Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 42: The Delivery

I woke to an empty bed the following morning and mixed feelings. The events from the night before still confused me and I couldn't help but be curious on what had transpired in his study following his abnormal behavior. Had Jerome sent something to mess with him? Did he have a breakdown as a result of the finality of his brother's death? I kept his t-shirt on, tying it in a knot in the front so it would fit me a little better and then I threw on some jeans. As I went downstairs, I heard Jeremiah's voice raised in the kitchen. When I reached the source of conflict I found Jeremiah yelling at Ecco. She had forgotten to deliver his blueprints to Bruce for review before they began working on the generators and he completely flipped a lid. "How incompetent could you possibly be? I informed you that these plans needed to be delivered to Mr. Wayne no later than noon!" He yelled and Ecco looked at the floor. "I apologize, sir... It won't happen again." She said her voice small, and I was not used to his kind of interaction between them. She seemed scared of him but I wasn't sure why. What had changed? "It better not, now go get these plans to Bruce before I fire you." He threatened holding out a suitcase and she took it defeatedly before leaving in a hurry. I looked at Jeremiah cautiously after she was gone. "You didn't have to be so harsh with her..." I voiced and he kept his back to me. "Good morning Lilly." He said plainly. "Are you okay? You haven't been acting like yourself..." I asked as I carefully approached him, placing my hand on his shoulder and gently turning him towards me. He looked at me, his expression hard. "Perhaps this is who I've always been." He responded coolly, his eyes drifting to his shirt that I was wearing. "What would you think of that Lilly?" He jested, raising an eyebrow at me as if daring me to respond. I wasn't in the mood for whatever game he was playing so I lifted my hand from his shoulder and went to grab myself a cup of tea. I figured that perhaps he was acting out because a part of him loved Jerome, and despite living in fear of his own flesh and blood there must have been some relationship there. It is understandable to grieve and feel pain, so I decided I would give him a break. I thankfully had school that day, so it provided me with a release from the tension inside the house. In my Psychology class, we started a project where we would study the mind of a serial killer to understand why they became cold blooded murders through psychosis. I received Jeffrey Dahmer and Casandra got The Zodiac Killer. We had just begun personal study time to start researching the lives of our assigned maniac on our laptops when Casandra nudged me. "Hey is everything okay?... It just looks like something is bothering you." She whispered and man did it feel nice to have someone ask me that. It had been too long since I had Ella at my side and she had been able read me like a book no matter what I tried to conceal from her. "I'm alright, I just didn't sleep much last night. Jeremiah's been very stressed lately that's all." I explained, not wanting to get into the specifics of my situation. She gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will all turn out all right... " She attempted to assure me and I figured she had little practice in comforting others. After my classes of the day, I decided to go for a walk, no longer having a reason to follow Jeremiah's strict safety rules with Jerome gone. I took a deep breath, taking in Gotham in its entirety. The tall buildings on the backdrop of a gloomy sky. It was beautiful and I was surprised that it had taken me this long to notice. Perhaps it was because I had not spent that much time outside the past couple of years. Suddenly my phone rang and I answered it. "What are you doing?" Jeremiah asked and I was puzzled. "What do you mean?" I question, unsure how he would know I'm doing anything out of the ordinary. "I've had a tracker in your phone for a while now... That's how Ecco and I were able to find you at Jerome's Circus." He explained and by his tone I could tell he was annoyed. I suppose it made sense that he would track me in case of emergencies but I couldn't help but feel like I was on a leash. "I was just taking a walk before heading to the house." I confessed and I heard him sigh. "I want you home, as soon as possible." He demanded and I scrunched up my face. "Why?" I questioned him, not understanding this new "you do as I command" act. "Because Jerome's belongings were just delivered to me from the police. Just get home." He said before hanging up. I stood confused for a second before swallowing my pride enough to go home, knowing that he must be having trouble processing his deceased brother's things. When I entered the house I found Jeremiah sitting in the living room, Jerome's belongings littered on the floor. He was intently focused on a journal in front of him, his eyes scanning the pages as if they held the secrets to life. "How are you?" I asked him, taking a seat next to him. "Jerome left a diary full of his plans for Gotham and all those he planned to murder..." He stated, completely ignoring my question. "He wanted to chop me up and deep fry me to sell as a snack at the circus..." He continued, letting out a low chuckle. "How predictable." He spat and I looked at him confused. I suddenly realized that he was not wearing his glasses but he seemed to be reading just fine. "What happened to your glasses?" I asked him and he met my eyes for a second before answering. "I'm wearing contacts." He explained, but I was well aware that he had run out of them last week and was in need of a new prescription. He spent the rest of the night studying the diary that Jerome had left, not paying much attention to the various weapons and odd objects that once belonged to Gotham's most notorious criminal. My curiosity eventually fizzled out and I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to head upstairs and do my homework." I informed him before retiring upstairs to get away from all of Jerome's creepy belongings. I continued with my research on Jeffrey Dahmer and I found some very interesting information about him. He was a very secretive man. He would hide the animals he mutilated as a child in a shed so that his family would not see the monster he was growing into. It amazed me that his family had been so close to a murderer and yet they had no idea just how dark and twisted he was.