RELAPSE - Arthur Fleck | Joker FANFIC/LOVE STORY

Chapter 29: Unraveling

Arthur's POV:

I sat on the couch in my apartment, trying desperately to smoke my cigarette, but I was battling a terrible laughing fit. My life was unraveling.

Thankfully, I still had Anon. She was now the only constant in my life. The only true thing I had. I needed her and she needed me.

She sat beside me on the couch and rubbed my shoulder, as she typically did when I had my laughing fits. It did usually help. It was comforting to know that she was there and she was watching to make sure that I was okay while I struggled to breathe. However, this fit was proving to be difficult to get through, even with Anon there. There were just too many negative thoughts in my mind.  I grabbed my pillow and held it tightly against my stomach; my sides were beginning to hurt from all of my laughing.

"Arthur, come on sweetheart. You gotta stop laughing.  I know it's hard, but you have to stop."

"I'm..hah..trying.....hahaha..."

"Hey, let me get some of my medicine I still have. I know it's not what you usually take, but maybe it will work. I left it at Sophie's. I'll be right back, okay? I promise."  She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left.

Of course, I wanted to protest and tell her not to leave me, but that was basically impossible with my laughing.

As I fought against my laughter, I thought about all of the things that had happened recently.

**Start of Arthur recalling recent events**

I went home after Penny said that Thomas was my father and found the last letter she wrote to him. The letter was was full of her ramblings about how sick she was and how we desperately needed his help. She also talked about me being a good son and that he would be proud of me. My emotions boiled over and I started throwing things around the apartment.

The apartment was completely trashed before the apartment door opened, revealing Anon.  Seeing her, I stopped my fit, sat down on the couch, and buried my face in my hands. I heard her footsteps move closer to me, slowly.

Then I felt her gentle touch on my shoulder, "You should really be focusing this energy on something else. Someone else."

So, that's what I did. I spent a lot of the next few days following Thomas around, trying to find out where he lived.  Father or not, he deserved to pay for what he did to Anon.  I didn't exactly have a plan. I was just focused on finding where he lived and once I did that, I would figure out what to do from there. It took me a while, but I finally did find out where he lived.

The first time I laid my eyes on his house...no...his mansion, I couldn't believe it. Why would a family of three need a mansion that big?  It was sickening. People with so much money, they just feel like they have to flaunt it. However, the thing that really caught my attention was a boy that was playing in a play fort in the front yard, which was surrounded by a big iron fence.  It was Bruce, Thomas' son, which would make him my half-brother. When I saw him, I decided to wait until the next day to come back.

So, the next day, I made my way back to the mansion and Bruce was once again out there playing. This time, I brought some things to help distract him.  I put on my clown nose, hummed a tune as I walked to the gate.  I danced around with the trick wand and Bruce came right up to the gate, what a naive kid. Didn't he know that strangers can be dangerous?  Not me of course, I'm a good guy. Still, you never know.