His Flower

Chapter 10

It never occurred to Rose that this would be happening to her again. She had thought that the only time she would be leaving the penthouse with all of the Maniax members, was when she went with them to announce their presence. She was completely wrong though. Rose should've known that something was wrong when her name was called and both Jerome and Greenwood were getting dressed in police uniforms. 

She looked from Jerome to her uncle to Tabitha before going back to her uncle. "You will be joining them for a little visit to the police station. No one would suspect police officers bringing in an innocent girl."

Rose wanted to argue against his logic. 'No one would suspect police officers in general' she thought to herself. Rose didn't want to leave the safety of the penthouse. It has been weeks since she last interacted with someone that didn't live in the apartment complex, and Rose surprisingly didn't mind that at all. She didn't mind leaving the penthouse for everyday things; shopping for herself, grocery shopping, the park or even getting herself something to eat. Rose drew the line, however, when it came to joining the Maniax members for one of their jobs.

Blood made Rose gag, she hated violence, and worst of all she didn't feel safe around any of the Maniax people anymore. She had at first thought she would be fine around Jerome but after last night's events, she had rethought that idea. There was no place in Gotham that was safe enough for Rose. 

Rose couldn't read the faces of her aunt and uncle. She mainly wondered about Tabitha thoughts. Did she approve of this idea? Sending their niece straight into a massacre? All so she could be part of a distraction? 

No protests could be made, however, because Rose was ushered into the elevator with Jerome, Greenwood, Aaron, and Barbra. She was trapped in a small box with a bunch of insane people. Never is Rose's life did she feel more terrified than that moment. She could hardly breathe as she watched the floor numbers go down. 

"Don't worry my little flower," Jerome smiled as he led Rose to the van that they would be taking. "I'll keep you safe. Nothing will harm my little flower." 

That should be assuring to Rose, but it wasn't. She felt this fear still. Being next to him made her stomach turn. She didn't want to be part of this any longer. How would she get out though? Rose already knew too much. 

In the car ride over, Rose was seated next to Jerome. He had his arm draped around her shoulder for the whole ride over. Constantly rubbed circles on her shoulder while watching the road ahead of them. This could be comforting for Rose, had she been in another scenario with a completely different guy. Her stomach was doing flips and her mind was running for miles. The idea of opening the door and jumping out of the car was tempting. But she didn't have the stomach to handle it. The idea of blood popped in Rose's head and she chickened out of it. 

Panic filled Rose when the car parked near the Gotham police station. She was roughly pulled out of the car and dragged towards the police station. She was tempted to try and talk Jerome out of attacking the police station. Flashback of what happened the night before popped into her head. Rose bit back all thoughts of protesting against Jerome. Selfishly, she valued her own life over the many in the station. 

The time between entering the station and the first gunshot seemed like seconds. One moment it was all calm, and the next, Rose was hiding behind a turned over desk. She had her ears covered and her eyes squeezed shut with her head bowed between her legs. 

It didn't seem to help though. She could still hear the gunshots going off and the screams of police officers. 

"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop." 

***

Rose was curled up on her bed staring blankly at her bedroom wall. Images of dead bodies haunted her vision. She feared to close her eyes. She feared the bodies that would be painted in her vision. Eyes staring at her, asking her why didn't she just try to stop Jerome? Why did she have to be so selfish? 

"Oh my flowers," Jerome sang out as he walked through her door and closed it behind him. "So, what did you think? Wasn't it just so much fun? I did a good job too if I say so myself." 

"Yeah," Rose managed to utter out while staring up at Jerome. "You did well." She started to hope and pray that Jerome would become bored and leave her room. 

He didn't though. Instead, he climbed on the bed and brought Rose down with him. 

Her breath started to quicken when Jerome climbed on top of her. 'Jerome, please just leave.' Rose thought to herself. She feared the words though. Feared what impact they would have on Jerome. What could happen to her if she said those words aloud. The fear controlled her. Allowed her to lay still through the night.