The circus was crawling with people. Rory held onto Jake's arm firmly as she saw the bright lights of the circus wash past her. She had never seen anything so beautiful. The sun had just set and the sky was still bright as they walked past stalls of cotton candy, popcorn and other sweet treats. It was Rory's first night back in the States and she had forgotten how busy Metropolis was.

She had spent the last two years in a small french town with her mother, who had been working as a researcher for an archaeological dig that was happening in the area. Rory had met Jake a couple of months before they left for France, both of them sixteen at the time. They had been long-distance throughout her entire stay in France, every summer holiday she would visit him for a couple of weeks in Metropolis. It was always a shock when she stayed with him, the noise and bustle of the city was always an adjustment compared to the sleepy streets of the french hamlet she was used to.

Rory had become increasingly nervous as she and Jake strolled towards the main circus tent. So many people, so many things to see and smell. Jake pulled his arm away from her clutch and put it around her shoulders.

"I promise when we get inside, things will be a lot calmer," he said with a kind smile.

Rory smiled back and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"It's fine, as long as I'm with you I'll be okay," she said as she hugged him closer to her.

It was a late July night and as they approached the main tent, a cool and forgiving breeze washed over the couple, instilling calm in Rory that subsided her overwhelming doubts about the date.

When they entered the circus tent, Rory lost her breath. It was beautifully lit, with rows of seats surrounding the centre circle of colourful wheels, boxes and other props. Fairylights hung down from the ceiling of the tent and two platforms that were surrounded by neon lights were glowing.

"Wow!" Rory exclaimed as Jake guided her to their seats.

"I know, it's amazing," he said as they sat and watched the circle with excitement.

"Have you seen this before?" Rory asked as she fiddled with her hands in anticipation.

"Have I been to a circus before? Yeah! My dad and I went to one just like this when I was younger, back when live animals like elephants were still allowed to perform," he explained.

Rory looked at him with wide eyes.

"Wow, that must have been amazing!" she exclaimed.

"I don't think I've ever been to anything like this before," she muttered as she looked around the tent.

Jake laughed at this and took her hand.

"Well I'm glad that I could be here for your first circus experience!" he smiled.

Almost immediately after he said this, an announcement rang out from around the tent.

"The performance will be starting in 5 minutes, please can everyone put your phones on silent."

Both of them followed the instruction. Rory decided to turn her phone off completely as she didn't want to be distracted at all during the performance.

"This is so exciting," she said after putting her phone back in her bag. Jake laughed in response and pulled his girlfriend closer to him.

"Do you think there will be any animals in this production?" Rory asked.

"I don't know, I think there will be a snake charmer, but I don't know about elephants," he replied.

Then the lights around the audience dimmed and the circle became lit. A man in a beautiful purple tuxedo with a glittery top hat on came walking out to the centre. Everyone in the audience started to clap.

"Welcome, ladies and germs, to Haly's Circus!"

#

Rory had been taken to a warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham City, next to the docks. Jerome had organised a room for Rory and the nurse to stay. It was dimly lit with plaster white walls, attached to a dingy bathroom. So this horrid room was to be her prison cell until her wounds healed. The ceiling of the room was the industrial rungs of the warehouse's roof and when it rained, Rory would be able to hear the metallic pangs of each raindrop hitting the roof.

Jerome had left the two girls alone almost immediately after he'd seen Rory delivered to her room. A long silence followed as they heard his footsteps fade away.

"My name is Lola," the nurse spoke. It was sudden and Rory hadn't expected her to introduce herself. She'd thought that the woman would have broken down by now, or fainted, reacted more dramatically.

"I'm Aurora, but everyone calls me Rory," Rory introduced herself nervously.

Lola was a small woman and on the chubby side. She had dark olive skin and dark brown hair that had been pulled into a low bun. Her mascara was smudged and her face was puffy from the crying. Her dark hazel eyes were bloodshot and tired.

"That's a lovely name," she said with a weak smile.

Another pause of silence fell between the two girls.

"Can I ask how old you are?" Lola inquired, she was standing close to Rory's side.

"I'm 19, I'll be 20 in a month," Rory replied.

Lola nodded and started to look around for a chair. When she found one by her bed, she brought it and placed it next to Rory's bedside.

"Why did you need to know my age?" Rory asked as she watched Lola sit down.

Lola paused and looked at Rory's stomach.

"It's just something that we ask, you know, mandatory questions when dealing with a patient," she responded meekly.

Rory smiled at this. She could tell that Lola was trying to create some sense of normality by going through routine questions.

"Right."

"Do you have any medical preconditions? Allergies, heart problems, etc.?" Lola quizzed.

"No, nothing" answered Rory

"And how about mental health?" Lola asked.

Rory chuckled at this: "The doctor that was treating me at the hospital said that I was paranoid and er, suicidal," she answered. Her hands covered her belly as she said this.

Lola took a long breath in at this. Mentally noting the information.

"Right, you did this to yourself?" she asked.

Rory nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask why you did it?" Lola spoke carefully. Rory could already feel her pity, and although she'd hatted it from her father, it was nice to know that Lola cared about what had happened to her.

"It's hard to explain," Rory said looking at her hands.

"You don't have to get into it if you don't want to," Lola responded

"No it's fine, we're going to be spending a lot of time together, it might be better if I explain what's happened to me... what's happening to us," Rory looked to Lola with a weak smile as she said this.

Lola smiled too.

"But not now, too much has happened, all I want to do right now is sleep," Rory explained, as she looked away from the nurse and back to her hands.

"I think that's a good idea for both of us," Lola said, standing to help Rory lie down.

She held Rory like a glass doll, she was so cautious about Rory's wounds. Lola's kindness in helping Rory and how she was dealing with the situation that they were both in was comforting. Lola reminded her of her mother, and as Lola moved towards her bed, Rory thanked her.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Lola," she said as she stared at the ceiling.

"You don't need to apologise, we're both in this together now, and we'll get out of this together," Lola responded.

With those words, Rory's body gave in to the exhaustion that her adrenaline and terror had brought and drifted off into a deep sleep.