Chapter 10- Miss Me?
Jerome wakes to the sound of his bedroom door sliding open, his mother stands there slouched against the door-frame, a distasteful scowl on her face as she casts her blood shot eyes across Jerome and Sadie's coiled figures.
"So that's where you were then, skimming through the gutters for trash." Lila laughs bitterly at her own joke, "I'm having the day off, you and your little tart can do all the set up today, seem as you skipped out last night." Jerome's mother lights a cigarette as she skulks away, Jerome waits until he hears the slide and clicking shut of her bedroom door before he begins to move.
Sadie is motionless beneath his arm tucked into a tiny tight ball, exhaustion still has her, Jerome shimmies carefully down the bed and slides out from under the blanket pulling it slightly from the sleeping girl. He turns to place the blanket back, hesitating he looks at Sadie's sleeping form, in the morning light he can now see the extent of her bruises, her arms and legs are mottled black and blue, Jerome can make out finger marks allowing him to imagine the sinister grip of Ziggy's putrid hands on her pale flesh. Jerome feels an ache as he realises his jaw is clenched hard, he feels a burning anger inside as he softly pulls the blanket back over Sadie's fragile frame. He can't help but move a stray tangle from her face with the lightest of touches, before he heads out of the room.
Jerome works hard all day, he sets up his mother's side show tent before joining the crew to erect the big top and unload all the animals. He sweats and aches through his anger until the sun begins to set and the crowd begins to arrive for the opening night show. The golden light of the evening finally fades into black as Jerome strides back to the trailer.
Lila flings the trailer door open to meet him, she is dressed from head to toe in tight green metallic snake skin, a green turban perched on her dark curls, heavy make-up caked on her lined face. She stands blocking the entrance downing the last of a bottle of wine.
"Lazy bitch is still in bed, another waste of space... you two are made for each other." The slurred words drip poisonously from Lila's lipstick coated mouth. Jerome edges to get past her but she shoots a hand across the doorway to block him. "You're gonna have to tell Alphonse she's back, and I don't think he's gonna be too pleased, pretty sure he'll take it out on his favourite ginger degenerate, well I hope he will." Lila cackles as she removes her arm and saunters off towards her performance tent with a stagger.
Sadie sits perched on the edge of the bottom bunk, Jerome's diary with the diamante ice cream cover sits beside her surrounded with the morbid clown cards Sadie had sent over the years, the original doodle he had snatched on the night she left was clutched tightly in her slender fingers.
"You missed me then?" She asked rhetorically putting the doodle back on the bed.
"You read my diary?" Jerome asks nonchalantly as he begins to get changed, obviously not bothered by this invasion of privacy or embarrassed by his body.
"Couldn't help it, the human brain is so fascinating, inner thoughts and that, and your brain is extra exciting Jerome, I always knew that though, I could study you for years." Sadie speaks with true interest as she watches the well built Jerome strip down to his boxers without batting an eye.
Jerome pulls on some jeans and hunts around for a shirt, Sadie stands and hands him a black T-shirt from next to the bed, she picks up a towel hooked on the back of the door.
"I'm going to freshen up. Then we gotta go see my Dad. After the show." Sadie sneaks a sly last look at the topless Jerome then skips away down the trailer.
Jerome fries up some eggs and bacon, he can hear the little shower going in the tiny trailer bathroom, Sadie singing some high pitched riot girl anthem so it echoes through the kitchen. The water stops as Jerome flips the food out onto two plates adorned with some buttered bread. The door slides open. Sadie steps out in a cloud of steam, a towel tucked neatly around her damp body, hair tied up in a crazy looking bun on top of her head.
"Ummm! Smells great, I starving." Sadie whips up a plate shoving a piece of bread impatiently into her mouth and sits herself down at the kitchenette table in her towel. Jerome raises a cheeky eyebrow but follows handing her a knife and fork from the side. They eat, shovelling in the food both famished. Jerome occasionally glances at the skin of Sadie's bare shoulders, but he can't quite decide if he's looking at the flesh or the bruises. He takes a longer look at a deeper darker bruise, hand shaped, that sits at the top of her narrow arm but Sadie catches him.
"What? What? You just got changed in front of me mate, it's just skin." Sadie bites at Jerome but he decides not to break his gaze.
"No. The bruises?" He asks with some hollow attempt at pity, dropping his eyes to fane sadness.
"Fuck you J! Don't pretend you feel sorry for me! You can't pull that shit with me remember, we are the same! We don't have real emotions like normal people, just survival mechanisms." She laughs as she jovially slap taps his face continuing to chew. "I don't need pity from a Valeska anyway, I'd rather you were just a perve." She winks.
"I should have killed him Sadie." Jerome feels a flicker of rage and lust dart through his body.
"Yeah, maybe." Sadie laughs as they finish their food.
Sadie slips off returning wearing a cleaner band tee tucked into her denim shorts, she has some multi-coloured tights on under hiding some of the bruising. She pulls on her leather jacket and drops her hair from the bun shaking her head and messing the matted waves roughly with her fingers.
"Come on then, let's go see the old man." With a deep breath she steps out of the trailer, Jerome follows pulling on his jacket.