Until It Hurts | Part 4 x reader

2

"tonio~! im back with breakfast!"

their eerily cheery voice echoed through the empty cabin, bouncing off shredded walls and reaching the ears of each little critter that took refuge there.

chains rattled from the far back in response, each clink causing (y/n) to smile wider as they approached their dining table to unpack. "tonio, guess what! i saw birds today! they were really pretty, and i stared at them for so long i accidently tripped over tina! dont worry, im not hurt, and neither is she.."

only silence replied. "oh, you must be hungry.." they mumbled, cracking open a can of not-so-fresh meat and dumping it onto a chipped glass plate.

grossly enough, the meat didn't collapse and fill the plate with its contents, standing straight up in a jiggly cylinder mass and swaying side to side when they shook the plate. "gross, i wish i could find you better food, but i cant go anywhere else right now. so, tonio, this'll have to do."

with the plate balanced on one hand, (y/n) skipped over to the closet door and pulled it open, a slight gust of dust and the smell of grime wafting into their nose. pushed against the corner in the moist, dark room that reeked of rotting corpse was a cheap bed you'd think you'd find in a prison.

the mattress was thin and stained with random yellow and red splotches, and the bedframe was nothing but rusting metal bound to fall in on itself any year now. rubbing against the brown rust were thick chains found in the cellar, wrapped around the decaying grey wrist of a blonde man that was once known as tonio.

his lips were chapped and rotting, eyes a fair white and keeping him from seeing anything around him in a clear manner. his once clean shirt was torn and dusted with dirt, and the pants that went with them had holes scattered in random places, most likely eaten away by moths or caused by the struggle against what turned him into this. strange, dying groans whispered out of his dead lungs, his breathing so minimal that one would be sure he wasnt breathing at all.

(y/n) didnt seem to notice any of this, smiling as their eyes locked onto the grey face of tonio. "hey there, you doing alright? i brought food!"

tonio didnt reply, once again beginning to wrestle his restraints as he ignored them. (y/n) sighed. "its been a while since youve spoken to me, y'know. can i hear your voice, please? just one more time?"

the corpse moaned in an irritated manner, seemingly growing impatient with something. "yes, im sorry. take all the time you need. i would never rush you. now, you ready to eat?"

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nightfall soon came and tore through the day, sleep pulling at (y/n)s eyes like 100-pound weights. their walking turned to shuffling as they trudged to the stairs, making sure to say goodnight to tonio before dragging themselves up to the second floor.

the room that they used as a bedroom was filthy, yet somehow the cleanest place in the broken house. the bed had a somewhat bigger mattress than the one tonio slept on, the thick blanket on top harboring dried blood that scratched (y/n) uncomfortably in their sleep. the mirror on the vanity was clouded with dust and dirt that they were too lazy to wipe off, and the closet that only held two jackets, a pair of jeans, and two spare shirts was in shambles, the wood breaking into splinters every time (y/n) even touched the door.

the floorboards bent into the first floor's ceiling, making the poor survivor anxious every time one leaned downward. after all, its not unlikely that they may fall through the floor with the state that the cabin was in. 

thankfully, there were no leaks in the roof that covered their head, and the windows were sealed shut with wood as the glass proved too weak a while back.

not bothering to change into nightwear as it wasnt really necessary, (y/n) pulled themselves into their bed, preparing to drift into sleep before there was a loud, desperate cry from none other than tonio.

normally, he was quiet at night, only making a few sounds or noises since his ability to sleep had long deteriorated. however, (y/n) knew exactly what that sound meant, leaping up from their bed and grabbing the bat tucked away in the corner of the room before dashing downstairs. 

"tonio, what do you hear? i know you have much better hearing than me, so you gotta be the one to tell me where you hear whatever is bothering you!"

most of the time, he would cry like this when he heard a squirrel crash against the window outside, or when the house settled and made some random noise that didnt sound like (y/n), but this time proved to be different.

(y/n), upon not getting any answer from their precious tonio, began to look around cautiously, eyeing each window and the two locked doors for any activity, almost beginning to think that tonio was paranoid until they saw something staring at them through the window.