The Man Of Little Words (Thomas Hewitt x Reader)

Chapter 1

      The road seemed endless as I drove, the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair, my thoughts were torn between the music on the radio and focusing on the asphalt. My fingers tapped the steering wheel along to familiar songs. I had been driving for hours and was determined to find at least one rest stop so I could relieve myself and get gas, I was running dangerously low. After about another hour of driving, I noticed a small building on the side of the road, "Alright, here we go." I mumbled to myself as I carefully pulled into a parking spot. I grabbed a small, folded picture from my glove box and stuffed it into my pocket before getting out of the car. The picture was probably the only physical evidence I had of the building I was wanting to explore; it was a dilapidated butcher plant. I had heard stories of a woman that had given birth to a monster and died in the building, me being me; I wanted to see if they left any files on her and I was wanting to pay my respects to her spirit. As I made my way into the building, I caught some very judgmental eyes from a few bikers, which made my eyes roll. Not much scared me anymore and I be damned if I'm getting scared of bikers. I walked up to the counter to see an older woman with her hair pulled back into a bun with loose wild hairs poking out in a few spots, "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm just curious if y'all have a bathroom here? I was wanting to get back on the road as fast as possible." I explained to her and gave her a small smile. Her gaze shifted up from the newspaper she was reading and nodded slightly then pointed to the back of the store. "Thank you so much." I responded then quickly went to the back. Once I was finished with my business, I came back out then snapped my fingers in remembrance as I sucked my lips in. I pulled the picture out of my pocket and made my way back to the woman. "Excuse me again. I was curious if you know where this place is." I said and slid the unfolded picture to her. It seemed as if the color had drained from her face as she looked at the photo, her eyes traced over every detail and she looked as if she was pondering whether to lie or not but instead the words that escaped her lips were, "Who are you?" she asked and looked up to me with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. My heart seemed to pick up the pace, "My name is (Y/N). I'm just trying to escape reality, I run around the country finding potentially haunted buildings or attractions with dark pasts." I explained doing my best to not fumble over my words. She gave me a small nod, the air had so much tension it was thick enough to cut, then she spoke again after rubbing her face, "I do know where it is..." she answered while sliding the picture back to me. My hand shakily grabbed the picture and returned it to my pocket as I looked at her waiting for her to give me directions. "Keep going down the road about... thirty minutes or so. It's off to the right, you can't miss it." She said while motioning where to go with her frail, wrinkled hands. I gave her a genuine smile and nodded, "Thank you again. It was a pleasure to meet you by the way miss..." I paused and held my hand out for her to shake. She gently and loosely shook my hand then spoke "Luda. Luda Mae." she said and smiled. "I hope to see you soon, I'll definitely be stopping by here again before leaving the state." I told her while letting out a low chuckle as to which she responded with a low laugh of her own. As I turned to leave, my hearing caught the sound of a phone being picked up off of a hard plastic base; shifting my focus and continuing on my way I did my best to mind my own business.

        Back on the road, going much faster than 55 mph. I was back in my own little world, engulfed by music and focus. I glanced down at the gas gauge seeing it was below its last tick, "Son of a bitch, not again." I groaned irritated as I then looked up to see the butcher plant. I pulled into the parking lot, it was overgrown with weeds and grass coming up through the concrete and asphalt. The building seemed to be falling in but not by much, I took my camera out and began taking pictures of the property, including a selfie of course. Wildflowers were littering the badly overgrown sections of the property there was a large variety of colors, from white to deep purple. I wandered into the weeds and began picking the healthiest flowers, once I had a decent sized bouquet, a smile crept onto my lips as I examined the flowers. I looked back at the building, a feeling of overwhelming guilt and anxiety forced its way into my thoughts. My feet seemed to move on their own towards the crumbling building. I crawled under a boarded door and looked around, the smell of rust and iron filling my nostrils. I visibly cringed at the smell as I continued my walk around the building, I explored the worker's tables closely and looked at different handprints that were left behind but one in particular caught my attention, the print was much bigger than mine, my lips parted with curiosity as I placed my hand next to the print to see exactly how big this person was, "I wonder if this was him..." i muttered to myself as I began to think of the stories I heard from past residents and workers. The "monster" worked here when he was old enough to according to the past workers, they talked about how terrible he looked and how he was mentally slower than everyone else, but he was a huge man, which gave him an intimidation advantage against his provokers. I placed a daisy next to his print then made my way into the overseer's office to find worker files I noticed a huge mess, a broken desk, chair, scattered papers, and... dried blood. The overseer's office was supposed to be one of the few places in the building that had to stay blood free, so why was there blood in here? I got an uneasy feeling as I stared at the position of the broken desk and where the blood had stained, I shook my head dismissively then began rummaging through the filing cabinets when I noticed a file that had been damaged, my brows furrowed as I carefully pulled it out and read the name Sloane, the photo and most of the information either seemed to be almost burned or scratched out with pen I frowned to see the state of her file yet everyone else's was in perfect condition besides another I found sitting on top of the cabinet. I pulled it down and looked at it, "Thomas?" I asked myself lowly as I looked at it, the photo was completely scratch out and 70% of the file was damaged beyond repair. I sighed and placed the two files under my arm.

         I made my way back out of the building after taking plenty of pictures, I looked at the surrounding land again before setting the files against the building side by side and leaned the flowers against them. I smiled slightly and stood straight before stretching back. I began walking back to my car when a cop car quickly pulled into the parking lot. My heart started to thump loudly in my chest. I stood still; my eyes glued on the vehicle. An older man got out, lip full of dip and a dirty sheriff's uniform on, "Whatcha doin' here? You know you're trespassing right?" he asked and placed a hand on the hood of his car, putting most of his weight and balance on it. "I apologize, sir. I didn't mean any harm; I was just trying to pay my respects to a couple people." I responded shakily but truthfully. He let out a menacing chuckle then pointed to his car, "I think you better come with me, little lady." he said sternly. I sighed and nodded, "Alright, but I promise I didn't break anything." I said as he opened the door and let me get inside. He looked at me with a questioning look before closing the door then walking back to the front of the building where I had been standing, I watched him through the glass and shifted uncomfortably in the seat. After what felt like forever he finally got into the driver's seat and began driving. The first three minutes of the ride was silent until he spoke up while looking in the rearview mirror at me, "What do you know about him?" he asked coldly causing me to slightly jump and look up at the mirror, I stared like a deer in headlights...