The Static In Your Eyes - Tim Wright x Reader

Chapter Six - His Turn

           It must've been weeks that passed, the sun rising and setting into the horizon on repeat, my days filled with the singing bell at work and my nights becoming less and less full of dread since mine and Jay's lack of communication. Work became normal again, and I found my head feeling less and less like lead against the countertop. I found myself waiting for Tim's arrival after the sun settled into darkness every night and often was disappointed when I didn't get to see him. Despite my previous dismissal of ride offers due to the time difference between our shifts, he would often drive me safely home, that was when he actually came into the store. During one of our rides, just shy of a week after the last time we spoke about Jay, he brought up the same subject. He told me how he delivered the tapes to Jay that day during his break at work and how Jay continued to claim interest in finishing the movie Marble Hornets. He showed skepticism towards Jay, mostly because of my previous comments that it didn't even seem like it was being worked on. It was at that point where I decided I had to put away my desire to stay out of the situation and tell Tim a few things that happened between me and the camera wielding man. I didn't go into great detail about anything, and I avoided the topic of the incident in the woods, partially due to the fact that it seemed to be erasing itself from my mind to the point where it seemed like it didn't even happen at all. I told him about Jay coming over a week prior and admitting to me that he didn't really have any intentions of continuing Marble Hornets for Alex, and I also went on to explain how Jay wasn't open to me about his intentions, how he told me I would be told things eventually. Tim got a bit quiet after that and dropped me off at my apartment where I went in to ponder if I had been too open about any of the subjects spoken about between us in the car.

        The rides became more frequent as the month of April passed, and we had eventually stopped talking about Jay, which flipped to us talking more about ourselves. I learned that Tim was living in his own house, something that I envied, but I was happy that we were becoming closer. He even came into my apartment a few times, just to visit a bit after work. I didn't know if Tim ever told Jay about knowing me, and I assumed at some point that Jay had gotten bored of whatever he was up to, and I never bothered to reach back out to him. Right now, I was sitting across from Tim, in the same position Jay and I were in at my dining table the last time he came to visit. I hummed as I held a ukelele in my hands, my  ring finger absentmindedly playing with a single string as Tim spoke about stuff, letting the chord ring out rather softly. Tim had brought the instrument from his car, and he played my a few choppy songs I requested. "And I met up with Jay today, and he was asking me to see a few possible movie sets around Rosswood Park. Some of the abandoned buildings around the area." The sound of the chord went silent as my body felt some sort of sudden shock, something similar but not quite icy shot up my abdomen as I heard Tim speak. At this point in time, I couldn't recall everything that happened the day the incident occurred, but I remember how I felt out there in the woods with Jay. The dread and the fear rang the deja vu in my brain like some sort death whistle. "I dunno, Tim... Jay is pretty weird." I blurted out, wanting the man to rethink the situation. Tim shrugged and leaned back against his chair, "I don't wanna just assume the guy is a weirdo, even if he isn't working on the movie, maybe he's just making up excuses to make friends." I looked away, almost ashamed for generalizing Jay, but I shook my head. "No, I went out with Jay... Like months and months back, when we first met... I mean, like, we went out into the woods, to this- hayloft-ish place? I don't remember having fun at all." Tim let out a low hum and closed his eyes, "we already made plans for Friday. Why don't you just tag along? I'll be there so maybe you will have fun this time." I couldn't even force myself to say yes, the thought of being in the woods made my gut have a panic attack of its own, like it remembered so much more than I did. I just shook my head, and leaned forward as Tim opened his brown eyes to once again look at me. "I really don't want to, and I don't think you should either."

"Hey, don't worry about me I will be fine." 

With that Tim wished me goodnight and told me his work schedule, gathered his ukelele and left through the front door, making me sigh. I didn't want Tim to go out there with Jay. Just the thought of it left a bad taste in my mouth, but I couldn't do much to stop him. I did whatever nightly routine I had thrown together since I began to feel better and went to bed at a decent time.

      The next few days passed, pretty boring in comparison to the previous because Tim hadn't stopped by the store, and when Friday arrived, I knew it was his day off and he would be in the woods with Jay, something I worried about. He didn't even stop in on Friday. It was Monday when I finally witnessed him enter the store, the bell making my head perk up. I had left him an unanswered text on Saturday asking about his little trip into the woods with Jay and assumed he would eventually text me back. He hadn't. He wandered in, really late today. It was already almost one, which made me think it was because he knew my shift ended soon.  He waved as he sauntered towards the back of the store. His walking was a bit slinkier today, like something was dragging him down. Something seemed off with the way his presence felt, it was less friendly than normal, and it made unease nest a home in my gut and up my ribcage. My nerves only sharpened and started to buzz under my skin when I heard it. The throaty, chest-deep coughing that Tim began to experience episodes of during one of his visit in the gas station. He must've saw my expression because when he eventually came up to the counter with a bottle of water, he questioned me as I turned to get his pack of cigarettes from the shelf behind me. "You alright?" I turned to face him, placing the carton of already paid for smokes into the palm of his hand. "I-" I paused, looking into his dark eyes, the bags under them seemed more distinct and it made my stomach churn for no reason at all. "I was just worried about you, the coughing. That's all." He offered a course chuckle, "must've gotten it from you, you're not coughing anymore." I lifted my arm to rub my opposing shoulder in a sheepish manner, a spark of embarrassment lighting up in my chest, almost replacing the unease. Maybe I did just get him sick, and I was being paranoid, but it didn't really make sense because I had stopped coughing weeks ago. "Yeah, you're probably right, I'm sorry about that." He waved a hand dismissively at me, stuffing any loose change and his carton into the pocket imbedded into his jeans. "Did you want a ride tonight?" I couldn't help the bob in my head, accepting the offer that he dropped into my lap. "That would be really nice, actually." He agreed and disappeared to let me close up the store so I could follow him out there within the next few minutes. I joined him in the car, reaching over my shoulder to glide the seat belt over my chest and into place. "Thank you for the ride, Tim.." The ride was mostly quiet, save for a few gruff Tim coughs and a salutations during our departure. I heard his car roll away before I even made it to my apartment door, and that was it.