Chains: Eyeless Jack X Reader

Chapter 38

            "Jack, what happened to the window?" I asked, my voice reflecting my stun.

            "I broke it, remember? I can't exactly go into town and buy another one. I used the screen from my own bedroom, though, so no bugs will get in." His tone was casual, but I spun around to face him, my eyes flashing.

            "No bugs!? THAT'S supposed to make it better!?"

            "In my defense, the door was barricaded and you were screaming and I thought your appendix had ruptured or something. The window was kind of the most viable option." I guess he had a point there. I sighed, turning back to the window and shaking my head. Well, I wanted more fresh air. Looks like I got my wish. Just not in the way I wanted.

            "What if it storms," I groaned sullenly. "I'll be soaked..."

            "If you want, you can sleep in my room instead." I shot him a startled glance, my jaw dropping.

            "Wh-what!?" I yelped, and he shrugged.

            "Well, my window's intact, and my bed's more comfortable anyway. Better for your recovery." Again, totally casual and nonchalant. As if sleeping in his bed wasn't weird or special at all. My face tinted red as I stared at him, and he tilted his head. "Something wrong?"

            "You, uh... that's... nice... but... uh..." I stammered endlessly, while he just stared at me silently. Stupid mask. I wish I could see his face and figure out what he was thinking. Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and started over. "I'll just... sleep on the couch if it storms, or... something."

            "The couch is lumpy. I'll take it. Besides, I come and go at night all the time. I'd wake you up whenever I came home." This guy just didn't give up, did he? I sighed and shook my head, deciding it just wasn't worth arguing.

            "Fine. But only when it storms." He nodded, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement.

            "Anyways, moving on, you'll need to take it easy for a while. Recovery for appendectomies takes a couple weeks. Also, you need to drink more liquids. And also eat. You've only had two bowls of soup in the past three days."

            "That reminds me," I commented, sitting on the bed, "They didn't taste like barf. How did you do that?" He looked at me for a moment before adverting his gaze, sighing softly.

            "...I kinda called in a favor and had a pal taste test it," he muttered, making me look at him in surprise. As far as I knew, his "friends" were mostly killers and monsters, but from what little I'd heard they didn't exactly share Jack's tastes. As I reflected this he sheepishly added, "It... kinda took a few tries to get it right... He vomited a couple times..."

            "...That poor soul," I murmured, shaking my head.

            "We're... not on speaking terms at the moment," he admitted, though this time I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Though I think we're still on for a joint-hunt Tuesday. That idiot wouldn't miss a killing opportunity even if he vomited." As he chuckled, I'm pretty sure my face turned a little pale. Talking about killing so casually was still pretty uncomfortable to me. As such, I decided to let the subject drop.

            "Speaking of favors," I said, changing the subject, "Any chance you can call in another one and get me a new window?" He glanced away sheepishly, his shoulders slumping a bit.

            "...Not exactly sure I know anyone who could," he muttered, and then turned back to me. "But if you miss the window that much, we could have a funeral."

            "A funeral?" I repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow, and he nodded.

            "Yeah. We can get a bouquet your favorite flowers, bury the glass remains under a tree out in the forest. Make a cross and grave marker and everything. It'll have the view it always wanted." He chuckled at the awful joke while I just pressed a hand to my forehead and rolled my eyes, though I was smiling.

            "You're an idiot," I chuckled softly, and I could imagine him grinning under his mask, his gray lips parted to show his razor-sharp teeth. Almost a shame I couldn't actually see it.

            "Anyways, get some rest," he said, changing the subject. "You're still recovering. I'll make you some more soup." As he turned to leave a smirk crossed my face. Now that I knew for a fact he wouldn't ever try to kill me, I felt a bit more confident in dealing with him.

            "You know, most people get suckers after going to the doctor," I commented. "I could go for a [fav flavor] one. Or maybe even some [fav candy]." Honestly, any sugar would do, I had a major craving for it. Jack paused, slowly turning his head to face me once more.

            "Yeah, well, you're still on a liquid diet until tomorrow at the earliest." Glancing back at me, he added wryly, "But of course, I might make a little exception if you tell me the password..." My smirk vanished instantly, a chill running down my spine. Recovering from the shock, I slowly shook my head.

            "No, that's okay," I muttered, managing a feeble smile.

             "That's what I thought. Now lie down and get some rest, I'll be back in ten with soup." With that he turned and departed, leaving me to sit on the edge of the bed with a frown. With everything that had happened, I'd completely forgotten the starting point of this whole mess—Buddy's password. Chills ran down my back as I recalled the seemingly endless photos of Jack and the video of the torture. As I sat there, thinking it over, I made a decision:

            I would die before I would let Jack see what was on Buddy's account.