Dim The Circus Lights (Book 2 of Beneath The Circus Lights)

Chapter 1

The large sitting room at StoneCreek was silent, except for the crackling of the fire and the low snores that emitted from the black greyhound who slept soundly on the ground, his ears twitching every so often at the music that emitted from the cd player.

Oh yes, I'm the great pretender,

Pretending that I'm doing well....

I seem to be, what I'm not you'll see...

I'm lonely but no one can tell..

Oh yes, I'm the great pretender, just laughing and gay, like a clown.....

Jerome stared at the framed photograph of Elsie, running his fingers over the photo, his fingerprints smudging the glass.

She couldn't truly be gone... could she?

It had been three weeks since he was told that she fell into that vat of chemicals and there'd been no sign of her.

   Jeremiah was thought to be dead as well, his supposedly brain dead body, had been stolen in the night, most likely by that psychotic blonde guard dog of his.

Things were silent for a week and Jerome truly believed his twin was gone for good, but the universe didn't like him.

   Low and behold a few days later, Jeremiah was up and about, conducting his business with his little church, at least that's what the rumors on the police radio Jerome had stolen claimed.

   The worst part was, from the glimpses that Jerome had received from his spies, was that Jeremiah looked far better than he had before his acid trip, it was though whatever acid scarring that has developed on his skin peeled away like a cleansing face mask, leaving him as pale and doll-like as ever.

Damn him.

But if that parasitic vampire twin of his could survive, Elsie had to have too. Jerome didn't stop believing that she was out there.

She had to be.

Maybe she got temporary amnesia and got lost.

  She wouldn't willingly abandon her children...

  Abandon him......

He wouldn't accept that she was dead no matter what others told him. Fuck them, what did they know about his Elsie?!

   He'd keep himself and the kids within StoneCreek'z grounds until he heard from her. He would not let everyone influence his children, he would sooner kill-

  "Daddy?" Jerome lifted his tired, burned out gaze to look at a sleepy Jason standing a foot away from him. The toddler was rubbing his tired green eyes with one hand while the other clutched the stuffed wolf plush he could never bear to part with.

Jerome silently gestured for him to come over and once he was close enough for him to reach, he pulled the boy onto his lap, Jason fisting his father's shirt as he rested his head on his chest.

  "Hey bud, why are you up?" It was 9:30 pm, far past his bedtime. Jerome could only hope in the midst of his process of coming downstairs, that Jason hadn't woke the babies, it was probably going to be a bitch to get them to sleep again if he did.