My Story of Vengeance

Chapter Eight

A few hours go by, I'm reading a book when my phone goes off. I pick it up and look at who it is. Claire texted me. She wants to know how it's going. I text her back that I'm all settled in and waiting for my next instructions. I exit out of her messages and go to close my phone, but then see the unknown number from last night.
     "Batman..." I say to myself. I open the messages and bring the keyboard up.
     'Should I text him? I doubt he'd answer...but....'
     I go to type a message, asking if he'd be able to meet me somewhere.
     'It's about 4:30 pm now, and maybe I don't have anything left to do tonight at the main house.' I think to myself. My thumb lingers over the send button, debating whether it's worth it to send the message. I look up and look out the window that's to my right. The sun is still high in the sky, wanting to set. I take a deep breath in and send the message, putting my phone down on the table.
     "We'll see I guess." I say to myself. I pick up the book I was reading and put it back on my bookshelf. My gaze drops down to the scrap book that's on the bottom shelf of my bookcase. I bend down and pick it up. I open it again and look at the pictures. A soft smile forms on my face as I see my mom and dad. They always looked so happy, in and out of photos. I flip to the next page and see the photos with me and the little boy again. I go to flip the page but then stop, dropping it back down. I look closer at the photos, examining the little boy. He is skinny, and small. He has brown hair and little colored eyes. In this picture, we're both laughing, playing in my mom's old study.
     "I wonder who you are." I say, squinting to make out the finer details. Just then, my phone goes off. I basically drop the book and run over to the table, picking up my phone. I go to check it and my smile quickly drops. There's no text message notification, but one off of Facebook. I groan and put my phone back down.
     "I'm pathetic, he wouldn't answer me." I say to myself. I plop down into the chair I was sitting in and close my eyes. I hear a knock at my door, and open my eyes. I stand up and walk over to answer the door. I open the door and Alfred is standing on the other side.
     "Hi Alfred, what's up?" I ask him.
     "Good evening, your presence is needed at the main house. There is some paperwork Master Wayne would like you to look at and file." He tells me. I nod and slip on my shoes that are by the door. I follow Alfred back into the main house. We enter the office and I see Bruce standing by the desk, holding papers in his hands.
     "I need these to be sorted and filed properly." He says, without even looking up. I nod and walk over to the desk.
     "Okay, is there a certain system you prefer?" I ask him. He looks up at me and stares. I look around.
     "Like, alphabetically, chronologically, something like that?" I ask him. He pauses before he responds.
     "Chronologically, and by business. Most of the files are already sorted, you just need to file the new paperwork correctly." He tells me, placing the papers he was holding on the desk. I nod and walk around to the backside of the desk. I start to look through the papers when Alfred speaks up.
     "Ms. Painter, I see that you cleaned up in here a bit. It looks very nice." He says, walking around the room.
     "Thank you Alfred, I'm glad someone notices my efforts." I say as I stare at Bruce. He doesn't look at me, but instead walks to leave the room. After he leaves I turn to look at Alfred.
     "So, may I be blunt?" I ask him. Alfred turns to look at me and nods.
     "What is his problem?" I ask him. Alfred chuckles softly and walks over to me, his cane hitting the floor with each step.
     "Master Wayne has never been the type to be...compassionate. As you know, he lost his parents at a very young age. He didn't have anyone to really raise him. Well, I did, but I'm not his father. I could only do so much for him. He used to isolate himself every day, refusing to interact with anyone. He used to have a close friend when he was about 11-12, a young girl. He doesn't talk about her much, but I have the feeling he still remembers her well." He says, stopping right next to me. I nod, showing I understand.
     "It is rough losing a parent, let alone two." I say, holding my necklace. Alfred looks at me for a few seconds then pats my shoulder.
     "Alright, go ahead and finish up here. I'll go prepare supper." He says, smiling at me before taking his leave. I watch as he leaves before glancing down at the paper. Most of these papers are about the taxes and payments made by the Wayne's. I sort them per date and what they are. I pick up a stack and walk over to the filing cabinets. I open a drawer to see how they were previously organized. I see many contracts with other businesses, previous taxes, and charts about income. I file the papers I brought over in the way he told me to. I make sure each one matches the date and place they belong.
I finish organizing all the paper work, the desk now clear of it. I fix the small things that were on the desk and make it looks nice. I look around and notice how quiet it's been. There's no sounds from the city life out here. I walk over to the window and open it, the night sky darkening as the day goes on. The air turns almost humid, signaling a soon summer rainfall. I look out over the estate, the clouds blocking the moon light. I reach into my back pocket and check my phone. Batman hasn't responded to my message. I let out a sigh and put my phone back.
     "Who am I kidding, he isn't gonna come see me. I made it awkward the other night." I say to myself, leaning against the window. I look down at the ground outside. I close my eyes and let the wind from the coming storm move around me. It blows my curls out of my face. I start to feel light water drops on my face. I open my eyes and see rain drops falling. I pull away from the window and shut it. I turn around to walk to the door and stop in my tracks. Across the room I see Bruce standing in the doorway, watching me.
    "Y-yes?" I ask him, holding one of my arms. I still have a brace on my wrist from last night. He looks down at it and points to it.
     "What happened?" He asks me.
     "Oh, I just...fell down at my old job last night. Great end to a job huh?" I say, walking towards him. He continues to stare at my arm as I get closer. I tilt my head at him and stop a couple feet away from him.
     "What?" I ask. He reaches down and grabs my wrist, his hands gently and warm. I stare at him, letting him observe it. He turn it over carefully, looking at the brace.
     "You must've fallen pretty hard." He says, slowly letting go of it. I nod and lower my hand to my side.
     "Yeah, I trip. Go figure, I'm pretty clumsy." I say, softly chuckling. He stays quiet as he turns away from me, leaving the room.
     "Dinner's ready if you want to come eat. Alfred made a roast." He says as he walks away. I nod to myself.
     "Sweet." I say to myself. I follow him out of the room and into the dining room. Bruce sits at the head of the table, taking a sip of his water. I sit a few seats away from him, not wanting to be awkward. Alfred comes in and puts down the last plate of food onto the table.
     "Ah, Wren, I'm glad Master Wayne brought you in here." He says, sitting down across from me. I smile and go to fix my plate. We all sit and eat in silence. The sound of rain hitting the roof fills the room. The rain is coming down hard now. After about 10 minutes, Bruce stands up and takes his plate out of the room. I watch as he leaves, finishing my last bite of food.
     "Don't mind him." Alfred speaks up, taking another bite of food.
     "Is he always like this?" I ask him, taking a sip of my water.
     "Sometimes. He really is a caring person, he just has some...let's say trust issues." He tells me. I nod and put my glass down.
     "I can understand that." I say. I finish up my food, thank Alfred for the meal, and take care of my plate. I put my plate in the sink and lean against the edge of the sink. I check my phone. It reads 7:45 pm. No messages. I sigh and put it back in my pocket.
     "Oh well, maybe I'll be able to get some decent sleep tonight." I say. I walk to the front door and head on over the my house. I take my shoes off after I enter and shut the door. I put my shoes neatly next to the door and then head around the corner to my bathroom. I strip off my clothes and turn the hot water on in the shower. I brush out my curls before hopping into the shower. The warm water hits my skin, I can feel the dirt from cleaning today wash off. I let out a sigh and continue to wash my body and hair. After about 15 minutes, I turn the water off and open the curtain. The room is full of steam from the water. I grab my towel and wrap my hair in it. I grab another towel to fry my body off and wrap it around me.
I open the bathroom door and walk back around the corner to walk up to my loft. I walk up the stairs and go towards my dresser, grabbing out some clothes for me to change into. I drop my towel and start to slip on my pants. I then put on my t-shirt and grab my towel. I take the towel out of my hair and throw both into my hamper. My hair is still damp, some strands dripping slightly. I walk back down stairs and go towards my kitchen. I prepare a cup of tea for me to drink and go over to the side door that leads to a patio. I open the door and step outside. The patio has a roof over-head, so I don't get wet from the rain. I walk to the edge and lean against the railing. The patio hangs over a small hill, letting me view a bigger portion of the back yard. I watch as the rain falls around me, smelling the fresh grass and rain.
     "You'll catch a cold." I hear a deep voice say from behind me. I quickly turn around and find Batman standing on the patio near the door. My heart skips a beat as the thoughts of the previous night go through my head. I look down at the cup in my hand as I try to calm down.
     "Nah, it's too warm for that." I say back. My throat feels dry all of a sudden. I can't bring myself to look at him. I'm filled with embarrassment from last night.
     "Why did you need me?" He asks me. I can hear him stepping closer to me. I fiddle with my cup.
     "I just wanted to make sure that you knew where I was now."
     "I always know where you are, Wren." He says, stopping only a foot in front of me. I can see the mud on his boots, I'm assuming from coming here. I finally get the courage to look up at him. His suit has raindrops on it.
     'Of course it's waterproof.' I think to myself. I make eye contact with him. His eyes are expressionless, making me feel wary. "What is the real reason you wanted me to come here?" He asks, his voice deep and stern. I turn away and stare out into the darkness. The sound of rain falling fills my head.
     "Wren." He says again. The sound of impatience lays in his voice.
     "What if I just wanted to see you?" I ask him, not turning to look at him.
     "Is that a crime?" I ask, taking a sip of my tea. He doesn't respond, or even chuckle at it. I set out a sigh and turn to him.
     "Look, I enjoy your company. I don't have many friends. I have one, and she's all the way across town. I know that you can be busy saving the city, but when you're free, I want to spend time with you." I tell him, putting my tea on the railing. He looks around in the darkness. I reach up and hold his cheek, moving his gaze to look at me. I feel his face tense up as I touch him. I start to pull my hand away, but his hand reaches up and grabs my wrist, holding it in place. I look into his eyes and then at his mask.
     "Who are you underneath that mask?" I ask him, holding it between my thumb and pointer finger. His grip on y wrist tightens and pulls my hand away from his face.
     "I can't let you find out." He says, moving away from me.
    "But why? Because then people would come after me? Who would I tell?" I ask him, following him. He stops near the side of the porch, staring out as the rain falls outside. He doesn't answer for a while.
     "Batman, please. What harm would it do if you told me?" I grab his arm. He turns and looks down at me.
     "If you found out who I am, people would come after you." He says. I pause and finally take in what he just said.
'Why would they come after me?' I think to myself.
     "You don't know that. How would someone even know that you told me?"
     "You know what just happened with the Riddler. He knew every step I would take, the people I know. Anything like that. What's to say the next villain won't find out more?" He asks me, his voice now full of anger and irritation. I turn away from him. The rain picks up even more, falling harder around us.
     "How am I important to you?" I ask him, not turning around to face him.
     "I can't tell you that. Not without complicating things." He tells me. I scoff and turn around.
     "So you can't tell me anything? Are you serious? You expect me to be okay with you watching me and following me around without even knowing the reason?" I start to get angry.
     "You have to be!" He says, coming towards me. I back away from him, but get stopped by the railing. I avoid looking at him as he stops a foot away.
     "I can't tell you anything, because the less you know the better. There are too many factors that if you get involved, I could lose you." He says, his voice softening. I feel his hand underneath my chin. He moves my chin up to look at him.
     "I need you to trust me." He says, locking eyes with me. I pause before looking away.
     "Trust you? I don't even know you." I spit at him. I regret those words after I say them. I hear his boots step as he backs away.
     "I'm sorry." He says before leaving. I'm left there, alone. I grab my cup, walk inside, and shut the door behind me. I let out an irritated groan as I set my cup in the sink.
     "Who does he think he is?" I say to myself as I march up the steps to my loft. I toss myself into bed and cover myself with my blanket.
     "He's a pain in my ass." I say before falling asleep.