The Darker Side Of Life (Asylum Romance Sequel)

8: Ten Grand

The Joker looked at me for a long moment before sighing. “I changed your diapers. I have every right to call you by your first name, Kellen.”

“You really don’t. Mom was the one always there for us, you weren’t.”

“Oh I didn’t realize you had a vivid memory of how it was when you were a baby,” Joker growled. “I stopped being The Joker every day when I stepped inside of the house so you didn’t grow up as fucked up as me.”

“Well, seems you fucked that up!” I roared, kicking over a chair in anger. He didn’t even flinch, just watched me with narrowing eyes.

“Why don’t you just ask for money?”

“I’d rather not look at your creepy-ass face.”

He sighed, laughing lowly. “You have my face, Kellen.”

“I don’t have those fucking scars!”

This seemed to get at him. He rolled his head down, his eyes darkening as he moved. His hands balled up into fists. “I am The Joker. I am not going to be your father. I am going to be a criminal.”

“Have you seen mom lately?”

He looked up and caught my eyes this time, a flash of concern in his eyes that left as soon as it appeared. “No.”

I held up my phone and video called my sister. She answered with a confused face. “Kellen?”

“Show me mom.”

Layla sighed, flashing the camera so it was the back camera. She walked up to a door and creaked it open slightly, nudging in to show my mother, laying on the bed. She wasn’t moving, she just stared at the ceiling, pale and almost lifeless. I almost thought she was dead until she sucked in a large breath of air and exhaled it slowly.

I saw a hint of pain flash through my father’s eyes, he shook his head and took my phone from me, hanging up the call. He shoved the phone back into my hands and stormed to the window, pressing his head against the window frame, looking out with an angry expression, his lips tightly pressed together.

“Kellen, you don’t understand. I don’t mean to be a flaming dick to you guys. But in able for you guys to all live your normal lives, I have to do this.”

“Except you fucking left without us.”

He sighed. “I was never meant to leave this lifestyle.”

I thought for a moment. “So…You choose your job over your wife and kids?”

He sighed. “Yes. That’s what it seems to be like.”

I shook my head. “Might as well just work for Batman now just to spite you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Yep, and I’ll tell him who you are.”

“Which would make it obvious who your mother and sister are, too. He knows we are all related.”

“. . . .Just give me ten grand and I’ll be on my way.”

“Ten grand?” Joker let out a large sigh. “What the hell do you need ten grand for?”

“It’ll last me a whole. I’m going to try to put it in mom’s accounts and also use it to pay for Layla’s boxing classes.”

“Layla’s boxing?” Joker grinned, looking proud. I rolled my eyes, and he quickly shook his head and let out a short laugh. “Whatever.”

I shook my head and caught the bags of money he threw to me, taking them and running towards the window, jumping out of it and gripping onto the stairs hooked to the wall next to the window, sliding down them and rushing over to my mom’s car. I got in and drove home in anger.

~~

When I got home, I wordlessly threw Layla a wad of cash, which she caught without looking up, and stashed the money in my closet. When I stood back up, I came face to face with a furry mass. I yelped, falling backwards on my back. Rajan still gave me a fright every now and then, but I did appreciate what he did for my mother. He liked to crawl under the sheets and lay his head on her hip, and whenever she started crying and acting erratic, he would use a powerful paw to hold her down to prevent her from getting up and doing something stupid in her crazed state.

Seeing my mother like this is what started to get my powers going, which she shouldn’t know. She did not know about my powers, but Layla did. We decided it was best if she didn’t know, just for the sake of her mentality.

“I’m gonna go see Tim.”

Layla smiled. “Good. You haven’t seen him in a while. You should also start going to school again,” she hurled a football at me, and it got me right in the stomach before I could catch it. It knocked the wind out of me. I groaned and held onto my stomach, wincing. My sister had a hell of an arm.

Her eyes widened. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine. . .” I spoke, sucking up my pride and heading for the door.