I'm Not Crazy: Jerome Valeska

Chapter 1

The keys jingled in your hand as you fumbled to find the right one, your arms already full of clutter from the grocery store. Finally finding the right one, you opened the door and stumbled inside, nearly spilling the groceries across the floor.

The apartment was eerily quiet, the sound of the rain pouring outside being the only thing to fill the atmosphere. Sighing, you placed the bags down by the door before shutting it and turned on the tv. Your jacket was quickly discarded on the floor as the flickering screen came to life, news about the daily occurrences in Gotham flooding the screen.

As you unpacked the groceries, a breaking news headline caught your attention. "Jerome Valeska escaped Arkham Asylum tonight, he is considered unstable and highly dangerous, authorities urge the public to take caution and to not approach him if sighted, instead insisting anyone who does come in contact with him to call nine-one-one and do not engage him."

Looking at the screen, a mugshot of a young boy with spikey red hair and a crooked grin was being broadcast. Valeska...? A familiar face. He had a meltdown confessing to the murder of his own mother. That poor woman... You shuddered thinking what he'd done to her. What a menace to society. You prayed you didn't run into him.

The sudden blaring of the telephone snatched your attention away from the tv. "Hello?" you answered, holding it to your ear as you returned to putting groceries away. The gruff voice of your brother came through the speaker. "Y/n, you made it home safe?" He asked, worry seeping through his tone. "Yeah, just got back. I'm watching the news now." you replied, holding your phone between your ear and shoulder as you used both hands to shovel away the remaining groceries.

"I meant to tell you before but work got in the way, lock your doors and-" The line cut out before he could finish, your apartment going dark as the power shut off. Fuck. Looking outside, the rain flooded the streets below as the wind howled violently. Lightning danced between the clouds, lighting up the night sky a brilliant lilac blue.

Well shit. You thought, flicking the lightswitch to no avail. You'd have to wait it out. With the groceries packed away, you made your way to the bathroom, towel in hand ready to have a nice soak in the bath before bed. Sinking into the simmering depths of your tub, your aching joints relaxed as you leaned your head back and closed your eyes. The dim luminescent glow of candles surrounding the tub gave a calming atmosphere, putting you at ease.

Yet despite your blissful state, you were still paranoid. Creaking floorboards and hurried footsteps, you hoped it was just the paranoia and not some axe murderer lurking in the shadows. Dunking your head below the surface, you focused on the echoing of the storm outside instead of creeping yourself out.

---

You shuddered, pulling the blankets up as you rolled over. A harsh breeze blew in, pulling you out of bed to shut the window. As your fingers gripped the wooden frame, your tired eyes shot open, backing away as you looked around your room. I shut that before I went to bed...

Scrambling for the light switch only to remember the power was out, you backed yourself up against the door. Eyes darting around frantically, searching for an intruder. Yet to your surprise, you were alone. You grabbed the steel bat resting by the door, searching the rest of the apartment.

A raspy voice called out to you in the darkness, sending a chill up your spine. "Hi gorgeous." Swinging around, bat raised above your head ready to strike, your e/c eyes met with his striking green pair, that crooked grin plastered across his lips.

"You..." you trailed off, frozen in your spot. You wanted to run, to cry and scream but you couldn't. It was like you were under a spell as he took a step towards you. "Name's Jerome. But you already knew that, didn't ya princess?" he asked, that crazed grin never falling.

You couldn't speak, your throat dry with fear. "H-how..." You choked, knuckles turning white as you gripped the bat ever tighter, an invisible force willing you into submission, unable to defend yourself. "Shh, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Well, not yet anyway." A boyish giggle escaped between his lips, now a mere foot between the two of you. he towered over you, looking down at you with his emerald eyes. Those deep, sparkling eyes.

"My boyfriend will be back any minute, I-I'm not alone." you lied, sweat dripping down your brow, never once breaking eye contact with the intruder. He chuckled, a deep harrowing laugh that would haunt you for the rest of your waking days.

"Don't lie to me sweety, you're far too pretty for that." he sneered, pulling out a pocket knife and holding it to your throat, the tip just pressing into your skin. Your breathing hitched, finally snapping out of your trance long enough to bring the bat smashing down on his head before making a break for it.

He fell to the floor, hand gripping his head in pain as a harrowing laugh escaped his lips. You scrambled through the apartment, tripping over a chair as you snagged your foot on it and fell to the floor.

You stumbled back up, frantically searching for another way out as the front door was behind him. The fire escape! Hurrying to the loungeroom window, you fumbled with the lock, your fingers trembling uncontrollably in your state of panic.

Just as you managed to open it, you felt his hands snake around your waist and pull you back, kicking and crying as escape was brutally snatched from your grasp. "NO!" you screamed, desperately throwing yourself about as you tried to get away from him, only for his grip to tighten and another hoarse laugh erupted from his throat.

"Lights out princess." he whispered in your ear, holding a damp cloth against your mouth, knocking you out in seconds. Your body relaxed, slumping against him as he began dragging you towards the door. The last thing you remembered was the pattering of rain against the window as you were being dragged away against the floor.