PREQUEL- The Birds Of Prey: Batgirl (Batman Fanfic)

Chapter 3: Doctor, Doctor.

My knuckles sting as I rinse myself in the bath, the bubbles turn a pink colour, discolored with my blood. I have not spoken to Richard since Friday and now it is Sunday evening, I will inevitably see him tomorrow and I do not know what I should do. Another lie to add to the many that have been building up lately. I groan as I slide under, submerging myself completely. I have a large bruise stemming from my navel, curling around my side and reaching the top of my rib cage. Something that I cannot hide from Richard when we are together. I decided that my ribs might just be cracked and wrapped them in some tape from an old first aid kit. My lungs protest and I rise from the water and drain the tub dry.

I dress myself for bed, one of Richards shirt that he had left here once and a pair of shorts. I leave my hair wet and braid it simply letting it hang down cold and heavy down my back. I drift off whilst thinking about the routine I must do tomorrow, in front of the whole school. I have prepared a plan, a way for me to cover up the bruises sustained by laying the blame on gymnastics. I had spoken to my friend Alysia and she agreed, with no questions asked, to create a distraction when I am doing my routine.Eventually I fall into  restless sleep.

I dream bout him, The Dark Knight and his companion Robin. Robin is central to my dream, the colours of his suit bleed into the background as if painted with watercolors. He leers in front of me, eyes bore into mine holding me in my place. He comes closer to me. Is he going t attack me? He jumps towards me, fast, raising his fist. 

I immediately wake up, covered in sweat, breathing in deeply. I look over at the alarm clock and realize it is 7:00 am. I rush with getting ready this morning, wearing an over sized plaid shirt as a dress with black combat boots and my hair is now wavy due to it drying naturally in a braid. I skip breakfast, grab my gymnastics gear and head straight out of the house. Dad must have been called out in the night as his squad car is gone. Things have been difficult between us lately, arguing because of our distant relationship. 

By the time I get to school I have fifteen minutes until my first period begins so I buy an apple from the cafeteria and sit on a bench listening to some music on my phone. I close my eyes. before I can properly relax I feel someone sit next to me and I open my eyes and look to my left. I look straight into the tired yet concerned eyes of Richard.

"Hi,are you okay?" I ask, as I pull out my ear phones and face him.

"Yeah I'm fine" He looks somewhat bewildered to be asked this question.

"Good, are you ready to go to English?" I ask, standing up from the bench and walking towards the main building but Richard grabs my hand forcing me to look at him.

"What?" I ask, forcing myself to smile at him.

"Are we just going to act like what happened on Friday never happened?" He looks at me as if I might break.

"I'm counting on it" I mutter, turning away again and making my way to class with Richard following after me.  "You asked me to tell you the truth and I told you some of the truth, I don't really want to go over it again" 

"Okay we won't, just tell me you're alright. You really freaked me out."

"I am fine, really. I was just stressed. Hopefully after my routine today I can decompress a little"

This seemed to calm him down as for the rest of the day he seems at ease and we settle back into our old relationship. By lunchtime I am really nervous, getting into my gymnastic wear and heading to the gym. Alysia keeps asking me why she needs to make the distraction but I don't tell her. My hands shake slightly as I know that most of the school is in the gym, including Richard. My routine will take place on the uneven parallel bars, even if I was not planning on jeopardizing my routine it still would be difficult for me to execute it well.