Impossible Love

Chapter 9: An Uncertain Decision

Harleen sat for several minutes on the bed after Joker left her alone in his large bedroom. Not once in a thousand years would she think that the Joker would have lived in a place like this. She knew he had style after seeing his office at the club, but this room, his mansion, his way of life... it was all such a shock.

Harleen looked around the room and studied its features. The walls were painted in a warm and inviting off-white with the king-sized bed opposite a panel of windows that covered the whole wall. The floor was a deep mahogany hardwood with a few beige rugs scattered throughout along with several plush chaise lounge chairs with white, gray, and maroon accent pillows. The Italianate fireplace was adorned with chalices that held candles and was flanked by two huge potted palms. On the opposite side of the room were several couches and chairs facing a dark cherry coffee table and two bookshelves full of books. She knew she would have to look at his collection. What in the world does a man like the Joker read? She thought to herself.

She stood up and approached a glass door next to the windows, which lead to the balcony. The view was perfect. She was high enough to see a portion of the icy water through the leafless trees. She looked around and realized that there was water in nearly every direction. Are we on an island? She wondered to herself. It was now snowing slightly and the yard was starting to receive a white dusting, creating a beautiful winter wonderland.

Leaving her lab coat on the bed and her heels on the floor, she turned to walk into the bathroom, which was just as astonishing in its beauty as the master bedroom. Four grand pillars marked the corners of a large Jacuzzi tub with a chandelier hanging directly above. The floors and counters were a stylish white and gray marble. She felt out of place as she walked around the opulent room, which was nearly as big as her entire apartment.

My apartment... Arkham... Harleen thought to herself. I need to let someone know that I'm okay.

She found a washcloth and began to remove Joker's blood from her neck with warm water. Looking at herself in the mirror, she didn't quite recognize who she was. Within a span of a weekend, she was a psychiatric professional spending time with friends and family with a well-defined path in life... to procuring a semi-automatic weapon from a glitzy club in a seedy neighborhood and smuggling the weapon into a high-security prison where she worked. And now she was in the personal bathroom of the most feared criminal in the city. She couldn't believe the incredible risk she had taken as the reality of the situation started to sink in.

I could have been killed! I could have been raped by that shark! I could have been caught! I could still be caught! I could lose my license! I could lose my job! I could lose everything! Harleen began to sob uncontrollably as she backed up against a pillar and slid to the floor. "Oh my god, what have I done?" she asked herself aloud as tears streamed down her face.

The emotions tore through her brain. She thought of herself, her family, her career, her workplace, her co-workers... She had put so much time into getting where she needed to be and making sure that everything fell into place just right. She was not even 30 years old and she had accomplished so much. "And now it could be gone... why? Why??" she questioned herself, looking at her shaking hands. "Because... because... I'm in love? But what if he doesn't even love me? What if this doesn't even last? What have I done?"

She couldn't deny it any longer. She was in love with the Joker. Her patient. Her psychiatric rehabilitation services patient. An insane man. A man without regard for others. A man who took what he wanted, when he wanted it.

She steadied her breathing for a moment, stopping to examine the interplay of the white and gray minerals in the marble floor tiles. Yes, she admitted to herself, Joker was a man who got what he wanted, but he built an empire from nothing. When his world collapsed around him, he got up on his feet and took it back. He's not insane, she realized. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's a genius. He's brilliant. He has the world in the palm of his hand that's precisely his goal.