Clara's POV
A scream startled me awake. For a second, I wondered if it came from me, but I noticed Dick sleeping peacefully at my side and remembered Jessie. I gently rolled out of his strong arms, then kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room.
I crept down the dark hallway, masking my feet against the oak. When I arrived at her door, I pushed it open, cringing as it creaked loudly.
She was sitting up in her bed, breathing heavily and looking at me with wide eyes. It felt nice to finally be able to help someone instead of everyone helping me.
Jessie's POV
Such a pretty face. It's a shame we must break her.
I gasped awake, tangled in sweat-soaked bedsheets. Where am I? What's going on? The door creaked open and Clara stood in the doorway, blocking most of the light from the hall.
"What happened? Are you okay?" she asked. I shuddered and wiped my cheek. My fingers were damp. Had I been crying?
"I'm fine," I whispered, trying maybe a bit too hard to sound convincing. "It was only a nightmare." It seemed that I was talking to myself more than I was to Clara.
"Oh, okay. Do you… want to talk about it?"
I gulped in a few shaky breaths and nodded. She sat on the foot of the bed. I searched my mind for memories of the nightmare, but I couldn't find any.
"I… I can't remember what happened," I said softly. Other than that quote, over and over again. I felt a strange tingling in my fingers, as if someone had been soaking them in ice water.
She swore softly. "Okay, well… if you ever need anything, I'll be here." She left, shutting the door tightly behind her. The light from the hall was completely cut off.
"Clara!" I screamed. The door opened again, and light flooded in.
"Can you turn the light on?" I asked shakily. I couldn't be in the dark anymore. Not after what they did.
She nodded, then left again. I sat on my bed, the only thing breaking the silence was my heavy breath. I couldn't go back to bed again. He was there. I couldn't go back to his awful voice, echoing through my mind. I didn't want to wake up with this weird tingly feeling all over my body.
And the flashbacks, the nightmares, just brought back memories of the things that happened in that ship. Unspeakable things. He was always ready to put my blood in another test tube, stab me until I fell unconscious, or try another horrible experiment on me.
I curled up, pulling my knees to my chest. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why can't my life just be normal again?
Night Wing's POV
I was surprised to wake up without Clara's slim form between my arms. It felt… not right. I groaned and rolled out of bed. Where did she go?
I stumbled into the closet, rubbing my tired eyes. I grabbed a random shirt, pulling it on just as I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in!" I shouted, but I really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Batman's presence filled the room. I stopped short.
"What are you doing here."
"Now, that's no way to greet your commander," he said in his bored voice. I stiffened. Usually, he referred to himself as "father."
I sighed and turned around. "Can I help you?"
He walked away from the door frame he was leaning on and closed the door. "Why is Clara still sleeping with you, despite my order?"
I swore under my breath. There was more than one camera?
"Because I love her."
Batman scoffed. "You don't know what love is."
My hands clenched into fists, but I said nothing. Batman continued. "The people you 'love' can just be used against you in battle. You will break things off with her, Dick. Today." He stalked out of the room.
Clara's POV
When I was done helping Jessie, I decided that it was too late in the day to go back to Dick's room, so I headed to mine. After throwing on a green shirt and ripped jeans, I went to the terrace that overlooked Happy Harbour.
The sea lapped gently at the sandy shore, and the salty air blew my hair around. I leaned against the rail, listening to the calling of the gulls and the purring of boats.
I heard Dick walk up behind me, and I turned around to greet him.
"Hi."
"Hey," he said, almost sadly. I ignored that thought.
"Did you sleep well without me?" I teased. He didn't respond.
I tilted my head. "You okay?" I asked, worry stiffening my shoulders.
"Clara," he began, "I think… I think we should stop things. Between us."
My heart skipped a beat. "What?"
He didn't respond. "Dick, are you... are you serious-"
He cut me off. "Clara, things just aren't working out for me!" His voice raised to a yell.
I schooled my features into neutrality so he couldn't know how hurt I was, hesitating before continuing. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you needed," I whispered. I felt tears pricking at my eyes as I brushed past him to leave. I felt like I was suffocating, like the world was closing in around me.
He grabbed the sleeve of my shirt. "I'm sorry too," he said, and I could hear the bite of remorse in his voice. I glanced into his vibrant blue eyes one last time. Were his cheeks wet? He let go of me and averted his eyes, blinking quickly.
"Goodbye," I mumbled, and I left the balcony.
Night Wing's POV
Every fibre in my body screamed at me to run after her, to pull her into my arms and tell her that everything was a joke. But I couldn't.
I wiped at my eyes and stared at the hand that had grabbed her shirt, closing it into a fist. There was so much pain in her olive eyes. She really did care about me.
I shouldn't have done that.
