Family Ties : A Batfamily Story

Chapter 13

POV Robyn

The sun breaks through my eyelids, making it meaningless to try and sleep any longer. Still, I snuggle deeper into my covers and hope that I can get just five minutes more. My body weights down on me like I had been awake all night. Thinks back to last night, I remember my nightmare. Connie bathed in silver moonlight repeating her lectures over and over again. Her hands of ice firm and strict, her face hollow and pale. My breath becomes more rapid as I remember these details. I can feel her touch still, like she was actually here in my room, tears streaming down my cheeks as her harsh words pierce me like bullets. I can't sleep, the silence is just an invitation for my mind to abuse me with my memories.

Opening my eyes, I realize I'm not in my room. The walls are a dark blue with the same dark wooden floor as mine. Dirty clothes piles onto over overfilled hampers and childish posters decorate the walls. My best guess is that I'm in some teenage boy's bedroom. This doesn't add up though, I never left the manor. The last thing I remember is sitting in the kitchen. I must have dozed off and ended up here. Maybe this is Tim's room, that's kind of the last place I want to be right now though. Instead of waiting around to see who's room this is, I decide to make a sneaky exit.

Pulling the covers off me and tip-toeing over to the door, I open it as softly as I can. Two steps down the hall, Dick turns the corner and stops me with a smile.

"You're awake!" He purrs, "Jason found you asleep in the kitchen last night. He brought you to me cause you were having a nightmare." He watches me closely to see my reaction. "You wanna talk about it."

I look away, "I was just...tired,"

I can tell me doesn't believe me. Not even a five-year-old would buy that excuse, but he doesn't press me for answers.

He just smiles softly, "Okay, we're all leaving for breakfast around eight."

"Okay," I don't look him in the eyes, instead I focus on the walls, the floors, anything else.

With that, we part. It takes me fifteen extra minutes just to find my room. I didn't open a door till I knew that there wasn't anyone inside it. This involved a lot of unnecessary waiting and stress. Finally finding the right room, I realize that it's time to break out the new closest. 

It's strangely scary to try on all these new things. I've never had new things, I've never had nice things. It's like I'm in the clothes of a stranger. That's what this all feels like. I'm walking in another person shoes. The fancy sheets, the expensive cars, and the hundred doll dresses. What happened to my ruin down apartment, the place where I grew up? My mattress on the floor, the butts of cigarettes in the sink, the rough carpet, and the broken TV. Am I suppose to leave that all behind? Is the future ahead of me worth forgetting the life I have lived. For years I have been wishing, praying, to get out of that hell hole, but as I look back all everything I hated I hold close to my heart. I'm grasping at straws, they are the pieces of myself that slip through my hands like sand.

"Miss Robyn?" A knock at my door, it's Alfred. "You presences is requested downstairs."

I brush a tear from my cheek. "Thank, Alfred,"

Stepping into the giant closest, I close the clothes as quickly as I can. I try not to think as I put them on. The fine fabrics feels soft against my skin, something I've never experienced before. Grabbing my hair into a rushed ponytail, my reflection stares me down. Black skinny jeans and a gray sweatshirt with some big brand's name on it. This outfit most definitely costs over a hundred dollars, probably over five hundred. I squirm under my clothing as the price tag hangs of my head. For my shoes, I grab my shoes from the East End. I found them outside a dive bar on New Years, I can still smell the alcohol radiating off of them. They're not comfortable in the slightest, but I'm...I'm...scared to leave without them? It's a new feeling, but I don't go against it.

Finding my way downstairs was easier than expected. I walk slowly as I prepare for what faces me. It's like family bonding. If you can do family bonding, you can do this. My internal pep talks don't help me too much because no matter how hard I try the voice inside my head always sounds unsure.