jerome x reader || hi gorgeous, I'm jerome (COMPLETED)

chapter 3

"Shit" Jerome shot his head round to the door putting a finger to his lips, shushing you. "What's going on?" Your voice hushed so only Jerome could hear you. "It doesn't matter. I'll deal with it" You was taken a back at how harsh and different his voice sounded, it was almost as if he knew why they were there but he didn't want them to be.

"Stay here" Jerome ordered you and within seconds stood up and began wrapping a long brown coat around himself while opening the trailer door and walking down the step. Your mind started thinking of all the possibilities that could conclude why on earth the GCPD was outside. The first thought was Alice, she worked at the GCPD as an officer but that idea washed away the minute you heard a familiar voice.

You hovered over to the window and peeked out ever so slightly. You gasped the minute you saw who the voice belonged to. Jim Gordon. Alice's cousin. You had met him once or twice when Alice would invite you to family meals, that's how she managed to get into the GCPD.

You turned your head to watch Jerome talk to Jim. You couldn't make out a single thing they were saying but the way Jerome was acting was completely different to how he was with you minutes ago. Something was off, you could feel it. Beside Jim stood a pretty woman decked out in full black and another man in clown make-up, presumably part of the circus crew.

The more they talked the more Jerome seemed to get agitated and on edge, honestly it was hard to watch. You hadn't a clue what was happening but you continued to watch none the less. After a few minutes Jerome reached over to a snake cage that sat outside. What the hell? You never noticed that before you wondered but you shook your head and concentrated on the group.

'Let her out' you could just lip read those three words from Jim before Jerome reluctantly unlocked the cage. Fixated, your eyes followed the snake as it slithered from its home and through the grass followed by the group, each with a different expression. You jumped from the sofa and hurried towards the end window as the snake stopped under a heavy sheet that blanketed some sort of truck.

The next thing you knew, Jim had walked up to the sheet and ripped it back to reveal the bloody corpse of an older woman. You gagged at the sight of it all, blood covered the sheet and truck while flies had began eating away at her body. Who was she you wondered but the answer became more apparent when you saw Jerome dramatically collapse to the ground with his hands in a pleading stance. His face had contorted into the most agonizing, painful expression ever. Even though you barely knew him it was hard to watch, you just wanted to run out and hug him.

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The next half an hour consisted of calming the frantic Jerome and trying to get him to listen. Jim and the two people had finally left as you heard Jerome come walking back to the trailer.

"Wow. That was exhaustingly annoying" Jerome's voice and expression had turned normal if not more frustrated again as he kicked the door shut and removed his coat, slumping into the sofa and taking a swig of his drink.

"Excuse me?!" Your eyes glared at him in suspicion and confusion, did he seriously just fake all that, why?
"Oh I forgot you were here" Jerome turned to look at me in the most unfazed way possible "family problems" He scoffed before standing up. "No wait!" You were still confused as hell and genuinely mad, this was a whole new side to him you were meeting.

"What the hell was all that and why are you suddenly acting like a dick towards me?" Jerome stopped and turned to you, staring you dead in the eye. "None of this concerns you ok, the door is there for you to see yourself out" And with that he turned on the ball of his foot and walked down the trailer before disappearing behind a door.

Your mouth gaped open after him in astonishment, what the fuck just happened? You didn't bother going after him, instead you gathered your things and text Alice to come pick you up, leaving the trailer slamming the door behind you.

The air was crisp and chilled filled with the lingering smell of food that once prevailed the crowd of people. You waited in the car park for Alice to show up not looking back once to catch a glimpse of anyone. The car journey was painfully long and silent, you had disregarded any questions she threw at you until she gave up.

"Here we are.. You gonna say goodbye or are you still ignoring me?" Alice had stopped the car outside your house and stared at you until you spoke. "Thank you for the ride" You bluntly spoke and got out of the car swinging your bag over your shoulder. "You going to the circus tomorrow night?" Alice called after you to which you yelled 'no' at her and whipped your head away.

"Where the fuck have you been!?" Shit you forgot you snuck out and had to be quiet getting in. Your mother had swung the door open and stood in the doorway, arms folded with a scowl crossing her face.

"Where do you think" Your eyes didn't connect with her once, instead you pushed past her and stormed up the stairs that creaked with every step. You could hear her running after you screaming the house down.
"Open up before I break the fucking door down!!" The screaming and banging went on and on as you shoved your pillow over your head drowning everything out. You felt a hot tear stream down your pale face as you wiped it off, this was the reason you hated people.

After a while the screaming stopped and the banging faded away until everything was silent once more. You layed on your bed staring up at the ceiling thinking over everything that had happened between running away and everything that happened with Jerome.

*next day*

The day had gone by without interacting with either your mum or your baby brother. You had to get your own food and sort yourself out as your mum wanted nothing to do with you like usual.

It was getting late now, the circus had now opened and no doubt was filled with excited people waiting eagerly for the show, if only they knew what kind of person the ringleader was. You scoffed, sitting down on your bed, you began thinking of Alice and instantly regretted how you treated her the night before. You just felt like absolute shit from the way Jerome had treated you and you just didn't want to talk about any of it.

You decided you owed Alice an apology and reached into your bag to retrieve your phone so you could call her. As you reached in you felt a soft material greet your hand instead of a phone, you pulled it out and sighed. You had completely forgot about the snake Jerome had won for you, it had been lying in your bag since he gave it to you. You stared down at it with a lump in your throat holding back any tears that were about to form.

All of a sudden an idea popped into your head and before you knew it you had thrown the snake on the bed and grabbed your phone. You weren't going to let him get away with this, you needed answers.
You pressed on Alice's contact and sent a text.

" Hey Alice, I'm so sorry for last night something happened that angered me but are you still up for going to the circus tonight? Pick me up in 5 minutes, I'll explain everything. Hurry the shows about to begin"