The courtroom was painfully silent as he spoke in front of the crowd. His voice; full of rage and disgust. Eyed narrowed at his kids, who sat at the bench with tears in their eyes.
The past half hour of trial had been pretty difficult for both.
Nearly thirteen years of parental abuse...
Thirteen.
A million things raced inside her mind as she stared at the man. She watched every single expression he made as he revealed his truth. There was no remorse. No guilt. That had taken her back a bit. Only a day ago, that same man was cursing Edward out for trying to take her away. He tried to drag her back into the broken home.
Today, that same man didn't exist.
It was an act. Reese knew that well. A man like her father was capable of playing a role. One to guilt trip her. To make her feel remorseful for waking out of his life. She didn't give into his tricks because she had no desire, not a single intention to forgive him. He had left scars engraved on every inch of her.
The man in front of her didn't seem to want to get better. It's obvious he had given up. Instead of feeling sadness, all Reese felt was pity.
"No, I don't feel guilt for what I did."
Those words crumbled her heart into tiny little pieces. She heard the lawyers arguing over whether it was acceptable for him to plead insanity. Her head hung low with embarrassment and disappointment.
"Do you love your kids, Mr. Nashton?"
"I regret them"
A painful whimper escaped her lips and she shut her eyes tightly. Edward frowned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her into his chest and rested his cheek on top of her head. Tears welled his eyes but they didn't fall as he heard his little sister struggle not to cry. His heart ached but all he could do was pull her closer to him.
His arms squeezed her softly, rocking her body to try to calm the girl. Her hands turned into fists as he clutched his jacket tightly. It was killing her inside.
"It's okay" he whispered "I'm right here, baby"
Time passes slowly in the court but a time came when the judge had finally finalized a decision. They waited.
"It has been decided that Mister Robert Nashton is guilty as charged." The lawyer stated reading off of a paper in his hands. He proceeded to read that the incarceration time would be 15 years.
Edward could not help be angered. That wasn't enough imprisonment time for his father. Then again he knew first hand, whilst working for the GCPD, that the law in Gotham wasn't the best. People were pretty darn incompetent.
"In addition, Mister Edward Nashton has been granted full custody of sixteen year old Reese Nashton"
A relieved breath left their lips. The siblings hugged each other tightly and couldn't help but smile. They could finally breathe.
That was probably the happiest day of Edward's life. He finally was able to take face of his sister the way he had always intended to do.
••▪••
A knock on her cell door sounded, waking her up from a nap. Her eyes squinted as it took her time to get used to the afternoon light. Her nose scrunched as drowsiness still washed over her.
"Nygma. Visitor"
She sighed upon hearing Nick and stood up, walking over to the door. Staggering was evident with each step she took. Her eyes met with those of the guard and the door opened. The two men faced her and they couldn't help but frown.
"How ya feelin'?" Jones asked.
She didn't lie to them. All she did was shake her head telling them that she felt terrible. What could they do about it anyways? She was slowly deteriorating and it was unstoppable.
The two men walked her down the grey hallways of the asylum. She felt like this place finally reflected what she felt.
Loneliness. Defeated.
She was nineteen.
So young and so lonely.
Chattering was heard all around the halls but the girl didn't listen. Her mind blanked and all she could think about was leaving this place. About Jerome Valeska. She missed him so much. She yearned to have any type of contact with him. Hug him. A kiss.
She needed to see him.
The sound of a ringing brought her back and she realized they were in front of the visitor's room. Her eyes rolled expecting for it to be someone like Myrtle or someone who came wanting her to self - destruct.
But it wasn't.
For a single moment, the air from inside her lungs had compressed making it hard to breathe. Her eyes welled with tears as she stared at the smiling person.
"Eddie" she whispered and walked over to him.
Edward Nygma stood up from the cold metal chair. His hair was quite a mess as if he had ran his hands in it one to many times "Hey, Ree"
Reese immediately lunged herself in his arms and cried. Maybe it wasn't Jerome but she needed that hug. She needed to feel like there was someone there for her because she was tired. Sick of the hellhole called Arkham Asylum.
Eight months.
She had been in Arkham for eight months.
Eight months of torture.
Her only 'friends' were the guards. Not that she minded. But they didn't mean enough to her to make her feel okay. She knew that Warden Judith wanted to kill her and it would probably end up happening. With every passing day, the girl grew weaker.
Edward squeezed his little sister in his arms. It felt great to have the opportunity to hug her again. To have some comfort in a big world where he couldn't find it. He felt broken. Hearing her cry broke him a little. She's probably cried more than every single the people in the city but it always hurt him.
"Hey, it's okay" he whispered and rubbed her back soothingly. His lips pressed a soft kiss on top of her head.
Reese pulled away and looked at him. A smile appeared on her weak expression "I'm so happy to see you again"
He smiled down at his sister but he knew that she was weakening. Her body was slightly smaller than he remembered. It angered him to no extent to know that the people in here had no mercy for anyone. Not even his sister. Arkham Asylum was very cruel.
The two sat at the table facing each other with small happy smiles.
Edward took her hands in his "how are you doing?"
The girl frowned at her older brother and shook her head "these people are horrendous. Warden Judith hates me" she told him making Edward frown sadly.
"What about Jerome? How's he doing?" Asked Edward.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. It pained her to hear his name but she let a smirk cross her features "Wow. You're actually asked about him"
Edward grinned, chuckling "well, you love him... I have to deal with it"
Reese giggled and then shook her head at her brother. She let out a sigh "I actually don't know how he's doing. Probably better than me. I haven't seen J in eight months. Actually, I haven't been able to see anyone at all" she informed him making Edward frown. He could tell it pained her and he did not know what to do about it.
Deciding to change the conversation, Reese weakly smiled at him. As if nothing really was wrong "how about you? How was it coming back to your senses?"
"My muscles had atrophy" he revealed to her making her eyes widen slightly "guess who helped me?"
"Myrtle Jenkins?" Reese answered with a small smirk on her lips.
Edward's eyes widened, "you knew?"
She nodded "she visit like five months ago and told me what had happened. She told me about her plan too" she told him making him nod slowly quite sad that he hadn't been there for his sister for five months. All because of Oswald. Reese frowned seeing his expression. She knew exactly what he was thinking "it's been... okay. Don't feel bad about it because it was Penguin's fault. I'll get out of here. I promise"
Edward frowned and looked at her. He took her hand "I know you're lying -" he began making her heart swell with pain "but I know you are strong. You'll get out. I'll come visit as much as I can. Okay?"
She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand softly "I love you"
"I love you too"
••▪••
Edward Nygma sighed exiting the visitor's room. A saddened expression was plastered upon his face. It completely broke him to see Reese so broken and weak. He had never seen her like that. Yes, she had always been the type of person to be strong and push through her feelings. She tried to push forward.
This time, it looked like she was on the brink of giving up.
He hoped she wouldn't.
The sound of people chattering sounded as he made his way to try and see if he spotted Jerome. Knowing if he was okay would make Ree happier.
It was then, a familiar face came into view. The type of familiarity that could crush anyone. In that instant, his lungs seemed to be squeezed tightly.
And his heart didn't beat.
He felt like bile was coming up his throat.
The person, who had been talking to a nurse, connected their eyes to his. For a minute, they couldn't believe it either. Their eyes widened. They muttered some words to the nurse saying they would talk later and immediately they walked forward. Closer to Edward.
Edward gasped inaudibly and proceeded to turn around and try to leave the asylum. His steps were faster but he felt like he was going to melt from the anxiety.
"Edward!" The person called out. He could hear their steps following him "Ed, please stop"
His jaw clenched, his hands shaking at his sides. He continued walking. The voice still called after him. He shut his eyes for a brief second. Please, don't, he begged in his mind as his heart seemed to crack inside his chest.
He saw the exit and seemed to jog just a bit. Quickly, he pushed the door open and a gust of wind his his face. He breathed in deeply but it didn't last long because a hand took a hold of his.
Without thinking twice, he yanked his hand away and finally turned to the person.
He faced her.
A look of repulse on his face.
"Edward" she panted, catching her breath from trying to catch up with him. He flinched slightly hearing her voice. She attempted to reach him but he walked back. His body instinctively rejected her and that caused a deep disappointment in herself. It seemed like she wanted to cry "Edward please... talk to me"
He breathed shakily "w - what? Why the hell are you here?" He asked aggressively, narrowing his eyes at the smaller figure in front of him "have you been in Gotham all this time?"
She looked to the side nervously "I work here in Arkham"
Edward's eyes widened "what?!" He hissed. That had caught him off guard. It was then he noticed the white lab coat that she wore and the tag on the pocket. He'd been so concentrated on her face that the coat meant nothing at the time.
"I was living in Metropolis." The woman told him. He looked away not liking being next to the woman "I came back a couple months before my daughter tried to kill that young girl" she continued causing him to look at her with disgust once again. The woman looked frowned before shaking her head "then she met that sick boy. He ruined her"
Edward scoffed "She's not your daughter anymore"
"How come?" The woman looked at him pursing her lips sadly "I birthed her. You both are my kids"
"It doesn't mean anything to either of us, Lucielle!" Edward snapped angrily. The woman flinched slightly. He felt like the world around his was falling apart "we don't want anything to do with you! Because you left when we needed you the most!"
The woman stared at her son with tearful eyes. That disgusted him more than anything because it broke him. He didn't love her anymore. He just hated knowing she felt regret... it wouldn't fix anything.
"You guys are my babies" she whimpered making him look away before she could manage to get to him. He blinked rapidly "I am here now and I can help Reese get better"
"You're her psychiatrist?" Edward asked looking down at her with a surprised look. He scoffed. Actually, he shouldn't be this surprised. Lucielle was back and it meant she would want to be close to Reese. He shook his head "Reese doesn't need you. How convenient for you to return once all the hard things were done. I kept her alive and taught her -"
"To kill?" Lucielle questioned.
"I didn't teach her that! Don't blame me for not being able to fix what you and Robert did!" he yelled quite offended. The woman flinched at her son's voice "Reese is my child. She is a wonderful young woman. And you have no right to judge me for my 'parenting' skills because all she learned from you was what it's like to be abandoned"
"Eddie" she said with a voice that came out in more of a whimper "I know what you went through was horrible and it was because of my mistakes" she continued with tears falling down her cheeks. Ed scowled. He didn't know if there was a word to describe what he'd lived through along with Reese "I know you hate me. I hate myself too but I want to find a way to mend what I did"
Edward didn't want to listen to her. His eyes glared down at her "if you even try to tell her -"
"You're gonna kill me?" Lucielle asked in more of a cold tone.
Edward paused. Her words pained him but he kept a straight face and didn't let her see. His eyes bored into the eyes of the woman that birthed him "I will if I have to -" he responded making the petite woman become immobile for a few seconds "- and I will not hesitate nor look back. Don't test me, Lucielle. I would burn the city to ashes for her"
~ ♡ ~
I have this big relief in my chest for finally posting. I'm so sorry I took forever and I hope you don't hate me.
I love you guys ❤