Ah, today was going to be an especially good day. Jerome had offered to take her out for dinner, leaving Jonny to take care of the little ones. Harley was more than happy to be able to get out of the house and go to get some food. Jonny was a great guy, but, he didn't, exactly, uh, cook the best things. It all tasted kinda.. Nasty. Like hospital food. C'mon Jonny! Get a cook book, use some spices! Maybe they needed new ingredients for things at home.. She'd suggest to Jerome to stop to the store so they could grab some things. Besides, shopping was always fun!
The day dwindled down until it was time to go, Jerome holding her hand until they got inside the.. Unnervingly white restaurant. Harley tried to question it mentally, but something was there, blocking her from thinking too in depth about why everything, right down to the chairs were white or a dull grey. Her mind, had brushed it off as the owner simply being a fan of the colors. Personally, Harley was not. She made a mental note to ask Jerome to paint the walls of their own home, which, was also extremely, dully, white.
"Why's the house so white - " Puddin! The word screamed in her mind but she couldn't get herself to call him it, "darling?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows up at him. "Oh," he started, head tilting a little. "I don't really know. I suppose it's just a calming color." White was not calming to Harley. Harley still had vivid memories of padded walls and men dressed in angelic white robes who liked to toss her around and beat her up. "Oh.. I like it." Harley loved white. Jerome shot her a smile, lips crinkling back just a bit further than that a normal person would've, nodding his head as he escorted her to a table, pulling out her chair for her. Harley took her seat, sinking into it and he pushed it in. Taking the seat across from her, he started up the little chit chat.
"How did you sleep, Harley?" "Oh, I slept just fine," She cooed to him, a smile on her lips. Her hair done in curls. Harley loved curls. When her plate was set in front of her, she felt herself confused. It was slop. Just slop. Piles of nothingness disguised as food! Her ears began to ring when she heard the aggressive clattering of plates and the deep voices of men who were barking orders across the restaurant, screams and moans.
She smiled vibrantly at her lover, thanking the waiter as he slipped away. Ironically, he was dressed in all white too. She picked up the steak knife and the fork, and began to cut into her steak, calming at the gentle chit chat that hummed about the diner, couples giggling and laughing together. Even Jerome was laughing handsomely. It was soft, quiet. So.. Utterly.. Normal.
But it was mostly quiet between them, at least, until her nose started stinging. Then her lip.
"Honey, you're bleeding."
Harley reached up with one hand to touch her nose, fingers pulling back to reveal the deep red that had begun to pour out of her nose and down onto her white dress. "Oh," She mused quietly. "I guess I must find it too hot," she reasoned, and dabbed it with a napkin. But her lip felt uncomfortably big, and when she touched that, she found blood too, and laughed. "Silly me, must've bitten my lip!" She laughed, and Jerome laughed with her. But her head, was really starting to hurt. Really, really starting to hurt. In fact, it was pounding so much that Harley was seeing stars, pretty little ones that danced around Jerome's head and giggled back at her. She reached up to touch her head with her bloody fingers, and let out a displeased sigh.
"Oh darling, I think I've begun to get a headache. Perhaps we should head home early," She suggested, and he nodded in return. Silently standing and moving over to her, helping her to her feet.
But as soon as Harley stood, a sharp pain hit her in the stomach, then the ribs, and she could suddenly hear maniac laughter, followed by booming yells to get someone.. Someone... Inmate.. Under control. Then she was staring at her Jerome again. "Cramps, just cramps, a nice hot bath will work wonders," She assured him, when he greeted her with a worried look. She couldn't remember the drive home, but Jerome had disappeared as soon as she was in the door. Probably gone to calm the crying kids, she assumed, while Jonny took her arm in one hand and held her around the waist with the other, leading her to the bathroom. He even brought her a towel and a new set of.. White white white clothes. Left her to her bath. Standing in the mirror, Harley observed a huge, black bruise that took up over half her belly, the cuts that seared deep into her sides and on her chest. Her nose was kinda crooked, a deep bruise going across the bridge and under both her eyes. "Gosh, I'm such a clutz!" She laughed to herself, shaking her head at her reflection. Something was not right. She turned around, humming out a happy little tune as she sunk into the bath. The water was cold. Freezing, freezing cold. She sunk further into it, sighing out a relaxing little noise as she sunk into the delightfully warm water, just as she asked Jonny to prepare it for her. How wonderful! What a good man he was, good good good! She soaked for minutes when a strong pain ripped her from her daze. Large hands had balled their way into her wet hair and ripped her out of the tub. Harley let out a strangled cry as her hip knocked violently against the tub before she was thrown down on to the ground.
A few hours after soaking, she had gotten out of the tub and dried herself off, brushing off the blossoming bruise in her hip, sweeping it under the carpet as she was just clumsy. She dressed and did her hair properly, sliding out of the bathroom. No one was home this time, just her and the kids. Harley had taken Damien in her arms, Clara-Mae in her chair playing with something childlike and white, when she heard a knock on the door. It sounded like someone had just opened a gate. A gorgeous women with perfect skin walked in, dark hair straight down her back with the prettiest green eyes she'd ever seen. "Florence!" She called happily, moving over to pull her into a one armed hug. The lady was, after all, holding a pretty little flower in the other arm and Harley had, her pretty little flower in her arm! One armed hugs were nice.
"Hello, Harley," Florence bubbled back happily, taking a seat across from Clara-Mae, cooing at her from where she sat. Harley flittered across to sit Damien down as well and began to work on her coffee. Back up, a hissed voice had entered for a moment, but Harley paid no mind as, at the same time, Florence politely reminded her to be careful not to burn herself. "Oh, oh yes of course, thank you, Florence." She cooed and moved to take a seat.
"So hows Jerome?" Florence asked sweetly, head rested in the palm of her hand while her other played with the little girls hand; finger gripped tight by Clara-Mae. "Oh, he's fantastic. He's at work right now, I think Jonny had the day off, I haven't seen him since my bath." She mused quietly, thoughtfully and tapped her fingers. "What are all those bruises about? What's been goin on, Harls?" Florence asked, oddly out of character. Harley blinked, and tilted her head. "Ain't nothin been going on. I'm just a clutz! Clumsy, clumsy Harley!" She laughed, tapping her hand on the table.
"I really don't think that's whats been going on," Florence started, Harley frowned when there was a shift in her appearance, green skin winking at her. "Are these guys beating you up? They been hurting you?" Harley blinked again, furrowing her eyebrows. "And what about that scene in the cafeteria today?" She cooed and Harley shook her head. "Florence, I ain't got a clue what you're talkin bout!" She laughed, and things returned to normal. Peachy skin and Florence was back into her character. Things were Normal. Normal was good. Normal was not right.
Though, unfortunately, Florence's stay was cut short when there was a knock to the door, and in waltzed her, not so friend, Pammy. Pammy was mean to her. "Excuse me, Florence, but you're going to have to excuse me and Mrs. Kerr, we have a chat to have." Pammy said in a snappy, rude tone, and Florence left without question.
Pammy took a seat across from her, hands rested on the table. Suddenly, the babies were gone; Jerome had taken them to go play while she spoke with Pammy! Yes, yes of course. Nothing out of place about that.
"How's your day been going?" Pammy asked. Harley frowned at her. 'It's been fine." She huffed back in return, arms crossing beneath her chest. "Now now, Harley, theres no need for you to be taking up an attitude with me." Pammy hissed, and Harley found herself flinching away. "I don't want to talk to you," Harley whimpered quietly, shrinking into her chair, but it seemed to mean nothing to Pammy as she pushed again. "I need answers Harley. Responses or I'm going to have to do something very very bad." Harley didn't want to know what the really, really bad thing was. Pammy slammed her hands on the table, and had stood. Her chair made an awkward screeching noise when she did, and Harley pressed further back into her chair, as Pammy came closer, yelling and screaming but Harley couldn't hear what she was saying, her hands raising over her ears as she let out muffled little cries. "I don't like you!"
"Pam! What on earth are you doing?" A deep voice resonated behind her and Harley was instantly calm. She turned to see a tall man with a very nice jaw. B... Brock. Brock was nice. Brock was always nice. "If she doesn't want to talk she doesn't have to, leave her alone," He sighed as he approached, placing a hand on Harley's shoulder and she relaxed happily, giving Pammy a look that screamed bitch. The women returned it with such ferocity, but said nothing as she stormed out.
"Is something troubling you?" Brock asked as he sat across from her. "I just miss my Jo.. Jack. I just miss my Jack," She answered softly, and Brock nodded.
Later, Harley couldn't remember what happened, but as she fell asleep, she swore she heard someone whisper, just fake her death, the clown will never know she's here. No one will.