He held my heart and let it go

★゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★

★゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★

chapter four

a home is where the heart is

you told me about your past thinking your future was me. taylor swift

"Hey," Peter called out to his aunt as he led Meredith into his house. It was prettier than hers, more lived in. His Aunt May was in the kitchen, cooking. "This is Meredith Jones, our neighbor. Can she stay for dinner?"

Meredith let out an awkward wave at the woman who smiled. May was fond of the girl, even after how little she knew about her. Most of the kids nowadays didn't have time for the adults, their bustling lives keeping them busy but Meredith was a sweetheart. Whenever she saw May, she would wave and smile, as if they were old friends rather than neighbors that occasionally saw each other.

"Oh hello darling, I am glad Peter finally brought in a friend," She smiled as Peter rummaged through the fridge, bringing out a frozen packet of peas to keep over his black eye and yet another chocolate for the pink-haired girl. "Of course, she can stay for dinner."

"Thank you, May," she grinned, "I hope my dad didn't offer you some of his home-cooked monstrosities again."

"He offered," the woman laughed, "And for some reason, Ben loved it. I think he might even ask your dad for the recipe later."

Meredith laughed, though a bit surprised. Ben was surely strong if he could stomach down that down. "I think my dad would be over the moon if he heard that."

"I'm making spaghetti and meatballs tonight," May told them and Peter made a face at Meredith like 'I told you'. To his aunt he said, "You're serious? Spaghetti and meatballs."

May rolled her eyes, "Since when don't you like spaghetti and meatballs, huh?" Just as Peter made his way to sit near the sink, she finally saw his face. "Oh, my God."

Peter didn't understand why she said that so he asked, "What's up?"

"What happened to your face?"

Meredith wanted to laugh at the expression on his face. He looked nervous, as if caught doing some bad deed. If one thing was clear, it was the fact that Peter was somewhat scared of his aunt.

"I'm all right. Just... I fell, skating." He looked at Meredith for help but she shrugged, laughing at him.

"It's all right," he promised his aunt.

Just then Ben Parker walked into the room, a box in his hands. From what Meredith had heard from her dad, he was a kind-hearted and selfless person who always put others before himself.

"Ben Parker, don't you even–," Aunt May made a face of disgust at her husband, "–think about leaving that filthy box in my kitchen."

"My bowling trophies," He explained, rather shocked that his wife would not let him keep his prized possessions wherever he pleased. He looked around the kitchen, eyes finally landing on Meredith. "You're Jonathan's kid, right? Mary?"

Peter made a disgruntled voice at the back of his throat, "It's Meredith."

"Meredith Jones," The young girl smiled. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Parker. My dad speaks very highly of you."

"Oh, well, then, by all means," the older woman glared at him, continuing talking about the trophy box, "leave that box in my kitchen."

Ben shrugged before taking a look at his nephew, "What happened to you?"

"He fell," Meredith answered as she went and stood right next to Peter, offering him some of the chocolate he had given her.

"Why you kids ride those things, I'll never know," May shook her head at Peter's supposed recklessness. If only she knew what had actually happened...

"Because it's stupid and dangerous," Ben spoke, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Remember when we were stupid?"

Peter and Meredith laughed lightly as May answered with a straight, "No."

"Trust me, we were," Ben nodded, then pointed at the pair, "I bet you guys are too. Just don't be too stupid that you forget to use protection."

Meredith's face instantly turned red as she blushed at the assumption, "We're not– I'm not– We are not dating."

Peter covered his face with his free hand, "We are just friends but all right. Good to know. Thank you so much, Uncle Ben."

"If you're not together then why do you have her picture on your computer?" Uncle Ben asked as Peter's eyes grew wide as saucers. This was clearly a secret he had hoped his uncle would keep as one. Meredith looked at Peter surprised, her heart doing these weird somersaults in her chest (he has my picture on my computer).

"He is a liar. A pathological liar. I do not have your picture on my computer, MJ," Meredith laughed lightly, finding the Parker boy's awkwardness quite hilarious.

"Aw shit, so you don't have my photo on your computer?" She smirked, loving every moment of this.

"No. NO. I do have your picture but it's of the decathlon team. Everyone is there," he explained (lied). He turned to his uncle, noting that the man was barefoot with his pants rolled up, "Where's the flood?"

"Follow me. You too, Mary," Ben said walking out of the kitchen, "I'll show you."

"You serious?" Peter called out.

"Yes!"

"I guess he is serious," the girl grinned, bending down to fold her pants up. "Let's go."

"All right."

"It's the condenser tray," Meredith noted at what Uncle Ben showed, as she stared at the amount of things down in the basement.

"Too much water for the condenser tray or the heat exchange tubing," Peter nodded at them, "This has got to be the fill line."

"That's the only thing that makes any sense," The older man agreed and then turned to his nephew, "Can you fix it?"

"No, not tonight," the boy said, eager to not only spend time with the Jones girl but also to rest after the fight in the school today. "I'll go by the hardware store tomorrow."

"Good deal." Ben shrugged before throwing a packet of frozen meat at the youngest Parker. "And meanwhile, put this on your face."

"How's the other guy look?" he asked. Meredith and Peter suddenly looked at each other, terrified by the knowledge that his uncle knew what had happened.

"Come on," Ben made a face like 'are you trying to kid with me?' "I know a right cross when I see one."

Without answering, both Meredith and Peter continued to unload the box.

"Yes or no? Do I have to call somebody's father?"

"No, no," Peter suddenly shook his head. It was better if no complaints were sent out. That would just mean more drama.

"All right."

"Well, I wouldn't tell your Aunt May." Ben faux-shuddered at the thought, "I pity the poor kid who'd have to suffer her wrath."

He turned around to go back upstairs, "Before you come up, see if there's anything else worth saving."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry about him," Peter shook his head at the girl, "He is a character."

"It's fine," the girl laughed, "He is super cool. I wish my uncle was like him."

Peter grinned before adding, "Except the part where he keeps calling you Mary."

"I don't know," the girl shrugged. "It's kind of growing on me."

"Nah," the boy shook his head, "MJ suits you better."

Meredith couldn't agree less. The name MJ seemed familiar to her, like a sense of belonging and she loved that feeling. She was also starting to like this sudden feeling she was getting around the Parker boy.

"Peter?" The boy in question was kneeling down, near a briefcase. His face had a solemn expression, that cloud of grief once again filling his eyes. The suitcase had the initials R.P. on them.

"I–," he coughed, shaking his head to get out of thoughts that plagued him, "I'm sorry. It's just... this belonged to my dad."

Meredith put her hand on his shoulder. Though she was a stranger to grief, she was not a stranger to longing. She watched as Peter, emotional and distraught, looked through the contents of the bag, searching again and again, hoping to find something, anything. His efforts were in vain, the bag was empty.

"Peter. Pete." Meredith gently pulled him up, "Let's ask your Aunt and Uncle about this. Maybe they will know, okay?"

He nodded and let the girl guide him upstairs, hugging the bag tightly as if somehow, by some kind of miracle, it would bring his parents back. Like it would give some sort of answers.

"Plumbers don't fix appliances." The older couple were talking amongst themselves.

"Yes, they do." Ben argued with his wife, "They fix pipes and pump things. If you ask them to..."

He noticed Meredith and Peter enter the room, the boy holding the briefcase like his life depended on it.

"I forgot all about that thing." He smiled wistfully. "It was your dad's."

"Yeah," Aunt May shook her head, remembering her brother-in-law, "He asked us to keep it safe."

Meredith have a tight squeeze to the young boy's hand as the older Parker man started to recall the story of the bag and all it held, "He saw it in the window of that leather shop over on 9th Avenue." He shook his head, "He was 19. What does a 19-year-old kid need with a briefcase?"

He smiled, "And guess who sold it to him."

"I don't know." Peter shook his head, grateful for the girl standing beside him. He barely knew her a day ago, they were as good as strangers but right now, she was suddenly a warm candle keeping the house of tragedy he lived in warm.

"Your mother," Uncle Ben told him. "That's how they met."

It was an adorable story. A meet-cute to wish for. Meredith's heart yearned for a love like that... to live and love and leave the earth together. Tragic and beautiful at the same time. It was a horrible thing, the way they died but it was a beautiful thing that they left the earth in the comfort of each other and the knowledge that Ben and May would take care of their son.

"He asked you to keep this safe?" Peter asked, confused, "There's nothing in here."

He once again looked through the bag in fury, as if he had perhaps missed something— some letter, some clue. "Have you looked? There's nothing here."

"Your father was a very secretive man, Peter." Uncle Ben shook his head somberly.

"Yeah, I know." He rummaged through the bag once more, finally finding something. A newspaper clipping, a photograph really. Two men stood side to side. Meredith instantly knew that the one on the right was Peter's dad. He had the same jawline and nose. Even his smile was the same as the young boy.

"Who's that?" He pointed at the man beside him. "Do you know who that is?"

Ben shook his head, "Some guy who worked with your dad, I guess."

"Just take this off the table, all right?" May put her hand together, gathering everyone's attention. "We're gonna eat. Put that away and both you kids need to wash your hands."

"Peter," Meredith brought the boy's attention back to her. The moment their eyes met, the cloud of sadness that his had previously held was gone. They were solely focused on the girl that stood before him. "We are going to figure this out, okay? I'll help you. I promise."

"Thank you, MJ."

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