Slasher-Filth

You made your way to the door and opened it slowly, nerves running through you in a way you hadn’t really experienced since being an anxious teenager. You took a deep breath. Enough, you were being silly. You’re an adult. And so is he. Coming into your house. To help you. That’s all. You cleared your throat and finally looked up at the visitor. Against your better judgement, he wasn’t even looking at you. Instead, he looked at your doorbell with slightly furrowed brows. You could help the giggle that immediately left you, your tense shoulders relaxing as you enjoyed the feeling.

“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” You laugh and look to him again. Your voice must have caught him off guard as he looked back to you, his face once again surprised as he nodded hesitantly. Wondering if he should be agreeing or just pretend it was all fine. You giggled once more.

“Well, I wasn’t lying to Luda Mae when I said the house was a bit in disrepair. The doorbell is the least of my worries at the moment… you should see my sink.” You sigh slightly as you opened the door wider and motioned for him to enter. He followed. You felt some of the last nerves crawl back up your spine, but you tried to keep them at bay, making your way to the kitchen once more. You felt him follow behind, careful not to brush up against anything. You frown slightly, realising you’re not the only one who is nervous about this arrangement. You decided to try and break the ice. Once you came to your kitchen, you turned around to face him with a confidence you didn’t really feel. You stuck out your hand.

“I’m (y/n), I’m sorry I didn’t really get to introduce myself properly the other day. I want to say I’m really thankful for you coming over and helping me. A lot of the stuff I just can’t do on my own. These muscles can knead the dough, but bolts and furniture are a whole different ballpark.” You smiled and tried to make a joke. He lifted a brow, but you could see the barest of smirks from beneath the mask. You had heard all of the rumours. People thought it was made of human flesh. How ridiculous. It looked like nothing but cowhide. You more felt sorry that he felt the need to wear it. It couldn’t be easy to deal with, especially in this heat. You watched as his mouth opened but shut almost immediately. While in the midst of your own mind, he had reached out and gently took your extended hand. Clearly cautious of how much strength he used as he gently shook it, seeming almost concerned he wasn’t doing it right. Surely people shook his hand… right? But you only wondered for a moment before you felt the sheer heat of his hand course through your arm, sending small shivers of delight through you. Gosh, you really were a sucker of muscle and heat.

“Oh, I meant to ask, would you like a pen and paper to write with? It might be a bit more difficult if you can’t ask me questions about things.” You gushed pathetically. Your eyes darting towards the notepad you had placed beforehand. So much for being casual. You watched as he nodded slowly. You beamed a smile at him, maybe moving a bit too quickly for the paper and pen. You brought it back to him and began to sit at your table, motioning for him to follow. However, as soon as he rested his arms on the table to write, you felt it shift ever so slightly, to which he paused and looked beneath. You winced as you saw the small piece of cardboard crumble beneath the weight. Sending your table into its lopsided glory once more.

“Like I said, the doorbell is the least of my worries.” You huffed sadly, but you saw shoulder shift slightly. In a way, you almost thought of as laughter if you could hear it. You turned back to him, but he was already writing.

I’m Thomas, and by the looks of it I won’t be able to fix everything tonight

You flushed bright red but chuckled a bit at his words.

“Yeah, it's feeling like a bit of a lost cause. The main issues are this table and the dining, the sink in the kitchen and bathroom and the doorbell. And a part of the roof in my room that seems to be caving in somehow.” You smile sheepishly as he gives you a look. And you realised although he may not be able to talk, he was very expressive none-the-less. It made you feel better. Maybe this communicating thing wouldn’t be so difficult.

I can start with the sinks tonight if you would like? And have a look at the others, so I know what to bring next time.

You flush at the realisation that this would mean more visits and you’re not sure your poor cheeks can handle it. You nod, however, and stand once more making your way to the sink. You turn on the water and without a plug in sight, the water began to pool in the basin quickly. You turned off the faucet.

“I’ve tried everything short of pulling it all apart. And that’s only because I physically couldn’t unscrew the bolts.” You sighed as he took a quick look. You moved toward the loungeroom, quickly grabbing your tool kit you had kept inside to help fix everything up. You held a wrench and walked back. You walking in on Thomas already removing bottles of cleaning products and turning so he could see beneath. And oh god, if his size hadn’t hit you before, seeing him barely fit into your cabinet to look at the pipes absolutely cemented the idea in your head. You cleared your throat as to not startle him and handed him the tool. Receiving a small huff in return which you decided to take as a thank you. You felt something tingle in you as you watch him unscrew the bolts with little to no effort at all. God, you really were a lost cause.  

Maybe seeing nothing but pretty boys in your city really had made you weak to any man doing physical labour but hot damn where you completely happy to just watch him work. Until you realised you were probably being creepy and decided to heat up one of the pies for him while he worked. Deciding on making some sweet tea for the both of you as well. Anything to keep your mind preoccupied.

You absentmindedly began to hum as you began to work. A habit you had picked up a long time ago. It helped to soothe you as well as focus. Great for baking. You nodded your head in confirmation before making your way to the fridge and grabbing some items. You worked quickly, sweet tea being something you made often, reminded you of home while you were away. While working diligently, you could hear all sorts of sounds of metal on metal as he worked, every once in awhile hearing something drop to the ground before you heard water gushing out and a slight disgruntled noise come from the mysterious man. You stopped yourself from giggling. You began to stir the ingredients together and didn’t realise how much time had passed, your head in the clouds as you listened to the sound of not being alone and cooking. It made you smile. If mama could see me now… She’d wonder why I wasn’t his bride yet. You scoffed to yourself and turned, only to realise he was no longer behind you. Instead, everything had been packed away like nothing had happened, and you looked down the sink to see no remaining water. Gingerly you turned on the tap slightly to water if the water would catch.

Nothing.

You smiled and turned the faucet on harder and watched in happiness as it run down the drain and into the abyss. Thank goodness. You were getting very sick of using the outside hose. Standing you decided to heat up the pie and begin pondering different ways to spice them up for your customers. You decided to take a notepad and sit down on the sofa. Thomas would find you if he needed anything you were sure. You hadn’t realised how much time had passed as you wrote ingredient after ingredient and recipe after recipe down in your notebook. Outside was now pitch black, and you heard loud footsteps echo from somewhere behind you. Smiling, you stood up and turned around coming face to face with the man you told yourself you hadn’t been daydreaming over for the last couple hours he had been here.

“Oh Thomas, did you manage to fix it? I saw the kitchen, thank you so much! You have no idea how relieved I am to have a working sink again. I don’t really know how to thank you properly, but I made some sweet tea, and I’d like you to try one of the pies I made out of the meat you gifted me. Oh! Speaking of. Thank you very much for that too! You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting to find some good cuts, and yours were fantastic! Luda mentioned you were a butcher but still, they were outstanding!” You knew you were rambling. He knew you were rambling. Everyone knew. And yet you couldn’t shut up. Your eyes darted to the kitchen as you realised you needed to set up the food still. Perfect. Distraction. But as you made your way over, you couldn’t help but notice Thomas actively looking away from you. You weren’t sure if you had said something wrong. Oh, you hope you hadn’t. You and your big mouth.

However, much to your relief, he continued to follow you to the kitchen, and as you grabbed the jug, you went to motion for him to sit at the kitchen table. The world apparently had other plans. And you wished you weren’t such a clutz. You whirled around and come face to chest with the much taller man. Unfortunately, the glass jug you had been holding didn’t quite bounce off as much as you did. Instead, it shattered around you both, sending sweet tea pouring over you and him equally. You froze. And stared. Not entirely sure what to do at this moment. Was it real? Were you dreaming? Despite feeling like you were in some kind of hallucination, your mouth apparently hadn’t taken the hint.

“I… am so sorry.” And with that, your mind seemed to catch up with you. You looked up at his face to find him staring rather intently at you. You figured he was probably mad and trying to keep it in. Oh god, you had to fix this. You rushed over to the bench and quickly grabbed some paper towel before patting him down repeatedly. Muttering multiple apologise as you tried to remove as much liquid as possible. You bit your lip and dared not look at his face again. Everything seemed so quiet and still. The dull light illuminating both of you in the otherwise dark house as you stood in your kitchen, trying to pat this man dry in a useless attempt. You slowly looked up at him. His eyes were still fixated on you. And you thought maybe you weren’t the only one who short-circuited when this occurred. But you were the only one to reboot afterwards.

“Y-You can have a shower if you’d like. It’ll get really sticky… I can wash your shirt for you and give it back next time you come over… if you still want to…” You felt like you were in some kind of clique sitcom. God, you were so clumsy sometimes. You went to step back from him, however as you did, you realise that you hadn’t cleaned up the glass jug at all. Hissing loudly, you lifted your foot and before you could think you were hoisted into the air and placed on the kitchen table with seemingly no effort. You gasped at the feeling of warm hands encircling your waist before they were just as quickly taken away.

Before you could react, you watched as the giant man knelt in front of you, your cheeks reddening drastically he did. Was it suddenly really warm in here? You thought so. He gently took your foot and inspected it, his fingers grazing slightly against the blood that dripped from it. You whimpered gently.

“It’s fine, just a little cut. It’ll stop bleeding in no time.” However, as you spoke, you began to notice the spots of blood on his hands. You were sure they weren’t from you. They seemed too dry. Your eyes trailed up as you seen small specs of blood cover his arms too, and lightly coat his shirt. It was well hidden beneath the dirt from his day at work, but it was still noticeable. You wondered how you hadn’t noticed earlier. But he was a butcher. You figured he probably did get it everywhere. And maybe Luda had rushed him out of the house before he had time to really clean everything off. You wouldn’t judge him either way.

Watching beneath you, you see dark locks shake, as Thomas stood and grabbed more paper towel. He pressed it to your cut with a little pressure and sat there for a moment. Kneeling before you, holding your foot in his hand and you couldn’t help but think of him in a different situation, kneeling before you. You flushed bright red once more and turned away from him—your turn to be shy. Quick, think of something else! Your eyes darted around and landed on the pies once more. Pies!

“O-Oh. Did you want to try the pie still?” You grinned awkwardly from your place above him. He looked up at you, raising an eyebrow. But you thought you would see amusement in his eyes and a small smirk on his lips. It made you relax slightly when he nodded his head, pull away from you, but not before checking if you foot at stopped bleeding. You quickly set up his food with a glass of water instead before sweeping up your mess. Being extra careful not to step on anymore. Although being swept off my feet again isn’t a terrible idea… You shook your head. Not the time! You quickly put all of it away and made your way back to the kitchen. Hesitantly, you pressed your hands together and walked up shyly to him. Eager to know what he thought as he slowly broke apart the pie and slipped it through his mask. You wanted to tell him it was okay to take it off. That you wouldn’t be offended but you figured if he was comfortable doing that, he would have done it anyway.

“How is it?” You asked shyly, threading a lock of hair behind your ear. You watch him look up at you and ideally look around. You stare confused for a moment before you remember he couldn’t just tell you. You wanted to slap yourself. You quickly grabbed the paper you had written recipes on earlier and gave it to him. His eyebrow lifting at the sight of the recipes. You bit your lip.

“I… actually wanted to ask you how you liked it because I want to sell them at my bakery… And meat is tough to come by… especially as good as the stuff you gave me! …I was wondering if you would mind selling me some from time to time. I wouldn’t have to be all the time! And I don’t need very much. And of course, I would be willing to pay you for it!” You bit your lip once more and winced. You’d been doing that far too much this afternoon. You waited patiently as he began to hesitantly write.

I’d love to give you more… but I have to ask Charlie and Luda. Thank you for the food, it’s good

You almost squealed and clapped. It wasn’t much, but you figured any compliment from Thomas was something to be excited over. And as for the meat, you were sure you could talk Luda around. Maybe this just meant you and Thomas wouldn’t see the last of each other just yet. You were more than a little okay with that. Even though you didn’t squeal, in your excitement, you had launched forward and enveloped the large male in a hug. Pressing your form against his side as he remained seated. However, you quickly realised what you were doing and stood up immediately. Thomas did too. His head once again turning away from you and you knew you really shouldn’t be so forward with him. You were never usually like this anyways. You didn’t know what would come over you, every time he was around. You blushed bright red and quickly made your way to the front door. Offering him an easy out without appearing rude. You assumed he needed time to himself just as much as you did. If not more, and he was needed at home.

“Thank you so much, Thomas. For everything. You’re really a lovely man, and you feel free to come over whenever you may like.” You tried to smile in a friendly way, but he seemed to scurry off into the night like a man on a mission. And you were left hoping it wasn’t the last time you saw him, hoping his odd mood wasn’t because he didn’t like being around you.

You sighed and closed the door, slumping up against it as your head fell to your chest. Eyes closed as you breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. Once you opened your eyes once more, you almost felt your face burn off as you realised why the poor boy wouldn’t look at you. In your haste to dry him off, you had forgotten that the sweet tea had also poured on you. And suddenly your earlier haste to get changed into something nice and appealing backfired completely because your dress clung to your chest like a second skin and you cursed the fact you had decided to go au natural. Fearing the risk of bra straps showing on your cute off the shoulder dress. I really am a lost cause.

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