Adelina's POV
I was freaking the fuck out. I just turned 18, just got married, and now I'm pregnant. I guess this is what was always planned for me just with the person of my parent's choosing. My body feels like it's on hyper speed and it is hard to keep my breath. Mr. J notices and starts comforting me. How was he being so calm?! Then it hits me, he must know something I don't. I mean what else would explain his lack of shock? The random blood draw. He seemed to know something then as well.
Not to mention that his right hand man, Johnny, had been acting weird too. Neither would even leave me alone to use the restroom. They wouldn't even trust any of the other men. Johnny did not even seem to like me when I first got here and now I was some priceless gem to him. Maybe being married to his boss changed things but for some reason I felt it was more than that.
After panic and suspicion, I finally came to acceptance. This was going to happen and I will have to live with it. Luckily I had a supportive husband. I still couldn't get over it, I expected him to be angry, to yell, to demand we get rid of it, but nothing. He was handling it better than me, which made me suspicious once more.
I should have assumed this would happen. We weren't exactly careful and plus isn't this what happens to married couples? I just didn't think it would happen so soon.
"J, what is going on?" I ask him, my eyes pleading for the truth.
"What do you mean?" He says trying to play dumb.
"You aren't very surprised about the pregnancy and Johnny has been acting weird around me. Please be honest with me." I beg. He looks like he is at internal war with himself. I know these are the moments when the voices start, he's told me before about these moments.
"I want to tell you about Johnny but that is his own story to tell, not mine. Try not to hate me when you find out." I give him a curious look and about to ask more. "Please Addy, let that one go until he is ready. I will talk to him and try to convince him."
"Okay, but why aren't you surprised about me being pregnant? How are you so calm?" I ask.
"Addy, you were sick every morning before our wedding for almost a week. I may be a man but I am not ignorant to the female body." He winks at that causing me to roll my eyes. "So I actually have been suspecting it, especially since we were never careful. You have also been with me for a month and no period so when all the symptoms came together, plus that, it was only a matter of time before it was confirmed."
"Well, apparently you are more aware of my body than I am." I pout. Looking back, I feel stupid for not seeing it sooner. He laughs and kisses my forehead.
"As for why I am so calm, we both have dreamed of this. We both want this, even though you are scared now, I can see you still want this. I want the life we dreamed of and I am going to make it happen. You gave me a purpose other than creating chaos, although I am pretty sure we created a little bundle of chaos." He jokes and laughs at my fearful face.
Oh god, a mini Mr. J! I am going to be in way over my head. Though I absolutely yearn for what we have both dream of. I want that peaceful and happy life with him. "So what's the game plan Mr.J?" I ask excited to hear what he has to say.
His eyes light up and he gets so happy and enthusiastic. He paces and gestures wildly as he tells me his plan. I am so focused on his happiness, it makes him look even more attractive that I miss some of the details of his plan, but I get the gist. He wants to focus his crime to mostly just robbing banks. He wants to buy some businesses, mostly clubs and make them the best possible. He then will either sell them or appoint someone to run them while he owns them and works from afar. We will also be house hunting in the meantime. He is determined to find the house from his dreams. I have never seen outside the kitchen but he has. I tell him it probably doesn't exist but he swears that what we have seen is a vision that he will make come true.
Deep down I worry. There is a darkness in me forged from my trauma. One that matches his darkness. What if it devours us both? What if it devours our child? I can't trust that my happily ever after would be this easy.
I would follow him to the ends of the world if it kept that happiness flowing through him. It was so contagious. He told me he had stuff to do, he was going to do some work and planning. He asked me if I would be okay and I was hopeful he might actually leave me alone.
"I am going to talk to Johnny and then he will be in here. If you need anything or get bored, feel free to text me. Try to get some rest." He kisses me but when he does I gasp in pain. My head is splitting open and white light is blinding me. I hear screaming but then I realize it is me. I feel so hot, like the blood in my body has been replaced with lava. I have never felt this much pain.
I open my eyes and I am in what looks like a stereotypical haunted house. Everything is old and dusty covered in spider webs, it almost reminds me of what our mansion looked like when we first arrived, but even here is scarier. I hear creaking down the hall. I run away from it and find the front door. I open it and prepared to run out but I am met with complete and utter nothingness. I hear the creaking again. Its just a dream, just a dream. I remind myself as I follow the noise.
It leads me to a den. Grotesque animal heads hand on the wall casting eerie shadows from the light of the fireplace, the only source of light. I see the back of a man sitting on the couch, something is on his head. A burlap sack? I walk around the couch so I am facing him. Everything about him screams fear yet I feel none. The front of his mask was cut and crudely stitched.
"Sorry about the painful arrival. You are a very hard psyche to break open." he says. His voice has an almost arrogant tone to it.
"You are scarecrow, aren't you? What am I doing here?" I ask him. I have only seen scarecrow on the news, never in person. He is shorter than I pictured.
"Yes, I am. I am here to deliver a message but now that you are here, I am very fascinated. Your fears are hard to detect." He seems frustrated. He comes over to me and I am frozen to the spot. He touches my face. Images of losing my baby and Mr. J dying flood my head till I am screaming. I am clutching my stomach when I open my eyes and Scarecrow is in front of me and looking at my hand clutching my stomach.
Oh no, he knows now. Dread fills me. "Well, well, well. Harley is not going to be happy about that…" He trails off and seems to be thinking.
"What is your message?" I ask him.
"You know what. Forget the message. Tell Joker that I will be paying you another visit soon and when I do, I will give you a time and place to relay to him. I'd go into his mind but it's a bit too...twisted for my liking. Till then, your secret is safe with me." He is way to close for my liking and I try to step back but his arm hooks behind my back.
"I do, however, love making that clown mad and he really HATES when people touch what is his." He brushes a strand of hair back from my face and takes off his mask. A pale, dark haired man is revealed. "You really are very beautiful." He whispers before kissing me as I fight and hit his chest. When he pulls away, I slap him across the face making him angry.
"You will pay for that!" He yells and then he pulls a knife out. He cuts my cheeks and my arms and I start to freak out when he cuts my stomach. I fight him with everything I have got in me and he looks surprised.
"How are you doing that? You can't escape till I LET you!" He yells and I feel like ice water was dumped on me, I sit up screaming and breathing hard.
"Addy! Addy! Its okay, its okay." I hear Mr. J but his voice sounds muffled. I feel his arms around me though.
"Scarecrow." is all I can say. Mr. J goes stiff.
"Her heart rate isn't going down. We need her to calm down." I hear a voice say. It makes me snap.
"I'm trying!" I yell. "I just had my worst nightmares flash through my head, our enemy knows I am pregnant, he fucking kissed me, and then cut me up after I slapped him! So fucking forgive me for not being CALM!" I don't even know who I screamed at but I don't feel bad, I actually feel better.
"Hunt him down." I hear Mr. J demand in a deadly voice. I look and see I am bandaged, every place where Scarecrow got me.
"How is this possible?" I ask Mr. J. He looks livid.
"What he does in dreams, happens to you in real life." He says, I can hear he is trying to stay calm. I frantically pull up my shirt, J gasps not knowing there was cuts there. They are unbandaged and I made sure they aren't deep. They look to be healing already.
I sigh in relief. "When he took the knife to my stomach, I freaked out. That was how I was able to pull myself out from the dream." I tell Mr. J.
He looks at me strangely for a while before saying "You really are incredible." his eyes full of wonder. I look at him curiously. "No one can leave without him permitting." He added.
"He said something like that. Hmm" There is something going on, healing fast and now this.
"Did he say why he took you there?" Mr. J asked.
"He said he wanted to send a message but he changed his mind after he discovered my worst fears. I had images of losing our baby and you dying. It was awful. Once he discovered my pregnancy, he mentioned something about Harley not being happy and he changed his mind." I tell him and I go on to tell him everything else, leaving nothing out. He looked murderous when I told him about Scarecrow kissing me. Worse when I described the cuts.
"So he had a hard time breaking through? We should work on keeping him out of your head. Make sure he can't manipulate you." he looked scared and that worried me more. There is more he isn't telling me.
"What are you leaving out?" I ask him. I feel apprehensive.
"He could easily pose as me in your dreams and trick you into doing...whatever." Panic and chills fill my body. It sends me into a hysterical frenzy.
"Please, please, please Jack. Don't let that happen to me. Please Jack." tears stream down my face. I don't feel like the strong woman I used to be. I have too much to lose and fear is becoming a familiar emotion.
"I'll protect you baby girl. I won't let him harm you again." He says rocking me and kissing my face.