Goodbye Sanity, Hello Headlines

Chapter 25

Jerome's POV:

Waking up beside Katerina had topped the list of my favourite thing to do. To my luck, this now happened every single morning, her vibrant hair tangling with my own as we woke up wrapped in one another's arms. Don't get me wrong, killing people was pretty great but it didn't come even remotely close to Katerina's sleeping figure.

She was pristine, perfect. Well almost perfect. The scar covering her neck served as a constant reminder of what I had roped her into. He would pay, the riddle freak that dared harm her but ultimately he would not have known of her existence had I not have introduced her to Gotham's crime ring. She seemed unfazed by all that had happened but the way she writhed in her sleep or when she muttered to herself while she thought I wasn't listening was enough to remind me of myself after mother's beatings. She didn't deserve that.

But this was our life now, things like that happen and will continue to happen but that's what makes it so interesting and boy am I excited to see how it plays out. I mean think of all the things we could do together, all the chaos. Gotham won't stand a chance against us. The Crime King and Queen of Gotham city.

"Jesus Edward chill out!" She exclaims, humor in her tone but I didn't see the funny side.

"Edward? Do you dream about him? Huh?" She interrupted before I could continue my interrogation.

"Babe, it's a character from Twilight. Not Nygma you sack of jealousy." She lays back onto the pillows with a smile and I can't help but laugh at her.

"Did you just call me a sack?" I asked.

"Did you just act like a sack?" She retorted and I shrugged not having an argument. I moved back into bed and slung my arm around her, the morning sun only just breaking and the two of us had nowhere to be so we could spare a couple of hours. "We are honestly so infuriatingly adorable." She states, her eyes trained on my own.

"Hm, we are." I retort my hands running through her soft hair. "I mean we can always kill some more people? That always kinda dampens the adorableness." I suggest and she gives me a deadpanned glance.

"You're so bloodthirsty."

"Eh, I just wanna have a little fun. Besides, all I want do is stir up some chaos, you know? Just disrupt the order for a while." Her smile grew slightly wider.

"Where would you even want to do this? I mean I'm sure Penguin has something for you to do, he always does." I give the crime lord a thought and agree that it seemed like the most fun.

"You sure he's not with the freak?" She flinched slightly at the comment.

"I can't say he is or isn't, Oswald is pretty blind in the name of love so it wouldn't surprise me." She replies and my eyes widened. I got up from the bed and made my way to the wardrobe.

"Then you aren't coming with me," I tell her, my mind completely made up.

"What? Of course, I'm coming with you. Plus I haven't seen Oswald since you know what happened. I want to catch up." She tries to reason with me but I didn't even take in a word she was saying. She too got up from the bed and sat at the edge as I felt her gaze fall on my back.

"What happens if while you're 'catching up' he lets Edward take you again, then what?" I hiss, the mention of the man sending my mind into a complete rage. I turned to face her now, finding an outfit to wear.

"Penguin wouldn't let that happen, he was an almost brotherly figure to me in Arkham, I trust him with my life." She seemed so sure of herself and I felt like shaking sense into her.

"You thought Edward was a brotherly figure to you too and look what he did to you! You can't trust them, Katerina! For god sake learn your lesson." I exploded, my hands moving rapidly with my words and stands up from the bed warily.

"You're right Jerome, I can't trust them, this is why I'm coming with you." I shake my head in disbelief.

"Do you even hear what's coming out of your mouth right now? Like to do you honestly understand what you are saying or are you just speaking for the sake of speaking? Cause you aren't making any sense." She scoffs, giving me a glare before she takes a deep breath, seemingly trying to refrain from screaming at me but I know she's going to scream at me either way.

"Of course I know what I'm saying." She began with her voice level and her tone calm. "You may be a little more experienced in being crazy and stuff but you I lived with the two of them for months before you came back. I know how both of them think and it was just a twist of events that what happened with Edward happened." Her voice raised slightly. "But you don't understand them like I do! If Edward does end up being there then you will be flying blind! He is a master of mind games Jerome and I know all the tricks! You forget that he practiced these tricks on me for weeks!" She was yelling now, just like I predicted she would.

"I'm very aware of what he did to you! But you aren't stable enough to be anywhere near him." Her eyes widened and rage began to fill them.

"Not stable enough?" She questioned her voice in a deadly whisper as she stepped toward me. "How dare you? I have been through hell and back and managed to survive! Don't you dare tell me I'm not stable!" She was only centimeters from me now.

"I know about the nightmares," I respond and she inches back.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't get nightmares." Her voice is quieter, her eyes flickering back and forth from mine to the floor.

"Don't lie to me," I whisper, holding her face in my head. "We have been through far too much for you to lie to me like this." My hand goes through her hair and she leans toward my hand. Everything was silent, the room so thick with the lack of noise as we stare into one another's eyes. Her face began to drop its tough act and the first thing to break the silence was her sob. She collapsed into my arms as she sobs resounded through the room.

"I'm sorry." She choked out between cries, I shushed her letting her tears drench my shirt as I ran my hands through her hair.

"Don't be sorry, please don't ever be sorry," I whispered. "You don't have to be strong for me."

"I know." She began to dry her tears. "I need to be strong for me."

I am so incredibly EXTREMELY sorry I know it's been a really long time. I wish I had some great excuse and that everything makes sense but I don't. I don't know what it is but lately I've been avoiding everything and writing just wouldn't come to me like it usually does.

I have had eight different performance pieces to remember and that alone has had me pulling my hair out and I think I've had a bit of an anxiety episode recently but I'm trying really hard to write.

Also it is almost the end of this book. And this time there will not be another installment. I think this might have a lot to do with my lack of writing because at least with Gotham Gazette I knew I was going to be making a sequel but now that I know it's going to be over I just get really upset I don't know. I've become far too attached to this but yeah.

I'm thinking for the ending of this series it will be a flash forward to when Jerome is the Joker and Bruce is Batman etc... Maybe doing a little mini origin for each character (Not including Ed and Penguin because they've already reached their alias but you know what I mean)

So I'd give this book like five more chapters?

But I'd really like for you to give me some suggestions, now is the chance to tell me what you'd like to see in the book before it ends and I'll chuck it in.

But thank you all and I love you.

~Mikayla Xx