Chapter 5- Guilty Until Proven Innocent
Sadie had not been seen since the night of Jerome and Alphonse's fight, the Lloyd family was made up of the large clown troupe in the circus and they had half heartedly banded together to look around the city for the young girl, but the search had lasted little more than a few days and fizzled out quickly when no leads were found. The only Lloyd who even seemed to care was Mary, the teenage cousin of Sadie, a pretty brunette who had always seemed to Jerome unnaturally kind for a Lloyd. The girl had been out into the city every day with a little scrappy picture of Sadie asking around hopefully, but even she had had no luck. She had at one point approached Jerome to come with her and help, he had declined, Jerome respected Sadie's escape and her right to get lost if she wanted.
Lila had been her delightful self during the Gotham run of shows, returning in a usual bad mood from her bender she had lashed out more at Jerome's taunts dealing out extra punches and slaps whenever she could catch the slippery boy. Luckily her day drinking impeded her aim and Jerome had escaped with minimal injuries on most occasions.
Towards the end of the three week stay in the depraved city Jerome had started to suspect something underhand, he had noticed Jeremiah had been jumpier, wound even tighter than his normal nervous self. He had on a few occasions walked in on his mother and brother whispering watching them halt instantly at his arrival, he brushed it off, assuming they were trying to mess with him and he couldn't care less about their stupid little secret.
After a particularly hard day shovelling dung Jerome arrives home late, mustering just enough energy to shower before collapsing into his bunk. Jeremiah appears at the doorway just as Jerome's lids are drooping heavy with exhaustion, the last image he sees is a dark gaze from Jeremiah, something unsettling in his eyes. That night Jerome dreams of his brother's face, a black stare of fear and hatred holding a violent secret, demons lurk in the shadows reaching out they pull him back into the darkness, he feels himself being engulfed in black flames. The dream feels so real, the burning smell so true overwhelms Jerome's nose surging into his lungs, he can feel the soot of the smoke making him cough.
Jerome wakes coughing, but the smoke has not disappeared, in fact it fills the tiny bedroom, and the heat is there coming up from the bunk below. Jerome rolls off his bed still half asleep, he falls to the floor the blanket of the bottom bunk is on fire. Jerome reacts immediately batting the flames and folding the blanket in on itself to put the fire out, he pulls at the sheets in search of a body but the bed is empty. Turning he sees Jeremiah tucked motionless against the wall watching him, the darkness of his thoughts spread evilly across his face.
"What the hell Jeremiah?" Jerome shouts, picking himself up from the smouldering ashes he marches to his brother gripping him tight by the throat he thrusts his head into the wall, almost knocking his glasses from his face.
"What's going on?" Lila bursts through the narrow bedroom door with a stagger, she is dressed in a green kimono that hangs open revealing a black silk nightdress, she looks at the scene, the burnt bed still smoking, Jerome holding Jeremiah threateningly against the wall.
"What have you done? Get away from him Jerome!" Lila spits her words, she grabs Jerome by the scruff of his neck and drags him into the corridor, he falls against the wall as she continues to pull him down the length of the caravan. Pulled off balance he stumbles and finally loses his footing as Lila thrusts him out of the main door, he drops out onto the dirt below face planting hard.
"Lila...wait, I didn't do this...Mom, please" Jerome holds up his hands from the ground below pleadingly, but Lila ignores his denials stepping out of the caravan she approaches and begins to hit her son repeatedly while shouting inaudible angry accusations. The attack is brutal, viscous smacks land hard and Jerome can all but block his face as he waits for his mother to tire.
"You are evil Jerome! How could you? My sweet Jeremiah...you pathetic, jealous shit! I'm gonna kill you!" Lila eventually exhausts herself and pushes Jerome down further and spits in his face, Jeremiah grabs her and pulls her back a little.
"Look Mom, I found it in his bed" Jeremiah thrusts Jerome's diary into their mothers trembling hands, open on the page about Jeremiah, "Look, he writes about wanting to burn me alive right there, he's been planning this, he wants to hurt me Mom." Jeremiah acts the scared innocent sheep so well, Jerome has to admire his dedication and the little act seems to be enough to convince Lila.
"Get your uncle Jeremiah" Lila closes the book as she sends Jeremiah off into the night, she approaches Jerome still knelt on the floor, holding out the diary she bends to look her son straight in the eyes, "You are sick, I always knew it but now I have proof. I will never let you hurt him, I'm going to be watching you from now on, we are going to have to teach you a lesson, you need to be punished Jerome."
Jerome could have argued, pleaded his innocence more and explained Jeremiah's little set up but he knew there was no point, Lila had made up her mind a long time ago and nothing he could say would ever convince her that he was worth anything. He waited on the ground un-reactive, he knew what was coming for him and Uncle Zak did not disappoint, that night he received the beating of his life, the noise had woken most of the camp causing a sombre crowd to form, Jerome would remember those staring faces for a long time, all gathering in the night to witness his punishment, not one inclined to stop the violent trouncing. He had seen Mary Lloyd in the crowd, tears running down her face in sympathy but she was just a child herself, no one was going to help him, not now, not ever.
Mr Cisero's trailer had a dim calmness, the old red velvet curtains blocked out most of the light and the wooden walls of the traditional circus trailer filled the dusty air with musk that mixed with the incense burning on the table. Jerome lies on the tattered leather couch Mr Cisero had offered to him after the beating, he was an elderly blind man, the resident fortune teller, he had always been somewhat kind to Jerome.
Jerome's face is purple and swollen, his ribs ache under his clothes, he lies in the dreary light staring at the ceiling. He can hear the familiar sound of animals being loaded and tent poles being thrown onto the trucks, their stay at Gotham was coming to a close. Jerome had being staying with Mr Cisero for two days and had barely moved, the old man had brought him pain killers and left overs from meal times.
The latch on the door clunks to announce the old man's return, he clambers in using his cane for support closing the door behind him. His red glasses hide the milky eyes behind, he places his red felt hat on a peg to the side of the door before taking a seat on a small chair next to the table and begins to pack away his crystal ball and tarot cards carefully into an ornate wooden box.
"I think it's time you spoke to your mother Jerome." The old man places each card carefully into the pack as he waits for a reaction.
"Pull me a card old man." Jerome shifts himself up dragging his broken body off the sofa to land hard down onto the stool opposite the fortune teller ignoring the original comment.
Mr Cisero sighs, he slowly takes the cards out from the pack and shuffles them, "One card, then you have to go." He feels the pack of old worn cards with a familiarity, he spreads the cards face down in a neat row onto the soft red table cloth then runs his finger tips across the edges. He stops suddenly at a card, pausing dramatically, all part of the show before whipping it out skilfully pointing it straight towards Jerome.
"The Fool." Speaks with certainty even though he can not see the card, Cisero holds the card out for a few seconds, Jerome examines the etching of a jester dancing around on the card and begins to laugh, louder and louder until he theatrically laughs himself off of his chair clutching his painful ribs. Cisero scoffs unimpressed and leaves the boy rolling around on the leather sofa.
Jerome calms his laughter gathering himself together to leave the trailer scooping up The Fool card from the table as he does. The light hurts his eyes as he jumps down from the wooden steps causing his busted eyes to pulsate as he squints, he can feel the extent of his wounds as he walks, his knee weak and ankle busted, his back aches with the deep bruising where Zak had landed some particularly vicious stomps. Hobbling through the camp like a wounded hunch back Jerome smiles and waves at the circus folk who gaze shamefully at him, each bows their head in embarrassment and pity pretending not to see the boys obvious taunts.
Approaching Lila's trailer Jerome can feel something is missing, an emptiness in the pit of his stomach starts to eat away at him, he knows it before he walks through the door, Jeremiah is gone. He hurls his weak frame through the door, Lila is packing shiny outfits into a trunk, eyes are red where she has obviously been crying.
"Where is he?" Jerome shouts as his mother looks up.
"Gone, gone somewhere you can never hurt him!" She throws down the dress she is packing and storms into her bedroom slamming the door behind her.
Jerome sits himself down with a slump at the table, he contemplates the empty feeling inside his gut, he takes out the tarot card placing it on the table, staring at the little picture he chuckles to himself, a tear runs down his bruised cheek.