Labyrinth: A Jeremiah Valeska Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 38: The First Day

Jeremiah and I spent our honeymoon in Cabo, Mexico. Despite his reluctance, I convinced Jeremiah that we should treat ourselves in celebration of our marriage. Of course, he had taken every safety precaution possible. Private transport to the airport, private jet, Ecco by our side for protection. It was annoying just how anal he was about his rules, especially being in another country, but I was just happy to finally be out of the house. Jeremiah rented a house for us on the beach and we spent our days in the sand, soaking up the beautiful sun and I hoped to get back the color in my skin I had lost from being enclosed for so long. We drank margaritas, hiked along the shore, and kayaked in the sea. It was the perfect break from reality, our little bubble in Gotham living in fear of Jerome's discovery. It was refreshing to see Jeremiah loosen up a little, but we both had the lingering feeling that if we let our guard down it could happen again. Ecco and I were becoming closer, as I had pushed her away following Ella's demise. Over time, I became more welcoming of her friendship, knowing I would never find someone to replace my best friend. When we turned back home, our skin was sunkissed and our hearts were full. Man was it fun to refer to myself as Mrs. Valeska and it was even better calling Jeremiah my husband. Following our return, Jeremiah was swamped with a project Meyers & Hayes assigned him to make up for his absence during our honeymoon. He was designing some kind of generator, one that was meant to supply enough power for the entire city. My junior year at St. Ignatius would start in a few days and it felt like we were falling back into old patterns. He spent long nights in his study and I was preparing for what I had heard would be the hardest year of college. The morning of my first day, Jeremiah had spent all night working. I assumed he had fallen asleep but when I was about to walk past his study but he called to me. "Lilly?" He asked and I followed the sound, entering the room. He had dark circles under his eyes and his glasses were lopsided. He came up to me and embraced me, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Good luck today." He said and I sighed into him. "Thank you." I replied and we both got lost holding one another. "Ella would have wanted you to enjoy this day. Go enjoy it, for her sake." He said softly into my hair. I held him tighter for a second before pulling away, tears glossing over my eyes. "I love you." I said and he leaned in and kissed my lips gently. When he pulled away he held my face in his hands. "I love you too." He said as I readjusted his glasses giving him a smile. "Promise me you'll get some sleep today?" I teased and he shook his head chuckling. "Maybe." He replied and then we said our goodbyes and Ecco drove me to St. Ignatius. I felt like I had gone back in time in a sense, to my first day of school as I was once again going in alone. I suppose it provided me with the opportunity to meet new people which would hopefully benefit me in the long run. However there was nothing I could do to shake the ghosts of my friends from the familiar campus. I went to my classes of the day, meeting all my new professors and reading through many syllabuses. Casandra was in my Psychology class, and it was the first time I had seen her since my freshman year. She recognized me immediately when I walked in and I braved myself expecting her usually snarky behavior. "Lilly! It's been a while..." She greeted me and her smile confused me. "Here come sit with me," she offered gesturing to the spot next to her and I eyed her suspiciously as I took it. "You're married? Is it Jeremiah?" She asked looking at my ring. "Yes." I replied and she got excited. "I feel like I should take some credit for you two getting together, after all, it was I that made you two kiss at my party!" She gloated and I rolled my eyes. There's the Casandra I remembered. After class, I was about to walk across the street to Mark's to get some coffee but then my phone rang. It was Jeremiah and I answered it, expecting him to ask how my day went and I was very eager to tell him all about how Casandra had stumbled back into my life. But what he said was something I could not have prepared for. "Code black." He said his tone gravely serious. My stomach dropped. Jeremiah had come up with a series of codes to follow in case of emergencies. Code black being the most severe of them all. My breath caught in my throat as my mind replayed his words in my head in disbelief. Code black. Jerome was out of Arkham. And he was coming for us.