NEMOPHILIST || ej.

【 XII 】

Y/N lay awake, staring at the ceiling as fragments of the previous night’s events replayed in her mind.

She had tended to Jack’s wounds, and more shockingly, she had seen his face. That memory lingered, making her stomach churn with anxiety. Should she have put the mask back on his face? What if he was angry with her for intruding on his privacy? The thought gnawed at her, leaving her restless.

She tried to make sense of everything, but the more she thought about it, the more confused she became. What had attacked him? Why had he been out in the woods? And how could he move so deliberately, as if he could still see, despite the horrifying emptiness where his eyes should have been? It all swirled in her mind, a cloud of questions without answers.

Heaving a tired sigh, she pushed herself up, stretching her arms above her head. She needed a shower—badly. Her hair felt greasy, and the knots forming in it were impossible to ignore. She tucked a few loose strands behind her ears as she approached the door, hand hesitating on the knob when she heard familiar voices drifting from the living room. Natalie and Toby.

A mix of relief and confusion washed over her. What were they doing here so early? Opening the door slightly, she peeked down the hall, spotting the two of them looming over Jack, their voices tinged with a mix of concern and reprimand. Jack’s mask was back in place, his posture radiating annoyance. Y/N could tell he wasn’t thrilled with whatever they were saying.

Stepping out of her room, the floorboards creaked beneath her weight as she shuffled tiredly toward the living room. The trio turned their heads at the sound but quickly relaxed when they saw it was her. Y/N’s eyes flicked to Jack’s bandages—freshly replaced, probably by Natalie or Toby. Jack was still shirtless, the white gauze wrapped around his torso covering enough to maintain some modesty. Natalie gave her a wave.

“Hey, chick. We’ll be hanging out for a bit while Jack recovers, just to make sure you don’t get any ideas,” Natalie said with a playful wink—or was it a blink? It was hard to tell with one eye being a clock—but her words carried the weight of a warning.

Y/N felt a pang of sadness at the reminder of their roles in this twisted situation. She had grown to like Natalie and Toby, almost forgetting that they weren’t truly friends. But that pang of sadness quickly gave way to something more comforting as Natalie and Toby treated her with the same casual familiarity they always did.

She gave them a tight smile, nodding in acknowledgment. But as she sat down across from them, she couldn’t help but notice Jack’s stature flicker with unease. His discomfort was palpable like he wasn’t entirely okay with how easily she had started to feel around them. It was subtle, just a slight shift in his posture, but it made her stomach twist.

For now, though, she ignored it. This uneasy peace was better than the alternative. She leaned back onto the wall beside her, trying to let the warmth of the moment settle into her bones, even as Jack’s discomfort lingered in the back of her mind like a shadow she couldn’t shake.

Natalie pulled out a deck of cards and gave Y/N a smile. “You want to play something? Toby and I have been dying for a distraction, and it looks like Jack could use one too.”

Toby chuckled, his usual twitchiness replaced by an almost relaxed demeanor, as he sat down on the couch. “Yeah, come on, Y/N. What else are we gonna do? Sit around and mope?”