Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 22: The Night Out (Part 2)

"Come on girl, I know you want to..." The man's drunken breath was in my face as he moved to pull up my shirt. "No!" I shrieked and then I heard a voice coming closer to us along with pounding footsteps against the pavement. "Get off of her!" The voice said, punching the man across the side of his head, knocking him off me. I scrambled away from the wall to see who had come to my rescue. It was Jeremiah. He persisted to grab the man by the collar of his shirt and shoved him up against the wall and I noticed that he was pressing something shiny against the man's throat. I looked closer to see that it was a knife. "Do you enjoy taking advantage of girls you sick fuck? I should carve you out and leave you to rot in the streets of Gotham like the piece of shit you are!" Jeremiah hissed and there was a seriousness in his voice and a sincerity in his eyes that terrified me. "I'm sorry! I-I won't do it again! Please let me go!" The man pleaded and a fire of rage lit up in Jeremiah's eyes. "No, you don't get to talk! You don't deserve to live..." He spat, pressing the blade deeper into the man's skin, causing a small cut to form. "Jeremiah! Please, stop..." I pleaded and he seemed to snap out of it, looking back at me seeing the horror and fear in my eyes. His eyes faltered to the floor, withdrawing the knife and releasing the man who ran like hell away from us. He quickly regained his composure and he walked up to me grabbing my arm and walking quickly away from the bar. I struggled to keep up with his long and angry strides, especially with me being intoxicated and in heels. I stumbled and he had to support me as I looked back at the bar. "Wait, what about Ella?" I asked and his focus remained dead ahead of him, not bothering to slow down. "Ecco will make sure she gets back to the dorms safely..." He responded and I shook my head in confusion. "Ecco? We just met her-" I began but he interrupted me. "She's my proxy, I sent her here to keep an eye on you." He said. "How did you-" I began. "You forgot to hang up the phone this morning. I heard every word." He finished and my stomach dropped and my eyes fell to my feet, willing myself to not trip. "Ten minutes ago Ecco alerted me that you had disappeared so I came down here to find you..." He stated and I was furious. "You sent her to babysit me?! I'm not a child!" I retorted and he snapped. "YOU DO NOT GET TO BE MAD RIGHT NOW!" Jeremiah yelled, his hand tightening on my arm. I winced, trying to pull out of his grasp. "You're hurting me!" I cried and he loosened his grip. After we walked in silence for some time I finally gathered the courage to talk to him again. "Where are we going?" I asked him and he took a deep breath before responding. "To my house. Where I know you'll be safe and won't try something stupid again." He concluded as we reached his car. The drive to his house was painfully tense. He felt so cold next to me, his stature rigid. It was such a stark contrast from the loving and understanding boyfriend I was so accustomed to. After passing the various gates and key codes, we parked in his impenetrable garage. We both got out and I watched him, waiting to see what his next move would be. He lead me into this house, the architecture was astonishing and intricate in the way he added traps and illusions incase Jerome were to find his way inside. Once we made our way to his bedroom that I was all too familiar with he motioned for me to sit on the bed and I was in no place to argue. He left the room for a short period of time before he returned with a first-aid kit. The alcohol and adrenaline caused me to forget about the gash in my shoulder and I looked down to see that there was blood running all the way down my arm. He kneeled down, placing the kit on the floor and pulling out the materials he needed. He reached for my arm and I gave it to him. He cleaned the wound which proved to be quite painful and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. He was incredibly meticulous about making sure that my wound would not get infected and then he wrapped it with gauze. He then put any excess materials back in the first aid kit, and he reached into his drawer and handed me one of his t-shirts for me to change into. He left again to put away the kit, and I quickly slid off the red dress. The last time I had worn it had been a very different night. I slipped the large t-shirt over my small frame, and when he returned he looked me over. "You should get some rest. It will help with the hangover tomorrow." He said and I nodded, getting into this bed. When he didn't follow me I looked at him confused. "Aren't you coming to bed?" I asked and he looked me dead in the eye. "Not tonight." He stated simply before he turned around, about to walk away. "Jeremiah?" I asked, my voice small. He stopped, turning and looking at me in question. "I'm sorry..." I said meeting his eyes so he would know how bad I felt about tonight. "I don't know what I would do if something bad happened to you. If I had been even a second later..." He closed his eyes, shaking the horrific possibility out of his mind. The vulnerability in his voice gave me hope but he quickly became cold again. "Goodnight Lilly." He said before walking away and I didn't see him again that night.