𝓐𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲 | Eyeless Jack X reader

Chapter XIII

I wake up on the couch of the living room. My vision is a little blurry, my eyes are watery and my head feels heavy on my shoulders. I get up, only raising my upper body to have a good look at my surroundings. It's dark out now and the entire house is cold. The elf is nowhere to be found. I suspect that he ratted me out, I assume that my hours were numbered.

There was nothing I could do to save myself. I could get down on my knees and beg for mercy, but I don't want to give him a feeling of superiority, a feeling of dominance and control over me. If I'm going to die I might as well go out with dignity.

Faced with the feeling of impending doom, I find myself calm. I feel very disconnected from reality, from what my daily life turned into. I stoped caring about my studies or my family and friends back home. Jack and his visits became my world, he gave my day to day life meaning. He became my friend in a way. He saved my life twice, he stayed with me for hours, keeping me company, distracting me as best as he could.
It all feels like a dream, a dream that had a dramatic twist. A part of me truly doesn't feel real anymore, so perhaps it'll all feel like the end of a nightmare. And perhaps, hopefully I'll wake up in the end, In my old bed back in Louisiana. I'll rush downstairs for breakfast, because I'm running late for the school bus. Mom will complain about something while I eat in a hurry. Then I'll go to school and pretend to listen in class, when in reality I'll be talking to my friends or daydreaming. Then after schonol we'll go down to the local park and play. I'll get annoyed that all of the swings are taken, so I'll go play on the slide. I'll make so many friendships, I'll explore imaginary lands and fight heroic battles with my trusty stick and my bucket. Everything will be an adventure, everything will be a story. And at the end of the day I'll be tucked in bed by mom. She'll leave the light on in the hallway, because my nightlight ran out of batteries and no one thought to get me new ones. I'll fall asleep and feel safe and secure, like nothing in this world could harm me. In my world there's no such thing as pain or suffering, sadness or malice. The worst pain is when I fall down and scratch my knees. Then mom comes running to the rescue with a plaster and kisses. But mom can't save me now. No, not this time. What would she think? What story would they tell her? I can't even imagine how heartbroken she'll be. Her baby, taken away so soon without an explanation or a story or a goodbye. No parent should outlive their child, but I find peace in knowing that she'll never know what truly happened to me. She'll be spared whatever horror happens upon me.

The front door opens, but I don't dare to look. I know who it is. And I know what'll happen next. He knows that I know about him. He knows that I tried to escape.
I hear footsteps approaching. They stop right next to the couch. I feel a weight on one of the cushions behind me.

For a long while nobody dares to speak. But i decide that I want answers, so i turn my head to face him.

"Why? Why did you go through so much trouble if you were just going to kill me?"
I ask in a low voice. I can't speak louder. The silence is deafening, it's as if I've lost my sense of hearing and measuring decibels.

"If I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have done so by now?"
He says, matching my voice. He speaks with emotion this time, he's gentle.

"I don't know that."
I say in response.

He doesn't respond immediately. He takes time to form his thoughts or maybe gather the courage to speak.

"There's a lot that you deserve to know."
He finally says.

"Then tell me! I don't understand what's going on, I don't understand what's happening around me. I'm scared."
My voice trembles. It's weak and powerless. A sudden and huge wave of sadness, fear and dread fills me.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to go about explaining everything. I don't know how to describe to you what I am... because I don't know."
He grunts in annoyance.
"I'm sorry, that sounded stupid. I mean to say... I don't understand what I am. I never wanted this to begin with. It was thrust upon me by someone I trusted. My entire life changed in a matter of minutes. It's been years though and I've accepted it. But that doesn't mean I enjoy it."
Jack sighs.
"This is all so stupid. But. It all began with me being mad at Jeff over something small. I really wanted to get back at him, to royally piss him off. And when you came running, I immediately knew who you were and why you were running, Jeff has this nasty habit and he goes into details about his upcoming murders, So I recognised you immediately. I'll admit, had you been unassociated with him, I would have killed you right then and there. It wouldn't have crossed my mind not to, because that's who I am. I kill people and I eat their kidneys and I like it. But in the moment getting back at Jeff was more important, so I took you back home. Then I immediately noticed something about you. You seemed so... good. I thought it was a shame that you were going to die so soon and at the hands of someone so brutal and merciless. Jeff wasn't going to stop until you were left a mangled, unrecognisable mess of tissue and bone. But just by the way you talked and acted I was able to really form a good perspective of who you are as a person. I've always been good with reading people, it's a skill that I hold in high regard. But at first I thought you were very naive and dull, maybe even a little stupid. But after I accidentally saw your quick thinking with Toby by the road... that's when it clicked for me that I had been mistaken. And I couldn't just let you die like that, it wasn't going to be a fair fight.
He stops and sighs again.
"I'm not good with words. I never was, I never will be. I hope that was enough of an explanation."

"Im sorry."
I say.
"I'm sorry that something so horrible happened to you."

He doesn't respond at all this time. He puts his hand and holds his mask. His hand lingers there, perhaps unsure of to remove it or not. But in the end he does.

He really is eyeless. His sockets are empty two lonely, bottomless pits. His skin is gray, but apart from that he looks normal. Not what I expected.
"I want you to trust me. Think you can do that?"