Crushed Cigarettes | J. Todd ✔

[29]

Lydia wanted to leave Wayne Manor but Jason had been with her the entire time, not letting her go back. His insistence on keeping her there and even the butler's refusal to let them out indicated that something was terribly wrong.

There were a lot many things that made her suspicious such as Jay's elder brother Richard calling him and his expression turning pale, the air of panic hanging over the apparently calm Jason and Alfred as well as them not letting her go back to Neal's place.

Jason looked utterly distraught as if something terrible had happened yet he kept telling her that it was because Joker had caused havoc again and his brother was there at the crime scene.

She should have thought that something terrible had happened to Richard but over the years, she had come to know Jay very well. Hence, she knew he was lying and running short of excuses.

She had an inner feeling of dread that Neal was involved in whatever havoc had just occurred. And Jay was covering up the truth because he knew she would not be able to take it.

The hours were passing by and she had no idea what to do. She had fought and argued with Jason twice already and both of them were too exhausted to fight a third time. The fact that he was still adamant about not letting her leave made her confirm that something terrible had happened to Neal.

"Fine, I'm not leaving," she gave up, the frown not faltering from her face, "but you tell me truthfully what's going on."

He sighed, exhaustion evident from his features, "I already told you, Lia. Why don't you listen?"

"Because you lied to me," she replied stubbornly, "and I have this feeling that you don't want to lie either but are doing so because something bad happened to Neal as well."

He went silent at that remark, not knowing what to say to her because she had accurately guessed the reason behind his lies.

Seeing him as such worried her further and she dropped the stern glare, edging closer to him despite the fact that he turned his head away. Her hands gently found their way in his, entwining their fingers together.

"Jason, is Neal okay?"

It was clear that keeping the truth from her and knowing exactly what had happened was taking a toll on him too. He knew very well that Neal was extremely important to her, he was the only person she had regarded as a family member, as a brother.

So if he told her that Joker had painfully murdered him, she would never be able to take it.

He recalled very well how worried she had been back when Neal had taken Dianne to the hospital and she had come to his place to find the front steps covered in blood. She had panicked even though Neal hadn't been hurt.

Yet at the moment, Neal was beyond hurt and if she found out about it, Jason feared that she would do something to hurt herself.

"Lydia, he's... He's with Barbara," he spoke up, "that's all I can tell you for now."

Frustrated, she let go of his hands and stood up, "and is Miss Gordon alright?"

"No."

"Where is she?"

"In the hospital," he let out those words because he couldn't bring himself to keep lying to her.

Her heart sank at that revelation because if Barbara was at the hospital and Jason had aid that Neal was with her too, that probably meant they were both hurt.

"Where are you going?" He asked, seeing her headed towards the door.

"I'm not leaving the Manor," she replied dejectedly, "but I need something to take my mind off this. I'm going to ask Mister Pennyworth if he has some cigarettes."

Reluctantly, Jay stood up as well, "he doesn't. And if he caught you smoking, I'll get a lecture too."

But he had fished out a pack from deep behind the pile of books in his shelf, handing it to her. He knew whenever she got extremely stressed out, she smoked to force her mind to get occupied elsewhere.

And right then she was more than just stressed.

"Thanks," she took the pack and the lighter, "I'll be back in ten minutes."

She intended to go to the roof so that Alfred wouldn't catch her smoking inside the house, but when she stepped out, the silence indicated there was no one else in the Manor except them.

She looked around for the butler just in case but there was not a sign of him being there. Taking it as her chance to find out what was going on, she went to the living room where the TV was set up.

If Joker really was up to some havoc, the Gotham press would definitely be covering it and it would be broadcasted all over in the news. That was her only chance of finding out what Jason was lying to her about.

With slightly trembling fingers because she knew it was going to be terrible, she switched on the TV and searched for the news channels. 

It didn't take her long to find out the cause of all the mayhem and she froze, reading the headline in front of her:

Neal Hastings murdered in Commissioner Gordon's apartment. Sources say he was secretly involved with the Commissioner's daughter Barbara Gordon and unfortunately became prey to an attack at the Gordons' place by the Joker. The Commissioner's whereabouts are unknown however Barbara Gordon survived the attack and is currently hospitalized.

The rest of the screen blurred into a haze and the only thing her eyes focused on was the destructed state of the Gordons' apartment, the broken coffee table and the blood tainting the floor.

Everything else blacked out and all she could see was red.

"Lydia, what are you..." Jason had come rushing to the living room soon as he had heard the sound of the TV turning on. But he saw the news as well and realized he shouldn't have let her out of his sight. She had found out what he had been trying so hard to not tell her.

He had quickly stepped forward to support her as her head swayed, wide grey eyes panic-stricken at what she had just found out.

"He... He can't die... He can't..." But her voice faded as her eyes fell shut from the shock and pain, darkness consuming her shortly after.

***