Let Me In || Ticci Toby x Reader

13 || Self-Care

As promised, when I wake up Toby is not too far away from checking on me. He brings a knife and a glass of water. My heart skips a beat for a second before he picks up the apple. He slices the apple and places each piece on the plate. I roll onto my back and slide up a bit. Not wanting to be fed by him again, I slowly reach to grab a slice. I nibble a bit of it. It goes down easier.

"You've been asleep for about two and a half hours," Toby mentions. I nod, looking down, slowly nibbling on an apple. Once he is done slicing it, he puts the knife to the side and grabs the orange. I watch his fingers as he peels it slowly.

"This is weird," I whisper. Toby laughs, then nods his head. His tongue flicks out for a quick second. He points to it and shrugs. Another tic, I guess.

"I'll just stand outside your room until you're done. How's that? There's some things I put in the bathroom for you to use. Feel free to take a bath after eating." He sounds so considerate. And a bath does sound good.

"Thank you, Toby." My voice is a little louder. Out of the corner of my eye, he is absolutely beaming with joy.

"Can't wait to brag that you spoke to me first."

Technically, I spoke to Slenderman first. But I can't kill his joy. It's kinda cute.

Slowly, I nibble away at the apple. It is surprisingly not bad. No rot or poison or anything. After two slices, I eat two orange slices. Sipping water in between each slice, I feel like I could keep it all down. And while I eat, I have time to think. The proxy I have been speaking to all this time is Toby. That must be the same Toby I read in the newspapers that helped finish off that family I left. He is being friendly, despite having helped stalk me for months before this all happened. I can tell he cares, nothing disingenuine. Charismatic, a bit, sure, or maybe I have Stolkholm Syndrome. Or I am just soft to anyone who is nice to me. That is how I got my heart broken by a few guys in high school. So maybe he does not have any urge to kill me. Just other people. It does unnerve me that he acted so fast in killing the rest of the family before kidnapping me back here.

I push all thoughts away when I come to the conclusion that he actually wants to help. That I shouldn't be scared. Toby does seem to be the most trustworthy person here. Another conclusion that I came to, is that I need a bath.

It hurts to move. But I carry on, forcing myself to stand up. It takes a minute, and I cling to the wall to support me, but I stand nonetheless. For a second I see a figure pass by the small crack left in the door. It is only Toby, who smiles and pauses to watch me. I hold myself up higher, and start to take steps; trying to prove he does not have to help me walk.

When I get into the bathroom I lock the door behind me, then lock the door on the opposite side as well. The bathwater runs hot, steam flowing up from the water pooling in the tub. I undress slowly, trusting that there are no cameras in the room. I see a bottle of shampoo sitting on the counter and grab it. Next to it is a new packaged toothbrush and unopened toothpaste. I grab those two and look at the other bottles lined up. One is a small sample of sunscreen and the other is a larger tube of moisturizer. Sunscreen won't do much, and the moisturizer has been opened. But I appreciate the attempt.

I rest in the bath and let myself relax. My stomach does rumble a bit. I dip my head underwater and stay there for a second. It feels nice. Like I am separated from the rest of the world. Food, water, shelter, warmth. I do have my basic needs covered. If I do stay, it might not be half bad. But I may never have freedom. Or maybe I could. Just a different kind of freedom that I am accustomed to. But I would never see my family again.

Before I start to spiral, I bring my head back above the water. I squirt a bit of shampoo onto my head before starting to massage my scalp. Looking at the bottle, it is supposed to be for a normal hair type in a brand I do not recognize. Hopefully, it does not grease up or dry out my hair. It rinses easily, and I am left alone with my thoughts once more. Looking around the room, I spot my clothes. They must be dirty by now.

Fuck.

Laundry.

I was supposed to be doing laundry as the monster wanted, but I locked myself in. Fuck fuck fuck. How can I be so stupid? Now it will probably be after me. God, I am screwed. I rub my temples and hide my face. This thing is going to make me regret the day I was born. I will have to ask Toby about what happened to that. If the monster already knows or if I have time to make up for it. Though I am stuck here, I do want to live now.

I sigh and finish my bath. There is no body wash, so I use more shampoo. It works, I guess. The water slowly gets cooler. Once it gets to room temperature, I get out. As I use the towel to pat myself dry, I analyze my body. I have no doubt dropped a few pounds. No bruises, cuts, or anything. My ribs do seem a bit more prominent, though. I will have to work up some muscle that wasted away when I stopped eating. I have dark bags under my eyes and my face seems more sunken in and pale. The person in the reflection is someone I hardly recognize.

I grab the moisturizer and slowly dab it across my face, rubbing the last bits in. I feel refreshed. Still sore and exhausted, but better than before. Less grimey and gross. I get dressed, wishing to sometime soon wash these clothes. They are pyjamas, the same ones I was wearing when I left my house during the night.

When I open the bathroom door, cool air hits me like a bat. I shiver before stepping out. I pause when I see Toby at the side of the bed. He pauses as he looks to me too and places something down on the bed.

"I, uh, borrowed some clothes for you." Toby looks flushed, his hand pats his leg before hitting his chest. I take a peek down at myself. I'm wearing clothes. I can't see why he would be blushing.

Toby grabs the clothes and holds them out to me. I grab them without a word and go back into the bathroom. It's a plain grey long sleeve shirt and a pair of black sweatpants with a cuff at the bottom. Tucked inside is a pair of clean underwear and long black socks. The hoodie seems a bit too big, a dark green zip-up one. The shirt fits decently, but I need to tighten the drawstring of the pants. The clothes are clean, reminding me of what I need to ask Toby.

I step out of the bathroom and see Toby sitting at the foot of the bed and looking outside. I sit near the head end of the bed.