Stitches || Scarecrow

Ch.10

Julia woke up, gasping for air. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding as she remembered last night's events. She thought she was ready for this. She knew she was... But her confidence had shattered once her deepest fear had showed itself to her.

She carefully sat up on the couch she was laying on, and listened for noises. Hearing nothing, she stood up and explored the downstairs of Jonathan's house. The living room was connected to a long hallway with stairs at the end going up. And there were also two doors along each wall of the hallway. On her left, the first door opened to a closet. The other one she remembered was the basement, so she stayed clear. On the opposite side of the hall, the door she opened revealed a library.

The library was filled with books stacked neatly on dark, brown bookshelves which lined all the walls, hiding the plain tan wall. In the middle was a table with two chairs. And on the table were some books stacked on top of each other with one book opened next to the stack. Curious, she leaned forward and read a few lines. But nothing made sense as she leaned back in confusion.

"That particular book, is a book on medical terms." said a voice behind her.

She turned with guilt clear in her eyes."I'm sorry." Julia started to say. "I was just-"

"No it's fine." Jonathan said calmly. Waving her apology away. "I don't mind if you explore the house in the future, except for one room up stairs where I make my toxins and research other formulas I might be able to make."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely sure. Plus it's good to see you up and about after such an eventful night."

Julia nodded, agreeing with his words.

"Are you hungry?" Jonathan asked.

She nodded.

"Then why don't you go upstairs to the bathroom and take a shower. Food will be waiting for you when you are done."

He turned to leave.

"Wait." she said suddenly.

He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank you."

"For what." he asked confused.

"For agreeing to help me. You're the first person to ever actually care..." her voice trailed off in embarrassment.

Jonathan smiled a small smile. "Your welcome, I guess. But you might not like me after a few more tests."

"True." she admitted. "But I trust you in some weird way."

He looked puzzled, and then walked away after a second, leaving Julia to ponder about what she said. She did trust him. But... She still was fearful of him at the same time. Which she didn't quite understand.

Why was her life so complicated?

...

Jonathan was lost in thought as he blindly made toast with butter and two cups of coffee. He couldn't stop thinking about what she had said to him. Was it possible that she liked him?

But what was there to like? He was cold, evil and manipulative. He enjoyed tormenting people for his studies, and was a small time criminal with the name Scarecrow. He wished he could say she had never seen him evil, that maybe she had liked him for a different reason. But she had and still came back to him.

He sat in one of the chairs in the kitchen, and pulled off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes, regretting that he had worked all night again. He was tired from lack of sleep and stress from his current situation.

If only his grandmother could see him now! A man who enjoys fear and breaks people with it, just like she did with him. He winced, remembering the crows.

"Jonathon, are you ok?" he heard Julia ask.

He turned towards her nodding, putting his glasses back on. Julia didn't look convinced. He wondered if she had taken a shower, but by her hair being wet, and that she wore different clothes from yesterday, she did. A quick glance at his watch confirmed he had been lost in thought for about fifteen minutes.

"I'm fine." he said stiffly.

She raised an eyebrow but sat across from him. Quickly putting her wet hair in a bun before taking a bite of toast. With her hair back, the stitches were more prominent against her pale skin.

"May I ask you a personal question?" he asked slowly after a minute of silence.

She swallowed and nodded.

"Your stitches... How? Why?"

"Um... It was during the escape from Arkham. I don't remember what happened exactly because I wasn't myself. I once mentioned a name, Ragdoll. Do you remember?" Jonathan nodded. "Well I'll start from the beginning I guess. When I was little I somehow conquered up a voice in my head called Ragdoll. I named her after a doll I had when I was younger. And anyways... After all those years locked up together, she was able to take control sometimes. Once was when I was escaping Arkham. So with her in control I blacked out, and woke up in my body later in the night. It was around then I noticed a gash on my cheek. From my eye to below my chin." she traced one line of stitches with a finger absentmindedly.

"As I noticed it, my head suddenly became clearer. I was able to think about who I was. And I decided I was going to accept the light and darkness in me, and combine them to reveal who I really am. So for a reminder, I cut a slash on my other cheek. That was also when Ragdoll disappeared from my head... I now use that name to introduce myself to common criminals on occasion."

"So... It wasn't because of me?" Jonathan asked. Relief plain in his voice.

Julia looked shocked. "No." she said shaking her head. "Is that why you looked so conflicted when you saw me again?"

He nodded uncomfortably, and averted his eyes. Startled when a hand gently grabbed his. He locked his eyes on hers as she blushed slightly.

"Jonathan." she said simply. "I don't know how to respond to that..."

He pulled his hand away, hurt in his eyes. "Then don't." he said.

He got up and she did too. Grabbing his hand again before he could leave.

"What I meant was no one has ever felt anything for me... Ever. I don't know how to respond because I've never had the chance." she lowered her eyes.

Jonathan reached out his free hand, tilting her head up.

"Do you mean it?" he asked confused.

"I do."

With that she stood up on her toes and kissed him. And he kissed her back slowly with equal passion.