Chapter 24

10.3K 395 147
                                    

When I came to I was being carried, I glanced at the face of the person holding me to find Edward. My eyes immediately widened and I began to struggle in his hold, he glanced down at me and I noticed he didn't have his glasses on just like when he knocked Kristen unconscious. Was she ok? Is she even alive?

"I'm just taking you back to your room because Eddie and I have some important... Business to tend to." I continued to try and get out of his grip but before I had the chance he dropped me onto the bed I slept in last night and stared down at me with a smirk.

"What happened to you?" I asked in disbelief.

"Nothing happened to me, I've always been like this... Eddie however, well he has just stepped out for a while. Don't worry he'll be back I suspect, he usually lets me clean the mess." He explains with a sickening smile that reminds me way too much of Jerome.

"Why are you doing this? What did you do to Kristen?" I asked fearing the answer.

"We had to stop her from telling everyone our little secret didn't we?" He asked rhetorically with an uncharacteristic smirk.

"You don't have to do this." I pleaded with tears in my eyes but he didn't seem to even register what I said before locking me inside the room without another word. I immediately sprang to the door and began pounding on it and within seconds the door was opening again but this time, Edward was holding a needle with clear liquid inside and an irritated expression on his face.

"Now Katerina, I was hoping you would have learnt something from being with Jerome. Eddie didn't want me to do this but you did this to yourself." He started with a fake frown. "Goodnight." With that, he jammed the needle into my neck and injected what felt like fire in my veins. Before I could do anything to retaliate my vision began to get hazy and I couldn't control my limbs, Ed lifted me gently back into the bed and I saw him leave the room faintly before my vision completely gave out.

My drug induced slumber was riddled with nightmares of both Jerome and now this new and dark Ed. He had snapped so suddenly, it was as if a switch had been flipped and he went from an intelligent man who enjoys puzzles to a murderer! Much like Jerome when he was angry, the thought terrified me.

Jerome is probably flipping it.

I've tried not thinking about him, about his ginger hair styled as if he had just been electrocuted, or his forest-like eyes that darkened when he was angry and sparkled when he was excited or about his voice and how it changed from low and menacing to a high-pitched cackle that resembled that of a witch.

I couldn't think of that now, I need to work out what I'm going to do with Edward, was he going to murder me? He had stated multiple times that 'Eddie' told him he can't hurt me but aren't they the same person? It was as if he was two completely different people, one being absolutely psychotic.

I felt my neck and found it throbbing, I could still feel the puncture wound that the needle had caused when Ed jammed it into my jugular. I shakily placed my feet on the ground as I stood up from the bed and tried to walk to the door, my steps were wobbly and my head was still fuzzy as the drugs were still trying to work their way out of my system.

My hand wrapped around the doorknob to find it unlocked and I silently opened, trying to make as little noise as possible in the already soundless house. Everything was completely silent, so I crept into the kitchen and tried to find a clock so I could see how long I had been unconscious.

My eyes drifted to a small clock that read 8:00am, I had been knocked out throughout the entire night? This posed the question of where Ed is, he would be at work but I remember him telling that he had taken today off so we could meet with Oswald.

Oswald Cobblepot

He was arguably the king of Gotham and I was going to meet him today. He currently ran all of the crime rings in Gotham after the death of Fish Mooney. I had met Miss Mooney once, my father had brought me to an interview with her and she offered me, a 16-year-old, a job as one of her entertainers. She was incredibly kind to me although I don't think she was kind to many. Now that I thought about it, I had met Oswald once before as well. We had only briefly spoken as my father had trusted me to sit with him while he interviewed Miss Mooney.

He too was kind to me, I hope that he is still as kind as he was despite his new found power.

"I'd like to apologise." A voice stated behind me and I let out a surprised scream. I whipped my head around to find Ed standing there with an apologetic frown. "I wasn't myself last night, I'm sorry you had to see that. Sometimes I can't control him." His voice was soft and he looked completely different from last night, his posture was back to it's stiff and polite position and his glasses were back to shielding his eyes.

"Who?"

"Well, I don't actually know..." I'm pretty certain that is the first time I'd ever heard Ed say he didn't know something. He made a move to get closer to me but I immediately took a step back.

"I won't harm you, neither will he to my knowledge." He tried to reason with me but I continued to move further away.

"Y-You murdered someone." I stuttered continuing to move away. Ed's features darkened noticeably and a smirk replaced his worried expression.

"Oh come on Kitty Kat!" I shuddered at the nickname Ed would never give me. "It's not the first time you've seen someone murdered. Especially when your boyfriend murders for the fun of it, he's sloppy too." He chuckled when he noticed my back getting dangerously close to the door.

"Who are you?" I ask, it becoming extremely obvious that this was not at all Ed.

"Edward Nygma, nice to meet you." He jokingly, within the split second he was looking at the ground I took the chance to try and open the door behind me but before I could get it open he slammed it shut again. "Leaving so soon? After all that Eddie's done to make you feel at home. He thinks the world of you, you know?" He leaned closer to my face and I shrunk back into the door.

"Look, whoever you are, I just want to leave. I will find Oswald mysel-" He slammed his hand on the door above my head and let out a disheveled chuckle.

"You walk out that door and I will tell your little boyfriend where you are. What would he think about you running away?" Fear was coarsing through my veins at the mention of what Jerome would do to me.

"O-okay." I squeaked out and as quick as he came he left, leaving me with the normal Ed, id that was what you would call it.

"K-Katerina I." Before he could say anything else I manouvered out of his way and onto the other side of the room. "I'm extremely sorry Miss Ferdine, Oswald will arrive soon and you will no longer be in danger of me anymore." He explained, fiddling with his glasses with an innocent expression painted across his slender features. I knew that who I was dealing with were two completely different people and I knew that neither would kill me.

"It's ok... It isn't you, it's another you..." I trailed not knowing exactly where I was going with this.

"Precisely, I'm glad you understand. Oswald should be here in around 10 minutes." he informed me and I nodded, thinking of something to say.

"Do you want to tell me some riddles while we wait?" I offered and I saw his face brighten just as it did in the GCPD the first time we met.

"Of course! You know I appreciate how intelligent you are, no one else answers my riddles." His eyes darkened slightly but returned to the original colour before I had time to notice it.

"And that's why I asked you to help with this situation." I replied and by this time he had managed to take a seat in front of where I sat cross-legged on his couch. It was alarming how many times in the past month that I have conversed with murderers but it was this or be murdered myself.

We traded riddles back and forth for what felt like twenty minutes before we both heard a knock on the door.

Time to get out of here.




Sorry this ones a teeny bit late but I hope you all enjoy Xx

Gotham Gazette // J.VWhere stories live. Discover now