Partners In Crime (Ticciwork fanfic) [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 46: Your Fault

Toby came downstairs after a moment, jacket on, goggles strapped to his forehead. He stopped at the base of the stairs and glanced at the microwave with a tinge of longing, then pulled his goggles over his eyes and left through the front door. He didn't look at Clockwork once. Her heart sank, thinking he must be mad at her.

The living room clock ticked away two minutes as Clockwork picked at the tiny remnants of egg on her plate. Finally, Hoody broke the silence with an exhausted sigh.

"Come with me," He said, standing up off the wall. She looked up.

"Why...?"

"I want to put something on your jaw." He said. "It'll hurt less."

She reached up, tenderly felt the swollen flesh, and winced. "Fine..."

He slipped into the bathroom. Clockwork hobbled after him, her knee becoming stiffer and stiffer. She sat down on the closed toilet seat gratefully. Hoody was rummaging around in the medicine cabinet, keeping his left arm very still at his side. She got a closer look at the bruise on his face; it looked like his attacker had aimed for his eye, but missed just barely. She didn't like to think about what it would've looked like if they'd hit their target.

Hoody made a triumphant noise and produced a squat cylindrical container with a green lid. He knocked the cabinet closed, set the container on the counter, and squinted at it for a long moment.

"Can you open that?"

Clockwork leaned over and unscrewed the top. It was full of a cream that smelled faintly of some kind of herb she didn't recognize.

"Thanks." He sat on the edge of the tub and set the container next to him.

"Hoody," She said. He scooped up some cream with his fingers. "Did they really shatter your shoulder?"

The cream was cold when he applied it to her jaw. It hurt a little as he slowly rubbed it in, but the soothing coolness eventually overruled the pain. Clockwork's shoulders slackened.

"No," He said carefully. "They broke it into 3 pieces; I wouldn't call that shattering."

Clockwork had to try hard to resist a grimace. "That's still awful..."

He shrugged, going back for more cream. "I've seen worse." He said in the same tone as he'd told Toby earlier. She got the feeling he must've said that same phrase a lot of times; she wasn't about to ask what was worse.

"Toby won't tell me what happened." She said finally. "He told me to ask you."

"Stop moving your jaw so much." Hoody avoided the topic and continued massaging her jaw. He stood, closed the container, and washed his hands before he said anything else.

"I'd say ask Masky, but he's..." Hoody cut himself off. He kept his hand under the water for a long time.

"Can you just...tell me what you know?" Clockwork asked faintly. Hoody tilted his head in the mirror to study his bruise. There was another long, reluctant silence.

"I feel stupid," Clockwork's voice kept getting smaller. "Cause I never know anything."

He glanced at her briefly and narrowed his eyes at his reflection.

"They were torturing me to find the location of the house," He said finally, not looking away from his own gaze. "I managed to escape because they all went outside and got eaten by what I assume was one of the Wendigos." He looked away from the mirror for a moment. "I got lucky; it didn't realize I was in the room."

He stared into the sink for a long while, then cleared his throat and looked back up.

"Then I escaped and went looking for Masky..." He faltered. "G-gods Clockwork there was blood everywhere - everyone was dead -" He shoved his fingers into his hair and leaned on the counter with his elbows.