Hello Mr. E. Nigma

Stop

Loreli

"What was that!?" I yell at James after parting from the one-sided kiss. I back up to get some distance holding a hand up as insurance and touching my mouth with the other.

"A kiss Loreli, what's wrong!?" he asks obliviously.

"What's wrong!!?? You're asking what's wrong!? You just kissed me! And without my permission!" I yell, throwing my arms in the air. "What made you think that was okay!!?"

"Well I-I I don't know Lor, look, I just- I care about you. And that freak took-" he rubs the back of his neck.

"Freak!!?" I burst. My face turning red from anger. "Edward is not a freak, James!"

"Are you kidding!? He's the Riddler!" he hollers, pointing at the screen for further back up.

"The media doesn't count for anything! They don't know a single thing about him! He's not crazy! He's sweet, and generous and-"

"A murderer." he finishes. I pause and look up at him still filled with rage but with vengeful tears streaking down my cheeks. My hands are curled into tight fists, so tight that my knuckles are turning white. I hate that he's right, that's something I can't deny about Edward, a flaw that only I have accepted yet ignored. "Loreli... How long have you known about him?" James asks, his features softening.

"A while..." I say, a defensive tone continuing to linger in my voice. James looks at me seriously for a direct answer. I scoff, "Since the first date, okay. I found out on accident and I did a lot of thinking. I didn't spring into it. I liked him. And it was going along just fine." I spat.

James walks closer to me and I glare at him out of the corner of my eye. "And then this happened," he says placing his hand on my bruised cheek.

I quickly smack it away from me, "Don't touch me," I snap.

"What the hell has gotten into you!? I'm trying to help!"

"Then you're not doing a very good job at it! I don't need some sort of rebound fling, James!" I say sitting back down on the couch and looking the other way. My head in my hand as my arm is proping me up on the armrest.

"A rebound is the last thing I want to be to you. But I'll settle for it if I have to. Why don't you get it!?" James whines as he sits down next to me. "Loreli, I love you." my eyes widen at that and I turn to face him with a curious look. "I do." he says as if answering me questioning him in my head. "Please. Can't you give me a chance?"

"James, I'm sorry. I just don't feel that way about you. You may think you know what I'm dealing with but you have no idea."

"Why him? Huh? Give me something here! Cause I don't get it. He may not have done that to you but I bet he sure as hell caused it! Well am I right!?" he yells.

I knit my eyebrows together, "You don't get it..."

"No, I don't!" he grabs my arm.

"James let go of me!" I try pulling away.

"You'll choose that criminal, that psycho over me!? He's in Arkham Loreli! He's not coming back anytime soon! He's meant to rot in there along with all the others! He shouldn't have been out here in the first place!" he yells in my face making me flinch the closer he gets.

"James please stop!" I plead.

"He can't love you Loreli. He takes advantage of people. Your Love is just as one sided as mine!"

"Stop! That's not true!" I cry, tears rolling down my face as I take this verbal abuse. I know what he's saying is a lie, I know for a fact that Edward loves me. It's just the idea of it ever being true hurts. I know that James is just upset, I won't end up hating him for this, he's just heart broken and if the rolls we're switched in some way I would act out as well. He continues to yell and scream at me for a good half hour till someone breaks down the door. Cops storm in and pull him off of me.

"We got a call about a possible abuse going on in this apartment, are you okay ma'am?" an officer askes me as he helps me up.

"Yes I am, thank you." I state wiping away tears. I watch them take James away while I stand in shock of what has happened.

The cop talks into his radio, "Hey we need a bus, victim is a little banged up."

"Oh, I'm fine. There's no need-"

"We have to get you checked out ma'am." he insists. I sigh, then nod in agreemeet. He takes me downstairs, outside and it isn't long before the ambulance pulls up. The paramedics check me out, give ne medicine for the pain and some bandages around my arm. Turns out, James' grip sprained my arm. Another cop walks up and calls the one comforting me over to him. I can tell that whatever the conversation is about, it has to do with me. Eventually they walk over giving me some forced smiles. "Excuse us Miss. We're gonna have to ask you to come with us to the station."

"May I ask why?" I question cocking a brow.

"We'll explain on the way."

They escort me into the vehicle and we drive down the streets of Gotham. A horrible City, filled with horrible people and horrible motives. Then again, how different am I from them? I guess very different, a lot of them wouldn't have even considered dating a criminal. However I doesn't change how despicable this place is. I watch out the window at the passing faces, trying to guess all the horrible acts each person has done. He cheated on his wife, that person does drugs, she used to steal, for all I know I could be wrong about all of them but there's no proof that I'm not.

We arrive at the station, I still being unaware of what I'm here for. They take me into a private room, an interrogation room to be exact. Strange, I had expected them to be different to the ones they show on TV. A detective comes into the room casually, female, blonde, but brown eyes rather than blue. She sits down across from me with a small folder, no doubt of information on me. "Ms. Everhart. Do you know why you're here?"