**This particular one isn't a reader insert, there is no extra character. It's more of a short one shot than anything.**

Jerome Valeska paced back and forth outside the door of his home. It was barely a home, more like a trailer in a crappy circus. A jacket clung to his small but muscular frame, the chilly air nipping at his nose and ears.

"Do the dishes Jerome. Clean the room Jerome. Do this Jerome. Do that Jerome." He muttered in disgust, anger swelling through his body. Jerome was only a ten year old ginger haired freckled faced kid, nothing he said mattered. "Who the hell names their kid Jerome anyway?"

Nothing he said really mattered anyway. His life was cooking, cleaning, and taking care of his mom's sleeping partners hangovers in the morning. Jerome sat down on the frozen ground, taking a stick to poke at the dirt. His only toy and activity as a kid was wood carving, Jerome was quite handy with a knife.

<-------------->

The year earlier, something far worse had happened to Jerome. His mother had brought home a booze soaked man, only interested in one thing. And that one thing was getting it on with is mother. It was Jerome's birthday, his mother forgot like usual. She always forgot.

When the man and Lila finished their activity, the emerged from the small bedroom. Lila took her snake, letting his slither and crawl over her body as she laughed. The man took a few steps to Jerome, snatching a new pencil from his hands and snapping it.

Jerome looked up, his curly red hair skewing his vision. The man chuckled, taking Jerome's drawing and tearing to pieces. He knew better than to protest against the intoxicated man, that never ended well.

He beat him. Jerome was battered and bloody, bruises littering his entire body. The man wouldn't stop, Lila wouldn't stop him. She cheered him on, drunkingly laughing as her son was beaten to a pulp.

Jerome ran, sitting out on the oh so familiar trailer steps of the park trailer. Salty tears stung the newly formed cuts on his face, causing him to cry more. A man approached him, slowly and carefully as if he may regret even seeing the young Valeska.

"You know kid, when thing like that happen," He started before pausing, looking around the park. "The world has given up on caring for you."

The man strode away, leaving Jerome to think over what he had just heard. The world didn't care for him and probably never would.

<-------------->

When Jerome was fourteen, he almost snapped on his mom. She slept with one of the clowns, who ended up being a thief. He stole all their money and anything that was worth of value and fled. The snake his mother liked to work with for her snake charming restlessly sat in her cage, coiling and uncoiling her long body.

"We need to get our money back! Are you even listening?? Do you even care??" Jerome yelled, throwing a crappy chair into the plastic dinner table. Lila Valeska rolled her eyes, tracing her fingers along the snake cage.

"Relax Jerome, I can make more money." She smirked, giving a slightly seductive look to drop the hint to her son. Jerome rolled his eyes, Sheba continued to coil and uncoil her body. Snakes could sense the distress in other people, it was a trait in them.

"No Lila I won't relax!" Jerome yelled, anger swelling in him. Lila slammed her fists on the table, Sheba hissed violently in her cage.

"I am your mother and you will address me as so!" She growled, clenching her fists in and out. Jerome rolled his eyes, scoffing at his deranged mother.

"You lost that title on my ninth birthday when you were a drunken whore and let a drunken man whore beat me up!" Jerome yelled, slamming the table with his fist so hard his broke into two. He stood up, shook his hand and walked out.

<------------>

Today was the day, old Lila Valeksa was dead. Jerome slashed her up, enjoying every last second of it. Nothing would make him miss her, no matter what someone told him. Killing his mother was the best thing he had ever done and he would do it again given the chance. She was dead, Lila Valeksa was dead. And Jerome couldn't be happier.