Jerome felt a fresh tear slide down the side of his face. He was a man full of many complex emotions, but always hid them the best he could. Everyone had their demons, but Jerome kept his strictly to himself. He had learnt to block out a lot of the memories and nightmares, but since he met Albany they were creeping back. He spent most of his time infiltrating her dreams and amusing himself by using her as a pawn in his cryptic games. But now he was able to speak to her in person, there was little to no need. He knew as soon as he stopped controlling her dreams his own would return to him. He knew it was a risk, but it was one he had to take. He let out a long and stuttered sigh. He felt the heartache from his dreams manifest in his chest. He reached up to his wound and felt something soft. He opened his eyes, they were blurry from the tears. He glanced down at his chest and saw his wound was bandaged. No doubt Albany treated him whilst he was asleep. He wiped his face with his hand and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked up at the ceiling and paused. He didn't remember getting into a bed.
He looked around the small room. It looked old and un-lived in. Even from his position he could see a thick layer of dust on a cabinet opposite him. It looked to be made of oak, but the dust was so thick it was hard to tell. The room smelt old and stale. Most of the furniture he could see looked older than him. He swallowed, his throat was dry. He shuffled and tried to sit up, but was stopped by a shooting pain in his chest. Even though the wound had been treated, it still hurt like hell. He looked around for his shirt, but didn't see it. He prepared himself for the anticipated pain and pushed himself off of the bed and to his feet. His hand shot out and slammed onto the wall next to him as he held his head in the other. He groaned softly and waited a few seconds until the dizziness dissipated. He took a deep breath and walked towards the door, hi vision still tainted by the dizziness. He stepped into the next room and glanced around. This room was a bit bigger than the previous one, but it still looked old and un-lived in.
"Hey sleepy," a voice cooed.
Jerome looked to his left and saw another room.
"Sit down, you'll get dizzy."
He looked over at a wooden chair. He questioned its stability, but decided to sit anyway. He didn't have enough energy to stand, let alone argue. "Already there, doll."
Albany entered the room and placed a plate down in front of him.
The corners of Jerome's mouth turned upwards into a smirk when he say what was laid out in front of him.
"You said I owed you a home cooked meal." Albany looked down at his bandage. "How are you feeling?"
"Fucking fantastic," he replied, his voice hoarse and weak.
"I can imagine. I did the best I could," she began.
Jerome looked up at her and saw his shirt. It was clean and the small hole made by the bullet was fixed.
"I was never that good at needlework." she shrugged. "But at least it's clean. I'm sure we can pick you another one up somewhere." she folded the shirt up. "Shame, it was a nice shirt. You've got a good eye for fashion, for a guy." she winked.
"Speaking of somewhere..." he looked around the room, then gave Albany a questionable look.
She sat on the wooden chair next to him. "Back in the town I lived in with my father, I used to help my neighbour out." she placed the folded shirt on her lap and began pouring her and Jerome some tea. "She was an elderly lady called Carol. She was friends with my Mom and I used to play with her dog." she dropped a few teaspoons of sugar into the cups. "When my Mom died she invited me round and said I was always welcome. She never liked my father and knew he had a temper, so she enjoyed having me over. Not only for the help but it gave her peace of mind that I was safe. I helped her with things like gardening, cleaning and I went into town for her on the odd occasion. I loved spending time with her, I never knew my grandmother so I thought of her as a surrogate. My father was oblivious to the fact I was even gone most of the time."
"She knew your father had a temper?"
"Before you ask, she did report him. But you know what the authorities are like. People like me tend to get...what do they call it..."
"Lost in the system."
"That's it." she stirred the two cups. "Anyway, it was around Christmas time she called me over. She sat me down and told me she had been to the doctors."
Jerome noted the change in Albany's tone as her eyes fell to his shirt she was holding.
"She had terminal cancer." Albany sat back in her chair and looked at the shirt. "The doctors told her she only had a few months left. She said she wanted to thank me for all I had done for her over the years. I told her she didn't have to do anything but she insisted. She gave me her life savings."
Jerome eyes widened.
Albany looked at him and held up a finger. "Don't get too excited, it wasn't a lot. When she gave it to me she told me I was to get out of this town and find a little place of my own. She knew I was a smart girl and I could work something out." Albany slid the drink over to Jerome. "I told her I would but I wasn't leaving until she had died. She took me into town and helped me set up a bank account and put the money into it for me. The next day I planned to go to her house again. When I stepped out the front...there was an ambulance outside..." she began twiddling the folded shirt in her fingers. "And a coroner."
"Thought she had months left?"
"She did. She also had really strong pain killers for the pain..."
Jerome didn't need to ask her to explain further.
"That day I packed what little possessions I had. At first I had no idea where I was going. I just got on the first train I saw and rode it to the end of the line.
"The last stop was Gotham?"
She nodded. "I staid at a few cheap hotels for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them had been crime scenes at one point."
"This town is full of surprises, sweet," Jerome said under his breath.
"I was looking at properties one day and saw this place. It wasn't much to look at but it was cheaper than living long term in a run down hotel. I talked to the owner and he said I could have it for half the price he was offering. He said it was more expensive to get it demolished than sell it. I stayed here and worked some jobs around town, then I happened upon a job at the facility. I didn't need to stay here since they offered employees on-site accommodation. But I always kept it as a backup plan. It's not worth selling anyhow."
Jerome took another look around the quaint room. "So who knows you own this place?"
"Just me." she smiled.
"You said you wanted to leave the facility." he brought his gaze back to her. "Why not quit and move back into this place?"
Albany rested her head on a propped up elbow. "You think the thought didn't cross my mind?" she sighed. "You've seen inside the facility Jerome, you've witnessed my work there. You really think they would let me hand my notice in and leave? When you sign that contract you sign away your life."
"If you knew that then why did you do it?"
"Why does anyone do anything? I had nothing better going for me and I enjoyed the work...at first. The people at the facility are the kind of people who can keep a secret." Albany stood up and walked to a chest of drawers. "They also value their life and know when to keep their mouths shut." she opened a drawer and brought out a bottle of pills. "Here, take two," she said and handed him the bottle.
Jerome twisted the cap off and tipped two white pills into his hand. He looked at the label, they were painkillers. He shoved them in his mouth and gulped them down before reaching for his drink. He was pleading for them to kick in.
"I knew security would be on our tails, we both did. But we didn't factor in that." she pointed to his bandages.
Jerome shrugged. "I like to keep things interesting."
"We can stay here until you're healed enough." Albany began making her way into the kitchen. She lowered her voice and muttered to herself. "I knew he wasn't strong enough. I'm so stupid!"
"No you're not."
She stopped at Jerome's voice. She kept her back to him and closed her eyes. "Yes, I am Jerome.. I am stupid. The decisions I've made just validate that fact. Of all the places to come, anywhere in the world, I come to Gotham. I could have gone to New York, to California. I could have even gone to England. But no, I chose here. A dead-beat town full of criminals and scum. I brought a house that could never be a home, no matter how much work is put into it. I gave my life away to a job which had absolutely no ethics! I thought of leaving yes, but I never even tried because I'm a coward! I'm weak! The only friends I had were corpses and Oliver...at least...I thought he was my friend." she turned to him, her eyes filled with tears. "I could be sitting at a desk working a nine to five job with a husband and a place to call a home! But no, I threw that away and took the worst opportunities imaginable and I even failed at them! So yes, Jerome, I am stupid!" she hit her head with the palm of her hand over and over again. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid little girl!" she turned her back to him again.
Jerome jumped up from his chair and marched over to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and spun her round. He grasped her other shoulder and stared into her eyes. "I survived years of abuse from a whore of a mother. I survived her beatings, her lovers beatings. I've been shot, ran over, thrown about like a rag doll," he pointed to the large scar on his neck. "I even survived being stabbed in the fucking neck!"
"You didn't survive! You died!" she screamed.
"And who brought me back to life? Who gave me a second chance? You!" he lowered his voice and returned his hand to her shoulder. "You're many things Albany Lux, but you are not stupid! You hear me?"
She lowered her head.
"You are not stupid. You're not weak, you're not a failure, you're not stupid and you're not a coward!" Jerome put his hands on either side of her head and forced her to look at him. His voice was soft and reassuring. "You're my friend." he wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "And you know what friends do when things get tough?"
"They stick together," she muttered.
"They stick together," he echoed with a nod.
"Now if I ever hear you call yourself stupid again, there's gonna be trouble. Okay?"
She closed her eyes as Jerome placed a soft kiss on her hair. She nodded with a smile as another tear fell. "Okay," she whispered.
Jerome lay in bed looking up at the ceiling. The white paint was flaky and there were small patches where chunks of it had already fallen off. He shuffled a little, but froze when the pain shot through his wound again. He grunted and grabbed the bottle of pills off of the night stand next to the bed. He opened the top and gulped a few down, then fell back onto the bed. He stretched one hand to the back of his head and drummed his fingers on his bare chest. He closed his eyes again and attempted to sleep again. The pain was keeping him awake, he thought back to the last time he had felt this much pain. He had been shot before, beaten, thrown about and even strangled now and again. But that was when his body was strong and able to take a beating. He smiled to himself, God could he take a beating! Now he felt weak. Not physically weak, but more of a weakened brought on by exhaustion. On many occasions he had to remind himself he wasn't exactly one hundred percent back to his old self yet, he wasn't sure when he would be. But when he was, hell would rain down upon Gotham. That was one thing he knew for sure.
Albany opened the door and peaked through the gap. She saw Jerome lying on his back on the bed, his eyes closed. She began to close the door when he spoke.
"It's okay," he said, his eyes still closed. "I'm awake."
Albany opened the door and stepped in. "The pain keeping you awake, huh?"
"No, I just like the look of the inside of my eyelids."
"Must be fascinating," she replied and folded her arms.
"Mmm, it is. It was boring at first, but after being dead for a bit, ah, you get used to it."
"I bet."
Jerome opened one eye and looked over to her. A small smile peeked the side of his mouth. He closed his eye and turned his head back to the original position.
"We are running low on food. I need to go into town to get some." She waited for a reply. "Jerome?" Albany realised he must have finally slipped into sleep. She closed the door quietly behind her.
Once the door clicked shut Jerome's eyes opened.