My Story of Vengeance

Chapter Thirteen

     "Wren?" I hear a voice call. I open my eyes to find the man laying on the ground in front of me, a hole in his chest. I look up and find Bruce running towards me, his car parked behind the other one. I start to laugh as Bruce kneels down next to me.
     "Wren, are you alright?" He asks me. I look over at him as my laughs turn into sobs. My eyes are dripping tears. Bruce pulls me in and holds me as I cry.
     "Oh god....why is this happening?" I ask through my sobs. Bruce shushes me as he holds me. He angles my body away from the man's, blocking my view. I grab his shirt as I cry, my brain and heart so confused and full of anger. After a few minutes, my crying lightens. He has been slightly stroking my hair, calming me down. I wipe my eyes on the backs of my hands and pull away slightly. I look at him and notice he is just wearing a white t-shirt and sweat pants. His white t-shirt is soaked, allowing me to see his very toned body. I see the end of the gun sticking out of his pocket.
     "Are you alright?" He asks me, holding my face. I nod as I look down. I can see the shoe of the man.
     "Is he dead?" I ask him. He doesn't respond.
     "Come on, let's get you home." He says. He picks me up and carries me to his car. He puts me in his passenger seat and shuts the door. He walks around to the driver's side and gets in. He looks over at me before driving off. As we drive, I watch out the window.
     'Why is this happening?' I ask myself. I notice Bruce pull out his phone as we drive.
     "Alfred." He says into the phone.
     "I need you to send someone to mile marker 243 on route 5. There was an accident. I need you to clean that up. Oh, and Wren's bike is there too. Make sure it all gets cleaned up." He says. He hangs up the phone and focuses on driving. I look out the window, watching trees pass by us. The rain is still falling hard, making it dark outside. I glance over at the clock above Bruce's radio. The time reads 4:50pm.
     'Wow...it's been four hours already?' I think to myself. I glance over at Bruce. His face his pale and hard. I notice that he's grinding his teeth slightly.
     "Are you alright?" I ask him. He peers over at me before looking back at the road.
     "Yeah? Why are you worried about me? You're the one that almost got shot." He says, his voice kind of cold. I look out the window.
     "Because you're the one that shot." I tell him.
      Silence lays over us as we continue our drive. We get to the fork in the road and turn right, heading back to the Wayne's estate. We pull up to the front gate and wait for it to open up. When it's open, Bruce drives us through the gate and to the back where he parks his car. He turns the car off and we sit there for a few minutes in silence. He finally speaks.
     "I'm sorry." He says. I look over at him, confused.
     "For what?" I ask him.
     "Everything." He says. I look down at my hands as we sit there in silence. I didn't know what to say. It's not his fault that this is happening, he was just a boy when this all happened to begin with. It's no one's fault really, only the people's who are trying to kill me. The sound of the rain hitting the car roof floods my mind.
     'Maybe it would've been better if I died twenty years ago...' I think to myself. I look over at Bruce. He has his hands on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from gripping it too hard.
     "Hey." I say, putting a hand on top of his. His body tenses as he looks over at me. I form a soft smile.
     "It's okay. None of this is your fault. I'm just glad you showed up on time." I tell him.
     "I know that it was Alfred who changed your name." He tells me abruptly. I draw my hand back.
     "Did he tell you?" I ask him. He nods.
     "I know why he did it but....I can't help but think of how different both our childhoods would've been if we took care of you..." he tells me, looking down. He seems to be thinking about a lot. I put my hand on his thigh, comforting him.
     "Bruce, you can't change the past." I tell him.
     "I know we were close back then, and it could've been different but...imagine the strain it would've been on Alfred, and on you. Alfred would have had to constantly make sure no one would come and find me. You would have felt like it was your responsibility to take care of me. Alfred chose the best and easiest option for everyone. And look." I say, leaning closer to him. I turn my body to face him, placing my other hand on his thigh.
     "We found each other now. I know we're not as close anymore, but we can try." I tell him. He looks at me, such sadness in his eyes. Maybe I didn't tell him the words he wanted to hear. He sighs and puts a hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair. This kind of affection takes me by surprise.
     'Who knew Bruce was such a softy?' I think to myself.
     "Why don't you sleep in the main house tonight? You can stay in my bed. I'll sleep downstairs." He tells me. I shake my head.
     "I'll be okay in my house, it's only about 100 feet from yours." I tell him.
     "You're staying in the main house tonight." He demands. "Either that, or I'm staying in yours. Regardless, I'm keep my eye on you. I don't need someone murdering you in your sleep." He says. I force a smile.
     "Okay, I'll stay in the main house." I say. I then remember my message I sent to Batman this morning. I look at the time. 6:28 pm.
     'I don't think I'll be able to meet him tonight...not with Bruce watching me like a hawk.' I think to myself. I pull my phone out and check my messages. I've received nothing from anyone. I let out a sigh.
     "Can I at least grab like pajamas and stuff?" I ask him. He nods.
     "I don't see why not." He says. I look out the window.
     "Is this rain ever gonna stop?" I say. He shrugs.
     "Guess we better just go." He says, opening his door. I open mine and run to my house.
     "I'm gonna grab a few things!" I shout over to him. He holds a thumbs up as he walks inside, not caring about the rain. I nod once and enter my house. After I shut the door and I collapse to the floor, landing on my hands and knees. My body shakes.
     "I can't believe I was almost killed..." I say to myself. Squash comes up and walks between my arms, rubbing against them. He lets out a meow as he looks up at me. I form a small smile and sit down, pulling him into my lap. I pet him as I try to calm my body down.
     "I can't believe Bruce shot him....is the man dead? If he is...does that mean it's...over?" I talk to myself. I go over the possibilities in my head. Just then, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out and look at my notifications. I see a message from Claire. I open it.
     "Guess what? Before they released me from the hospital, I was talking with one of the nurses and she said they were hiring! I asked her if I could put in an application since I have previous experience and I got the job! I don't have to work in that demeaning club anymore!" I smile after reading the message. I reply back.
     "Congrats Claire! That's awesome. I'm happy for you!" She replies.
     "I start next Monday. It turns out we both get to live a good life now!" I send her a heart before closing my phone.
     "Yeah, a good life..." I say to myself. I feel my phone vibrate again  and check it. It's Bruce.
     "If you're not in here in about 10 minutes I'm coming in there to get you." His message reads. I roll my eyes and lock my phone. I stand up and walk up to my lost, grabbing a small bag to carry my things over with. I grab a old t-shirt and sweats for my pjs and stuff them into the bag. I grab my charger for my phone and put it in there was well. I then walk downstairs to the bathroom and grab my tooth brush and hair brush. I walk past my bookcase then stop. I back up to look at my bookcase. I reach down and grab my scrapbook and the journal my mother wrote in.
     "Maybe this will have answers in it." I say to myself. I then give Squash a scoop of food and fill his water bowl before petting him and leaving my house.
      I walk over to the main house and shut the door. As I stand in the foyer, I notice that the doors to the Wayne's bedroom is open. I tilt my head and walk towards the room. I creep up to the doorway and peer inside. Bruce is sitting on the bed, looking at something in his hands. I try to make it out from the doorway. It looks to be a piece of paper with writing on it.
     "Are you going to stand there all night or come into the room?" He asks, his eyes still on the paper in his hands. I let out a small chuckle and walk into the room. As I get closer to him, he folds the paper up and puts it in his back pocket. I stop in front of him.
     "What was that?" I ask him.
     "Nothing." He says, standing up. "You for everything you'll need for tonight?" He asks me. I nod, showing my bag.
     "Yup, all set for our little sleepover." I try to joke with him. He doesn't laugh, or even smile.
     'I guess sensitive Bruce is gone and hard as Bruce is back.' I think to myself. He looks down at me, his lips parted slightly as if he's going to tell me something.
     "What?" I ask him. He hesitates.
     "Uh....I'll be sleeping down here. You'll be upstairs in my room." He tells me, stepping away from me.
     "I can always just sleep in the living, I don't mind." I tell him. His back is to me as he stares down at his hands. I come up behind him.
     "I...I know how hard it is for you to be in here Bruce...." I tell him.
     "It used to be hard." He says, his voice soft. He takes a deep breath.
     "I kept it chained up so I didn't have to relive the past but....seeing it that day you were in here, I realized that it's a just a room." He tells me, turning around to look at me.
     "It's a room...full of memories of people I care about. I always thought that was a bad thing but...it's okay. I know I can't get them back, so I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen to others." He tells me. I smile.
     "That's a good mentality to have Bruce." I tell him. He nods.
     "So, no, you won't be sleeping in the living room. You can sleep upstairs in a bed. My bed." He says.
      "Okay." I say. He forms a soft smile and then turns to walk out of the room.
     "Alfred should be back soon. You hungry?" He asks me. When he asks, I realize that I haven't had food all day. My stomach growls at the thought of food. I nod at him.
     "Yes, very." I say. He gestures for me to follow him to the kitchen. I put my bag down against the doorway of the bedroom and follow him to the kitchen. He opens a cabinet and pulls out two cans of soup. He looks at me as he holds them up.
     "Figured it's a rainy day, why not have something hearty?" He says. He opens the cans and grabs a pot. He pours the soup into the pot and puts it on the stove. He tosses the cans in the trash and grabs a spoon to stir the soup. He then goes and grabs two bowls out of a cabinet. He grabs two spoons and puts them on the counter. As he cooks, I lean my elbows on the counter, watching.
     "Do you need me to do anything?" I ask him. He shakes his head.
     "It's about done anyway." He says. I go to the fridge and grab us some water to drink with our meal. I plop them down on the counter as he pours the soup into the bowls. He puts the empty pot in the sink and grabs the bowls. We head to the dining room and sit to enjoy our dinner.