Two's a Company
Jack.
I let out an exasperated sigh, knowing what I had done was indeed over the line. Vera had always been there, she had always loved us… loved me when no one would. To say she loved Johnny boy more than me was more than just a remark. It was an insult that hit straight to her heart. I knew it would hurt her in that way, but I was aiming for it. What the hell if wrong with you, you dumb ass. I questioned myself angrily. The last thing I wanted for was Vera to be upset with me, even though I had already done that to her. You already don't see her enough now you're pushing her away more. I was tempted to break something, but I didn't want to wreck her office. I looked around the place, although someone else had designed it for her, it felt like her around the room. She had the dream catcher above her desk because she was always into that, and even a small sculpture of a swan. She loved the Swan Lake. "Crap." I said to myself as I headed out from where I came. I needed a way to make it up to her.
It wasn't her fault she was always in Jonathan's company, it was mine. I chose this way of life, I chose to be the bad guy in a way that kept me apart from the woman I loved. Unlike Jonathan… who chose the smart way to go about it, who chose to be with her. He had never been into psychology and how the mind worked until Vera had brought it up their second year of high school. Of course I hadn't thought that Jonathan would last long after, in the back of my mind I always thought he would off himself one way or another. But that wasn't the case. It was Vera who kept him going, she keeps me going as well. She is one of the reasons I don't let anyone stop, she's one of the main reasons as to why I can't let myself get caught up in something I know I won't be able to get out of. If I could, I would marry Vera. But I couldn't, I needed to learn how to share her with Jonathan. No doubt about it, his love would be as strong as mine, possibly stronger given she always had to give him an extra back bone. I could take care of myself, Vera has known that since we were younger, Jonathan on the other hand… up until college he was never able to without Vera or my assistance.
I backed up against the wall of the alley way when I heard the familiar sound of the police sirens. I was trying to keep a low profile, it's only been a couple days since my last escape so the police still put me under the spot light. I give it three more days until they give up and wait until I pull another stunt to grab their attention. Lately I haven't been doing much damage to the city as I would prefer, but I hadn't been able to gather enough people to work with me. I needed something to do, but I was still in the midst of planning. For now, Crane had been the one wrecking havoc among the streets. My mind wandered back to Vera who was probably in a café or restaurant somewhere with Jonathan, it was probably a nice one. I could never afford to take her out like that. By afford it hadn't been money wise, I still had a ton of cash that I would be able to use for her, to spend luxuries. But I couldn't afford to go out with her. I haven't been able to go out without face paint plastered on my face because… I was ashamed of the scars left on my face. Only Vera really figured out I hated my disfigured face and I masked myself with white make up to cover it. Vera was the only one who I would ever approve of seeing me bare. She was the only one I trusted. I need to make it up to her. I decided to make it up to her by surprising her with a dress she had been blabbering on about. How I would obtain it was going to be the difficult part. Would I steal it or buy it myself? If I stole, the surprise would be ruined because it would be on the news in a second, but if I bought it, it required getting cleaned up. I weighed down my options and went with the latter. I needed to make it up her. Without much further thought, I headed to our home to clean up.
"What's this?" Vera asked with a curious smile on her face. There were no signs of her being as upset as she was earlier which was a good sign. It was late at night by the time she arrived to the house. Jonathan hadn't accompanied her, so I assumed he was either working late for his own personal experiments.
"Open it and find out." I let out gently. She hadn't yet, she was still admiring my face with that angelic smile still on her. "Well?" I couldn't help but smile back. She was the only one who still appreciated my face, I could barely look in the mirror myself. Vera took a deep breath and nodded. I knew deep down she wished I would wash the paint off of my face more often. Her fingers gracefully worked on unwrapping the silver ribbon that was tied neatly around the large purple box. Once that was out of the way, she lifted the top half of the box off. She let out a gasp before looking back up at me. Sheer shock. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in after I received her reaction. "Do you like it?" I asked as I approached her. I was no longer in the casual clothing I was in earlier when I entered the store, instead I was in a pair of sweat pants. She nodded her head, still at a loss of words. Vera's arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me in for an embrace. I inhaled her rosy smell deeply as I hugged her back. "I'm sorry about earlier." I apologized, she was the only person on this entire planet who deserved an apology, ever. "I like to spend time with you but I can ne-" She silenced by placing her lips on top of mine.
"Jack," Vera began as she pulled away. Her petit hands cupped my face, her thumbs gently traced the scars on my cheek, her attention on them before they met with my eyes once again. "I love you." I closed my eyes and soaked in the words as she spoke to me. "I will always love you. Just as much as I love Jonathan. Neither one of you receive anymore love than the other. I love you both the same." I knew she was only being fair, but it crushed me to hear her say that. But receiving the same amount of love as Crane was better than not having her love and affection at all.
"I love you too."