Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 35: The Recovery

Once we returned home, Jeremiah helped me into the house. I was crying and trembling as he guided me upstairs. He helped me change out of my clothes that were stained with Ella's blood. We realized that the bullet had grazed my side before it hit Ella, and there was a gash there that I was too consumed with Ella to notice the physical pain. Jeremiah bandaged me up as I sat too saturated in tears and overwhelmed with shock to move. I didn't sleep much that night as I would wake up every few hours and then cry myself back to sleep. Jeremiah was always beside me, placing light kisses on my face, hushing my cries, and holding me until I fell asleep again. Ella was dead. Jerome had killed her. The realization was too much for me to bear. Ella my biggest supporter, the one that has always pushed me to be strong, the woman who could always do the impossible. I couldn't get the image of her laying dead on the street out of my head, and I prayed that the police found her body. I hoped they told her parents so that they would know their little girl was murdered by a hateful crime. It was all my fault. If I had never gone to that stupid circus in the first place Jerome wouldn't have been able to find Ella. He wouldn't have been able to kill her or her boyfriend. After a fun vacation with two of the most wonderful people, they were both killed by a deranged psychopath. We had all let our guard down and my brain was still reeling on how Jerome had come back from the dead. The following day, Jeremiah found out that his followers stole his brother's body and brought him back from the dead with electricity. I spent the rest of the week in his room, only leaving the confines for meals. Jeremiah was incredibly understanding, giving me space when I wanted it and giving support when I needed it. I thought about her every day, replaying the night over and over in my head trying to figure out all the things I could have done differently. The bullet had grazed me before fatally injuring her. It was meant for me and yet she had died. It was hard for me to move forward knowing that I was supposed to take her place. And I gladly would given the chance, because the world was a much better place with her in it. By the end of the month, my physical wounds had fully healed but the emotional wounds had barely scabbed over. I decided to think of my scar as a part of Ella, the bullet had hit us both but killed her. The bullet linked us and therefore the scar served as a reminder of Ella and her beautiful, energetic life. I couldn't imagine starting school in the fall without her, and it broke my heart to even think about it. I busied myself with planning my wedding as it proved to be a great distraction from everything. I decided that I wanted private wedding, just Jeremiah and I. Ella would have wanted something huge and flamboyant and she probably would have been the best maid of honor ever. But the idea was too painful so we agreed that we would have a clergy come to the house and marry us in the next couple of weeks as we couldn't risk going out in public. Jerome was caught by police later last night and was thrown in Arkham for the second time. Jeremiah and I knew better than to feel secure about his arrest, or anything for that matter as Jerome had escaped both prison and death. As I recovered from Ella's death, Jeremiah became increasingly strict on his "safety rules". He realized that what happened to Ella could have easily happened to me, and therefore we needed to be three times as careful then we were before we thought Jerome was dead. Neither of us would leave the house and go into the city, we would send Ecco instead. School was of course essential to go to but I was to come straight home afterwards. Jeremiah came up with more complex safety procedures to follow in case Jerome were to break in or somehow get to us outside of the house. He showed me his bunker and the labyrinth in the basement that lead to the woods outside, both of which I was told about but never was allowed to see until the construction was done. The dark side of Jeremiah returned at the knowledge that his plan to kill Jerome had failed and people had died as a result. I knew he was trying to hold it in for my sake, and I was healing as quickly as I could. I knew Ella wouldn't want me to dwell on her life as much as she would want me to live it. But I couldn't even do that being constricted in this house, trapped by Jerome. I hated feeling like a captive but I took comfort in knowing that I had Jeremiah with me. He was truly all I needed, all I had anymore.

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Sorry for the super sad chapters! I'm really trying to move things along so we can get to Jeremiah as the joker. I'm going to miss Ella! She was the ultimate wing woman haha. Thanks for reading guys I hope you enjoy this update!!!
- m