Rose Petals - Eyeless Jack x Reader

Chapter 9

[09— Faceless]

You leaned down to the passenger window, giving it a couple knocks. The same knock came from the other side of the window. A smile involuntarily lifted on your face at it and you have to force it down. Somehow, despite everything, his quirks still managed to get to you.

Check the car. Done.

Hurrying back into your house, you then made your way upstairs and to Liam's room. Gently, you opened the door, calling out his name as to not frighten him anymore than he would have been. Peering inside, the dread inside you multiplied.

You whirled around, screaming out Liam's name. No response came. The house was lifeless. Not again. Not again. Not again. This just happened!

You almost tripped on your way down the stairs, fumbling for your car keys. Ripping the car door open, you jumped into your seat and jammed the keys into the ignition. As you took off down the road, he pulled out his notepad and pen.

"Liam's run off again," you said before he could begin to write, aware of what he was going to ask.

"The forest?"

"I don't know. Maybe." It was good a place as any to check at that point. "I guess we'll go there first."

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat in the corner of your eye.

"What? What is it with you and that forest?"

He did not respond.

You clenched your teeth to hold your words back, but your anger was stronger than you were. "Just tell me!" you snapped. "Tell me what the fucking problem is, damnit! As if you haven't been keeping enough shit from me as is! I don't have time to play these games!"

Jack said nothing.

Realising what you had done, you took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just... this is stressful. I'm just stressed. A lot. I just want my brother back, and I just want to know what the hell that thing was that attacked me. And what you were doing there, and... and..." You were unable to finish. How many more times would you apologise to this man?

Scribbling. You focused on the road until he was done. "We'll focus on one thing at a time. I'll tell you what happened when you get your brother back."

You nodded. "Yeah. Okay. One thing at a time."

The forest was blackened, the darkness of the night swallowing anything beyond the edge. It loomed over you and Jack as you approached it, and this time you were the only one with a flashlight. Jack remained close to you, guided by your hand in his. You knew you were likely to get lost in the dark labyrinth of the forest, but you trusted that if Jack got you out the first time, he could do it again. As you trudged through the dense undergrowth, you repeatedly called out Liam's name.

"Are you okay?" you suddenly asked Jack, shining your flashlight over your shoulder directly into his mask to see him, knowing the light would not affect him. You had sensed him becoming increasingly unnerved the further the two of you trekked into the forest.

He nodded. You turned and shined the light back in front of you, continuing onward. Despite his answer, you offered him a reassuring squeeze of the hand as you walked. He eased a little in your hold. Whatever it was that had him so afraid of the forest, you wished he would say.

Your brows furrowed. There was no telling what that noise was that you were hearing. It was like a gentle, quite rain. Or, rather, some sort of faint crackling in your ears. A soft static.