No sleep for the wicked

chapter 22- Heart in a Vice

Scarecrow’s POV

I bolted up right, out of what was a very unpleasant nightmare. I looked to my side and saw Ashleigh lying at my side, sleeping peacefully. I sighed and got up out of the bed, and I quietly padded across the wooden floor. I opened the door to the bathroom, and looked at my face in the mirror. To but brutally honest I look awful, a large scare ran from the curve of my nose and straight through my top lip, and there were other numerous scars which plagued my face. I sighed and ran the cold tap to splash away any remnants of the nightmare which I couldn’t recall. I walked back out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed; I looked over my shoulder and saw the very peaceful and beautiful Ashleigh in a deep sleep.

I decided that is was best that I got some fresh air, so I got back up off the bed and walked out of my room. I walked to the door which led to the roof and began to walk up the stairs, suddenly pain shot through my leg like a bullet; I hissed and carried on walking up the stairs. I made it to the roof, and I heard the sound of distant sirens, as the relief effort from my fear toxin attack was taking place. All of the west side of Gotham was ablaze with light, some part of the light was the street and house lights of Gotham, and the other parts were the different fires that had broken out in the city.

Lowered myself to the edge of the roof so I could overlook the blazing city suddenly there was a twinge in my side I looked down at the bullet wound which made me cringe slightly, I brushed my index finger over it and felt the ripped flesh that lined it. I hissed as the nail of my finger caught the wound which caused it to start bleeding, I sighed deeply in pain and made my way from the blazing city to the room were Ashleigh lay.

I opened the door slowly and saw Ashleigh was staring up at the ceiling obviously awake, “hi.” She said lightly, I grasped my bleeding side harder as I approached the bed side. She sat up and smiled at me, “I could hear your foot steps on the roof. Are you feeling ok?” she bit her lip slightly which made the corner of my lip to turn upwards in a smile, “I’m a bit worse for wear.” I lifted my bloody hand off my side, “oh.” She said simply, she got out of the bed and began to rummage through the draws of my desk; she then walked back over and kneeled in front of me on the wood panelled floor. I felt the cool pain of the alcohol on my side, as Ashleigh dabbed the wounded with alcohol soaked cotton. She looked up at me and smiled sympathetically at me, “I’m going to stitch the wound up, it will help it heal and help stop the bleeding.” I nodded as the cold rod of thin metal entered the tender skin around the wound.

I looked down at her neat handy work, as the wound was now a small slit with black medical stitching laced through it. I smiled down at Ashleigh, as she tied the end of the stitching so it wouldn’t unravel. Ashleigh then sat up and gestured to my leg, “is your leg feeling better or would you like me to redress it?” I lifted my stiff bloody pant leg to see a very bloody bandage. I looked back up at Ashleigh, “please redress it.” She smiled again and began to unravel the bloody cotton bandage from my calf; I cringed as I saw the full extent of the shotgun blast to my leg. The shrapnel from the blast had entered my leg at a high velocity which made some of the fragments of metal got straight through my leg, but the front of my calf wasn’t the worst part. My calf muscle was completely ripped apart; the shrapnel had torn my skin and entered my calf muscle were it continued to tear through the muscle and some of it may have even hit the bone.

Ashleigh began to dab alcohol which caused me to cry out. But my reaction to the pain from the alcohol caused Ashleigh to move away from me, “I’m sorry.” I murmured between my teeth as I began to grind them, she nodded and once again dabbed the wound. I grabbed the metal edge of the coat and spluttered slightly as the alcohol entered my calf muscle. Ashleigh stiffened slightly to my bad reaction as the alcohol continued to burn in my leg. She brought a dressing pad up to my leg and pressed it lightly to my leg, I sighed then she applied pressure to my leg. I hissed as the raw wound became more painful. Soon the dressing pad became bloody from the applied pressure. Ashleigh looked up at me which teary eyes; suddenly it felt like a vice was gripping my heart. Ashleigh grabbed another dressing pad and instead of applying pressure she began to wrap it in a thick cotton bandage.

I sighed in relief, as the pain was a lot less worse due to the fact the wound was now redressed and my bullet wound in my side what now no longer bare. Ashleigh stood up and walked into the bathroom, I wanted to stop her but once again the vice like feeling gripped my heart even tighter. i limped slowly to the door of the bathroom and knocked gently, “Ashleigh are you ok?” I pressed my ear to the door, and now my own eyes began to line with tears as I heard Ashleigh crying and breathing sharply as she tried not to cry. I knocked on the door, and again no answer. I opened the door to see Ashleigh bowed over the bathroom sink and in the mirror I could she her tear streaked face and her swollen lips.

Ashleigh bolted up when she saw me in the mirror. She turned round and stared at me, her eyes were blood shot from crying, and her lips swollen for crying. I steadily walked towards Ashleigh as she brace herself against the bathroom sink, the tears lining my eyes threatened to spill as I saw her eyes which were full of pain. I reached my arms out to her, and as she steadily walked into my arms I embraced her tightly. Her arms quickly twisted themselves around my neck as we both slowly lowered ourselves to the bathroom floor. Ashleigh cried even more as I embraced her, but I knew it wasn’t because I hurt her. Ashleigh buried her face in the crook of my neck where I could feel her ragged and unsteady breathing from her crying. My heart felt like it was going to burst as the pressure from the vice like feeling soon became too much.

Finally tears escaped my eyes and poured down my cheeks, as Ashleigh held on to me as if I was her life line suddenly she sobbed, “why did you do this to yourself?” I looked at my side where the stitched bullet wound lay, and then to my bandaged leg. I gently ran my fingers in Ashleigh silky red her and placed my lips to her right ear, “because you mean the world to me, and knew even if I died, keeping you safe it would be the best decision I ever would have made.” Ashleigh looked up at me with the sea blue eyes, and whispered something that some people dream of all their lives to hear from the person they love, even me. “I love you Scarecrow.”