26. A Big Purple Jacket
Disclaimer: I am so sorry for the delay in updates! I have been moving back to school and what not. So now that the year has begun, unfortunately, updates will not be happening quite so often, but I will do my best! My undying love to all my readers and reviewers! You are brilliant!
Just before we reached the New York border, the Joker decided it would be a good time to pull off the highway into a rest stop. I turned off the engine to the cop car and glanced over at me with a large grin on his face.
"Grab your duffle bag," he said finally as he grabbed the other duffle and removed himself from the car.
"Why? Where are we going?" I asked as I quickly retrieved my duffle bag and scurried after him, "Why get out of the car here?" I asked as I ran to catch up with him as he briskly walked behind the abandoned rest stop building.
"Because we're bound to be tracked in this cop car—which is why we're meeting my good…old…friend, Happy here," he remarked as he gestured to an eighteen wheeler parked behind the building. The man inside was wearing a clown mask.
"Jesus, boss, you didn't say anything about ya girlfriend joining in!" the man called Happy exclaimed as he jumped out of the truck. The Joker and I quickly approached the man and the truck. As we walked closer, the Joker nonchalantly removed a handgun from his jacket and shot the man dead in his tracks. He fell to the ground in an instant.
"Why'd you shoot him?!" I shrieked as I ran over to his twitching body.
"Better dead than alive, is what I always say," the Joker responded as he placed the gun back into his jacket.
"He was helping us!" I exclaimed.
"Giada…darling…you see, when you've been doing this for as long as I have, you start to realize that you've got to do everything yourself—you really can't rely on other people…it's like this, two people can keep a secret, but only of the other person is dead—you see what I mean?" he replied as he raised his eyebrows and then tossed his duffle bag up into the truck.
"So it's only a matter of time before you kill me off then too?" I asked, standing to my feet.
"No; no, no no—see, I have no reason to kill you Giada—we've gone over this before—you…and I…have no secrets—we…know everything about one another; but uh, Happy, over here, he knows nothing—and what he did know, was, well, too much for him to know at all," the Joker explained as he licked his lips. I simply nodded my head in agreement and tossed my duffle bag up into the truck as well. The Joker then gave me his hand to help up into the truck. He then removed the man's body from the premise, probably disposing it in the woods.
Within minutes, he hoisted himself up into the truck and started the engine. We backed out of rest stop parking area and drove back onto the highway.
"Might as well get comfortable now—we've got a long drive ahead of us," the Joker stated finally once we were on the road.
"Yeah, I believe it," I said as I kicked off my shoes and removed my jacket and placed it behind my head for a pillow. I closed my eyes and leaned back, thinking about the day's journey and all I had done. I mustn't have realized just how tired I was, because I had literally fallen asleep in a matter of minutes.
When next I awoke, my head was against the passenger side window and it was still dark outside. I glanced down at the clock—it was only 1:35 am. We still had probably another five or so hours until we reached Illinois. The Joker just continued to drive, his eyes fixated on the road. The air conditioning was on and I felt the goose bumps forming on my arms. I closed my eyes again, trying to forget the cold. I couldn't help but shiver. I felt my whole body convulse from the cold as I wrapped my arms about my body. As I rubbed my arms for warmth, I must have fallen asleep again.
When I woke up that second time, I was no longer cold. I felt something heavy lying on top of me. I opened my eyes and looked down at the large purple jacket that covered me. I slowly glanced over at the Joker who was still driving, but only in his grey undercoat. My stomach turned with excitement at the realization that he had noticed I was cold and figured he would give me his jacket to keep me warm! I couldn't believe it—maybe he really did care about my wellbeing.
I grabbed on to the coat and pulled it around me, taking in the feeling of having his jacket around me entirely. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I took in every bit of his scent that remained engrained into the jacket. It smelled slightly sweet, a mixture of face paint, sweat and peanut oil. I wasn't really sure why it smelled good to me, but it reminded me of having him close to me.
I hoped I wouldn't dream of him while he was sitting right next to me; knowing my luck, I'd say something in my sleep about him, though he'd probably just laugh about it.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
We arrived in Gotham the next day at 10:21. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated on getting back to Gotham. How the Joker drove all those hours without any sleep at all baffled me. He pulled the truck into an inconspicuous truck lot and turned off the engine. I sat in the passenger seat, still wrapped up in his jacket.
"You know, I'm going to need that jacket back—it wasn't cheap," he stated finally with a grin. I reluctantly unwrapped it from around me.
"I like your jacket—it kept me warm!"
"Well—it's uh, mine," he responded as he licked his lips.
"What if I pay you for it," I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Look, it completes the suit—I need the jacket," he stated and raised his eyebrows. I took one look at the jacket and then handed it back to him.
"Thanks for that, though—I didn't realize how cold I was," I replied.
"I hope you didn't mind…the, uh smell—haven't had the chance to really get it dry cleaned yet," he said raising his eyebrows as he put the jacket back on.
"What smell?" I asked, pretty much immune to the peanut oil, sweat and paint that continued to linger throughout the truck. I guess I never really noticed it before until his jacket was around me, and now I just didn't even really notice it at all.
"The scent of…my life," he responded with a small giggle as he opened the truck door.
"Are you sure you're okay to walk after driving for so long?" I asked.
"Well, Giada, as you know, what doesn't kill you, only makes you stranger," he replied as he went to take a step out of the truck and fell completely onto the ground. I then threw my door open and ran around the bit tractor trailer to his side of the truck.
Laughing, he crawled to his feet and stood up, swayed a bit as he walked and then fell back down to the ground.
"I think you'd better just sit here for now," I said as I glanced around the parking lot.
"Giada, I'm fine!" he exclaimed with a giggle.
"Shh," I said as I noticed a parked car in the lot. I quickly ran over to the car and looked inside. Keys. I went to open the door, but it was locked. I then checked all of the other doors—all locked. Taking a couple steps back from the car, I lifted my foot and licked the window in. The glass cracked. I kicked it again, but harder. Finally it shattered. I lifted the door lock and got inside, turned the keys and drove over to the Joker.
"Grab the bags and get in!" I instructed him. Laughing, he grabbed the two bags, tossed them into the car and got inside.
"You really know how to have fun, don't you, Giada?" he asked with a laugh as we pulled out of the lot.
I had never before driven in Gotham City, and I wasn't planning on it being easy, but I figured I'd have to at least try, especially since the Joker had driven all the way from Boston to Gotham.
"I hope you know how to get to where we're going, because I sure don't!" I exclaimed as I held tightly onto the wheel.
"I don't know where we're going—just surprise me!" he retorted with excitement.
"Oh what the fuck!" I exclaimed as I turned down a random side street, "I don't know how to drive this city!"
"Any side street is as good as any other, really," he responded as he licked his lips.
"Okay, then we'll stop…here," I said as I pulled down another side street and parked the car to the curb.
"Are you sure you don't know where you are?" he asked slyly.
"Yeah—I really am," I replied, irritated.
"Well…just over there is where Harvey Harvey Dent…shot you," he stated as he pointed down the ally. I stared hard down the ally. It was the ally where I as shot—where I was last in Gotham before Batman took me to the hospital and then sent me back home. I had parked us right there—which also meant we were right where the Joker lived. Perfect, I guess. A bittersweet memory, for sure.
We silently got out of the car and took the duffle bags down through the ally. Exhausted, we climbed up the familiar fire escape to the top of his building and fell inside his apartment. Leaving the duffle bags on the floor in the main room, we dragged ourselves into the bedroom and collapsed down on the bed. I closed my eyes and let myself sink deeply into the bed as the Joker lay motionless beside me. No doubt he was asleep already.
After a moment or two, I felt the bed jerk beneath me, waking me slightly, followed by a big purple jacket being draped over me.