weight that had been on it all day come off of it. Maybe this was what I had needed. Someone to talk to about my dad who knew him too. Someone who understood. Like my brother.