dove in the darkness ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ⋘ jason todd ⋙

•Chapter 24•

<Hazel's>

As soon as the boys got in, I ran down to the Cave, only to find three instead of four and all three looked pretty bad.

"What happened?" I question as I study the cuts and bruises on each of them.

Even Bruce was bruised, which sort of terrified me.

"Black Mask." Bruce supplies as his son hisses out, "Your uncle."

I ignore the two as I look to Tim for an actual answer.

He hesitates, but says, "He knew we were coming. He had men lined up as soon as we got into the building, and he fired. While we took everyone down, Bruce went after him, but it was like he vanished. He planned everything. He knew we were coming." He finishes grimly.

"Where is Jason?" I question, my eyes looking to each one of them as the pit that has been growing in my stomach for the past few hours grows more if that's even possible.

"He threw a tantrum about not getting him, and saying things like-"

"Damian." Bruce warns, effectively cutting of the raven haired boy.

He huffs as Tim turns back to me and says, "He went out to clear his mind."

I give him a questioning look, only for Damian to bluntly say, "He went out to drink his weight in alcohol."

Tim glares at his step-brother before giving my a sympathetic smile that was supposed to make me feel better. It didn't. Not by a long shot.

I literally just snapped at my father because I was worried about them, and I snapped because he was insulting Jason. But Jason isn't here. He went out to drink.

It's not the fact he went out to drink, I know he has baggage and we all deal with that in our own ways, I just wish I could have seen him. I've been scared to the point where I almost thought I was going to be sick while I was waiting for them to get home, and he didn't think I would want to see him? He is very wrong.

Tim must have seen how worried I was, because he started typing on his phone to Jason. At least I really hope it was to Jason.

He locks his phone back, smiling at me again. "I'm sure he will-" His phone buzzes, making him stop and check his phone. His smile quickly fades as he reads the text and then looks to me once again.

He opens his mouth to say something, but I stop him with, "It's fine, I'm going up to bed. I have had enough worry to last me a lifetime." I turn and head out of the room before anyone else can consult me, despite them probably not realizing how worried I actually am.

I'm not going to sleep; I'm waiting up until he gets home. Not like a parent catching their kid do something wrong, but a friend waiting to make sure that a friend got home safely. I just want to see him.

As soon as I get into the room, I pick up one of the books that Jason suggested I read, which was Pride and Prejudice.

I stayed like that, reading and reading until a sound caught my attention; a sound so faint that I wasn't even sure if it was real or what I wanted to hear.

Once again, the tapping sound of someone hitting my window with rocks flutters to my ears. I sigh out in relief as I practically sprint across the room to open my window, just as he throws a rock.

I dodge it and quickly look down to him, his helmet on and his body seemingly unharmed.

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" He slurs out as he looks up at me.

"Jason, you idiot-"

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." He continues to quote, his arms gesturing up as his voice hiccups slightly.