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I find him in Rosswood, I said I’d never go back but something was drawing me here. He attacks me with a metal pipe, there’s something familiar about him, but I can’t figure it out.
I manage to pin him on the dirt. He's panting; I can hear his breath hitting the plastic of the mask. The itch of a cough crawls up my throat and I panic, he's still struggling under me, trying to wriggle out of my grasp. The itching gets more intense and I do the only thing I can think of.
I rip off his mask. He goes still. I start coughing.
I scramble away from him as I can feel the blood coming up from my lungs. Red paints the dirt and I wipe my mouth on my sleeve. I push myself up with shaky arms and turn back to him expecting him to be long gone, but he's just propped himself up on his elbows to look at me. I can feel the tingle in my nose I always get before I cry.
“Jay?” My voice is hoarse and just barely above a whisper. “Are you in there?”
I slowly shuffle my way over to him. He looks so tired, and scared. He's trembling, gloved hands grasping at the dirt.
“Jay?” I sit back on my heels and slowly reach out to him. His eyes meet mine and I can tell he's back.
He lunges at me and I brace myself for an attack, but he just brings his arms around my neck and starts to cry. It takes me a second but I pull him closer, cradling the back of his head with my hand. He's trying to talk through sobs and I can only make out bits and pieces. I hush him and shift us so my back is against a tree and he's curled up in my lap. He's just mumbling my name now, like he can't believe I'm here. I feel the same way. It's been four years since I saw him last.
“I’m so sorry. I fucked everything up leaving you at my house. I thought I saw your body, you - you were bleeding and,” I feel hot tears on my face and realise I’m crying too. “I thought you were dead”
He sniffles and looks up at me, eyes wide.
“I thought I was too.” He snuggles into my chest and takes a deep breath. “I remember getting shot by Alex… I remember it showing up. I remember-” He coughs. “I don't know.”
I push the hood of his hoodie off to run my hands through his hair. It's gotten much longer since the last time I saw him. We sit there in comfortable silence for a while before he yawns.
“I have a hotel room not too far from here if you wanna sleep in an actual bed for once.” I get a nod but no signs of him moving. A small smile forms on my face and I pick Jay up. He's lighter than I remember and it's easy getting him to my car. I try to let him down so he can stand but he shakes his head and mumbles something about sleep. I set him in the passenger seat and recline it hoping he’ll be conscious enough to make it to the hotel room.
The drive is quiet, the hum of the engine, crickets occasionally chirping, and Jay’s soft snoring are the only sounds. I remember the road trip we took to get to that fucking college campus. The nights of driving with no stops and listening to shitty pop music on the radio just to stay awake. I just wish we knew what we were driving into back then.
I pull into the hotel parking lot, a lamp outside one of the rooms flickering annoyingly.
Getting Jay out of the car is an ordeal. He keeps slumping against me, half asleep. When we finally reach the hotel room I fumble with the key card, holding him around the waist to keep him upright.
I manage to unlock the door and stumble into the room, Jay heads straight for the bed and I have to grab the back of his hoodie to keep him from falling forward.
“Jay you gotta take a shower, man. Four years in the woods isn't great for hygiene.” He grumbles but turns to face me anyway. “Look, I know you're super tired but there's only one bed and I'm not sleeping next to you if you're covered in dirt and shit” He frowns, sighs, then brushes past me to the bathroom. “Could you leave the door open a bit in case you fall?” He nods.
Changing into a pair of worn sweatpants my mind starts to race, the sound of the shower becoming a background to my thoughts. It hasn't hit me until now that Jay is here, he’s safe, he didn't die because of Alex. Does this mean could Brian still be alive? Where is Alex, or that thing? Fuck, and I left Jessica a few months ago I should check on her. What about Amy, Seth, or Sarah, could they have survived? Probably not, and I wouldn't even know where to start looking.
“Hey do you have any clothes I could wear for a while?” I get up and look through my duffel. Jay’s a lot thinner than he was before so I don't know what I have that’ll fit him. He comes out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips.
“Here these might fit.” I toss him a bundle of clothes. “I found a pair of your shorts in the bottom of my bag.” He shrugs and meanders back to the bathroom, I can finally see the circular patch of raised skin. How the hell did he survive that? I sit back on the bed, my head starting to hurt. I reach for the pill bottle on the night-stand only to find just a couple left, I should wait until I really need them.
I feel a slight shift in weight and turn to see Jay sitting next to me. I pull him into a bone crushing hug, pressing his body against mine, just to make sure he's real. He smells like hotel soap and his hair’s still wet, his arms wrap around my waist.
“I'm so glad you found me.” He mumbles, face pressed to my chest.
“I'm glad I did too, I tried to get a job and forget about everything and it worked for awhile. I told myself that everything was fine, I guess I started to believe it too. I just, God, I never thought you'd be back.” I hold him closer not wanting to let him go again.
“Can we go to bed?” He asks voice still muffled.
“Yeah, I think that's a good idea.” He hums when we hit the mattress.
“Goodnight Tim.” He turns so his back is against my chest. I circle him with my arms and for the first time in years I don't have any nightmares.