It was late at night and he couldn't sleep. He sat at the table, his journal in front of him. He wrote down something and paused for a moment to have a smoke. He took a long drag from his cigarette and doused it into the ashtray. He picked up his pen and wrote down the name Thomas Wayne and drew a frowny face next to it. Arthur started to write again, but the lines became nothing but scribbles. He set the pen down and turned the pages of his journal and until he found the newspaper photograph of the Wayne family. He took it out and stared at the husband and father of one, hating the man. Arthur tore the photograph in half and started to shred it into a dozen pieces. He threw the pieces on the floor and rested his elbows on the table and lowered his face into his hands. He sniffled and laughed softly, his shoulders shaking with grief.

Arthur stood up and went into the kitchen. He had forgotten to take his medication and checked one of the orange pharmacy bottles on the counter, but it was empty. Arthur set the empty pill bottle next to the others and swiped the counter clean with his hand in frustration. He stood there with his hands on the counter and his head bowed, his frail, thin body hunched over in despair. The phone rang, but he didn't answer it. His mother was in the hospital, his supposed "father" had rejected him, and he failed his one chance of becoming a stand-up comedian. There was nothing left for him to live for anymore.

Arthur walked over to the fridge and opened the door and started taking out everything in it. Bread, milk, leftovers, even the shelves and the drawers. While he emptied the fridge, the answering machine took a message from the two detectives he saw the other night. They left a phone number for him to call them back, but he didn't hear them. All alone in his empty apartment and with no one to stop him, Arthur saw only one way out of his undying misery. He stepped into the fridge and closed the door, concealing himself inside. The door would not cooperate at first, but he finally managed to shut himself inside his frozen tomb. It was cold and dark and he didn't have a shirt on, but he didn't care. Arthur had become fed up with all the abuse and rejection he had taken from people over the years. Nobody would bother to look for him. No one would even care.

The phone rang again. Arthur groaned in frustration, covering his ears with his hands in the freezing darkness. "Shut up", he groaned, but the phone just ignored him and kept on ringing, waiting for him to answer. "Shut up!"

Everything turned quiet for a minute, then he heard a familiar voice on the answering machine.

"Hello, Arthur? It's Wendy. I went to the hospital today to check on you and your mother, but the doctor said you never showed up. I stopped by your apartment earlier to see if you were home, but I guess you weren't there. Anyway, just call me as soon as you get this message, okay? I need to talk to you. Bye."

Arthur barely made out what she said on the machine, but hearing her voice was enough to snap him out of his suicidal tendencies. He forgot all about Wendy. She must have been worried sick about him. Arthur never even bothered to call or explain what happened the other night. He forced the door open immediately and fell out onto the floor. He stood up and walked over and decided to call her back. She answered him on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Wendy? It's Arthur."

"Hey, Arthur, I just called you."

"I know."

"Were you sleeping?"

Arthur shook his head and answered, "No, I was just...taking a shower."

"Well, I came by your apartment earlier to see if you were all right, but I guess you weren't home."

Arthur closed his eyes and lowered his head into his hand. He felt bad having to lie to her, but it was the only way he could avoid losing her. If Wendy knew what he was about to do to himself, she would never forgive him.

"Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm here. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't sound like you're fine."

"I've been having a rough time these past couple of weeks."

"I know, I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help."

"There isn't anything anyone can do, Wendy", said Arthur, sadly. "I just have to take it one day at a time."

"You want me to come over tonight?"

"No, no. Just stay where you are. It's too dangerous at night to be wandering the streets by yourself. But if you could stay on the phone and talk to me for a while, I'd feel so much better."

"All right. What do you want to talk about?"

Arthur shrugged and said, "I don't know...How's your uncle?"

Wendy sighed heavily and told him, "I don't know. He's been acting strange lately. Ever since I asked him to bail you out, he's been edgy and irritated. He's angry at me or something. I don't know. I barely see him anymore. When I'm not home during the day, he's usually here doing God knows what. And when I come home every night after work, he's usually gone and it's just me here alone by myself. I don't think he ever sleeps."

"Maybe it's for the best", said Arthur. "Did you say you went and saw my mother?"

"Yes."

"Did she say anything?"

"No. She was awake, but she wasn't talking."

Arthur was quiet for a moment.

"Arthur?"

"I should have been there for her", Arthur murmured.

"Arthur, it wasn't your fault", Wendy reminded him.

"No, it was. I said some things I shouldn't have. I left the apartment to go clear my head. And when I came back, she was being taken to the hospital. You saw what happened."

"Arthur, we talked about this. She's going to be all right. You'll see."

Arthur felt like tears should be falling down his face right about now, but the tears of sadness decided to cross over with the sound of his laughter. His throat hurt before it even got started. His breath hitched and he was forced to cover his mouth with his hand. Even to himself, he found it offensive. His mother had suffered a stroke because of him. He didn't find it funny in the slightest way to be laughing at her misfortune. He banged the side of his head with his hand just to punish himself. Wendy could do nothing but listen to his emotional outburst until it ended. A minute later, the laughing ceased and Arthur was struggling to regain his breath.

Arthur felt silent tears falling down his cheeks and whispered softly, "I wish you were here with me right now."

"I know", said Wendy, sadly. "I'm sorry you're having such a bad time, Arthur, but we'll get through this together. Always remember that I'm here for you. You're not alone."

Arthur thought it over a minute and finally said, "Listen, I have something I have to do tomorrow, but maybe I could stop by your uncle's apartment sometime this week and visit you. If he doesn't mind, that is."

"I think that can be arranged", said Wendy. "My uncle lives in apartment 18-B."

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I'll see you soon?"

Arthur nodded. "I hope so. I have to go now, Wendy."

"All right, Arthur. Take care. I love you."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Arthur held onto the phone long after Wendy hung up. The dial tone echoed in his ear. She said she loved him. Could it really have been true? He certainly hoped so. Arthur hung up the phone and stood there for the longest time, repeating the words over in his head. 'I love you, Arthur', the voice of Wendy replayed for him inside his head. 'I love you, Arthur. I love you, I love you, I love you...'

The next morning, Arthur woke up in his mother's bedroom. He stretched and rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes, sunlight bleeding into the room. He looked to his left and found somebody in bed with him.

"Good morning, Arthur."

Wendy was sitting up in bed, wearing a sexy black lingerie, a matching garter on her right leg. She smiled and asked him, "How did you sleep?"

"I had a bad dream", said Arthur.

Wendy frowned and ran a hand through his hair and said, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Arthur thought it over, thinking of something he wanted Wendy to do. He had many thoughts about her, most of them sexual. There was only one thing he could think of to satisfy himself at the moment.

"Well, there is one thing", said Arthur, a shy smile on his face.

Wendy chuckled and turned to reach over for something on the nightstand. She straddled Arthur and pulled out a cigarette from between her breasts and placed it between her lips, using a lighter to light it up and take a slow inhale without any trouble. Removing the cigarette from her mouth and raising her head, Wendy blew smoke into the air and looked down at Arthur, handing the cigarette over to him.

"Why don't you help yourself to that", said Wendy, placing a hand gently over the bulge underneath the white fabric of his underwear. "While I play with this. You don't mind, do you, Arthur?"

"Not at all", Arthur answered, taking a drag, the tip glowing bright red.

Wendy lifted the waistband of his underwear and reached a hand down the front. Her hand wrapped around his penis and she slowly began to stroke him off. Arthur closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose.

"Oh, Arthur, you're so big", Wendy exclaimed. "Is all of this for me?"

Arthur opened his eyes and looked at her again. "What do you think?"

"You better be in for the time of your life, master. Because I am your slave, and I intend to please you however I can", said Wendy, her voice sounding like pure sex.

Wendy continued to work her magic of pleasuring Arthur, who moaned from her sensitive touch, his breath becoming rapid and uneven. Her pace quickened, the friction causing Arthur to groan uncomfortably at one point.

Wendy slowed down and looked at him with an arrogant smile on her face. "You want me to stop?"

"No, don't stop", said Arthur, breathlessly. "Just keep going."

"Your wish is my command", said Wendy, feeling the precum start to drip out from the tip. Her hand movement sped up a little bit, forcing him to come for her.

Arthur breathed heavily, continuing to get off at the feeling of having a woman give him a handjob. "Wendy...", Arthur whispered, desperately. "Wendy, I'm gonna..." His back arched and his head fell back against the pillow. He kept his eyes shut and groaned with ecstasy and came quickly, spilling his seed all over himself and onto her hand. He heard Wendy laugh, knowing she had done her job right. He felt exhausted, but overall, he was satisfied.

Wendy leaned forward and kissed Arthur on his lips, asking him, "How did that feel?"

Arthur took a minute to catch his breath and looked at her with half-lidded eyes, answering, "It was amazing."

"Did I hurt you?"

Arthur shook his head, whispering, "No."

"Good." Wendy kissed him along his jawline and told him, "Because that was just round one, baby. You can rest for a little bit if you're tired."

Arthur rested his eyes and felt her hand continue to stroke him gently. His penis had gone soft and limp, but it still felt good having her touch him like that. He needed it.

Just as the height of his orgasm died down, Arthur heard the phone rang. The weight of Wendy's body on top of him began less, as he opened his eyes again and found she wasn't there. He had fantasized the whole thing. He was holding a cigarette in his right hand, his other hand down in his underwear, pleasuring himself. He was masturbating in his mother's bed and brushing his thumb across the tip, which was dripping slightly. The phone continued to ring, but he didn't bother to answer it. He just wanted to lie there and savor the moment. It would have been much better if Wendy were actually in the room with him, but she wasn't.

The answering machine beeped and took a message. "Hi, this is Shirley Woods. I work for Live With Murray Franklin. I have a message for Arthur Fleck."

Arthur stopped what he was doing and lifted his head up, looking over toward the doorway. He groaned in annoyance and got out of bed, pulling his hand out of his underwear and switching his cigarette over to his left hand. He walked out of the bedroom and went into the kitchen. He pressed a button on the answering machine and took the call, picking up the phone and putting it to his ear.

"Who is this?" Arthur asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Hi, this is Shirley Woods. I'm the show booker for Live With Murray Franklin. Is this Arthur?"

"Yes."

While Arthur listened to the woman speaking to him on the phone, he placed his right hand over his abdomen, then to the left side of his chest. His heart was beating very fast and he felt a slight pain in his shoulder. He touched the tips of his fingers to his damp forehead and held onto the phone, his eyes widening a bit at the mention of Murray Franklin wanting him to come onto the late night show and be his guest.

Arthur wasn't sure he heard her correctly. "Murray wants me on the Murray Franklin Show?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Isn't that great? Murray would like you to come onto the show, maybe do some of your act. We have an opening available this Friday. Does that sound good to you?"

Arthur paused for a moment, bringing the cigarette to his lips and taking a short inhale, breathing out smoke. "Yeah, that sounds great", he answered, mild excitement in his voice.