Headspace // Joshler

ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ʀᴏᴏᴍ

When Josh cleans every bit of Tyler's house that he has access to, he falls back against the ragged couch. A sigh leaves his lips when the boy realizes he has no clue how long it will be until Tylers back. His mind wracks over the endless possibilities of what will happen when he comes back. The boy can't believe that his brain is slowly warming up to the fact that he'll probably spend the rest of his days here, in this house. Josh realizes that if he continues showing no signs of resistance, he'll be here with Tyler till he dies. The man didn't seem like the type of person to easily let go of what was theirs. And Josh was Tyler's. The most unfathomable thing is that Josh doesn't want to go back. Deep down, somewhere in his heart, the brunet boy hopes to stay here. He loves Tyler, despite his destructive, psychotic nature. And he hates it. Joshua hates and at the same time absolutely adores every moment of the experience.

The weather outside only worsens. Joshua shivers feeling a breeze brush past his ankles. He searches for an electric heater and luckily finds one behind the couch. He plugs the device in and a sigh of content leaves his chest as the small electric heater starts providing the warmth that he craved for desperately.

He sits back to rest a bit, conflicted by his mind that's contorting his point of view in life. It had changed so much, it's like Josh had shapeshifted into a totally different person in such a short span of time. Josh's eyes trace the marks on the ceiling where rainwater had created its damage. Light brown circles had scattered across the white ceiling over the time His head rested on the back of the couch. The boy had never really noticed how worn down the house was until he takes the time to deep clean it. Everything is slowly falling apart, he assumed the house was very old. The creaky floor reminds Josh of his own house, yet worse. The off-white wallpaper peeled in spots, showing the wooden pattern it had been applied to. It looks as if the wallpaper had been applied several times, in an attempt to hide the erosion. Unsuccessfully, though. This is nothing a good handyman couldn't fix, it wouldn't cost much, anyone could patch it up. Joshua is surprised as to why Tyler, who owns a repair service, hasn't done anything to eradicate the problem. The house is nearly falling apart and it appears that the man will not lift a finger unless told so.

The boy's eyebrows furrow in confusion when his vision lands upon a rectangle along the ceiling. The surface is smooth, minus the chipped white paint that aged off. A small, circular knob stuck out of the defined rectangle, giving off the hint that it was made to be opened.

"What..." Josh whispers to himself, confused how he'd never seen this aspect of the house before. He pushes off the seat of the sofa as he lifts himself up, avoiding putting too much pressure on his twisted ankle. Tyler treated his injury the best he could with at-home remedies but the boy is sure that he probably needs to see a doctor.

The confused boy ignores the loud creak of the floor as he passes the dark, eerie room that he had previously been locked in. Josh walks past the mysterious rectangle, going straight for the dining room so he could grab a spare chair. He knows he is short, and he knows he wouldn't be able to reach the ceiling without a stool. Yet, Joshua jumps a bit trying to reach the knob on the ceiling before coming to get a chair. Josh balances himself upon the shaky chair, its uneven legs not aiding him in his adventure. He wraps his fingers around the knob, yanking down with force when he hears a loud click.

Josh nearly loses his balance as the rectangle finally detaches, nearly hitting him in the head. A wooden ladder slides down from the ceiling, exposed from the lack of cover. Josh lowers himself and kicks the chair out of the way, not caring how it fell over and scratched the floor. A layer of dust and old paint rains down on him, collecting in his curly hair. Joshua sighs watching how the dust seeps into the freshly vacuumed carpet and the floor around it. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling in an uninviting way. The air coming down from the old attic is musty and heavy.