#bound chapter I | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

honey-beann · 1 year ago

Text

Bound

Ghost!Sixty x Reader

Chapter I - The Apartment

Note: Here it is, the long awaited "Halloween" celebration fic that everyone voted on earlier this month! Originally, this was just going to be a oneshot, but I decided to split things up a bit after noticing the word count was getting pretty high, so I hope everyone is alright with a spooky series as we get deeper into autumn!

Series Synopsis: Reader moves into a new apartment for some much needed change after several months of living with her ex post breakup out of necessity. This negative experience has made her all too eager to be on her own again, except the only place in her budget that doesn't require a roommate was the scene of a murder less than a year prior...

What could go wrong?

AKA - Reader makes an iffy compromise so she doesn't have to live with another person, and ends up living with something else entirely, and he's a lot less capable of moving out than she is.

Warnings: This series will eventually contain smut in future chapters and there are many mentions of death, gun violence, and blood all throughout.

Word Count: 7,865

"This the place?"

You looked up from your phone, which contained the GPS directions to your new apartment, and nodded, unbuckling your seat belt as you turned to face your friend.

"Yup, this is it."

You reached over to open the door to the moving truck that contained most of your belongings, watching it swing outward before you stepped down onto the side bar, taking in the cool fall air with a soft sigh.

You stayed like that for a few moments, relishing in the feeling of freedom and peace, before you motioned with your thumb at the apartment complex, although far more specifically at the second floor balcony sticking out from the side of the building.

"It's the one attached to that balcony. I'll run ahead and unlock the door before everyone else gets here."

You said, looking back just long enough to see your friend nod his head in the affirmative before you stepped out onto the sidewalk below, looking up at what was about to be your new home with a mild sense of bewilderment.

How had you gotten here?

Well, you knew the answer to that.

The end to your five year long relationship had made your rooming situation with your ex pretty tense, and after four long months of trying to make it work for the convenience of not having to move, you'd finally given in and started looking at apartments.

The only problem was, there were none.

Detroit wasn't exactly a cheap place to live, regardless of how dingy it could feel at times, and you weren't really feeling all that great about a roommate after your previous living situation.

No, you wanted a place all to yourself, you just needed to find somewhere in your budget.

And in the end, that had landed you here.

A four story apartment complex that had been built in the early seventies. You were a ten minute drive away from the most metropolitan parts of the city, a seven minute walk from a park, a five minute walk from a grocery store and deli, and a three minute walk from your new job at a ridiculously popular bar that your friends were always talking about.

A spot to grab sandwiches and groceries, a place to sit and enjoy nature, and a not entirely creepy bar to work and have fun at all within ten minutes of you, and you didn't even have to deal with heavy traffic on your street. What more could a girl ask for?

Well, maybe she could ask for appliances that weren't older than her, a functioning heating unit, and an apartment that someone hadn't been murdered in, but how else could she afford rent in an area like this one?

You shuddered a bit at the memories of what had supposedly happened here, and tried to shake it off as you reached the front door of the building, pausing to take note of the name that was scribbled on tape next to the call button for apartment 2C, your new home.

'Lukas Everett"

You made a mental note to change that later on before punching in the code to the main entrance, sighing in relief when the old door gave the electronic click that meant it had unlocked for you.

The landlord had warned you that it tended to be difficult at times, since it was an old door lock equipped with a far more modern day system, and you'd be lying if you said his comment about "just shouting until someone buzzed you in" hadn't made you a little nervous about getting your stuff inside.

"Alright, good luck so far."

You muttered under your breath, knocking briefly on the old wood of the door in front of you so as not to jinx yourself before pushing it open and taking a hesitant step inside, where the scent of old wood and floor polish immediately washed over you.

Your shoes tapped on the linoleum beneath your feet as you moved in further, snapping the deadbolt of the lock outward manually before the door could close to keep it wedged open. The electronic lock made a beep noise to warn you that it had been left ajar, but beyond that, didn't set off any alarms or give any other security warnings, so you decided to let it be so your friend could get inside without your help.

Taking another brief glance around the lobby area, you found little worth noting and opted to take the stairs immediately to your left rather than the elevator a few more paces forward.

The stairs were made of aged wood, creaking with every step you took, but even so you could feel how sturdy they were, somehow remaining relatively structurally sound despite how old they must have been judging by the roughly two foot long strip of carpeting that ran up their center, which was a rather faded looking green that spoke to the age of this place both in its style and as its muted tone.

Upon reaching the top of the staircase, which landed you on the second floor, you stepped forward instead of continuing up, your shoe planting firmly atop the heavily marred wood flooring that adorned the hallway.

From there, you took a right, reaching into your coat pocket as you walked all the way to the end, pulling your apartment key out just as you made it to the door.

It was quiet, but not eerily so for a Tuesday at 10am, when you knew that almost everyone who lived in your complex was likely working or sleeping in. Still, you couldn't help but wish it were a little more populated around here, so maybe your footsteps wouldn't sound so loud in your ears.

Sighing, you placed your key in the lock, turning it slowly before pushing the heavy wooden door open with a gentle grunt, taking note of how weighty it felt beneath your palms.

"At least I'll know they worked for it if the murderer comes back for me too."

You muttered under your breath, stepping in and placing a brick that was just inside between the door and it's frame to keep it from closing. It wasn't uncommon to see them used as doorstops around here, but in a brick stone building of this age, you couldn't help but worry that it had once been of some structural importance.

You shrugged off the thought, pulling your coat closer around yourself as you began to survey your surroundings.

Sure, you'd toured the place a little over two weeks back, but this was the very first time you'd ever been here alone, and as you lingered in the heavy silence of your new home, you couldn't help but shiver a little.

At that, the question of your thermostat's location rose to mind, and you began taking small steps into the living area, until you found it on the wall beside the entrance to your hallway.

The landlord had warned you that the apartment ran cold, partially because of the poor sealing job done on the balcony doors, and partially because of the rather ancient heating system, but you turned the temperature up nonetheless, mentally praying that it might bring the heat up a degree or two.

The soft ticking of the radiator located further down the same wall as the thermostat indicated to you that you had at least managed to do something regarding the chill, so you decided to take the little victory and leave well enough alone for now.

You had a new apartment to explore alone for the very first time, after all.

Walking into the kitchen, you immediately set your bag down on top of it, shimmying the accessory off of your shoulder and leaning it against the green backsplash, being careful to ensure that nothing spilled out in the process.

After that you moved on to the old seventies style yellow fridge, sighing in relief a bit when you pulled it open to reveal a pristine white interior that seemed to be sustaining a cool temperature without issue. This fact also remained true about the freezer located above it, so with that, you moved on to your cabinets, checking inside of them to make sure that the previous tenant hadn't left anything behind.

Your thoughts regarding the man who had lived here before you drifted a bit as you continued your chore of checking all the wooden cabinets in your kitchen, steering your mind back to the day of your tour, when your landlord, John had informed you of the real reason that rent was so cheap here.

"So I am required to let you know before we even go in that someone did pass away here a little under a year ago."

He'd said as casually as possible as he wedged the key into the lock, immediately causing your eyes to widen a bit before you steadied yourself, choosing to remain calm rather than assuming the worst immediately. You had long since grown tired of living with your ex and dealing with the awkwardness associated with trying to make that work, so if the only apartment in your price range that didn't require a roommate had its quirks, then so be it.

"The previous tenant?"

You asked curiously, stepping into the apartment after your guide and taking a look around the naturally lit space, which allowed you to see the open concept kitchen and living area as well as the glass balcony doors.

"No, but he was involved."

The landlord replied as nonchalantly as possible before he gestured to the hardwood floors adorning the entire open area that was visible to you.

"So as you can see, I meant it when I said no carpeting. There used to be a ton but we removed it after the last guy moved out. The floor is a little scratched up from the job, but we tried to make sure all of the staples were collected."

You froze a bit at the mention of the carpeting being ripped up recently, sticking your vaguely chilled hands into your pockets as you looked around the room.

"They look nice..."

You murmured, trying to remain as casual as possible despite the strange topic of discussion.

"So the guy who lived here last was there when this person died in the apartment?"

You asked nervously, hoping to learn at least a little bit more about what had happened here.

The landlord nodded and walked over to the balcony doors, cracking them open and letting them swing inward in opposite directions as he motioned for you to follow him onto the concrete landing.

"That's what I last heard during the trial. I'm not sure what he plead but I know he got 25 to life with a potential for parole in fifteen to twenty years."

You had froze at that, eyes widening once again as you struggled not to gape at the man in front of you.

"You mean that the person who died here was murdered? By the previous tenant?"

You asked incredulously, watching in shock as John simply nodded.

"Yeah, it's a real shame. Lukas had been doing drugs for years by the time he moved in here, but I hadn't realized it had gotten so bad until after I found out about the killing. Apparently a buddy of his came over while Luke was having a bad trip, and thinking the poor guy was an intruder, he shot him right in the middle of his forehead."

The man elaborated on the horrifying tale with some sadness to his tone, but an ease to him that made you wonder just how many deaths he'd come across in his time as owner here.

You shivered a bit, rubbing at your arms and making your way off the balcony and back into the apartment, which suddenly felt a lot less welcoming than before.

"Is uh, is that why the carpet was removed in here?"

You asked hesitantly, gesturing vaguely towards the floor as the landlord raised a brow at your question, working to process it for a moment before a look of understanding came across his face, and he began shaking his head with a slight smile.

"Oh no, we really did just think it dated the place, all of the other vacant apartments got the same treatment."

He began, making his way down the hallway before he stopped suddenly at a doorway to his right, the room inside of which appeared to have the same view of outside that the balcony did.

"This is the office space. Lukas was using it as his bedroom because he liked the windowsill sitting area."

He paused for a moment, and before he even spoke, you knew exactly what he was going to say.

You let him finish anyway.

"This is the room it happened in, if you were wondering. We took the carpet out and had a forensic cleaning team deal with the rest before we decided to basically replace everything anyway. Even the cushion on the bench windowsill and a section of the wallpaper."

You nodded softly,

"That's... good to know."

John hummed, patting the side of the door frame before carrying on with the tour, showing you the bathroom, which consisted of a standing shower, a retro style baby blue toilet, and a vintage sink with a mirror cabinet mounted into the wall above it.

You found it charming in an odd way, despite how clearly dated it was, and nodded when asked if you were ready to see the bedroom, which apparently had a bathroom of its very own attached to it.

Together, you walked to a door at the very end of the hallway, which stood proudly in the center rather than on either side of the hall.

John reached forward to open it, allowing it to gently swing inward with a soft creak before he pushed it further, stepping inside to reveal a rather large bedroom lit up immensely by the outside world.

A great deal of the wall opposite you was windows save for one solidly walled space in the center, where a bed was clearly meant to go. These windows had been frosted in a way that made them nearly impossible to see through from the outside, and you couldn't help but ogle at how clear they were from where you were standing despite that fact.

You gave yourself a few more moments to appreciate the view of the city some fifteen to twenty feet below you before you allowed John to guide you in the direction of the en suite bathroom, which to your surprise, was a lot less dated than the other.

In this bathroom, rather than another standing shower, there was a claw-foot tub instead, which was as pristine of a white as the ceramic tiles beneath it. In addition to this, all of the metal that you could see was brass, from the claws of the tub to the faucets and even the radiator in the corner.

"This bathroom was touched up during the renovations too, interior design guy said it would help bring the value up after everything that happened."

The landlord had explained, letting you look for a few seconds longer before you both started to make your way back out into the living area/kitchen and towards the front door.

It was then, right after you had exited and were standing in the hallway facing one another, that John surprised you by bringing up the murder again.

"I know this is all a lot to take in about a place you're thinking about renting, but I want you to know that Luke was a good kid. If I never see you again, I don't want you to leave today thinking he was some crazed killer. He was scared and confused, and Six wouldn't have wanted you to blame him for what he did."

You paused at that, raising a brow at the unconventional name.

"Six?" You asked, watching as John nodded, gesturing for you to follow him back down to the lobby.

"He was a good friend of Lukas'. Ended up coming to check on him after he'd heard about him having a hard time lately towards the end of his shift. He'd always had a soft spot for Luke, had known him since he was twelve or something like that. Knew he had gotten in with a bad crowd. It would be wrong of me not to explain that to you... Kinda like spitting on the poor guy's memory."

After John finished, there was a heavy silence between the two of you, until finally, you piped up.

"I appreciate you letting me know. Would it be alright for me to leave my renters application with you, or do you have somewhere else I should drop it off?"

You asked, pulling out a manila folder from your purse without even really thinking at all.

Something about that apartment, about the way that John talked about everything that had happened there, it made you feel like this was somehow exactly where you were supposed to be. You wanted to make this place your home.

The man before you seemed surprised at your question, faltering for a few moments before he nodded and reached out to take the folder, offering you a polite nod and a slight smile as he began walking you towards the front door.

"Thank you for coming, I'll be in touch soon regarding your potential tenancy."

And that was it.

Three days later, John had called you with the good news (that you'd gotten the apartment), and told you that all he needed was a down payment before you could basically move in whenever.

And now, here you were, two weeks post tour, standing in the kitchen of your new apartment and checking the cabinets for any evidence of Lukas Everett's existence, as if he had moved out himself and left something behind in the process.

You paused to consider that, wondering briefly whose job it was to move someone's things out in the event of their arrest, when suddenly, a vague blur of movement seen in your periphery caught your attention, and you turned to the right towards the living room and the hallway that connected to it.

There was nothing there.

Even still, you felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise, as if you were subconsciously aware of something you could not see, but could almost feel the presence of.

As quietly as possible, you shut the cabinet door, taking a few small steps toward the living area while scanning your surroundings all the while.

It was only a few seconds later, as you breached the divide between the kitchen and living room, which was marked by the shift from linoleum to wood floor, that you heard a sharp creaking sound from the hallway that was now directly to your left.

Heart pounding as you tried to make sense of what was going on, you swallowed thickly as you started to make your way closer to whatever the source of that sound had been, halting entirely the very second you realized where it had come from.

It was the first room to the right of you, the only room to the right of you in fact, and if John had been telling the truth, it was also the room that a man had been murdered in.

Cursing under your breath at the dread that was building deep in the pit of your stomach, you forced yourself to move forward despite how terribly you wanted to pretend as if you'd never heard anything at all.

You peeked your head around the doorway slowly as you came upon it, fighting back a literal sigh of relief when you saw it was empty, before realizing that you still needed to find out what the source of that noise had been.

It was then that you noticed that the window, the one next to the sitting sill, was open, swinging outward on it's hinges as it blew gently in the wind.

You groaned internally at the sight, but found yourself grateful for the explainable cause of the sound, no matter how annoying it was going to be for you to pull that hinged window back inward.

Slowly and with a great deal of hesitance, you approached it, reaching for the cool metal handle and pulling it back in from above, before you latched it, noting with vague confusion the way that it slid in firmly, which led you to wonder how it had ever come undone in the first place.

Had John opened it up earlier that morning? And if so, what had you heard a minute or so prior?

You shrugged off your own questions, checking to make sure the latch was firmly secured when you suddenly noticed a speck of red spattered on the window sill near the source of your attention.

Tilting your head and leaning forward to get a better look, you squinted at it, running your thumb over the mark and noting the way it was slightly raised, like new paint on top of old.

You swallowed thickly, not wanting to admit to yourself what that probably was, but unable to stop yourself from allowing your mind to wander back to what had happened here.

Had he been afraid? Did he know he was going to die before he did, or had Lukas surprised him? Would he really have forgiven him if he could the way that John had said?

You pondered these questions with your eyes trained heavily on the stain, until the feeling of a warm hand on your shoulder caused you to let out a rather unattractive yelp as you fell into the side of the seated window sill.

Standing there with his hands up in an "I surrender" position, was Rupert, your friend who had driven you to the apartment.

"You left the doors open, so I figured you wanted me to follow you up here instead of wait for you to come back down."

He turned his attention towards the window, looking out of it for a few seconds as if searching for whatever you'd been so focused on.

"You good?"

Slowly, and with a bit of effort, you began to nod the affirmative in response, forcing a smile until you yourself started to believe it and stood to face your friend with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, I'm all good, I just freaked myself out is all. New house, new sounds kinda thing."

Rupert raised a brow but didn't say anything, no doubt thinking what you weren't willing to say. That someone had died here, and that the creepy feeling may not have had as much to do with sound as you were hoping it did.

Not wanting to have that conversation at the moment, you clapped your friend on the shoulder as you walked past him, propping the front door open even further once you reached it.

"Come on Rup, let's see how much furniture we can get up here before everyone else arrives. I bet Leo twenty bucks that we could get the couch inside just fine without his whiny ass helping."

Rupert rolled his eyes but followed you over to the door, exiting without hesitation in spite of the fact that you lingered for just a few more seconds, watching curiously as a shadow seemed to briefly creep out from the doorway of the room you had only just barely exited before disappearing entirely, as if someone had been standing in front of the window in there only to suddenly dissipate without warning.

"Hey Slowpoke, are you gonna come help me, or are we trying to increase the size of Leo's monster ego?!"

Your curiosity regarding the situation at hand disappeared immediately, replaced by your perhaps too competitive spirit, which had you following Rupert down the stairs and towards the moving truck without a second thought regarding the room with the doorway and it's strange happenings.

"Oh, and get this, when I told him about the project already being done, he still asked me to put his name on it, can you believe that prick?!"

Leo rambled, causing you and Rupert to make eye contact with one another before chuckling to yourselves, always amused by your friend's ability to find something to complain about, even during group events.

"I dunno man, maybe he just needed someone to cut him a little slack, would it really hurt to include him so he doesn't have to worry about his job?"

Jerry asked hesitantly, his twin brother Jeremy nodding in agreement beside him.

Leo rolled his eyes, though you could hear the annoyance in his tone falter as he addressed his friends,

"You guys just don't get it. Everyone used to mock me for setting up exhibits because they thought I was using my dad's influence instead of actually working, and now they want me to include them on my work? It's such BS..."

He trailed off, his voice growing quiet as he finished,

"But it doesn't really matter anyway, I already put his name on the credit listing."

He grumbled, making you smile before clapping him on the shoulder,

"Atta boy, Manfred, I knew you had a heart somewhere in there."

You teased, laughing when he shot you a glare before you held your hands up in surrender and reached past him to grab the bottle of wine sitting on the counter.

Currently, you were all sitting around the table, which was pushed against the wall opposite the counters and other appliances in your kitchen, except for Leo, who had hoisted himself up onto it shortly after starting his rant.

You held up the bottle to your friends, swirling it back and forth a bit,

"Anyone else need a refill?"

You asked, moving towards your other friends, Andy and Mary to refill their glasses when they held them out to you.

Pouring some of the wine into your own glass once you were finished with theirs, you took a long sip before sighing happily, smiling at your friends.

"Thanks for being here to help me out today guys, it really means a lot."

You said for what was probably the fourth or fifth time that day before continuing.

"When Will and I broke up, I wasn't sure if anyone would be willing to forgive me for shredding the friend group like that, and having all of you here by my side really has made all the difference."

You continued, laughing a bit as you began to tear up, leading Mary to stand and move to give you a hug, which you gladly accepted.

"You don't have to thank us, you goof ball."

Leo said from behind you, his hand patting your shoulder as Mary went to sit back down,

"Will didn't deserve you, we all saw how little effort he was putting in, and we were always gonna support you in leaving no matter what."

He said, and you watched as Rupert nodded in agreement before joining in himself.

"If anything, I think we all feel lucky that you still want to keep us around after not saying anything for so long. He was absent, and took you for granted constantly, and if I could go back in time and warn you sooner, I would have."

He muttered, causing you to shake your head before moving to hug him as well.

"I had to do it on my own."

You assured him,

"There wasn't anything you could've said, I was completely in denial about how little he cared for me until the very end, and even then it wasn't until after the break up that I learned how easily he could turn on someone that he used to claim to love..."

You trailed off as you looked over to the cat bed in the corner of the living room beside the glass doors.

There was a cat bed in every room, even the office in spite of how much it creeped you out, just in case William ever let you bring your best friend home with you instead of keeping her trapped there with him.

Jerry, having noticed where your gaze had fallen, piped up,

"We're gonna get Tallulah back."

He promised, and immediately Leo nodded,

"Dad says he's having one of his lawyers look into a few people who deal with pet ownership related cases often. If Will doesn't come to his senses soon, being served might help him find them."

He bristled, and you offered him a slightly somber smile in response,

"You guys are doing way too much for me, you know that?"

You asked, only to have Andy shake his head,

"Lu is your cat, you had her for three years before you and Will even started dating, you deserve to have her back."

You nodded in response, taking a deep breath before letting the stress of the day go to the best of your ability, wanting to spend these next few hours having fun with your friends again for the first time since your breakup had halted most hanging out.

There was silence for a few moments before Mary spoke up,

"Okay so who organized the party games, and where did they put them, because I am so ready to kick Jerry and Jeremy's asses at Cards Against Humanity tonight."

You laughed at that, raising a brow at your reigning champs who simply shrugged in unison before looking at each other with matching grins.

Oh yeah, tonight was gonna be a good one.

By the time everyone was leaving, it was 1:30am, and everyone was thoroughly exhausted after a day of moving and unpacking.

"Thanks again for coming guys."

You yawned out as you held the door open, matching their smiles as they left for the evening.

"Come back again soon, alright?"

Everyone vocalized their agreement, promising to plan out another game night soon before they all walked down the hallway.

Heading out onto the Balcony, you shivered in the chilly fall air, but watched as everyone got into their respective vehicles.

Rupert got into the moving truck he had rented, waving at you as he drove away, while Jerry, and Jeremy piled into the cramped back seat of Leo's fancy red convertible, which would be in dire need of a rood reattachment soon if the weather was any indication.

They beeped the horn at you as they drove off in the same direction as Rupert, heading deeper into the city where they all lived.

Mary and Andy meanwhile got into their shared car, a practical little sedan shortly after shouting their goodbyes up to you, and then they drove off in the opposite direction of everyone else, living about twenty minutes away in the more suburban area of Detroit.

After watching everyone leave, you sighed as you reentered your home, shutting the balcony doors behind you before walking into the kitchen, where you began cleaning up.

Leftover pizza and recorked wine were the only things in your fridge by the time you were finished, and you stifled a chuckle at the sight before working on drying and putting away the dishes.

It was then, as you were reaching up to put the final wine glass away in the topmost part of your cup dedicated cupboard, that the same sharp sound from earlier rang out again, causing you to jump with a gasp as the cup tumbled out of your fingertips and crashed off of the edge of the counter, spraying glass everywhere.

You pressed your hand against your chest, eyes squeezed shut for a few moments before you finally opened them, taking in the sight before you.

There was glass all over the place, littering your counters and even your oven, which made you groan when you realized how long all of this would take you to clean up.

Sighing, you grabbed your mini hand broom and dust pan and set out to work, silently thanking god that you had already put the pizza away so you didn't have to worry about accidentally eating glass for breakfast the next morning.

Doing your best to not miss anything, you spent the next fifteen minutes working on your counters, oven, and floors before finally, the job was done, and you were able to throw the shards into the trash.

Still, it wasn't quite time to settle in yet, because the current chill spreading throughout your bones was far too uncomfortable to ignore, and you knew exactly why it was happening.

The window.

Cursing under your breath, you flicked on the hallway light switch before making your way toward the office, where you attempted to turn that light on as well, only to find that it didn't work.

"Seriously?"

You muttered under your breath, sighing as you used the flashlight on your phone instead, allowing it to illuminate the dark office space as you walked towards the window.

Shuddering at the cold, you reached outward and pulled it back in again, latching it as firmly as you could manage before you stood up, relieved at the foregone feeling of autumn wind in your hair.

Still, as you turned around, you couldn't help but feel as if someone were watching you, and a nagging voice in the back of your mind begged you to run and leave well enough alone in favor of confronting whatever unknown thing could be lurking in the darkness.

Unfortunately for that voice, you had experienced discomfort within your last place for far too long, and you had no intention of doing the same here.

"Look, if this is the guy who died here I'm gonna have to ask you to quit it with the window opening, alright? It's cold as hell outside, and I don't want to pay extra for heat just because you want to play unlatch the window."

At that, you began walking towards the doorway, pausing once to add,

"And if you absolutely have to open it, don't do this shit at night, I almost pissed myself."

And with that said and done, you made your way towards your bedroom, where, despite your brave words, you immediately locked your door behind you.

Heart still hammering a bit from the previous scare, you were quiet as you got ready for bed, brushing your teeth and changing into your familiar set of pajamas (an old tee shirt and some men's boxer shorts) as quickly as possible, all too ready to put this day behind you in hopes that it had somehow all been a fluke, and that the mysteriously opening window and the shadow from earlier on in the day had some obvious explanation that only a good night's rest could provide you.

But if that was the case, you weren't about to get it.

Fruitlessly, you tossed and turned about all night, falling into bout after bout of fitful sleep as nightmare after nightmare plagued your mind.

Cats yowling, tires screeching, Will shouting, cries of your name, gunshots, and persistent sobbing all echoed throughout your mind until finally, you shot upright in bed for the final time at 7:08am on a Wednesday morning.

Groaning as you got up, eyes still bleary with sleep and wounded by pervasive sunlight, you made a beeline for the bedroom door, opening it before immediately walking into the far dimmer hallway, which was lit up solely by the windows lining your bedroom wall, and the windows lining the balcony door, both of which had light pouring in.

If you had been more awake, you might have noticed that the door to your bedroom was no longer locked, but with your mind still so groggy with restless sleep, you didn't think anything of it, and instead went to grab the only thing you could for breakfast: a cold piece of pizza.

Sighing, you opened your plate and bowl cabinet, groaning when you noticed how high up and far back Jerry had placed your plates.

The poor guy didn't have a mean bone in his body, but he definitely wasn't the most cognizant of others' personal struggles.

Like how you could in no way reach those plates without a boost.

Grumbling to yourself about how it was far too early for this shit, you placed your hands firmly on the counter to hoist yourself up, only to hiss in pain as you yanked your left hand away as if you had placed it upon hot coals.

"Motherfucker!"

You shouted, turning your palm towards you only to be met with a slightly gruesome sight.

There, lodged in the center of your hand, was a piece of glass about the size of your pinky nail, and it hurt like a bitch.

Not bothering to ruminate on how you could have possibly missed a piece of glass this big while cleaning up the night before, you rushed to the bathroom in the hall, yanking open the mirrored cabinet to find your band aids and a set of tweezers that you were almost certain Rupert had left upon realizing you didn't have any yesterday, because of course he carried tweezers around with him in case of emergencies.

Yanking the two supplies out of the cabinet, you briefly let your eyes search for anything else you might need, noting the peroxide and alcohol wipes sitting towards the end of the middle row.

'I just fucking cleaned this cup last night right before I broke it, there's no reason it should be dirty.'

Your injured brain shouted at you, and immediately, you moved to close the door, having decided that you wanted this to be over far too badly to bother cleaning it your wound.

But then,

"Yeah you're gonna wanna clean that."

You startled slightly as a voice you had never heard before spoke from what sounded like the left of you, though a quick glance in that direction yielded nothing of note.

What the fuck was going on here? Were you finally losing your mind?

You groaned as you grabbed the alcohol wipes and peroxide out of the cabinet as quickly as you could manage before all but slamming the mirrored door shut. You then lined everything up on the counter, sat yourself down on the closed toilet seat, and got to work.

"Shit."

You muttered to yourself as you began attempting to use the tweezers to pull the glass shard out of your hand, the pain causing your fingers to shake as you wiggled at the piece to dislodge it, brain clouded by pain and a slight sensation of fear.

"Don't twist the damn thing, just pull it straight. Hasn't anyone ever taught you how to take a splinter out before?"

There was that voice again, this time from your right, but you didn't even bother to look over this time, firmly believing that it was all in your head, some sort of coping mechanism for the pain.

You did as the voice said, pulling the piece straight out before sighing in relief, dropping it and the tweezers onto the bathroom counter, smearing the pristine surface with your blood.

Once that was done, you used an alcohol wipe, fighting back tears at the stinging sensation before forcing yourself to use the peroxide as well just to be safe.

You watched as the cut bubbled as you poured the liquid on to it, and you continued little by little until it stopped, which was when you were finally able to dry it off and use a band aid on it to help stop the bleeding (or at least to make it harder for you to see).

Sighing, you leaned your head back against the wall, injured hand hanging below you as you tried to catch your breath.

In reality, it had only been a few minutes, but that whole ordeal had felt like it had taken hours, and you were still exhausted from your poor night of sleep.

You were so exhausted in fact, that you had actually started to doze off while still seated atop the toilet seat when a persistent knocking sound jolted you awake.

Looking around the room for the source, you found nothing, and soon realized with a start that the sound was coming from your front door.

Groaning with effort, you heaved your tired body up, and, still in only your long pajama shirt and men's boxer shorts, made your way to the front door, which you swung open without even bothering to use the peep hole, since, in your eagerness to make the knocking stop, you had entirely forgotten about it's existence.

And with who was waiting for you on the other side, you really wished you hadn't.

Standing there was William, your ex boyfriend, with a cat carrier in hand.

His eyes gave you a once over before he had the decency to look away upon realizing you clearly hadn't expected a visitor so early in the morning.

"Will."

You said, eyes widening slightly before you regained control of yourself, clearing your throat a bit before continuing.

"How uh, how did you get this address?"

The man in front of you shrugged a bit before opening his mouth to answer.

"I asked Jerry. He was pretty hesitant to give it to me, and wanted me to call you about it instead, but when he heard it was about Tallulah, he gave me your complex address and apartment number."

He admitted, and you nodded before looking to the speaker and buttons beside your door, the ones you were supposed to speak to and buzz people in from.

"Wait, but how did you get up here? Did someone buzz you in?"

You asked, watching as confusion etched its way across your exe's features.

"Uh yeah I mean, I thought that you did."

He muttered, scratching at the back of his neck nervously,

"I hit the call button to your apartment for a second or two and the main entrance just kinda unlocked. I didn't even have to say anything. I figured you could see me from the balcony or something."

He said, gesturing over to the doors attached to the wall over to your left.

Your brow creased in confusion, wondering how you had missed the buzzing sound and who had let Will into the complex if you hadn't, but you shrugged it off, far more concerned at the mention of Tallulah than anything else.

"Is Lu alright?"

You asked, changing the subject entirely.

Will nodded.

"Yeah, she's fine, I just picked her up from an overnight at the vet, she wasn't eating."

At this, you grew even more concerned,

"Not eating? In what world is that fine, Will?"

You all but snapped, watching as the man in question shook his head in response, guilt present in his eyes.

"No no I mean it, the vet says she's fine, she just... misses you."

He finished, sighing a bit as he met your gaze once more.

"The vet said it would probably be best for her to live with you from now on if this is how she's reacting to you being gone already, so I wanted to drop her off. I would have called, but you never answer and I wasn't about to bring her home just to wrestle her into the carrier again later, so here I am."

He explained before reaching out to offer you the carrier.

"And here's Lu. I'm sorry I didn't just let you keep her in the first place. She's your cat, and I knew that, I just thought that if I didn't let her go, it might convince you to stay..."

Will trailed off, and you nodded solemnly as you took the carrier from him, briefly walking inside to place it on the couch before returning, your hand already poised to close the door.

"I know Will. Thank you for bringing her home."

You said gently, watching as your ex nodded before taking a step backward, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you around, alright?"

He muttered, and you waved to him in farewell before closing and bolting the door behind him, praying there would be no more unwelcome intrusions after that absolutely doozy.

Still, there was one thing to celebrate, and as you rounded the couch, you couldn't help but smile at the cat laying down inside of the gray carrier in front of you.

You opened it up slowly, wanting to let her come out at her own pace, but almost as soon as the door was open, Tallulah was calmly walking out to the edge of the couch, rubbing her brown head against your hands as you knelt down in front of her, instantly relieved to have her home.

You'd had her since she was a three year old stray that the previous tenant of your old rental duplex had been feeding prior to you moving in.

It had started off as you just giving her food, but soon enough you were inviting her inside as well, where she had eventually retired her outdoor cat status in favor of staying with you.

She was a beautiful little lady, even now at eight, which was when most cats tended to grow a little lax with their self grooming. She was entirely chestnut brown in color, with two stunning yellow eyes and an adorable pink nose.

Before Tallulah, you had never seen an all brown cat before, and you could still remember how shocked you'd been to hear she was a stray from your neighbor.

You smiled down at her as you recalled the fond memories of some of your first interactions, lowering your head so she could rub her soft face against yours, easing your mind of any and all stress instantly.

"I missed you so much, Lulah girl."

You murmured, reaching out to pet her only to falter when she bristled, looking straight past you as if there were someone there.

Fighting the urge to turn around for the second time that morning, you ran your hand down her back, smoothing down her slightly raised fur as you spoke to her gently.

"It's alright sweet girl, there's nobody else he-"

"Okay, so I'm kind enough to buzz that guy in for you while you incorrectly treat your wounds, and this is how you repay me? By forcing me to live with a cat?"

You shrieked, falling to the side as you turned to see where the voice had come from, only to see an ever so slightly translucent man standing there with his arms crossed.

"What the- who the hell are you?!"

You shouted, watching as the man rolled his eyes,

"What, you can't guess?"

You shook your head indignantly, hoping desperately that you would wake up from this strange nightmare soon.

The man sighed in response to your insistence, and raised a brow at you as if you were more than a little dumb for not figuring it out yourself already.

"I'm Sixty. You know, the guy who died here?"

masterlist

AO3

#dbh sixty x reader #rk800-60 x reader #dbh sixty x reader series #dbh halloween #sixty x reader #ghost!sixty x reader #dbh x reader #dbh fics #halloween fic 2023 #bound chapter I #s: bound #c: sixty

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