A/N: Pam's parents arrive woop woop. Finally getting my writing streak back, so hoping you'll see more of me! ~Kelztastic
Chapter 2: Nothing Scares Me Anymore
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere
Nothing scares me anymore
Kiss me hard before you go, summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best
"Summertime Sadness," Lana Del Rey
Look, I know that my living temporarily with Bruce Wayne is completely and utterly shameful. I know that I'm stupid and blind. But at this point, I had to take what I could get as far as sympathy. My only friend was in prison and my sister lived in Nebraska. No real allies here. I made it clear to Bruce that being in his house didn't mean we could get into any shenanigans. No matter how good he still looked. I would never not admit that Bruce was a handsome guy, a very smart and well-dressed guy, but he was volatile at best. He had a lot of problems that he had to work out, and I'm not saying I don't either. That should be pretty obvious at this point in the game. Bruce and I had a mutual understanding of our roles in each other's lives. Or, at least, I think we did.
After Bruce went out to run some errands with Edward, I called Pam's parents again to relay the 'good' news. Pam's mother, Angela, picked up, "Hello?"
"Hi, Angela, it's H-Annabelle James." I still kept fucking up when it came to my fake name.
"Hello, Annabelle." She said, sounding a little tense, "How did it go today? What did Pamela say?"
"Pam is ok with you guys coming out here and she was reluctant, but willing to tell you the truth about what has happened since she left. I had to persuade her, but she's willing."
"Ok, that's good to hear. Michael and I will book a flight as soon as possible and perhaps I can give you a call when we get there." She said.
"Yes, please do. Pam really wants me to be involved in the lawyer process. She trusts you but I know a little more about her situation."
"Yes, that makes sense to me. I can't thank you enough, Annabelle, for all that you've done for Pam. I appreciate that you have stood by her through all of this, even though you live so far away."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all." I said dismissively, "Please, don't worry about it. Give me a call when you know more about when you're getting here and I will talk to Pam for you."
"That would be great." She affirmed, "I'll give you a call soon."
"Alright, talk to you later."
"Good-bye." We hung up.
I didn't know why Pam was so weird about her parents. Her mom seemed pretty nice for a woman whose daughter was facing life in prison and hadn't seen her for like 8 or 9 years, let alone talked to her in that amount of time. It takes a lot of love to do what they're doing for her. Pam always just made it sound like they were shitty parents and were super distant when she was growing up. I didn't totally believe everything she said because she held grudges like nobody's business, but her mother did seem kind of uptight. I hadn't even spoken to her father so I didn't know how he was feeling about the situation. I guess I would find out soon enough.
And I was starting to get a little anxious, considering I had sort of lied to Pam about what her parents said. Her parents had agreed to come help, no caveats necessary, but I told a little white lie to Pam so that she would at least tell them the truth. I'm sure she was going to kill me for doing this, but she needed to make up with her parents. They loved her and cared about her, and she needed to see that.
I turned on a marathon of Sex and the City playing on E! and stared at the television for a couple hours. I had to do something mindless. There was just way too much going on in my head. I didn't really know what to do. Some days I just wanted to cry, some days I just wanted to die, scream, throw things at a wall. I think I had just gotten used to the idea that I was a bad person all these years, that I belonged with the Joker because I was willing to throw my life away for him. All the times I could have been happy. All the times I could have been normal. I threw them away. When he told me what he was planning to do, I panicked. I couldn't let him kill people. Maybe I actually was a good person in a way? But then again, not. It was all so very confusing. Thanks, moral ambiguity!
Bruce came home, Edward in tow. Every time I saw Edward, it felt like he was just getting bigger and he looked more and more like Bruce every day, which sort of used to hurt my feelings, but now it was endearing in a way. He did have Selina's big, expressive green eyes and her paler skin tone. He was like almost 9 months old now. I knew because he was 2 months older than Olivia. I felt a pang surge through my heart.
Bruce looked at me, "Are you okay? You seem distant."
"I'm thinking about…" I glanced at Edward.
He picked up Edward, who was fussing a little, and sat down next to me on the couch. He looked up at the TV, "How many times have you seen these episodes?"
"None of your business." I said swiftly.
He smiled, "I know you're upset. I think that, if you really want to, we could investigate some legal action and get Olivia back to you. I think that the government would probably frown upon the fact that a known fugitive is taking care of a baby."
"He's such a good father, though." I sighed, "That's not the problem. I just don't know if I am going to leave him indefinitely. I am going to have to talk to him eventually."
"He hasn't even tried to contact you at all?"
"No." I shook my head, "Nothing. He has his ways of finding out where I am. I'm sure he does know by this point."
"Then why do you think he hasn't tried to talk to you?"
"Probably because I've done this before, as embarrassing as it is. I have the tendency to run away when I get overwhelmed."
Bruce was silent.
I flushed, "Yeah, I guess you would know."
"Yeah, that's a fun memory."
"Sorry." I said quietly.
"I mean, haven't sufficiently been hurt by that enough, need to be reminded of it once in a while." He said, simpering.
"Ok, sarcasm unnecessary."
"Please just continue."
"What I was saying was that he knows how I am. Maybe he's just expecting me to come back sooner or later and he's not that worried. But at the same time, I guess it does look a little suspicious that I bolted as soon as I found out about him wanting to blow Wayne Enterprises sky high." I bit my lip.
"You're just considering this now?" he raised an eyebrow.
I cringed, "Yeah…"
"Harley, for someone so smart, sometimes you really do not think."
"Hey, don't start getting sassy with me." I snapped, "I know you harbor a lot of bad feelings for me, but you don't need to get on my case. I saved your life."
"Ok, well, now here you go." He rolled his eyes, "You're going to hold that over my head for the rest of my life. I'm not denying that I'm still indebted to you but you are definitely not allowed to keep bringing that up to get me to do what you want."
"I thought it would be a perk." I said wistfully.
He gave me a dead-pan glare, so I wiped the smile off my face.
"Anyway," he continued, "You need to at least talk to him."
"I'll get around to it eventually."
"That's not a sufficient response."
"I don't know what you want me to say. I am definitely not going to talk to him right now. He's probably kinda pissed off at me."
"Kinda?" he reiterated in a condescending tone.
"Yes, well, I'm not flawless. All evidence to the contrary."
He didn't laugh.
"Dude, give me something. I'm drowning over here." I held out my hands, and he gave me Edward, who stumbled over a couple syllables, "Ba…da…"
I smiled, "God, he's already starting to talk."
"Yeah, he mostly says 'baba' or 'dada' for the most part." He played with Edward's little chubby fingers, "They grow up too fast."
"I hope I know the feeling."
Bruce fell silent for a moment, and finally said, "You know, we could go get Olivia. We can raise her and Edward together. Maybe they'd even get married or something."
"You tell me that I don't think sometimes." I exhaled deeply, "That's just not going to happen. You are way too much of an idealist. It's that good guy part of you. That's not how the real world works, Bruce. And I think you're starting to get into some dangerous territory here."
"Sorry, sorry." He said, shaking his head, "I didn't mean for you to think about it that way. I just meant that we could get her back here and we would still be good friends, we could hang out with our children together. That's what I meant."
"Yeah, I get it." I said, giving him a half-hearted smile, "I would really like that."
I was getting nervous about the way Bruce was talking. I knew that my staying here was going to be a problem, that old feelings were going to surface. Blargh. He's a fucking idiot.
"Did you talk to Pam's parents?" he asked.
I secretly was relieved he changed the subject.
"Yeah, I did. They're booking the flight to come out here as soon as possible. They really need to find a lawyer when they get here, so could you maybe recommend one?"
"Definitely. Let me check my contact list and I can maybe get you one of the lawyers we contract for out of office disputes." He said, standing up, "I'll put Edward down for his nap."
"Ok." I said, gingerly handing him over, "That would be great if you could find someone. Obviously, price is no object."
"Yeah, I assumed. I'll take care of it, don't worry."
"Perfect, thanks."
He left the room and I was left with my thoughts. Yes, I know how absolutely cliché that is. I never said I was a perfect writer.
…
Angela Isley called me later that day to tell me that they had booked their flight to New York to arrive the following Monday, and I informed Bruce. He said he would send a car, but I insisted that I at least go pick them up. To me, it just seemed very strange to let them come here by themselves, so he agreed that he would go with me. I didn't think that was necessary but, like I had before, he insisted.
We got to JFK about an hour before they were supposed to arrive. We waited in the terminal, and I just stood there awkwardly.
"Maybe we should have brought a sign or something." Bruce joked.
I gave him a dead-pan look.
"Kidding!"
"Yeah, it just wasn't a good joke."
"You're a bit sassy today." He commented.
"Honey, I'm a bit sassy every day. It's my coping mechanism."
He rolled his eyes. He looked up and nudged me, "You think that's them?"
I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a late 50's-age couple walking towards us. The woman was curvy, but still very much in shape for a woman her age, with straight auburn hair and dressed in a chic black long-sleeved dress and carrying a Dior purse. The man with her was taller, distinguished, with greying hair that was once brown, and dressed sharply in a Ralph Lauren sweater and khakis. They had to be Pam's parents.
I waved at them, "Angela! Michael!"
She squinted at me, and then waved back, "Oh, hello dear!"
We walked up to meet them. Michael shook Bruce's hand, "Hello, Mike Isley. Are you Annabelle's husband?"
"Oh Jesus no." I interjected quickly.
All of them laughed. Angela pulled me into a hug, "Nice to finally meet you, dear." She had one of those East Coast fancy voices, like I only imagined Katherine Hepburn had.
"Nice to meet you, too. God, you look so much like Pam." I said.
"I hope that's meant to be a compliment!" she chuckled, "Pam always did take after me, right, Michael?"
"Indeed." He said.
I looked over at Bruce and raised my eyebrows. Indeed? Indubitably, old bean.
"I'm Bruce Wayne." Bruce said, shaking Angela's hand.
"Oh, yes, the multibillionaire! We've heard of you. I think one of your team came out to Seattle to work with Michael's company." Angela smiled widely.
"Right, right, you guys work in environmental business, wind and solar energy?" Bruce nodded.
"Yes, I'm semi-retired now, but I still go into work every day."
"Oh, he's a workaholic. I need someone at home to drink martinis with me!" Angela rubbed Michael's shoulder, "But he's a good husband, always providing."
"I bet!" I said. I think Pam had been quite wrong about her parents, at first impression. Yeah, they were a little snooty, but Bruce and I didn't have problems with that. We grew up in the 1 percent circuit, the fancy dinner parties and the monocles. I mean, not a lot of monocles, but I saw a few, I promise.
"Well, the town car is waiting, so can I help you with your bags, Angela?" Bruce asked.
"Thank you darling, that would be wonderful."
We walked out to the town car, packed it up, and we were on our way.
"How far do you live from the prison, dear?" Angela asked, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"About 45 minutes to an hour." Bruce replied, "Annabelle will drive you. She's been there already."
"Oh good." Angela turned to me, "How are the conditions?"
"Umm, well, it's a prison…"
"Right, right, what the hell am I thinking?" she shook her head, "I guess I'm a little out of touch."
"No, it's fine. I understand. It's not that horrible, I guess. Pam has her own cell which she says is lucky, the best possible scenario." I felt weird talking about this. It seemed very surreal.
"Yes, I suppose it is." Michael said, and fell silent.
I saw Angela grab his hand and squeeze it. Clearly they both were affected, but Angela was just a little better at putting on a show.
"I think we will just have to assess it for ourselves." She said, forcing a smile.
"Yeah, definitely." I affirmed.
"I will have you guys stay up in the guest bedroom. It's got a queen-sized bed, your own bathroom, so you won't have to worry about running into us or anything." Bruce changed the subject, "And my butler, Alfred, is there to help you with anything you may need while I'm not around. I do have to go back to work tomorrow, but Annabelle will show you guys around too if you want."
"Yeah, for sure." I agreed with him, "We want you guys to have the best time possible. I know the circumstances aren't ideal, but…"
"That's very sweet, Annabelle, and yes, Bruce, that all sounds lovely." Angela said, "First class service all the way."
We arrived back at Wayne Manor, and Bruce and I left Angela and Michael to unpack and get acquainted with their new lodgings. We went down to the kitchen to grab a snack and process what had just happened.
He sighed, handing me a can of soda, "God, they must be in hell."
"I know. She acts so strong, but she's not. I know she's not. But maybe they'll feel a little better once they see her." I said, shrugging, "I felt better once I saw her. I think that the unknown was scarier."
"Yeah." He said simply, "Aren't you worried that she's going to find out that you lied to her?"
"I don't plan on being there for that. I'm going to wait in the waiting room the whole time. I really would prefer not to run into Barbara the cunt-bag Gordon again."
"She's not that bad of a person."
"You are talking about the enemy, so I'm ignoring you."
"Fine, fine. I think you should be there to talk to her. She's going to freak if you don't."
"I hate it when you're right." I pouted.
