Little Miss Gotham

Chapter Thirty Five

My vision was shaking, blurring at the edges, reminding me of what it felt like when the world was spinning when dizzy. I was laying in the hallway, looking up at the Joker who had a wicked smile, flashing his metal teeth. My heart jumped to my throat and I scooted away, his eyes glowing bright in a cynical way. All I knew was I had to get away. But when I rolled over, I raised my head and took the hand that was extended out towards me. Again, it was the Joker. This time, he had a concerned look in his eyes and looked normal.

"What's wrong?" I asked. But my own voice echoed. Joker titled his head, his hand still holding mine. With his other hand, he cupped my face. He looked like he was studying me as if something was wrong. "Pumpkin...?" I trailed off. I blinked and I wasn't in the hallway anymore and I was instead laying in a bed. A metal bed. Above me, my love stood there with no shirt and only a chest of tattoos. Blackness consumed the world behind him and I tried to call out but I couldn't find my voice. Soon, with the bright light above me, I couldn't find him either. 
"Baby, where did you go?" I asked. "Come back!" I didn't even recognize my own voice. I felt like I was merely another person inside of my own body simply listening to myself talk. 

Then, I felt a jolt of pain on the sides of my head and it eventually became difficult to breathe. 

"Stop... stop!" I cried. My blood pumped ferociously and I could feel my pulse as the urge to get away clawed at my skin. I shook my head until the world became so unclear to me that it all became dark again. Memories or my own imagination played before my eyes. I was sitting in Joker's car wearing an outfit that Princess would wear. Beside me, Joker drove and dressed classy as ever. For once, everything was so calm and quiet that I almost believed this was reality. But I knew too well that if this were real, it wouldn't be this calm.

"What's happening?" I asked, putting my hand on his knee. He looked over at me, eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"You're dreaming, doll!" Joker said, his look breaking into laughter. 

"But..." I trailed off, looking down at myself then around. I couldn't see anything. I was restricted and it frustrated me. "Why? Why are you here? Why is this happening?" I asked.
Instead of answering, the car sped faster and I was back against my seat.
"Pumpkin, please talk to me." I pleaded, shutting my eyes. I could hear the speed increasing and my heart rate did too. I was scared in my own dream but I was also so confused that my head hurt and I didn't understand what was happening.
"Please just come back to me!" 

Everything went quiet and I didn't feel like I was moving a hundred miles per hour. I opened my eyes and I was sitting in a hospital bed, a lamp on at the side and the rest of the room dark. Was I awake? I looked down at myself and took a deep breath. But when I looked around again, I realized the room was either too dark to be real or my vision was fuzzy. I reached over to the other lamp and pulled the little cord to turn it on. But the second the light appeared, so did Joker who was now at my bed side. I gasped, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest as I flinched away from him. But he sat at the corner of my bed, looking at me.

"Am I awake?" I asked, sounding exasperated. My heart was still racing and the eerie setting made my bones tremble. But the Joker sat there and placed his hand on my leg, rubbing gently. I've never seen him act so gentle before like this. Why wasn't he speaking?

"I miss you. Why couldn't you just take me with you?" I asked, my heart breaking. Tears were falling from my eyes before I even realized it. "Please come home."  

"Hey..." a voice said. "Sophia!"

A sense of revival washed over me when air filled into my lungs and I felt more grounded when I woke up. I was more connected to my senses and I could see someone other than the Joker. It was a nurse and my sister. 

"Hey, hun. You passed out in one of the hallways and bumped your head!" the woman laughed. I saw her and my sister's humorous expressions and faked a laugh myself. But I was clammy and my thoughts were running so wild that it gave me an ache. 
"Really?" I asked. They both nodded. 
"Yeah, it wasn't long before we found you but you were out for a good hour. We think you might of bumped your head a little too hard though judging by the--" I was already reaching to the side of my head to feel the lump and my wince kept her from finishing the sentence. "--Yeah, we need to test the severity of it."  I nodded and relaxed in my bed again and felt a little sweaty from the odd nightmare I just had. Whatever that was...