They remained like this for what felt like hours. Eva kept her eyes shut, pretending that she was with someone else. For a brief few hours, the tattooist had tried to reason with herself, to give into her exhaustion. In only the span of a few days, Joker had beaten her into submission. A series of soft caresses and heavy petting mixed with a spattering of beatings and laying out bruises and scars across her body, had made predicting Joker impossible. There was a time when Eva assumed that she could manipulate Joker. After all, he was obsessed with her, perhaps he even loved her in his own strange way.

The tattooist glanced up at the clown, taking in his features. This man was capable of so many terrible things, he had no qualms about killing a child. He seemed to take joy in it, and Eva gave a self-contained lurch as she felt old beer curdle at the back of her throat.

Christ, she had been stupid, so unbelievably stupid to even think for a second that she had control. That this monster, this creature could understand much less feel anything akin to love. The fact that she fooled herself into thinking that she of all people could manipulate him. Tears rolled down her cheeks. He had taken everything from her and all of it had been by her hand. Eva had chosen to push Marni away in the hopes of keeping her safe. She had let him waltz into her tattoo shop as if he owned it, he had broken into her apartment, and she allowed him into her bed, into her mind. Joker had made himself comfortable in her life, and he wasn't loosing interest.

Somehow, Eva managed to disentangle herself from Joker's grasp. Draping her bruise speckled legs over the edge of the bed, she turned and eyed the monster that crawled out from beneath the bed, to join her under the covers. The first time they fucked, she looked at him as he slept. In that moment, Eva had thought him almost human, but now, now she knew better. Stretching out her arms, she eyed his handy work. The horror show of wounds, some pulled and ached, while one or two smaller cuts reopened and oozed red. Her lips quivered and she closed her eyes, the tears renewed. There was no escape, despite how sick it made her. Joker had assured that he was the only thing in her life, and anything else she had was associated with or belonged to him. The moment he had entered her parlor, a course had been cut through her life. There was no getting out of it. No one to go to, no place to hide.

Letting her arms drop, Eva glanced at her phone. She hadn't changed the wallpaper, it was picture of her and Marni. When she had been subject to hair based experimentation. A small but true smile seemed to chip away at the mask that Eva had taken to wearing. She had been so happy that day, despite the fact that Marni had turned her hair a rather alarming shade of jaundice yellow. Her finger slipped on the screen, and hit the small phone icon, which took Eva to her favorite contacts. Again, she found another picture of her friend. Her thumb hovered, as she felt the overwhelming desire to call her, to confide in her. Joker chose that moment to groan in his sleep. Eva spun, terrified that he would wake up. When he didn't, she looked back at Marni. No, she couldn't risk her only friend, even when said friend thought that she was anything but. With shaking hands, Eva deleted Marni's phone number and changed her wallpaper. Eva couldn't risk Joker finding a trace of her unofficial sister, she couldn't allow it, she wouldn't. His words rang hollow in her head "Mmm, I always did like blondes."

The look in his eyes, the hunger, the promise of violence enacted against Marni. If keeping her safe meant allowing Eva had to fall deeper into the hole, so be it. She was willing to make that sacrifice. If trying to leave meant putting Marni at risk of Joker's retaliation, Eva would remain at his side until he grew bored and killed her.

Glancing up at the mirror on the bathroom door, Eva sneered at herself. In some way, this was deserved, it had to be. This much pain and suffering couldn't come from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the universe could only be so cruel, but not this cruel.