Chains Eyelessjack X Reader

Chapter 40

{Reader's POV}

       Recovery was boring.

       I sat sprawled on the couch, watching TV. There wasn't much to do when Jack kept insisting I needed to rest. At least he no longer offered to carry me everywhere... I was suddenly stirred from my bored thoughts as Jack plopped next to me on the couch, the springs bouncing slightly under the sudden added weight. "What're we watching?" he asked, leaning back and looking at the TV curiously. I looked at it again, trying to remember the show's name.

       "I don't know, some soap opera...?" Cue dramatic music on the TV and an overdramatic gasp from the woman.

       "What's even going on?" Jack asked, tilting his head at the screen as she turned away from her husband in a dramatic fashion while holding herself.

       "Ricardio just confessed to Ellen about cheating on her with her twin brother Eddie." Jack shot me a questioning glance, and even with his mask hiding it I could feel him scrutinizing me carefully as I stared at the screen.

       "...Do you actually LIKE this stuff...?"

       "No, not really," I replied with a shrug, earning another surprised glance.

       "You don't? Then why are you watching it!?"

       "Because this place only has basic cable and there's nothing else on TV during the day except couples publicly fighting and breaking up on a talk show."

       "...Oh," he muttered lamely, sinking into the couch a bit. "...Sorry, I don't really use it much other than to watch the news..."

       "Honestly, I'm surprised you even have electricity, let alone basic cable," I admitted, turning down the volume a bit as I turned to him. "I mean, aren't you supposed to pay electric bills or something?" He paused, considering it thoughtfully.

       "...You know, I never thought about it that much," he admitted, shrugging. "One of my friends hooked me up with this place. He owed me a big favor, saved one of his proxies."

       "Proxies?" I repeated, puzzled by the term. Dredging up any knowledge I had on the word, I muttered, "Isn't that what you use to access websites without your IP being known or something...?" Jack didn't respond right away.

       "...Maybe? But I meant... In this case, it's more like 'servants', I guess. I saved one of them, and later he had one of them lead me here. The place already had electricity and working water and stuff when I got here, so I never really thought about it." He shrugged. "I mean, if that stuff stopped I would, but I've been here for a little under a year now and it's always worked fine. There's that saying—don't look a gift horse in the mouth, you know?"

       "Kinda weird, seeing how curious you are." He ducked his head.

       "I'm not THAT curious..." I just rolled my eyes and turned the volume back up, leaning forward intently as Ellen continued a tearful rant at how Ricardio had betrayed her trust one time too many even as he pleaded for a second chance. Jack glanced at the TV and then at me. "...Do you REALLY like this show, or...?"