Chapter 6: Crushcrushcrush My Sanity
~ If you wanna play it like a game, well come on, come on, let's play.
Cause it rather waste my life pretending, then have to forget you for one whole minute. ~
~ Crushcrushcrush, Paramore - Riot! ~
Zara wakes up in immense pain on the cold floor. Every time she moved, her body ached and her head pounded. She laid there for a while, trying to take in the pain and pack up the energy to get up. Which worked, but to a certain extent. As she reached the door, her legs gave in pain and she leaned on the door. Zara then saw a large gash in her shin surrounded by a large red stain on her jeans. Suddenly, the door opens and it shoves Zara to the side, and squishes her between the wall and the door. "Zara, wake up-" Harley yells then stops, interrupted by Zara's small yelp. Harley enters the room, scanning it carefully. As she turns around to head to for the door, he see Zara behind the opened door. "Whoops! Sorry!" She says cheery and drags her out of the tight spot.
She helps her get up and drags her upstairs. Zara groaning in pain as she ascended each step. She noticed Harley was in a very skimpy outfit, that was all checkered. From her dress to hosiery to her matching heeled platforms. Her hair was down, and separated; showing each part of her blue and pink coloured hair. They enter a room, which happened to be The Joker and Harley's room and she saw The Joker setting up a bunch of knives on the bed. The Joker was dressed in a navy blue blouse, that was always unbuttoned, black suit pants, fancy black boots, and a purple leather trench coat. His lime green hair was slicked back like usual and his holsters were sticking out of his trench coat.
Zara was surprised as she saw the room. Maroon paint darkened to room walls nicely, with arched black windows, black carpets, Harley's vanity mirror, two black wooden doors, (one bathroom and one closet) a working desk, and their kind sized purple and bright green satin covered bed. It was the only thing that stood out in the dark room. Furthermore, there was a chandelier that hung above the middle of the room.
Harley stopped dragging her and made her way to her vanity mirror. "Good news, Zara! You get to see what mommy and daddy does for work! Now, go get changed and meet us here in 10 minutes!" He says. "What? No way!" She muttered. The Joker suddenly grabs her hair with one hand and places a knife on her neck with the other. "Do as I say... Zara." He growls. She swallows as he releases her from his grasp and shoves her out into the hallway. "Your room is the first door to your left!" Harley sings out from the room. Zara finds her room and opens the door, struck with awe, as she enters her room. Walls painted dark indigo and black surround the room, black matching carpets and a large bay window with a indigo seat cushion and pillows. And, a working desk, checkered window blankets, a decorative lamp that hung all around the room, two other matching doors (one closet, and one bathroom) and her queen sized bed with a checkered bed theme. She headed towards the bay window and checked out the dark lit street.
She then walked over to one of the door and swung it open to reveal her suitcase in a walk-in closet. "Woah!" She exclaimed excitedly. She opened it and all clothes stared back at her. She took them out and decided sort her clothes later. Comparing to what she saw The Joker and Harley wearing, she picked out dark blue denim shorts, black leggings, grey combat boots, a new york city tee, and a shoulder length blazer. As she removed her clothes, she could see visible bruises and forming bruises all around her arms, legs, chest and back. She tried to hide as much skin as possible and even changed the blazer to just a white leather jacket.
She also cleaned up her gash on her shin and briefly wrapped a bandage around it. After fixing her hair she noticed her appearance. The dark circles around her eyes seem to grow a deeper dark shade, she seemed as pale as a white light and could see some bruises, her cheeks starting to look sunken in, several cuts on her neck and her dirty blonde hair greasy and frail. She fixed it to the best of her ability and met back with The Joker and Harley Quinn. "Just in time! Come on, let's get into the car." Harley said as Zara followed them both out.
~At The Club~
As they reach the building, Zara quickly notices it's a strip club. The neon signs flash so bright that she couldn't even figure out the name of the club. Body guards stood at the entrance and quickly stepped aside for the three to enter. "Follow me." The Joker ordered Zara as Harley ran up the stage and to one of the shiny poles. The whole place was filled with people, concert loud music, tables, dance floors, multiple bars, a gigantic stage and even more neon lights. Furthermore, the whole place seemed like it had some sparkles and gold. Zara then followed The Joker through a beaded and party string entrance, leading to a pretty large lounge room. A private bar stood at the corner, a large white corner couch on the other end of the room, two tables with poles attached to them, regular lights and sconces and even the music from the main part of the club was faintly in the background; a large portion of the music was silenced. But, there was a thin doorway, where she could see Harley dancing on stage.
To Zara's surprise, there was only a few men in there, the bar tender and one dancer. As they entered, the dance quickly left the room and left the remaining people in the room. Zara shyly took a seat on couch, leaving space between The Joker and her. They were also across three guys; they had matching gray and red suits, tattoos on their neck and hands, and a lot of jewelry.
Guns and knives were sprawled around the table, with shot and regular glasses, filled with different measurements of alcohol. "The Joker! It's about time!" One man said sitting in the middle. "Who's this little piece?" Asked the man on the left with his heavy italian accent. Shocked and nervous, Zara's hands started to sweat contagiously. Looking down at her hands and feet to avoid, well everything. "She's..." The Joker, continued, looking at her. She felt his stare blaze through her soul in the corner of her eye. "My daughter. Zara." He continued as her directed his attention to the gang members. "Look, I change the deal. One night with her," the gang leader pointed at Zara. Her head shot up in horror, to what she heard. He continued. "And the original deal." And pointed at Harley, who was to busy dancing. "No, it's either the original deal or nothing." The Joker said in a dangerously low voice. A lot of arguing filled the almost quite room. Making Zara extremely anxious, until two loud bangs filled the room that silenced all. Blood splattered all over the couch, and some on The Joker and Zara. The Joker took put his gun and shot the three gang members. One bullet to the leader's forehead and one through the guy behind him; which also went through the third man. The only thing that filled the room was the distant music from the club.
Fear and shock ran all through Zara's body as she saw what The Joker did. She just sat there; eyes wide, blood splashed on her cheeks, and tears streaming down her face. The sound of the gunshot echoed in her ears for a while before it died down. The Joker was just wiping himself with his trench coat and collecting their weapons and stuffing them in his pockets. Zara quickly snapped out of her shocked state and tried her best not to cry. Even though tears streamed down her face already.
"What the f*** just happened?!" She said in panic. She'd never swore, till now. "Your welcome." Was all the Joker said as he finished collecting the weapons. "No, what the actual f*** just happened?! Wh-what? You just shot them?!" She yelled in tears. The Joker quickly walked up to her and slapped her right across the face. "Ya know, I really thought you were a faster learner then that Zara." He said angrily. "And," he grabbed her jaw tightly. "Watch your mouth missy." He said as he slapped her again, grabbed her wrist and dragged her put of the room. "Harls!" He yelled. Harley quickly gathered some money on the stage and jumped off the stage to follow Zara and The Joker. They walked out of the club and The Joker shoved Zara into the car, hitting her head on the window on the other side.
"Did Zara see her first death?" Said Harley in a mocking caring tone. "Aaw! It's ok hunny! The first is alway the hardest! Besides, get used to it, cuz you might even cause one!" She laughed.
After the car ride, the three arrived home and went to their rooms. Zara in fact, ran to her room. When she got there, she bolted to her bathroom and locked the door. She leaned on the door and slid down till she could sit on the floor. Remembering the recent events at the club, she cried for a while. In fear and anger. 'Why is she still here with them? She knew they do these things, but still stayed with them nonetheless. Was of because of the fear to what they would do to her if she tried to run away? Or the denial of not having a family' she asked herself these questions, talking to herself. "I think i'm going insane." She muttered to herself.
Feeling her own sanity drain out of her slowly. She quickly took a shower and got ready for bed. Choosing a pair of joggers, socks, a baggy Los Angles tee, and her hair tied up in a loose sock bun. She shut her door and the lights and jumped on her bed. The bed surprisingly was so soft and bouncy, she felt herself bounce high, then sink into the mattress she wrapped the comforter around herself and stared at the ceiling. Harley's words from the car was echoing in her head, and it got her over thinking to much. She slowly fell asleep, hoping to wake up from a hellish nightmare.