A Little Warmth (Jeff the Killer x Reader) short story

chapter four

If you were in your right mind and not suffering from artist's block you wouldn't let a sketchy dude with blood on his clothes into your apartment. But it's not like he was a complete stranger. No, just some dude you were in a psych ward with.

Also, you didn't have any friends and it wasn't every day you met a person who wasn't repulsed to find out that you were into dark-surrealist artworks. Probably because that person would only have blood on them if they were a murderer.

"Dude, take off your shoes you're getting blood all over my carpet."

Jeff rolled his eyes but reached down to remove his shoes. "Haven't seen me in ages and the first thing you do is threaten me with a knife and now you're all worried about me dirtying your apartment?"

"It's not easy to clean blood stains off carpets, if it's anyone who should know that best it's you."

"I don't clean up after my messes."

You tsk. "Looks like your parents didn't teach you right."

"I killed my parents."

Oh.

"So, how's your brother doing?"

"Killed him too."

"Oh, damn...okay."

He glanced around your apartment and saw the mess of paints and canvases you had lying about. He chuckled as he picked up a dirty paintbrush.

"I see you still paint. How's that going?"

You let out a heavy sigh as you sat down on your carpet, your legs crossed and leaning back on your hands.

"Oh, it's great, never been better." Rolling your head back you stare up at the ceiling.

"You're in debt."

You turn your head so sharply that you almost get whiplash. Jeff is leaning over the kitchen counter looking at all the receipts and bank statements piled up.

Rushing over, your hands scramble to stuff the papers in a drawer. Jeff watches you struggle as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

Slamming the drawer shut, you turn to see him watching you with a smug grin on his lips.

"God, I hate it when you give me that look."

He tilts his head, his bangs covering part of his face. "What look?"

You notice how shaggy his hair is, messy and uneven. Reaching out, you take a strand of his hair between your fingers.

"Did you grow out your hair?" You asked.

"Mhm," Jeff responded, "haven't cut it since I left that bloody place."

His response earned a chuckle out of you, but in the back of your mind burned a question you itched to ask. You wanted to talk, to ask how he was after you left. You felt remorseful that after being granted release you never went to visit him. Until now, you hadn't even thought about him in a long time, never sought him.

Swallowing your pride, you open your mouth. "Listen, Jeff. I'm sorry-"

Jeff speaks up interrupting you. "You know, it's been a while...since you left me back there." His playful smirk left his lips and the softness in his eyes faded. His two eyes, now two black pools stared vacantly into you.

"How was your life after that?"

You winced, his sudden change in attitude reopening old wounds you didn't know you still had deep within you. You opened your mouth but no words came out. What excuse could you give him?

At your lack of response, Jeff sneered and jerked his head away from you. With one arm, he pushed your body away from his, pent-up frustration causing him to act brazenly. Turning away, he walked towards the balcony with you on his heel.

You started spurting poor excuses, but your words lodged in your throat, and you were unable to justify your actions. Your eyes darted around the apartment, seeing the canvases lying about and Jeff's back walking away from you, you came to acknowledge that two things had taken a soft spot in your heart. With strokes, dabs, and brushes of vibrant dyes you were able to express your soul. Pausing in your tracks, you allowed yourself to retrace your thoughts and emotions. Within your chest, you felt a tug, a pull in the inmost intimate depths of your being that could not be ignored. A magnetic pull attracts you towards the figure of the person you had shared common interests with. These feelings of attachment rose to the surface, breaking through the tough layers of your shell. Realization came to you as a surprise and then relief. After years of uneasiness, you came to accept the emptiness you once felt in your heart could only be filled with him. Jeff had stealthily slithered inside the walls of your heart and carved a place within it for him.

It was too early to place a label on these newfound feelings, but, now you had a lingering question.

Does he feel the same way? Is this why he appeared out of the blue?

A rush of thoughts surged through your mind. If these feelings had always been there, they had been suppressed for a long time now, but now that you saw him they came back all so easily. You didn't quite understand it yet, but your heart felt complete seeing him.

Jeff didn't know the effect he had on you as he mistook your silence for indifference. An annoyed puff of air left his scarred lips, "Fine," was all he mumbled before he slipped over the railing and off into the night.