Amnesia (Masky x Reader)

Chapter 2: Cobra

        It was an excruciating and slow tread through the woods.
        The man had given you his name: Tim. Although he had agreed to help you, he kept his conversation to the absolute minimum. You were lucky to get his name at all.
        He had had the idea that going downhill might lead to some way to get your bearings. You weren't complaining, since you'd rather go very slowly downhill than up. He'd offered his body as support for your leg, which still burned with pain any time you put pressure on it. Very tentatively, you accepted his help- all too aware of the fact that you still knew nothing about this guy. Still, his arm around you seemed strong, and it was better than trying to navigate the woods alone. Eventually you found a creek, and across from it- a road.
        "Omigosh!" you gasped. You could barely believe your luck. Just a day's walk and you'd found semblance of civilization. Your excitement made your balance slip and before you knew it you had tripped down the bank and in an effort to save your leg from further pain- landed squarely in the water.
        "Woah!" Tim rushed down the bank, not hesitating to step his boots into the water next to you, "You okay?" He asked, and you noticed the corners of his mouth tugging at a half-hidden smile.
        "Um, yeah," you weren't in pain, just the rush of embarrassment. Tim was already grabbing your elbows to help you up- apparently spending the whole day with his arm wrapped around your body had removed any shyness of touching you.
        After recovering, you both made your way across the creek and onto the road. It was a tossup which way you should possibly go. Each end of the road lead to the same place- somewhere not here. The other side of the road wasn't any help either, just an empty field.
        "Can you wait here?" Tim asked softly. You could tell he was doing is best not to appear threatening in the slightest.
        "What are you going to do?"
        "I'm just going to run ahead, see if anything's over the hill."
        "You're coming back?"
        "...yes."
        It wasn't as if you could stop him. Without much more discussion, he had settled you down against a tree and jogged down the road. Not much to do but wait. Before long he came back, but passed you to go check out the other side. Huffing, you settled back against the tree.
        "Just more road both sides, but there's a car knocked into the ditch on the right, " he explained when he returned.
        "A car?"
        "Yeah.. it's a black Kia Soul. The... driver's side door was a little ajar."
        Surprise jolted you upright, "I have a Kia!" However you were brought out here in the middle of the woods, you must have been taken in your own car. Or is it possible you drove yourself here? As the possibilities muddled your brain, your throat gave rise to the familiar cough. You took a second to endure the coughing fit, turning away from Tim. When you looked back in his direction after recovering, you noticed his expression had taken a grim shadow upon it.
        "Can you take me there?" You finally ask to break the silence. Without a word, he bends down and helps you up and you slowly make your way over.
        It was your car. You found your keys in your pants pocket- as well as (thankfully) your wallet. Your cellphone is nowhere to be found. You let Tim drive and you set off to find a town. You needed to find some sort of walk-in clinic. Or, limp-in in your case. The sun was far below the horizon when you finally saw the trees thin and buildings start to appear. It was a medium sized town with a clinic. A nurse was able to tell you that your leg wasn't broken, but badly sprained. She prescribed a drug for the pain and was able to provide a brace to help with walking. It was well into the night when you and Tim pulled into a cheap-looking motel, deciding to put off making any plan until tomorrow. Of course, there was no obligation for him to stick around, but you left it up to him. You weren't able to drive your car in your condition- but you could always call your family for help, right?
        "I got us two singles," You said as you slowly limped toward the car where Tim was waiting for you, "13 and 14."
        He jogged over to you, offering help without a word. His eyes were dark, but you felt you could trust him to help you at this point. You went and checked out the rooms. They weren't anything to write home about. Small, a little dingy, an old tv that barely worked, and room 13 actually had two beds instead of one. Tim took 13, you settling into 14. Having not much in the way of luggage, there wasn't much to do but say goodnight.
        You were able to very carefully limp into the bathroom, opting for a bath than a shower.
        Laying in the warm water, you pass your options through your head. First, you could just stay here at the motel until your leg was healed enough to be able to drive home, however far away it was. Whatever Tim did wasn't much of your concern, technically. Although you appreciated how much he helped you so far, you would understand if he went on his own from here. Another option was to try to stay with Tim- help him get back to where he needed to be too. Back in the cabin... he cried out in despair as you watched him wake up. One way or another, your heart hurt just thinking about it.
        It was late. After washing off the last of the forest's remains on your body, you dried off and got into bed. As you fell asleep, you stared at the wall opposite your bed. Tim was on the other side. You hoped he was finally able to rest, too.

...xXx0xXx...

        Something woke you. You bolt upright. Where were you? You panic as you look around the pitch black room before you remember. The motel.
        Once you readjust to your surroundings, you hear it- a rummaging and banging, as well as horrible coughing coming from a room next to you. Tim's room. You're up before you decide what to do. You'd fallen asleep with your brace on- it gave you enough support to make it to the wall, and you limped over to the door.
        Once outside, you notice that there's a slight misting rain. Blinking, you glance around the parking lot but it seems that you and Tim are the only guests tonight. Still, the emptiness of it bothered you in a way you couldn't put your finger on. You turn and settle a few solid knocks on door 13. You rub your arms as you wait. It was definitely too cold for a summer night.
        You'd waited a long time before trying to knock again. Again, three solid knocks- one, two, three. You'd waited long enough to give up when finally the knob shook and you saw the door creep open. You leaned in to see, only to meet Tim's eyes- they were dark and frightened.
        "...Y/N?" it was the first time he said your name, despite you giving it to him hours ago.
        "Are you okay?" it sounded lame, but you couldn't think of anything else to say. You were questioning whether you should have gotten out of bed at all, with the way he was looking at you. Like you were a dying animal.
        "Everything is fine-" he tried to say, before his throat caught and was lost in the coughing fit that followed. He covered his mouth with his hand, and when he pulled it away, you saw a smattering of blood on his fingers. He put his hand behind the door so you couldn't stare. "You don't have to do anything for me."
        Without a word, you pulled the door further open, openly looking at his hand, before taking it and leading him back into the room.
        "What are you-?" he muttered.
        "I know a trick," you explained. You grabbed the single-cup coffee pot and filled it under the sink. You set it to brew without adding any grounds- letting plain boiling water pour into the provided cup. You took it and handed it to him, who was folding his arms watching you from the doorway of the closet. He raised an eyebrow at your offering, but took it out of your hands anyway.
        "What am I supposed to do with this?"
        You leaned back against the wall, raising your shoulders to your ears, feeling awkward again, "You breathe in the steam, and it helps ease your throat."
        He just stared at you.
        "...always helped me when I needed it, " you muttered, mostly to yourself.
        After another heartbeat, he took the cup and walked over to one of the two beds, sitting on the side of it and putting his elbows on his knees. You walked over, and saw him sitting there with his mouth above the cup, taking slow breaths one after the other. You moved slowly, feeling tension radiate from his figure. Eventually you were able to take a seat across from him on the other bed. You watched him, and he looked up at you, catching your gaze. Without meaning to, your heart quickened a pace or two.
        "Um, thanks," you looked up when you heard his words. He said, "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you today. I'm just not used to having anyone around," he took is gaze away from yours, "I guess I wasn't thinking about how all this must be for you. "
        You were relieved- he's finally talking to you. "Yeah... it's kind of a lot... " you paused, "So, what do you remember?"
        He heaved a deep sigh, jaw still hovering above the quickly-cooling cup, "Not much. Last I remember... I don't know. My life has been pretty hard to keep track of as it is."
        "Does it seem colder than is should be?"
        His eyebrows jumped and he looked back at you, "Who knows how long our gap is. Assuming we're really in the same situation," he took a second to look you over, "I don't know who you are."
        The plain-ness of his words knocked around inside your head for a minute. It's true. What are the odds that two complete strangers find themselves in the same exact cabin with the same exact memory gap?
        "Well... maybe in the morning we can ask the front desk if we can use their phone. Maybe we can sort some stuff out, " you suggested.
        "Yeah..." he focused on his breathing, which was becoming more and more even. You hope that the steam is helping.
        Eventually he straightened up, "You don't have to stay here. You can go back to your room now. I'll be fine now, " he raised the cup, "Thank you."
        You glanced over the wall which was adjacent to your room. You imagined the darkness of it, the unfamiliarity, the uncertainty of your whole situation. And one more thing... now that you had time to think about it, you realized why the parking lot outside made you uncomfortable. You had a feeling of being watched.
        "I don't want to be alone," you concluded out loud.
        "Better alone than with a stranger?" he offered, but he made it sound like a question.
        "Better with a stranger who I know is kind."
        "Kind, is it?" he said, but he didn't elaborate. He rubbed his neck, then stated, "I guess you can hang out, until you feel better about it."
        You didn't say anything, but gave a grateful look. You stood, walked over to the window and peaked between the hanging curtains. behind the motel was more parking space, and beyond that- utter darkness. You mind came up with a million different eyes peering back at you from that darkness. Eyes that glowed red, eyes that glowed yellow, even imagined some creature with no eyes at all.
        You yanked the curtains closed. Turning, you asked in a squeaked out voice, "Anything on?" You walked over to the other side of the bed Tim was sitting on, and grabbed the remote that was laying on the pillow. Taking a seat on the bed, back against the wall, you flipped the screen on.
        The answer to your question was made apparent pretty quickly: no, nothing was on. Only thing slightly interesting that you found as you flipped the channels was an animal documentary on the habits of cobras. It was better than silence. Tim scooted back from his seat on the edge of the bed and you became hyper aware of his place sitting right next to you. You didn't think you'd be falling asleep tonight.
        Still, the minutes climbed on top of each other formed small armies around you. Before you knew it an hour had passed of you sitting rigidly and awkward. You finally managed to steal a glance over at Tim- just in time to see his head fall to rest on your shoulder. He was asleep. Warmth rushed through you from the surprise... but also from the simple fact that a man as handsome as him was so close to you. And, you were happy he was able to finally fall asleep, after all he'd done for you.
        You readjusted your seating to better support him, and leaned back to watch another hour of Animal Planet.