I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes and condolences. My family and I are doing better.
Sohan: Glad you enjoy Elissa's character. Did not know it worked out like that.
Life Unexpected
Chapter 13
Diana's House
The rays of sunshine slipped into her bedroom, splashing directly into the young woman's eyes. Irritation roused her from her slumber. The first thing to register in her mind was the sun needed to go away and that her head pounded. No doubt she needed to stop with the wine. She groaned as she rolled over pulling the covers over her head.
The disturbance of the sun made her wide awake. Grimacing she pulled the covers back and sat up in her bed. Immediately, she felt cold. She glanced down and noticed she was naked behind her sheets.
She wondered to herself, What did I do last night?
Suddenly, memories of last night surged through her mind. Cautiously, her eyes peaked to her bed and noticed there was another in it.
Judging from her memories she determined it was Bruce. She leapt out of bed; the cool morning air poured into her bedroom chilling her naked form.
Her eyes widened, as panic set in. What the hell did I do?!
She scolded herself, as she recalled her behavior last night. From Bruce's surprise visit to her seduction of him and then…
Her face burned red as she recalled their night together. It was… It was…
Incredible. Was underselling it.
She stared at the man in her bed, his head laid across the pillow, dead to the world, lightly snoring. The blanket slinked off his body with every breath, it was then she noticed something she did not last night, his back was covered in scars. Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward a bit from her place a good distance from the bed.
She had seen her fair share of scars when she was growing up, her mother's security detail taught her to defend herself, it was then that she inquired about a few scars she noticed on some of them. She apologized for asking, knowing it was rude, but they waved it off as childish curiosity and fed her some tales.
From what she knew from them, Bruce had a few stab wound scars and slash wounds.
What the hell did he do to himself?, she wondered.
Her thoughts were broken when she heard a voice that she wasn't expecting.
"Diana?" Elissa called from downstairs, oblivious of what had occurred between her parents.
Instinctively, the woman panicked. Her head whipped from side to side searching for something to cover herself. She noticed her extra robe lying on some furniture in her room. She franticly put it on and then moved to Bruce and shook him awake roughly.
"What?" he grumbled, silently glaring at the woman, unperturbed or unacknowledging last night.
"Elissa's here. Get your clothes on," she hissed at him in a whisper.
She left him to get dressed as she padded down the stairs meeting her daughter in the living room. Elissa dressed for the day, a bag in her hand, gave her mother an odd look.
Her mother on the other hand, spoke first, "Why are you home so early? Did something happen?" she inquired worriedly. She hoped nothing happened that made the girl leave so quickly.
"Early?" Elissa stated confused. "It's noon," she informed her mother, whom was shocked. She did think she slept in so late. Elissa noticed her mother's state of dress, "Slept in, did you?' she smiled at the mother.
"It's a Saturday and I don't have work on the weekends," the Greek woman stated, crossing her arms across her chest tightening her robe.
The daughter shrugged, "I'm not criticizing. I'm just talking."
"Is everything alright? I wasn't expecting you until tonight."
"Fine," Elissa answered. "I just wanted to drop off my stuff and then Nat and I are going to the mall for a while," she explained, holding up her bag.
She noticed something on the mother's neck, "Did you hurt yourself?" she pointed at the bruise.
Bashfully, Diana covered it, "Oh, I was moving a box and it hit my neck," she fibbed. Too embarrassed to give her the truth and prayed Elissa was naïve about hickeys.
Elissa gave the raven-haired woman a skeptical glance. How does someone bruise your neck moving a box? She didn't voice any objections and moved on.
"Did you have fun last night?" her mother asked intrigued by her daughter's sleepover.
In response Elissa nodded, "Yeah, it was fun." Her lips pursed, an eyebrow quirked, she jutted with her thumb to outside the living room window viewing the street, "Is that Bruce's car outside?"
Diana paled, her heart beating erratically. She was too frightened to answer, for fear of luring Elissa into connecting the dots.
"Uh, yes, he—"
A loud crash was heard from upstairs that startled both women. They shared a look before Diana tried to reassure the teen. "He must have knocked something over. He needed to use the restroom," she spoke stiffly.
"But you look like you just got out of bed?" Elissa noticed, finding more and more holes in her mother's story.
"I did," the older woman nodded, "but Bruce came over because he wanted to talk about something."
"Okay," the teen believed her. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the food and wine from last night abandoned on the coffee table. She didn't think her mother was a slob when she was alone. "Did you have a party last night?" she joked, only then noticing the extra wine glass. She set her bag on one of the couches overlooking the front window.
Diana, once believing she was in the clear, was anxious again. "I must have forgotten where the glass was and got another one," she reasoned, trying to throw her daughter's suspicions away.
Elissa seemed to believe the woman, knowing she could be scatterbrained sometimes. "Want me to clean up for you? Nat's still at home, so I've got some time before we were planning on going to the mall," she explained, wanting to help her mother out.
"No," Diana was quick to refuse, surprising her daughter. "I mean I can clean up," she elaborated, her tone more composed. "Go have fun with your friend. Do you have a ride?"
She shook her head, "Mrs. Green's taking us over," she supplied. The teen's eyes narrowed slightly as she caught sight of something on the floor of the living room.
Diana stammered to stop her daughter as she too, caught sight of what Elissa made a beeline for. Her daughter ignored her mother as she plucked a male dress shirt from the floor, a curious eyebrow raised.
It was in that moment that it all came together in the teen's mind. Her cerulean eyes widened, her mouth o-shaped, as shock was expressed on her face. Shock transformed into horrifying disgust as she put it all together.
Her father's shirt on the floor. Empty wine glasses for two. Her mother's disheveled state at noon. The bruise on her neck.
The teenager came to the only logical conclusion
And it grossed her out.
"EW! She shouted, tossing the shirt back on the floor as if it was something filthy. Her eyes whipped to her mother, whom was horrified by her daughter finding out what happened.
"Elissa, sweetie. Please, let me explain," Diana tried to calm the teen down, but she wouldn't have it.
"Gross! Did I just interrupt you guys having sex?!" she shouted in a horrified panic. She felt like she had just witnessed the most disgusting thing in the world.
"No!" Diana vehemently denied, but the girl didn't believe her.
When her mother took a step closer to her daughter, she recoiled as if her mother had the plague, a grossed-out expression on her face.
"Oh, good God!" she cried as she ran past her mother and out the door with a slam. Diana wanted to go after her, but she considered her attire and presence would only exacerbate their situation.
She sighed, running a hand over her forehead, it was then she heard Bruce come down the stairs.
Shirtless, Bruce looked around and saw no sign of his daughter. "What's with all the noise? And where's Elissa?" he asked, clueless about what had transpired moments ago.
Diana wryly sighed and ran upstairs leaving a clueless Bruce behind.
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself, after receiving the cold treatment from the woman.
Natalie's House
Elissa ran to her friend's house. Images swirling in her head, no matter how hard she struggled to forget them.
"Ew," she muttered to herself, as she tried to shake the mental images of her parents out of her head. She couldn't believe what she just walked in on. How long have they been seeing each other? She had the impression they merely had joint custody of her, and they had no plans to date one another.
No matter how hard she tried, she kept seeing her mother's appearance. It made her cringe.
She rang the doorbell and shoved her way in when Natalie opened the door, "Hey!" the teen cried as she was nearly run over by Elissa. "What's your problem? Your mom say no mall?"
Elissa cringed when her friend brought up her mother. She froze wincing as she struggled to get the words out.
"What?" Natalie pressed, furious on her best friend's change in behavior.
Elissa gave Nat a look that resembled a beaten puppy.
"Shut the front door!" Nat exclaimed, sitting on her bed with Elissa on her bedroom floor, grumbling to herself as she just finished telling what happened at home. The girls convened at the Latina's bedroom.
"Please stop," the raven-haired girl begged, as she was already uncomfortable enough.
The Latina chuckled, "Sorry, but it's hilarious."
"It is not," Elissa curtly retorted, in a disquiet mood.
"Okay," the girl buttoned up, judging from her best friend's mood, she was not interested in any further teasing.
Elissa refused to speak to her mother for a week. Not out of spite, but from embarrassment. It was too awkward for her to even speak to her. In her mind's eye, she kept seeing her mother's disheveled appearance and it turned her stomach from unpleasant ideas popping into her impressionable head. Ideas that no child wants to think about involving their parents.
Gotham Morning Madness
Diana was exhausted from work and the mere fact her daughter wasn't talking to her. It hurt her deeply. Every time she tried to start a conversation, Elissa curtly, ignored her and raced out of the house.
Now the woman sat in front of her best friend's desk, Etta, both having coffee together after another successful broadcast.
Diana wasn't sure how to delicately approach the subject, so she just blurted it out. "I slept with Bruce."
Etta froze, her eyes widened sharply. It took almost a solid minute before she regained composure. "Shut the front door! Tell me everything!" she demanded, eagerly intrigued by her best friend's sex life with her baby daddy.
The Greek woman appeared apprehensive, uncertain about gossiping about her sex life, let alone about Bruce, a man she had a child with and was seeing his continuous presence in her life.
"Come on, girl!" the blonde woman pressed. "First thing's first. Was it good?" she asked with a glint in her eyes.
Diana wanted to tell Etta nothing, but she could not stop the words leaving her mouth. "It was great." She awkwardly turned her head away, refusing to make eye contact. "Really, really, great." She said under her breath, although the other woman clearly heard her.
Etta appeared to be living vicariously through her friend's exploits. "And?"
"And," the raven-haired woman sighed, "we haven't spoken about it. Not a word," she lightly grumbled to herself. It seemed Bruce took a page from their daughter's book and ignored her or vice-versa.
"Typical," Etta concurred. The plump woman noticed something else in her friend's face. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "No, not really."
"Why?"
"Elissa came home to the morning after and figured it out," she admitted to her friend. Diana appeared woefully as soon as she confessed as to what happened.
"Oh, no," Etta paled and then suddenly laughed in her friend's face from her embarrassment.
"Etta," the radio host scolded.
"I'm sorry," the blonde apologized in between laughs. "But it's hilarious!" She busted out laughing even louder.
The Greek woman scowled and waited for her friend to settle down. Which took several minutes as every time Etta seemed to calm down, she would start all over again.
When Etta finally settled down permanently, Diana grimaced at her and said, "You done?" her tone cold and through with her behavior.
"Yep," the plump producer nodded.
"So," Diana began, "do I talk to her about it. About what happened between me and Bruce?" she searched for advice from her friend.
"Good lord, no!" Etta denied. "Diana would you want your mother to talk to you about your sex life if you caught her in the act?" she offered.
"No," Diana agreed. "And it wasn't in the act," she maintained.
"Whatever."
Diana took a sip of her beverage, pausing in their conversation. Etta wanting to know more of what was going on decided to interrogate her. "So, anything else bothering you?"
Wryly, Diana sighed, "I just wish Bruce and I could talk about what happened, but he's been busy with work or he's pretending to work just to avoid me," she admitted.
Etta nodded her head, completely understanding and interpreting her own ideas on how to help. "I see what your problem is," she stated, confidently.
"Which is?" Diana enthusiastically inquired.
"Your suffering from empty kooch syndrome," she told her.
"What?" Diana blankly responded.
"You need to get laid. By someone else," she explained. "First time you get laid since your breakup with Steve and it's with your high school boyfriend, who got you pregnant. Now after getting it on with him again, you're confused and now are retreating thinking something's wrong with you. There isn't!" she declared fiercely. "You're young, successful and hot. Girl, you hit the trifecta."
Diana slowly nodded her head in understanding. Some of what Etta said was accurate but she doubted she need more sex in her life.
"This Friday we are going out," the blonde gestured to them with her finger.
"Wha-?"
"Yep. We are going out. We are going to bar hop like never before and we are going to get you laid. Trust me. You need to get that thing destroyed by some hot guy or gal, if you prefer, and show you how perfect you are. If Wayne can't see how lucky he is to have or be with you, then screw him," she cheered her friend on. Etta was always in Diana's corner. Always. And Diana loved that about Etta. She was a great friend. Loving and kind, even if she went a little overboard sometimes.
"So, find the sluttiest dress you can find and put it on. We'll go to some of my favorite clubs in the city. I even know a few places where I am a ten at," she stated in a sing-song voice. "Trust me, I've been where you are and there is not a shortage of chubby chasers in this town. So, no arguments. We are going out and you are taking a trip to pound town," she readily declared.
"Etta," Diana uttered, scandalized by her friend's vulgarity. Although, a night out did seem appealing to her. She smiled and readily accepted.
Gotham City High School
Elissa and Natalie were walking through the halls of the building, laughing. The passed through other students going about their scheduled classes.
Nat gasped as saw someone down the hall. She stopped in her tracks and grabbed Elissa's arm, making her stop as well.
"What?" Elissa demanded, wondering why they stopped moving as people navigated around them.
"That's Dean Chase," she pointed to the tall blonde-haired boy surrendered by other boys and a couple of girls.
Elissa went wide-eyed as she noticed he was quite handsome. "I heard he's the junior varsity football team's quarterback," she suddenly was broken out of her trance by her friend. "He's a sophomore," Natalie explained.
Dean seemed… nice. In Elissa's opinion.
Diana's House
As any average American teenager, Elissa was on the cusp of adulthood. Growing through changes here and there as well as doing what everyone in the world does, especially if you're a teenager with internet.
The teen sat on her bed, eyes darting to her door, she was home alone as her mother was out getting dinner. She nervously bit her lip as he fingers hovered over the keys, headphones plugged into her ears.
Finally, she worked up the courage to type into the search engine.
Diana opened her front door with a sigh, as she held a box of pizza in hand. "Elissa," she called out. "Dinner!"
She exhaled, tired of being irked by her daughter. The least the teen could do was answer her when she called her down for dinner. Tired of her daughter's impertinent behavior, she walked upstairs ready to end this childish battle once and for all.
She knocked on her daughter's door and called out again, only to be met with silence. With an exasperated sigh, she opened the door to a sight she was not expecting.
The woman screamed out in horror as she saw her daughter bare for all the world to see. "Oh, God!" she turned her head away.
The door opening and her mother's screams broke the girl's concentration. "WHAT THE HELL?! GET OUT!" she shouted, grabbing a pillow to cover herself.
"I'm sorry," Diana cried slamming the door shut. She winced behind the door. Why the hell is this happening?
Are we even now?
She wondered to herself. And so, another week of refusing to speak to her mother would ensue.
Gotham Morning Madness
Once again Diana sat in front of her best friend's desk. Her face stony as she seemed out of sorts with processing interrupting Elissa's… um, private time.
Diana just blurted it out to Etta, seeking her friend's counsel. And got the same reaction when she disclosed that she slept with Bruce.
"This really isn't your month, huh?" she laughed.
Diana woefully scowled at the woman sitting across from her, she didn't have the strength to hold it for long.
"What do I do here?" she pleaded with her friend. Should she just ignore what happened and pretend nothing happened? She had no clue. She never was in this position before.
"Best thing you can do is act like it never happened," Etta told her. "Everyone does it and I'm sure other parents have walked in on their kids," she reasoned.
Diana gave Etta that, but how many kids learned their parents slept together the previous night and discovered the aftermath.
"By the way, are we still on for Friday?" Etta asked, wanting to confirm their plans to go clubbing.
"Uh, yes, I just need to tell Elissa, if she will speak to me," Diana responded. With her mind made up she left her friend to carry out what she felt she needed to do. Awkward could not even begin to describe what she felt interrupting her daughter's 'special time', but she felt she should provide some guidance. Because Diana feared her daughter would start sneaking around. Or worst, start having intimate activities with people before she graduated high school.
Yes, one could say Diana was overacting or going a bit too far in her duties to Elissa. But she felt she should sit down with her and discuss with the teenager the finer points of… growing up.
Diana's House
Diana managed to corner Elissa when she came home from school. The woman managed to get out of work early to deal with the distance Elissa was intentionally creating.
"Sit down, please." Diana politely commanded to her daughter when Alfred had just dropped her home from school.
Elissa sighed in exasperation. Rolling her eyes, she tried to make it upstairs. She still refused to speak to her mother about what happened.
"Sit down, young lady." She said again, terse in her tone. It caused Elissa to freeze, shocked by her mother's tone. She turned back to the woman, sitting in the living room on the couch. A scowl on her face, "Now, young lady," she said more forcefully.
Elissa, sullenly moved to the couch, dropping her bag on the floor as she sat on the couch next to her mother.
The teen expressed surly teenaged rebellion and attitude. But Diana wasn't deterred.
The woman took a calm breath and started, "I know we have been having some problems lately. I thought we should discuss them," she broached the subject. Elissa instinctively folded her arms, her muscles tightened as a protective defense mechanism.
"Your father and I are… complicated right now. So, I won't say anything on that until we know more. But I do want to discuss what happened the other night," she started to get to the heart of the matter. Elissa instantly turned red in embarrassment.
"There's nothing to be ashamed about," Diana gently explained. "It is perfectly natural. Everyone does it."
Elissa's cheeks burned brighter the longer her mother talked. "Diana, stop." Her pleas were ignored, as Diana continued.
"I've been there as has everyone. Yes, it was a little awkward walking in on you. But after a little time, I've come to realize that you may have some questions, so here I am," Diana presented.
"Diana, please stop talking," the teenager begged more forcefully. "I take health class for God's sake. I know about sex, condoms, and STD's," she said surly. She tried to get up, but her mother had other ideas. She grabbed her arm and tugged her back to the couch.
A pout was elicited by her mother's act.
"Can we please stop talking about this?" she begged.
The mother sighed, reconsidering her approach after sensing her daughter's discomfort. "I understand you are uncomfortable. But if you have any questions you'd want to discuss with another woman, such as myself, whom has gone through what you are going through now," she pointed out. "I'm sure being surrounded by immature teenager's giggling or joking about a subject you may have serious questions about can be annoying," she tried a difficult approach. "And if you don't feel comfortable discussing it with a teacher, than try with someone you trust," she reasoned. Her statement was concise and well thought out. Yes, she may be pushing the subject wanting Elissa to talk to her again, but she took her job as a parent seriously, and if they both had to be uncomfortable for an hour, fine.
Elissa seemed to accept her mother's line of thinking. There were a few kids in her health class that joked whenever the subject came up. Reluctantly, the teenager sighed in acceptance. "Okay, I guess," she mumbled.
Diana seemed to brighten up, but she played it cool. "Okay, do you have any questions?" she inquired.
"A couple," she meekly admitted.
"Do you want to ask me? I won't pressure you any further if you don't want to," she promised, soothingly. She got her daughter talking to her again and that was a good enough victory for the woman. She opened the door and awaited for a ready Elissa to walk through said door.
Elissa nodded, silently. They spent a couple hours on the subject. Many times Elissa was embarrassed. As was Diana on a few as well. They talked until Elissa ran out of questions or when Diana had no idea. Let's just say Diana was quite wild in college.
When it was all over Elissa and Diana were both a bit embarrassed and had trouble making eye contact with the other.
It was little while later that Elissa asked about Bruce. "Are you guys dating?" she innocently asked, seeing as how the two were separated she didn't think they were getting back together.
"I… I don't know, honey. He hasn't spoken to me in a while. I think he is avoiding me. We were both drinking. And I think that is enough questions about your father and myself," she ended the conversation there.
"Alright," Elissa accepted understandingly. She got from the couch intending to go to her room. "As long as you guys used protection. I'm not really ready to be a big sister," she said in passing.
Diana was left alone, paling as she could not recall using protection. "Oh, shit." She made an impromptu trip to the pharmacy and exiled herself to the bathroom.
She sat on the toilet holding a used pregnancy test in hand. And saw the appropriate amount of blue lines. "Okay," she sighed. Panicking inside so much she might faint.
Diana and Etta went clubbing that Friday night. Elissa was left home alone. Both ladies figured that they could use some space. The only thing Diana was enjoying was the fact that they were talking again.
Their 'talk' needed to happen.
Even if Diana had to force the discussion to happen. And in her opinion, it made them closer or at least got them talking and that was all Diana really wanted.
The Greek woman fulfilled Etta's request. She put on the sluttiest dress she owned. A black sleeveless dress, a very short skirt, a low neckline that showed off an abundant amount of cleavage, a gold necklace that accented her chest. Gold highlights around the waist and black stiletto heels.
The night club they were in blasted music that made everyone bob in place. From the bar, Diana saw Etta, clad in a red dress dance with three guys. Diana nursed a glass of ginger ale. Etta was right, the woman did need a night out.
The music, the rhythm of the dancing, it all made her feel alive. But right now, she was content with watching Etta have fun from the bar as she watched the drinks.
She had a lot on her mind. Going out was supposed to clear her head, but nothing changed.
Etta sheepishly came up to her from the dancefloor.
"What's wrong?" Diana supplied, noticing her friend's behavior.
"I am really sorry," she told her genuinely. "But," she looked over her shoulder to a cute guy she met on the dancefloor, "I met someone and we're getting out of here," she gave an excited grin. "So sorry to flake, but girl I got a shot!"
Diana smiled and waved her friend off, "Go."
Etta apologized, "Again. So sorry. I promise I will make it up to you later," she swore.
"Etta, it's okay. Go. You deserve fun, too," Diana reassured her friend.
Etta paid her bill and walked to her new friend on the dancefloor and took off.
The Greek woman sighed before taking another drink of ginger ale. She stayed for a little while longer listening to the music, slightly swaying in place before she paid and left the club.
She seemed more distracted than when she was inside the club. "Damn it," she mumbled to herself, taking out her phone.
The device soon started ringing.
After a few rings she heard a voice answer.
East End
Observing a warehouse from an adjacent rooftop, Batman stood enveloped by his cape. He was awaiting a certain drug dealer to arrive that would allow him to finally break up a drug lab that had been plaguing the area for the last few weeks.
Through the silent night for the particular area, the clicking of his comms disturbed his patient vigil.
"Sir?" Alfred's voice was heard.
"Yes?" he answered, terse and straight to business.
"Miss Diana is calling your personal line, should I shoo her away?" he inquired, searching for instructions considering the woman was an intricate part of their little family now.
He took a moment to ponder his options. He hadn't spoken with her since the morning after they…
They hadn't spoken for a while.
He was preoccupied with his company and patrolling Gotham had been a driving force for him, even more so lately with a bad batch of heroin on the streets that killed almost all users on their first use.
"Sir?" Alfred called out, worried that they may had gotten disconnected.
"Put her through, Alfred." His voice was succinctly. Not as low as his usual voice when he wore the suit. Low because he felt embarrassed about talking with her again and disliking Alfred finding out about what happened.
The man was very polite and discrete.
"Of course," the older man responded automatically. Connecting the woman to his employer.
He swallowed nervously, which shocked him, because he was never nervous when he wore the suit. But he was not a symbol in that moment. He was a man. An extremely nervous man, who was about to have a very long overdue conversation and he was certain an awkward one.
He heard only silence on the other line. For a long minute he patiently awaited the woman to respond, until he chose to call out to her. "Diana?" he said gently in his 'Bruce voice', which was a slightly higher octave.
His eyes glued to the street below, his body tensed as he saw somebody pull up in front of the drug den. He then relaxed when he saw the car perform a U-turn and turn around.
Mild disappointment struck him as he was forced to wait further for his man.
"Diana?" he tried again more forceful.
"Hi," her meek voice resounded from the line. "Are you busy right now?" she timidly inquired. He could hear faint music in her background.
"A little," he admitted, his eyes staring as cars raced down the road.
"Oh," her disappointed voice struck his ears. "I'll call back," she told him.
Before she could hang up, Bruce intervened, "Diana, is something wrong?" his voice sounded impassive as he was multitasking.
He heard her sigh, "I… just wanted to talk to you… about the other night," she explained nervously.
He panicked when she clarified the reasoning for her phone call. He quickly shoved his panic down. "I really don't have the time to get into that right now," he succinctly replied.
"Oh," he could hear her disappointment.
He swallowed the saliva in his mouth before he quickly added, "Later. Next week. Lunch. I'll pick you up?" he suggested, sounding like he was in high school asking a girl out for the first time.
"Y-Yeah, sure. That works," Diana stammered, unbeknownst to him, she was nervously twirling a lock of her hair.
"Goodnight," he said goodbye and hung up, just as she reciprocated.
His eyes widened slightly as his man finally arrived. He waited a couple minutes for the man to enter the building and then he dived off the roof and sprang into action.
NEXT: Curveball thrown.