Coup De Grace | D. Wayne

[26] Morning Walk

Ember noticed that they were all behaving cautiously with her at breakfast. It was almost as if they knew something was wrong with her and were being considerate for her sake.

They couldn't possibly know that she had been fired, she thought as she hadn't told any of them except what she assumed was the ghost of Jason Todd. But it was obvious that something had alerted them and made them go the extra mile to ensure she was doing okay.

Damian had finished his breakfast but he didn't leave the kitchen shortly after, unlike usual. His observant emerald eyes were flickering toward her now and then as if to ascertain the reason behind her slightly depressed mood. Still, none of them asked her anything about it, which made her feel even more awkward.

Richard wasn't there and she knew that was quite expected as he had told her a day prior that he and Barbara lived near Central Gotham and dropped by for family gatherings or to check up on the rest of the lot. But the silence at the table was starting to make her concerned about whether she had ended up doing something that made them so conscious of their behavior around her.

"So what are your plans for today?" Steph asked, breaking the awkward silence. She could see that Ember was feeling uncomfortable in the doleful atmosphere already.

"I don't have to go to work today," she replied, withholding the fact that she had gotten fired from her job.

"That's great." Tim reacted how he would have normally but then caught Damian's disinterested glare again. "Um, like you can stay at home and rest or do anything you like of course..." 

Tim had tried to justify himself but then fumbled with the words as he knew the reason behind her decision to not go to work. And that reason was certainly not something great, considering that she was a passionate journalist who had been struggling to find a job after getting fired from the Gazette.

Two company dismissals certainly didn't look great on anyone's resume, he knew that very well. But in his defense, Ember hadn't told them that she got fired so acting like they knew already was going to put them at risk of exposing Jason. So in a sense, he had been right to try to act normal.

Cass too shook her head understanding his plight as she squeezed Tim's shoulder gently then went to the kitchen to see if there was any coffee left for her. 

Surprisingly, Jason was there and she raised an eyebrow seeing him. He only put one finger to his lips as he resumed finishing the entire dish of pancakes that he had smuggled earlier.

"Why you still here?" Cass whispered, checking back to make sure that Ember couldn't see that he was there.

"I was going to leave but I thought it would be fun to stay and cause chaos. After all, I have yet to see how good you guys are at pretending I don't exist," he replied but kept his voice low nevertheless. His eyes were dancing in amusement.

"Damian kill you," she remarked, shooting him a warning glare before going back outside.

"I'd like to see him try."

To avoid that from happening, Cass sent Dami a text, telling him that Jason was still in the kitchen and probably wanted to cause more chaos. Damian looked down at his phone and then back at Cass who said nothing as the message had been conveyed.

"Miss Sullivan, after breakfast would you like to accompany me and Titus on a walk?" Much to everybody's disbelief, Damian asked and Ember looked slightly surprised at the offer as well.

"Oh..." She thought about it for a minute but then agreed, "A walk sounds nice. Thank you."

"I will be waiting in the gardens. Take your time."