Chapter 6: Moonlit Revelations

Jason leaned over the rusty bathroom sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes traced the lines of the 'J' scar just beneath his left eye before moving to the patch of white hair near his forehead, created by Lazarus during his resurrection. His gaze then followed the maze of jagged scratches and cuts along his arms, chest, and torso.One might think that the battleground of scars on Jason's body was either self-inflicted or created by a reckless lifestyle. But those wounds told a much more twisted tale from his past. You could learn everything you ever wanted to know about Jason's life and the trauma he endured by studying his scars.On his wrists were circular discolored patches of skin from where his father put out his cigarettes. On his arms were straight-edge cuts from the knives of muggers and gangsters he tangled with in his youth. On his chest were sections of skin swollen with scar tissue from bullet holes and stab wounds he sustained fighting at Batman's side. Every inch of damaged flesh was a bitter reminder of the dangers he had faced.But for once in his life, Jason wanted to live without danger. Without fear. Without anger. Without regret."...Screw Talia," Jason angrily spat as he turned on the faucet and splashed a handful of cold water on his face. "And screw the League of Assasins. I'm done letting these psychos control my life."After reading Talia's warning, Jason and the rest of the family scoured the city for new messages. They searched the buildings along Jason's nightly patrol route and prepared for an ambush, but Talia and her forces disappeared as quickly as they came. Bruce instructed Jason to maintain a low profile until they found more clues. Running from danger typically wasn't his style, but this time he had much more to lose.Talia's threats put Jason and Scarlett's relationship in jeopardy. If she or her spies happened to see them together in the open, Jason knew Scarlett's life would be in danger. It would be all too easy for Talia to kidnap her and use her as leverage. Worse still, she could kill Scarlett as a way to incur Jason's wrath and draw him out of hiding for a chance at vengeance.Thus began a pattern of rainchecks, one-word texts, and missed calls. It was a callous thing to do to someone who showed him nothing but kindness and warmth, but what else could he do? There was no easy way to explain the level of danger they were in or the need to lay low without exposing his identity. He had little choice but to set her aside until the worst was over and hope she could forgive him.Wishful thinking on his part. Instead, Scarlett showed up outside his apartment door one night begging to know why he was pushing her away. The two of them had gotten closer over the past few months, enough that he knew about her ex's betrayal and her subsequent feelings of inadequacy. Seeing the pain and disappointment in her eyes at the thought of him abandoning her too was enough to make him panic. He comforted her the rest of the night, promising that he would do whatever he could to make amends.Jason exited his apartment lobby and found Scarlett standing on the front steps of the building, gazing out across Gotham Bay. Her arms were crossed over her chest like she was shielding herself from a cold breeze. The sequins on her black dress shimmered under the city lights, making her sparkle like a precious gem. A gem Jason couldn't believe was his."Hey there, beautiful," he called to her.She turned around slowly as if her mind was still in a daze. She smiled sweetly, though it didn't reach her eyes."Look at you...very dashing," she remarked as she ran her hand along the lapel of his suit jacket."Even in this get-up, I'm still an eyesore compared to you," he stated with a wink.He leaned over to kiss her but felt her stiffen under his touch. When he pulled away, he saw her giving him a warning look."Last chance to walk away, Jason. If things are moving too fast between us or you're not ready to make any commitments....please just say it now before I get my hopes up.""Not a chance," Jason replied determinedly. "I care about you, Scarlett—more than you know. I just had some family issues that took up too much of my time. I didn't want to make any promises I couldn't keep. You don't deserve that."There was a brief flash of doubt in her eyes, but it was almost as if she was too tired to fight. Jason slipped his arm around her waist and guided her down the street."Come on. It's the first time I've ever made a reservation, and I'm not losing our table to some fat cat with an attitude."...Scarlett was not her typical self that night. During their walk to the restaurant and all through dinner she barely looked Jason in the eye. She was either distracted by the odds and ends on the table or the passersby through the window. Anytime Jason made a joke or attempted to flirt, she'd return it with a half-hearted chuckle or a weary smile. It seemed as if she wanted to be anywhere else in the world.This was further supported when she asked to take the long way back to her apartment after dinner. With Talia potentially watching his every move, Jason was concerned about staying in the open too long. But Scarlett was adamant to the point where she offered to walk home alone. Jason immediately refused, remembering the creep in the alley. He was surprised she would even suggest something so reckless knowing how traumatized she was by the incident. Whatever was bothering her was enough to distract her completely.Luckily, the Gotham Botanical Gardens were only a block away. The building was quiet and secure, and the tinted glass walls provided ample cover. When they arrived, Jason and Scarlett strolled in silence for a bit until he felt confident enough to broach the subject."Scarlett, are you feeling okay?" he asked calmly. He took her by the hand and gently turned her to face him. "Talk to me, doll. Is it because of me?"Her eyes widened in surprise. "No! This isn't your fault! I'm sorry...I didn't mean to worry you. I promise...we're good. I'm just distracted right now, that's all.""I noticed." he returned playfully. "Never thought I'd have to compete with a salad fork for your attention."Scarlett chuckled and gave him a quick kiss. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Jay. You pulled out all the stops tonight and I totally ignored you.""Turnabout is fair play," he quipped."I guess that means it's my turn to make it up to you," she said.Jason took hold of her waist and pulled her close. "I can give you a few ideas...," he whispered before kissing her passionately. She laughed against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. When they parted, Jason's expression turned serious. "But first...tell me what's wrong."Scarlett sighed and shook her head. "It's personal. I don't want to bother you with it.""Bother me, Scarlett," he insisted. "It's a relief to talk about someone else's problems for a change."She chuckled softly, looking more at ease than before. Jason guided her down onto a bench and took her hand as he waited for her to start."My mother called me today," she began haltingly. "It's the first time we've spoken in five years.""Right. You mentioned the two of you had a huge fight that made you run away or something?"She nodded. "In her mind, the fight was my fault and she can't bring herself to forgive me.""You're not the one who needs to ask for forgiveness," Jason growled."I know. It took me way too long to realize that...but I finally understand. Moving to Gotham...being with you...I guess it opened my eyes. What she did to me the night I left...no mother should do to her child.""You don't need to tell me...if it's too much," Jason reassured.She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've been internalizing this way too long...and you're probably the only person who would understand."Jason nodded quietly."Toward the end of my senior year in high school, I auditioned for a local beauty pageant," Scarlett began. "Over twenty girls were competing, but I managed to stay in the top five. My mother was so proud of me. She believed it was the first step to being Miss America someday, maybe even Miss Universe. But one of the challenges we had to do was a bikini photoshoot. My mother didn't mind as long as I did well...but I was a little self-conscious back then. The idea of strangers looking at me half-naked was mortifying.""But you do that for a living now," Jason observed, confused."You're right," she relented. "It doesn't make sense. Luckily, I don't do those kinds of photos very often. I normally do ads for billboards and department stores, which have much lower stakes. But when I do have to model lingerie, I try to find ways to compartmentalize. I focus on an object in the room or close my eyes and imagine a place I'd rather be. Anything to take my mind off of what's happening in the studio. Sometimes it's impossible, especially if the photographers are being critical or making lewd comments. On those days, I usually go home and have a good cry," she said with a pitiful chuckle."That can't be healthy for you," Jason declared. "Then again...who am I to say what's psychologically healthy?""No...it's not healthy. But it's like I told you the night we met. I've been doing this my entire life. My mother didn't give me a choice. She chose this path for me and I've never found the strength to start over...even if I know I'll be better off.""Why modeling, though?" Jason asked. "It seems to me like she was trying to live out some twisted fantasy through you."She nodded. "My mom wanted to be a model when she was young. When I was born, I think she saw an opportunity to make me into something she couldn't be. I finally realized that during the contest. I saw how little my feelings mattered to her. It was only a matter of time before she started putting me in other...compromising positions.""What do you mean?" Jason asked darkly.Scarlett bit the inside of her cheek. "I found out later that my mom was having affairs with men in the modeling industry. If I couldn't get gigs, she'd seduce any agent, photographer, or talent scout she could find. I guess I saw the writing on the wall. How much longer before she started asking me to compromise myself for my career?"Jason balled his hands into fists. "Everything you tell me about that woman makes me want to kill her.""Imagine how I felt," Scarlett joked, not realizing he was being serious. "I couldn't let it get that far. That's why I decided to drop out of the competition. She practically disowned me...which is why I needed to leave. The day I turned eighteen, I called my boyfriend and told him to pick me up after dinner. He got a job here in Gotham and had been asking if I'd go with him. That contest was the push I needed.""Let me guess. This is the part where she caught you escaping?" Jason asked."Not exactly. I told her I was leaving."He stared at her dumbfounded. "Why the hell would you do that?!""I don't know! I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I had been abused by her for so long that I was conditioned to feel guilty about wanting anything for myself. I just felt compelled to tell her...as if she deserved to know the truth. I thought being an adult meant she couldn't force me to stay...but I was wrong. The second she saw my suitcase she tried to drag me back upstairs by my hair. It's part of the reason I keep it cut short. It just felt like one more weakness for someone to exploit."Scarlett reached up and ran her hands longingly through the ends of her hair as if she were remembering something precious she had lost."My boyfriend got there just in time," she continued. "I left everything I owned in that house. I ran straight outside and jumped onto the back of his motorcycle. As we were pulling out of the driveway, the garage door opened and my mother started chasing after us with one of my dad's golf clubs. Logan drove out of there so fast...everything was a blur. I don't think I stopped crying until we reached the motel..."Scarlett wiped away a tear with the sleeve of her jacket. Jason wrapped his arm around her and held her close to his side, letting her cry into his shoulder."...So she called you today?" he asked after a while, anger burning within him like a gas flame. "What the hell did she want?""You're going to love this. She said she and my dad are getting a divorce."Jason chuckled in spite of himself. "Poor bastard. Glad he made it out alive. I'm surprised she didn't eat him when she was finished."Scarlett laughed through her tears. "I know, right?""So is that why you were so quiet at dinner?"She shrugged her shoulders. "It was more to do with my mother than anything. I'm not as upset about the divorce as I probably should be. It's been so long since I've seen my family that I've become numb to the situation. I was surprised by her announcement, though.""Why?" Jason asked.Scarlett paused for a moment. "My dad was so determined to keep the family together. I'm pretty sure he knew about Mom's affairs but chose to ignore them so that my brother and I could have a stable family. In a way, I think he was also one of my mother's victims."Jason's eyes widened. "You didn't tell me you have a brother."Scarlett hung her head. "His name is Jeremy. We were never close growing up because my mother created a divide between us. I love my brother...but he hates me because he thinks Mom always favored me. She spent her every waking minute on my career and completely neglected him. In his eyes, it probably seemed like she loved me more...but that was so far from the truth. She's incapable of loving anyone but herself. I was just a tool she could use to get ahead. I tried for years to tell Jeremy, but he never listened. He made up his mind that I was a vain and selfish child who was stealing our mother's attention. So he used to do things to torment me and get me in trouble. I think he took some sick pleasure in watching Mom beat me, scold me, or take away more of my freedom. It was some kind of twisted retribution for his life not being what it should have...if that makes sense.""All too much," Jason sighed. "My father did the same to me. The sadistic prick used to beat me within an inch of my life. He didn't care that I was an innocent child. In fact, being innocent was worse. He was just looking for an excuse to punish someone else for his mistakes."Scarlett reached up to stroke his cheek, hoping to comfort him. Her eyes involuntarily settled on the J scar beneath his left eye. "Is that...how you got this?" she asked, tracing the line of the broken tissue.Instinctively, Jason jerked away from her and covered the scar with his hand. It was like pulling a switch, and Scarlett instantly felt stupid. She noticed it when they first met, but she made it a point never to stare or ask for an explanation. It wasn't her business, and she had a feeling the memory was painful for him. Furthermore, she didn't want him to think that his scar was the first thing she noticed in him because it certainly wasn't.Jason coughed uncomfortably and looked around the garden, almost deliberately avoiding her eyes. "No...it's...from something else."Scarlett bit her lip. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have mentioned it.""It's fine. I'm just...not ready to talk about that yet."She nodded, deciding to stay on topic. "So...why didn't your mother protect you?""I guess for the same reason your father didn't protect you," he replied. "She wasn't around. I had my stepmom, but she was so strung out on drugs that she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to escape."Tears began to fill Scarlett's eyes. "Just like my dad...never home long enough to make a difference...and too broken to try."A moment of silence passed between them. Scarlett and Jason looked at one another as if they were truly seeing each other for the first time. They had always been honest about their abusive pasts. It's what drew them to each other in the beginning. But confessing their darkest truths made them realize how similar they really were.At heart, they were both broken children hiding behind a false sense of self. Jason was putting on the act of a charming hot-tempered bad boy with an anarchist view of the world. Scarlett was a victim hiding behind a pretty face and charming smile, always trying to find the love and encouragement she never found at home. Scarlett leaned her head against Jason's and took his face in her hands. "They really failed us...didn't they? Our parents?"Jason nodded silently, his throat catching with angry tears he was trying to suppress. Scarlett noticed and gave him a loving smile as she kissed his cheek."Maybe it's on us to save each other now," she whispered. "In every way they didn't."...Later that night, Jason watched the ceiling fan turn in lazy circles as the cool air washed over his bare chest. The glowing lights of the neon signs outside flickered through the gaps in the window blinds, casting colorful beams against the bedroom walls. He inhaled deeply and positioned his arm around his head to sit up. Scarlett, who was sleeping soundly against his shoulder, instinctively wrapped herself tighter around him as she felt him shift beneath the sheets.As much as Jason wanted to go back to sleep, he couldn't shake the reminder that a master assassin and her army of trained killers were thirsting for his blood. He wasn't scared of Talia al Ghūl in the slightest, but that didn't stop him from feeling uneasy at the idea of her watching his every move.He stared once more at the beautiful girl sleeping next to him and thought about how much he envied her. There she slept soundly without a care in the world. She had no idea that her boyfriend was a murderer and a former criminal. She was unaware of the threat of her being kidnapped or murdered at the hands of an ancient cult Jason was once destined to lead. Most importantly, she still didn't know the truth about his secret identity as Red Hood.Jason cursed himself. He was falling fast and hopelessly in love with Scarlett...and he was lying to her. She didn't deserve all the strings that came with him, and deep within his hardened heart, he hoped those strings didn't strangle her to death.