paper love | edward nygma

Chapter 35 ○ Criminal

** TIME SKIP - 1 week **

Narrator's POV

Edward was wandering through the forest when he found a trailer. That's how he found Oswald. He was clearly incapable of thinking clearly and had been walking like a zombie. It turns out that Oswald had been seriously injured, and Edward felt like he had to take care of him. After all, he would be the one that would help him with Grace's body.

Edward still hadn't gotten over her death. While Oswald slept in the bed, Edward would walk over to the body that he managed to somehow move over to the small closet in the wall. It was a tiny space, and he worried that someone would suspect something in there. It didn't smell very good either, but it would have to do. He dug through Grace's purse and found a bottle of perfume. 

His apartment would smell like flowers, but it had to do. Edward still cried sometimes, but he started to feel stronger. He knew he was finally capable to hurt someone. He felt powerful, and that was something he had never felt before. 

It would be two days later that Oswald would wake up, and it was at the perfect time. Edward had heard him humming a tune in his sleep, and he decided to play it. The record was a dark tint of purple and had flowers on the cover. Edward sang the rhythm while playing it on his piano. He had practiced for a while and finally was able to perform a few classical pieces.

He sang the tune with a sweet tone. Sadness still weighed in his voice. He started off from the most beautiful part of the song. 

"...My mother's love; I light another candle; Dry the tears from my face-"

He heard a small sniffle from the bed. Oswald was awake, with wide eyes. "Why were you playing this song?" Edward turned slowly on the wooden chair and looked at Oswald. "I can bring tears to your eyes and resurrect the dead. I form in an instant and last a lifetime. What am I?"

Oswald twitched a bit before answering. "Memory, so what?" Edward put a hand on the top of the chair. "You were humming this under your covers. I figure it has meaning for you." Oswald was going to reply but instead adjusted his position. "Every night when I was young, my mother would sing that song to me when I was going to bed, and every time she would tell me-" 

Edward got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He enjoyed hearing people's stories, even when they weren't interesting, but Oswald's was. "-Oswald, don't listen to the other children. You're handsome and clever, and someday you will be a great man." Edward exhaled a small chuckle and smiled. "She said that every time. That's all I have left now. Memories, and they're like daggers in my heart." 

"Not forever," Edward said. He reached into the drawer and grabbed a tube of lipstick that belonged to Grace. He kept it because it was apart of her, and it was the kind that she wore every day. It was painted on the smile that he loved to see, so he kept it. "This was Grace's. It's all I have left to remember her by." He stared deeply into the object. "-But when I look at this, I don't feel sadness anymore. I feel gratitude, and you know why?" Oswald's expression turned to boredom. 

"No, and I don't care. This little visit is over. I will just simply bid you adieu." Edward continued to stare at the lipstick container. He tried to picture the same smile that now haunted him. What he said was true though. He didn't regret what he did. It made him find the part of him that wasn't a coward and that wasn't afraid. 

"Mr. Penguin-" Edward stood up quickly and put the lipstick tube on the bed. He stood in front of Oswald. "-For some men, love is a source of strength, but for you and I it will always be our most crippling weakness." Penguin started to get angry. He wanted to leave and wanted no business in helping Edward with his issues. "Move aside, Ed." 

"We are better off unencumbered." Oswald started to shiver. "What did you say?" Edward shifted his body and slanted towards Oswald. "You said it yourself. Your mother is dead because of your weakness, but what you need realize is that your weakness was her." Oswald gasped. He hated when people dishonored his beloved mother. He reached over to the countertop and grabbed a small knife. The knife was quickly brought to Edward's throat but had not yet cut him. 

"My mother was a saint! The only person who truly cared about me and now she's gone, and I have nothing left!" Edward was scared, he admitted to himself. But he knew that there was a way to bargain with Oswald. "A man with nothing he loves is a man that cannot be bargained, a man that cannot be betrayed, a man that answers to no one but himself-" Oswald started to ease the knife a little, and it seemed like he was frozen in state. 

"-And that is the man that I see before me: a free man." Oswald shifted his gaze towards the knife, and slowly brought it down from Edward's neck. This was an opportunity to take the knife. Edward grabbed it by the lower blade and folded the switchblade into its cover. Edward could tell that this was the start of something, and he didn't know whether it was good or bad, of course, he hoped for a good outcome. 

A/N

WE DID IT, 1,000 READS!!!! I'm so happy, and it's super cool to be able to share my writing with you guys. Also, I made a Tumblr! I decided to use my creative skills to modify a theme and stuff so it's nice now. If you want any change, please ask. Also, there is a music player, so just comment any songs that you want to be added (artist too) and I will most likely add it. 

(Tumblr: http://smellxthexroses.tumblr.com/)

Also, if anyone watched Gotham on Thursday, that episode was crazy. Also, who is Myrtle? I actually liked her, but they killed her so no point in even remembering her. Her cameo was only a few minutes really. Anyways, thanks for reading!  ♡