Chapter 3- Gotham
Gotham, a sprawling island of depravity and misery, Jerome had always been somewhat of a fan, in one way it made him feel a little better about his own life seeing the depths of suffering in the city and secondly it always meant he got a break from his tiresome mother. Haly's Circus frequented the city annually and always stayed for a number of weeks. The circus had arrived the night before so Jerome knew it would not be long before he saw the back of his mother, he just needed to be patient.
The twins sit at the caravan table, Jeremiah sketching away on a pile of papers; Jerome laid out casually opposite playing with a rusted old Swiss Army Knife with his bandaged hand. Jerome pretends not to watch their mother frantically rushing around the bedroom area at the back of the caravan, she pulls out a large shiny handbag and begins to stuff things in, a shawl, a purse, a pair of underwear. The women is dressed in a tight floor length dress made of a wet look green snake skin, a large split exposes her fishnet clad legs and a plunging neckline shows off her ample cleavage. Her pale skin accentuates dark eyes thickly covered with green sparkly eye shadow and dark liner.
Pulling on a worn yet extravagant green fur coat the good looking brunette approaches the table and speaks directly to Jeremiah.
"I'll be back late sweetheart so don't wait up" Jeremiah flashes a tiny smile and nod of acknowledgement without taking his eyes off his drawing.
"We'll miss ya Lila, play safe with those nasty boys ey." Jerome speaks sarcastically as he flicks the little knife in and out.
Lila stomps over snatching the knife out of his hand "You little shit, how dare you speak to me like that?" Lila's eyes burn into the boys with an unmistakeable hatred, "Why don't you make yourself useful for once and tidy this place up, scrub the toilet, that's all you're good for anyway."
"Oh don't worry Mother, I'm sure I will find some way to amuse myself while you're gone" Jerome naughtily casts his eyes over to his brother licking his lips and blowing him a kiss, Jeremiah shudders with a grimace averting his eyes out the window.
Lila slaps Jerome hard, bringing his gaze back to her sharply, she thrusts the knife towards her son turning it and pressing it against the underside of the boys chin, Jerome moves up a little to avoid being cut but keeps a defiant grin across his face, pleased with his mother's reaction, he looks his angered mother right in the eyes, the blade tip stinging his flesh teasingly.
"You touch him Jerome, and..and I will kill you!" she pushes the blade a little higher forcing up Jerome's chin causing him to sit up even straighter, "Jeremiah told me what you did on his birthday last week, held the cake knife to his throat, how does it feel now it's you Jerome?" She slowly lowers the knife steadying herself, as her breathing slows she tosses the blade onto the table turning to leave.
"Don't you mean OUR birthday Mom? Where was my cake? Knife to the throat hey? That what he told you? Interesting" Jerome's tone is mocking and provoking but fire burns in his eyes as his mother now ignores him.
"I haven't got time for this now Jerome, Uncle Zak will be watching you, just give him an excuse to teach you another lesson, I dare you." The boy's mother pats herself down and fluffs up her dark curls, she catches and strokes Jeremiah's distracted face as she passes him leaving the caravan into the dark of the night without another word.
A few minutes pass and Jerome begins to edge closer to his brother mischievously, Jeremiah pretends not to notice but his discomfort is obvious, each minute flinch an amusement to his chuckling brother. Jeremiah's natural tenseness a striking contrast to his brother's ease, his body language smooth and confident, an unmistakable carelessness conveyed with every move. He finally sidles right up to his brother, Jeremiah pulling back but still trying to focus on his work.
"What ya doin?" Jerome sing songs his question snatching a paper from the pile "Not this boring maze again brother?"
"Hey, leave it alone Jerome!" Jeremiah grabs back the scribbled maze from his brother's bandaged hand.
"Hey, hey, hey big bro, I was just looking, so touchy" Jerome flicks his brother in the ear as he speaks making him cower and splutter timidly.
"Screw you Jerome, just leave me alone, go do something useful like Mom said" Jeremiah gathers his papers and stomps away from the table, pushing his thick rimmed glasses back up his nose as he does.
"Why do you always side with that bitch? She's not coming back later, you know that right, three day bender at least I reckon, don't know why she bothers taking spare undies...won't be wearing em anyway, stupid hoar." Jerome stabs the little knife hard into the table making Jeremiah jump, venom in his voice.
"Sex is a healthy human activity Jerome." Jeremiah sways a little awkward at his own statement, his ten year old face flushing just a little.
"Oh yeah? What would you know? Probably gonna be a virgin till you're fifty ya little poindexter." Jerome laughs mockingly.
"Well she sees you for what you are Jerome, just plain bad, there's something wrong in you, everyone sees it, you are rotten to the core." Jeremiah backs away with his comment but Jerome leaps across the table agilely closing the distance between them grasping his shrinking brother by the back of the neck pushing his grinning face nose to nose with Jeremiah.
"Oh yeah?" Jerome's tone is deep and poisonous, unsettling juxtaposed with his smiling face, "Well you have to share a room with me, maybe you should watch what you say, might keep you safer in your sleep don't you think?" Jerome spits his words and lingers nose to nose for a threatening moment. Jerome releases his brother knocking his papers down as a final insult before walking out, swiping up his knife from the table as he does.
Sadie's caravan was run down, the white exterior stained and dirty through years of neglect, now a nicotine colour with rusted holes. Jerome sits patiently in the dark, he can see Sadie's window, a string of red fairy lights glow against the dirty glass, he waits until he sees Alphonse Sadie's father leave the caravan, a large unshaven man, he swigs from a bottle encased in a brown paper bag as he heads towards the mess tent to join the other clowns for a familiar night of drinking.
Jerome sneaks over to the window reaching up to tap on the glass, Sadie appears and slides the window open. Jerome reaches up to hold the bottom edge of the window pulling himself up and climbing through the little opening. He clambers onto Sadie's little camp bed on the other side of the window and plops himself down sliding the window closed behind him. He picks ups a stuffed unicorn and leans himself back comfortable in the little room.
Sadie's room is little bigger than the bed itself, just a thin space to walk down the side of the cot like bed, a tiny desk sticks out of the wall at the head end of the bed, a clutter of sketchbooks and pencils cover the small surface and Sadie's sketches adorn the walls all around the head of the bed, scratchy images of sad clowns and snake dancers. A row of battered cupboards sit along the top of the wall making the space feel claustrophobic and dark, the only light from the tiny fairy lights and a coloured night light in the shape of a clown stuck to the wall.
Sadie takes a pink box out from under the bed and takes a seat cross legged on the bed opposite her visitor. Jerome leans over the edge of the bed and presses play on the old scratched Ipod on the floor, some angry female rock vibrates out of two speakers laid on the floor. Sadie opens the box and rummages through the contents, taking out a little bandage and some antiseptic cream she reaches for Jerome's injured hand, he instinctively pulls it back.
Sadie gives him a scowl and snatches his hand up into hers with a little less care than she should, Jerome tuts but ultimately lets her take his hand. The shabby girl unwraps the dirty cloth revealing the scolded flesh below, her touch is now gentle as she applies the cream and binds the hand in the clean bandage, she finishes up and packs the box away and rejoins Jerome on the bed.
"She's gone again then?" Sadie asks as she picks up a comic book from beneath her mattress, Jerome sits playing with his knife, pretending to murder the unicorn comically.
"Yep...good riddance." Jerome thrusts the knife into the unicorn's throat, a shower of fluff bursts out, Sadie laughs but takes the unicorn and tucks it away behind her back.
"Left with that annoying brother of mine again, he's just so boring, at least I have you." Jerome shoots her a smile and a wink, Sadie immediately rolls her eyes.
"He's not that bad J, he's more like you than he lets on, same DNA." Sadie flicks the pages avoiding eye contact.
"He says I'm bad, like there's something wrong with me? But he's just as bad, shady little liar" Jerome peers out of the window back towards his own caravan.
"Your darkness is what makes you interesting J, makes you free, people are all bad just to different degrees, we aren't bad, just products of our environments, besides if you are bad then so is he, you're twins, same make-up, same blood running through his veins, same brain. You are just as clever as him but you hide it, maybe he's hiding things too?" Sadie speaks into her pages.
Jerome rolls over again to skip the song, beside the door he spots the suitcase, Sadie's leather jacket perched on top.
"You going somewhere Sadie?" Jerome skips the song a few times trying to sound flippant.
"Maybe, what do you care?"
"Don't."
"Good, just think I might get out of here for a while you know. I my Mom won't come and find me maybe I'll go find her you know?" Sadie buries herself into the comic trying not to look at Jerome.
"Yeah, why not" Jerome laughs unconvincingly hiding a pull of sadness.
BANG! The outer caravan door slams.
"Shit!" Jerome jumps up and slides the window open ready to make a quick exit but a giant sweaty hand gets him by the scruff of the neck and drags him back. Alphonse is built stocky and strong, he drags Jerome backwards into the main room of the caravan, dishes and clothing are scattered about smashing and ripping as the struggling boy clutches at walls and furniture. Alphonse pushes Jerome to the floor and punches him square in the jaw, adding to the healing bruises left by Zak.
"Dad! Stop it, he hasn't done anything!" Sadie shouts helplessly in the background.
"In my little girls room heh? You filthy...no good...rat!" Alphonse lays down a punch with each foul insult, his breath reeks of alcohol and cigarettes as he batters on Jerome. Jerome fights and squirms but his adolescent body is no match for the drunken might of the clown. Sadie appears next to her Dad and swings a frying pan, hitting her father straight in the back of the head, Jerome can't help but laugh at the comical site.
"What the ...you slut!" Alphonse pauses for just a moment, Sadie stands there frozen still holding the pan, he releases Jerome momentarily and lashes out a hard violent backhand, Sadie's tiny frame is thrust sideways, she drops the pan with a clatter her head hits the wall of the caravan as she slumps to the floor. "I'll deal with you later!" the words slur out of Alphonse's disgusting drunk mouth.
Jerome's eyes narrow, anger bubbles in his gut, from his disadvantaged position on the floor he takes the only shot he can, he thrusts his foot, hard as he can into the clowns crotch. Alphonse barks in pain and falls to his knees, tears in his eyes. Jerome pulls himself up quickly, panting with throbbing injuries and adrenaline, he takes out the little knife and holds it up to Alphonse's chin forcing the man to look up at him.
Jerome just smiles contemplating how it would feel to thrust the knife into the man's hateful flesh, he twirls and twists the blade until a drop of blood trickles down the sharp edge, a sense of pure power surges through him, a feeling of pure enjoyment like he has never felt before, he forgets the bruises and aches just for a moment.
"Well ya gonna kill me or what boy?" Alphonse coughs out his words still coiled over his injured junk, his fear obviously fading much to Jerome's disappointment.
"Not today Al-phonse," Jerome takes the knife putting it into his pocket, Alphonse begins to chuckle derisively, Jerome pulls back mirroring the clown's chuckles theatrically only to push forward and strike the knelt man with a severe head butt knocking him to the floor, "Not today clown, but someday."
Jerome turns to where Sadie had fallen but the girl has gone, he peeks through her bedroom door, the window still open blows the little curtain at the side back and forth, he looks down to the floor, the jacket and suitcase are gone and so is Sadie. He rips a particularly dark looking clown portrait from the wall, grabs the injured unicorn and jumps out the little window into the night.