My Deadly Mistake (Jerome Valeska/Gotham FanFiction) [Book 1]

A New Start

I just needed to get away.

I walked the streets of my new home, taking it all in. This city was anything but pleasant. I had already been in this city for a few days, and it seemed that sunny days didn't exist here. It was always cloudy, the sky a gray shade that matched the mood of both the city buildings and the people in it.

The people. Everyone here seemed oblivious to everyone else around. I guess it kind of comes as a culture shock to me. I'm from a small town, where everyone knew one another and everyone cared about everyone to a certain degree. But then again, this isn't a small town. This is a city, Gotham City.

Everyone back home didn't understand why I wanted to move, and why I would move to Gotham City of all places. 

"Its a city full of scum. Nothing good comes out of that city."

"It's a city plagued with crime, with everything from murderers, rapists, drug dealers, mobs..."

"It's a city that will corrupt every innocent one who steps in it."

Those were the comments I got once people found out that I was moving. I wasn't surprised. I already knew all that. I knew what kind of city I was moving into. And that was the point. That small town simply held too many memories. Memories that were to painful to be reminded of. The pain was enough to cause me to pack up my things and leave a town that I loved. I was going to leave eventually I guess, but...but what happened was a catalyst. 

She wasn't here anymore. My mother. I still remember arriving in that small town, holding my mother's hand. I was only maybe 5 or 6 at the time. I didn't understand why she had packed up our things and rushed out of the house as soon as my dad had left for the day. Even when I got older and I asked about it she would simply say things like "Oh Rhiannon it's in the past, why don't you just leave it there?" or  "You wouldn't understand the relationship I had with your father." For some reason she never ever talked about him. I have very faint memories of him. I remember he used to come home from work (I guess it was work??) and pick me up and put me on his shoulders and he would walk me around the neighborhood. Or he would come home with candy or a small toy and he would say "Here you go princess". With those memories, I never understood why she would leave him. He seemed to be doing everything right. 

Despite that, we had a very good relationship. A relationship that I feel was cut too short, one that had so much to look forward to. And the thing that pisses me off the most, is that everything was going well...no everything was going PERFECTLY. I was getting ready to graduate high school. My mother was so excited. I worked hard those 4 years, I wanted to make her proud. So I did the best I could, managed to graduate summa cum laude and with a 4.0 GPA. She was so proud of me, and it was the best feeling in the world when I came to her in my graduation cap and gown, diploma in hand, and her face expressed a feeling of pride and love I will never forget. We were already discussing college. I had a fascination with everything to do with the mind. I wanted to go into psychology, even though I had no idea what kind of career I would end up in. 

But then everything changed.

All of sudden, she just started deteriorating. Her health started declining rapidly. She stopped eating, she stopped going to work, she just stopped. I didn't understand what was going on. The doctors couldn't give me an answer. What was more disturbing is that my mother seemed to have known what was happening to her, and she didn't care. 

I remember confronting her. "Mama!! You know what's wrong with you!!", I yelled with tears running down my cheeks. "What is it Mama?!? I can't stand to see you like this! If I don't do something, you will die...and I can't...I can't live without you Mama...not yet..." She simply looked at me and said, "Sweetheart, what's wrong with me is something no doctor can fix. You will be fine. I've raised you exactly the way I wanted you to be. You are...and you will always be my pride and joy." 

I couldn't believe what she was saying. "Mama you can't be ready to die just yet! Don't you want to see me go to college? Get engaged and married? Have children of my own?" She didn't answer me. She simply looked away, and that was that. After that, I watched my mother die. I watched as she slowly lost everything about her. The sparkle in her eyes, her warm smile, the color in her cheeks. 

I knew that it wasn't my fault...but I couldn't help but feel responsible. I was her daughter. I was supposed to take care of her. But...it just didn't happen that way.

I remember sitting next to her as she laid in her bed, breathing her last breaths. I held her hand, begging her not to leave me with tears running down my face, my voice choking on my sobs. She had held my hand, but then all of sudden, her grip tightened on my hand. I looked at her, and her eyes were filled with tears as she said, "Rhiannon...all I ask of you...is that..." she started, her voice faltering. "What? What is it Mama?" I said as I drew closer to her. "Please...find a good man...don't fall in love with a bad man...please..." I looked at her confused. Out of all the things she could ask me...she's asking me to promise her to not fall in love with a bad man? She looked at me, her eyes pleading with me. What more could I do? What more could I do but just say yes? I mean...why would I fall in love with a "bad" man? 

"Yes Mama. I promise." And with that she simply smiled and then she was gone. 

And now here I am, in Gotham City. I just couldn't bear to be in the same town that me and her had been in. She was my best friend. I owed her everything, she helped me become who I am. 

The pain will always be there, but now the only way was forward. It was time for a new start, the start of a new chapter in my life. A chapter that would begin in Gotham City. And I already know how I want to start that chapter. I look at the papers in my hand. 

"Application for Admissions to Gotham University."

It was time to make my mother proud. Why not start by getting a degree? A degree that involves learning about things that fascinate me? 

"First Major of Choice - Criminal Psychology". 

What better place to study criminal psychology than in a city filled with criminals? 

~ So I really want to write a different Jerome/Gotham story so I'm hoping this is different and interesting! If there are any wording or grammar errors, I'm sorry, I wrote this really late at night but I wanted to get into the story! Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive as I tackle my very first story! ~