Chapter Text
“Well, wh—what DO you remem—mem— remember?” The brunet stuttered, cracking his knuckles.
“Uhm,” You thought, furrowing your brows in concentration. “Cherry pop and baby blue.”
“Is that really a—all you remember??” Toby asked, befuddled.
You grinned nervously, “I remember my family a bit, and um, I remember Christmas, and my name,” You mess with your hair, sun shining down on you through the leaves of the tree you sit beneath. “And a swiss army knife,” You pause, “And a deck of cards.”
“Wow. That’s n—not a lot to g—o to go off of.”
You laugh. “My parents probably think I’m dead.”
“H—how long has it been?”
“Eight months, I think?”
“That’s a—al— That’s almost a who—whole baby.”
You snicker, “Yeah, almost.”
Toby fiddled with the grass and moss beneath him, feeling their lush textures.
“Do you r—remember your little sister?”
“Yeah, but I can’t quite remember if her name was Leah Marie or Prim Rose.” You look up at the lush green leaves blowing in the breeze above you, squinting as the light wormed through the boughs and foliage.
“Leah,” Toby said, jolting suddenly. “Prim Rose was y—your grandmother’s na-name.” The way the boy twitched nonchalantly made you smile, shaking your head slightly as you recalled preschool.
“I remember preschool.”
“What parts of it?”
“I remember you getting picked on, and I remember joining you in the sandbox. We’d play with Tonka Trucks and make sand castles.” You smile fondly at the memories. “Baby blue.” You say.
Toby snickered flusteredly, smiling at the ground.
“I remember moving away.”
“I rememb—ber watching your car drive a—away.”
“Lace and ribbon.” You state.
“Your mother was e—emotionally abU— abusive and vind—dictive.”
“My dad was the best, though. I remember when he divorced her ass and kicked her out. Dad got full custody of me.”
“Do you rem—remember Andrew?”
You snort, “Remember? He’s sitting above us.” You look up to see a dirty blond-haired boy in a red jersey smiling down at you.
Toby looked up, staring at the empty tree branch, giving a solemn smile. “He’s always j—just around the corner, h—huh?”
“Yeah,” you giggle. “You are, too.”
You both give a slightly shy smile.
“What e—else do you remember?”
“Swim team. Swim lessons. Lifeguarding. Drawing in crayon.”
“All of those are out of order.” Toby laughs.
You sigh reminiscently, “I remember when dad brought home this beautiful young lady from Vermont and told me she was my new mom.”
Toby nodded.
“Silk and cotton.”
The two of you listen to the leaves blow in the early summer breeze, the chirping of birds, and general tranquility of nature.
“I remember her hugs were so warm and her voice was so soft. She was so nice, and she made dad so happy.” Your smile grows wider as you close your eyes, picturing your parents. “And she didn’t discourage me over Andrew.”
“Seedless strawberry j—jam.” Toby inferred.
“Exactly.” You open your bright eyes and smile at the curly-haired boy sitting next to you. You continue describing what you remember. “I remember sitting in therapy. Don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember sitting in Dr. Armin’s office.”
“Y—you remember a lot m—more than yo—you let on.”
You smile guiltily. “A lot of it is just now coming back to me, in the most vivid detail it ever has.”
“That’s good.”
“Gushers and scraped knees.”
“Otter pops a—and muddy feet.”
You beamed at the brunet. “Yes!”
Toby grinned at you adoringly.
“Chocolate chip cookies and grocery shopping in the rain.”
“Yeah.” Toby nodded, satisfied at that answer.
The two of you fell silent, enjoying each other’s company, as well as the warmth of the sun.
“We sh—should go.” Toby stood up, holding his hand out to pull you up.
“Where?” you took his hand, and he pulled you to your feet with a smile.
“House.”
“Not home.”
Toby smiled happily, “Exactly.”
Home is where the heart is, and this place has no heart. Well, other than the shape of almost everything. An abandoned love motel, mostly intact, minus a few walls and ceilings. Some parts of it are more run down than others, but it feels more like a three-walled camping cabin than a motel.
A short, depressed man; an auburn with the resources; a terrifying, unstable monstrosity of a man; a chestnut-haired girl with a short temper; a woman who always wears a mask; and a whole lot of ghosts.
Andrew followed behind you as you followed Toby, but Andrew stayed back by a few feet, like a parent hovering around their kid as they played.
“The smell of w—wooden pencils, a—a—and the holid— the holiday season.”
You nod. “Certainly.” You follow him to his self-proclaimed ''bedroom''. Four walls and a roof, with 4x4s and 2x4s framing the walls and ceiling to keep it from collapsing on him. Tarp covering most of the rotting and dirty floor. The mattress, which was in surprisingly good state, lay upon a box spring, but no actual bedframe, pressed up against two walls. A kitchenette on the other side of the room, also in surprisingly good shape, had cupboards full of snacks, blankets, tarp, rope, clothes, you name it. A bathroom with a large, heart-shaped bathtub built into the floor was as clean as it could be, in the overall state of this place.
Most of the rooms were grosser and more rundown. Most had tents in a motel room because it was cleaner and warmer to sleep in a tent than in the actual room itself.
Your room, for instance, had suffered a lot of water damage from the April rains, so you’d begun sleeping with Toby, for the sake of your health and safety. Not that you minded sleeping next to the brunet.
Toby sat on the bed and sighed. “This winter’s gonna b—be harsh.”
“Yeah. There’s a reason none of us have eaten in two days and EJ is almost never here.”
“W—we should get a job or someth-thing.”
“If only.” You roll your eyes, joining Toby on the bed. “They’d have to know our names, then they’d search it up.”
The brunet groaned. “I h—hate this.”
“Me too.” You snicker.