Trouble ▴ Jerome Valeska

chapter six //

Jerome.

The cold glass vile felt so small in between my fingers as I twisted it around, trying to find some connection between it and Natalie. I had some assumptions about what she could be doing, but they just didn't add up.

She seemed like a genuinely good innocent girl - well kind of - yet she was carrying a bunch of glass tubes in her car that had the word 'dangerous' written on them.

"Guess the bitch had more to her than I thought, huh." I mumbled to myself as I threw the vile onto my bed, careful not to break it. If I did, I'm sure my mom would make a big deal out of it if she found a single broken glass piece; making sure she'd call me every name she could think off at the moment.

I got home two hours ago and thankfully, my mom was out somewhere - probably with one of the Grayson idiots. Then again, what more can I honestly expect from her? It's already an unspoken routine of hers, not much that I can do or say about it anymore.

A knock on the metal trailer door interrupted my train of thought. I groaned, hoping it wasn't my drunken mother. Although it was ten in the morning, the time of the day never really mattered to her.

Instead of my mother, I was met with a better sight.

"You forgot this in my car." I looked her over as I stood by the door, my black jacket in her hand and her hair a mess; a controlled mess in a way.

"Is that really the only reason you came all the way out here?" A small part of me secretly hoped there was more to her arrival besides delivering the jacket I had deliberately left in her car earlier.

Maybe she'd actually stay and serve me as some kind of entertainment. There was nothing to do here since the circus was never as fun as it seemed before opening hours, everything was always too quiet.

"Maybe." She answered. I watched as she tried to suppress the smile that was trying to find its way on her face. "Maybe not."

Taking a small step to the side, as a way to invite her in without having to go through the embarrassment of asking, I offered her a small smile.

"You know," she walked in, clutching onto the jacket tighter causing her nervousness to completely show through. "When you said you lived here, I didn't completely believe you but that kid upfront told me all about you." I rolled my eyes already imagining what he told her.

"Make yourself at home." I opened my arms at my side, before kicking the door shut behind me. She leaned back on the kitchen counter, the jacket laying over her shoulder as she looked over at me.

"Son of the famous snake dancer, huh?" Natalie raised an eyebrow, a small smile filled with amusement on her face. I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration, slowly nodding at her statement, no point in denying it anymore.

"Ah," I pulled a red plastic chair from our make-shift dinner table and took a seat. "Guess my big secret's out." My eyes narrowed, trying to appear as if I was in deep thought, as I looked up. "Son of the famous snake lady was never my favorite label though."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her face was countered into a genuine hurt expression, causing me to almost fall out of my chair laughing; almost.

"It's not like you've told me your whole life either, Nat." I argued, hoping to get information out of her about what I found in her car. I couldn't help but hope it was something illegal, something exciting that maybe I could take part in.

Natalie was silent for a moment before responding. "I didn't think it was necessary to tell someone I made out with my whole life." I watched as she shivered a bit, the cold from outside finding its way into the trailer; one of the many downsides of this dump.

"Here." She was confused until I stood up and made my way towards her. "Don't freeze to death now." I grabbed the jacket from her hand and slipped it over her shoulders as a shield from the chilly air.

"Thanks." Natalie softly thanked me before looking up at me. "That's oddly nice of you." I shook my head at her compliment and placed my hands on the counter, on either side of her.

"Someone you made out with?" I repeated, watching her nervously stand under me as she waited for my next action. "We both know that's not all I am to you."

"Really?" Natalie countered. "What makes you say that?"

"Look around you." She did so before putting her attention back on me, waiting for my next words. "You're in my 'home' only two hours after I took you out on a donut date and other things."

She tried looking angry but the red tint on her cheeks due to my words betrayed her. God, she looked cute in my jacket but I wouldn't deem her as someone worth being with, at least not yet.

The sound of loud obnoxious knocks, that could only belong to one person I knew, interrupted our little scene.