Night Is Gotham

“How the hell did you get in here?” I asked alarmed, running up the stairs toward Mark. My sudden advance startled him; trying to back away he tripped over his own feet and fell down on to the steps.
“Jesus, Mr. Wayne gave me a key,” he said getting up and rubbing his lower back.

I giggled a little at his expression and the fact that he had fallen down two stairs on his butt. I tried to contain my giggles but for some reason it just struck me funny and I started laughing. He rolled his eyes and scoffed at me, walking past and down the stairs. I turned to look down the stairs at him, his face was red and he wouldn’t look at me.
“Mark, are you ok?” I said between giggles. He just glared at me and waved my question away.
“You’re such a child” I heard him mutter under his breath.
“Lighten up, you’re so sensitive” I teased walking down the stairs and following him into the living room. He gently sat down on the couch and leaned back into it closing his eyes. I took a minute to study his face, angular with a strong jaw line. His mess of dark hair was in his eyes and it was really hard for me to hold back the urge to brush it off his face. I sat on the back of the couch looking down at him.

“So why did he give you a key?” I asked. He didn’t open his eyes but just turned his head in my direction.
“Said it was safer that way, he didn’t want you opening the door thinking it was me and having it be someone else. I told him that was lame seeing as you guys live outside the crime of Gotham” he said. He opened his eyes and looked right into mine, “I also told him that you’re 21 and can handle yourself.”
“You didn’t really say that did you?” I was really hoping he was joking. Even though he meant no harm and was just joking around, I’m not sure how well my dad would respond to that, especially after Mark left.
“Of course not, he’s my boss and I haven’t known him long enough to crack a joke like that,” he said laughing. He must have noticed how my expression had changed because he grabbed my hand,
“Are you sure you’re alright?”

I heard the sound of a car pulling in and tore my hand from Marks. I leapt off the couch and ran into the kitchen. I made sure that everything was in the perfect place and that I didn’t forget anything. I then realized that I was still in my sweats from earlier that morning; I had never gotten dressed or taken a shower. I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. I ran frantically upstairs and into my room, slamming the door behind me. I frantically looked around for something decent, something quick that I could throw on. I found a little black dress hanging in my closet; simple, nothing to it but it was just what I needed. I flipped my curly hair over and shook it then flipped my head back up. One of the things I loved about curly hair, it was already styled, all the time. I looked in the mirror and threw on mascara quickly just to give myself a somewhat presentable appearance. My hazel eyes looked tired, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. I ran into the bathroom just as Bruce walked through the front door, Mark was standing there talking to him. Bruce looked up at me nodded and then proceeded to the hall that lead to his office. Mark winked at me and smiled,
“I’ll stall, you go get ready.”

I quickly finished up and ran down the stairs, carefully putting on my shoes as I went down. I thought it was a little strange to be putting on shoes for an in home dinner, but everyone else was wearing them so I thought I should too. I turned the corner to see Bruce and Mark just walking in to kitchen.
I made it.
Mark looked back at me and I mouthed, “thank you” to him. He simply nodded and went to take his seat at the dinner table. My father gave a quick glance at all I had prepared for dinner; I was really hoping he would be happy with it.
“This seems a bit excessive for three people” was all he said to me as he sat down.

I felt my heart sink; the night was only going to get worse. Mark looked over at me with the faintest bit of sadness on his face. I walked into the room and sat down at the seat across from Mark. I just looked down at my plate, I had a sudden tightness in my chest and I was finding it hard to breathe.
“I don’t know Mr. Wayne, I eat a lot” Mark said chuckling, clearly trying to lighten the already sour mood.
“Well let’s hope. I don’t know who would eat all these leftovers,” my father said grabbing a large pile of pasta and slapping it down onto his plate. I waited for him and Mark to fill their plates before grabbing anything for myself. I could feel my father’s eyes on me, silently judging every move that I made. I could feel his stare follow my arm as I reached for some salad.
“Oh come on Ev, salad? That’s all you’re going to have? You wasted all this food just so you could eat salad, you need to have something more than that” he said as I put the tongs back in the salad bowl.

This was going to be his game for the night. He was going to poke and prod and pick apart everything that I did. He was going to embarrass me in front of Mark. He didn’t have someone over just to have someone over, no. He was doing this in front of Mark because I had broken the rules of letting people in the house and going into the office, and all of these things had involved Mark. How could I have been so stupid? I should have guessed this was his plan, to berate me in front of his associate. He would wield his power and control over me not only physically but also through humiliation.

I prepared myself for the worst. I’m sure he had a plan to make it seem like a joke, a game that him and I played often, so that Mark wouldn’t be too suspicious. Maybe this was a test for Mark as well, to see if he defended me or stuck to my father’s side.

As much as I wanted the night to be over, I knew it had only just begun.