'Roommate' by C.W.Phoenix

This months short story by C.W.Phoenix is 'Roommate'. If you ever considered getting a roommate to help out with bills, this story may make you reconsider.

Roommate

John had moved into the apartment after starting his job at a local coffee shop. He was excited to start his new independent life away from his parents but soon realised that the cost of living was higher than he had expected. Determined to find a solution that didn’t involve moving back into his parent’s house, he began to consider the idea of getting a roommate. Most of his friends already had a place of their own or were happy staying at their parents while they were getting free food and board, so he begrudgingly accepted the idea of living with a stranger. Needing the cash, he wasted no time in advertising the room for rent and soon began to get phone calls from interested applicants. A lot were time wasters but there were three who had gone to look at the apartment. One Decided the place was just too small, the second seemed like a decent guy but was exceptionally chatty and had given John a headache by the time he finally left two hours later. The third guy who turned up was Shaun. He was quiet and didn’t say much at all but from what John could tell, he worked as some kind of web designer and spent most of his time on the computer. John loved the idea of a roommate that would spend most of their time quietly hidden away in the room and Shaun didn’t come across as strange or abrasive in any way, just quiet and perhaps a little shy. They were both around the same age and seemed to have a similar taste in films and music. He seemed like the perfect roommate. Shaun moved in Two days later.

For the first few weeks that Shaun lived there, he remained timid and on the quiet side. He kept mostly to his room, emerging occasionally to make a sandwich or bowl of noodles, then returning to his room until he needed a bathroom break. As time went on Shaun began to leave his room more frequently, he would talk more and before long, John and Shaun became good friends. It seemed like the perfect arrangement and John enjoyed Shaun’s company. The only thing that seemed slightly strange was that on every Wednesday night, Shaun would leave the apartment at exactly 8:00pm and be gone until the early hours of Thursday morning. John wondered where he was going but every time he tried to ask Shaun about it, he would change the subject or just shrug it off. Before long John stopped asking but always remained curious about Shaun’s mysterious Wednesday night whereabouts.

Nearly a year had passed and on a Wednesday at 8.00pm, Shaun left the apartment like every other. John had spent many nights imagining outrageous explanations for where he went and what he was doing. That night he was determined to discover the truth. As he trailed Shaun’s car at a distance, he hoped would keep his presence concealed, the amusing realisation that he could just be following Shaun to a chess club or to his gran’s house almost caused him to turn back around and head home, but his curiosity was too strong.

John followed Shaun for 20 miles across town, until he pulled up outside a row of old storage sheds. He unlocked one of the sheds and went inside. Five minutes passed before Shaun came back out in a change of clothes and with a bicycle. John then followed Shaun as he cycled into a small housing estate before stopping in the shadow of a roadside bench and propping the bike up against it, to continue on foot. The abstract nature of Shaun’s actions concerned john, but he couldn’t turn back now. John was determined to find out where Shaun was going. He followed Shaun to a house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Not wanting to be spotted, John waited at the entrance to the previous road. It was difficult to see exactly where Shaun had gone or what he was doing but he had gone too far to give up now. John stepped out of his car and made his way down the cul-de sac. As he got closer, he could see lights on in the house. That’s when he heard the screams. Screams off terror. Then stood in the lit window was the silhouette of a man holding a knife, his face masked with a balaclava, but John knew who he was.

John panicked and ran back to his car, wondering if he should do something or if he could do something. His heart was racing and immediately picked up his phone to call the police. He paused, realising he hadn’t actually seen anything happen. He had no proof it was Shaun and he didn’t even know where he was. John realised there was a possibility he’d got everything wrong and wasn’t sure what he would actually say to the police if he spoke to them. The more he thought about it the more he doubted himself. He didn’t see the man’s face. It was dark and might have just been someone in their kitchen with a knife. It didn’t take long for John to convince himself that he should just leave, so he started the car and set off back to the apartment. He knew at some point Shaun would get home and he would have to act normally so he wouldn’t know something was wrong. John sat down and put the TV on, waiting for Shaun to get back. He had to keep telling himself that he didn’t know anything for sure. He considered Shaun a friend and didn’t want to make any assumptions about his character but how well did he know him really? John decided he should keep his knowledge of the nights events to himself unless he heard anything that should cause him further concern.

When the familiar sound of jangling keys in the doors lock rang in the distance, a wave of dread swamped John from head to toe. Shaun walked in and sat down on the sofa beside John, wearing his original clothes and behaving as he always did. John knew he had to push his fear deep down inside and act as he normally would.

‘Back then?’ John muttered, without taking his eyes off the TV.

‘Yeh, what are you watching?’ Shaun replied.

‘Nothing good, change it if you want, I was about to go to bed anyway,’ John answered, seeing his chance to get out of there and passing Shaun the remote.

John went into his room and closed the door behind him. He was sure Shaun had no idea he’d followed him and needed to know if there was any kind or reported incident from earlier that night. He plugged his earphones into the small TV he had in his room and turned it on to the local news. The reporter was halfway through a chilling report but the image of a recognisable house in the background told John all he needed to know. He knew that house. He was stood across the street from it earlier that night. The same house he’d watched Shaun walking towards. Now it was all too clear that he had to contact the police and tell them what he saw, but now was too late. A badly drawn image of Johns face appeared on the TV in front of him, as the reporter described his vehicle that had been seen fleeing the area by multiple residents. The police were looking for him. In a panic John pulled out his earphones and flicked off the TV, he had to tell them the truth. As the screen faded back to black, the TVs reflection held the image of Johns face once more. That’s when he noticed the figure stood behind him. Waiting patiently by the doorway was Shaun, grinning from ear to ear. John jumped up to his feet and spun around to look at him.

‘I, I didn’t do anything. It was. They have it all wrong,’ John stuttered.

‘Do they? So, I guess you want to tell them it was me? That’s what you want to say, isn’t it? That’s why you followed me. To prove it was me?’ Shaun said, still grinning.

‘No. No I just wanted to know where you were going. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t think anything. Please. Don’t hurt me. I’m not going to say anything.’ John replied, in the most convincing voice he could muster.

Shaun let out a loud grunt of a laugh as he rushed across the room towards John.

‘I’m not going to hurt you. I need you. You’re going to take the blame, for them all,’ said Shaun.

There was a loud pounding on the front door to the apartment.

‘Police, open the door.’

Shaun quickly ran to the front door and swung it open. Then pointed to John as he was leaving his room.

‘He’s over there. I just saw him on the news.’ Shaun shouted, as the police barged in, running over to John and placing him in handcuffs.

John tried to tell the police that it was all Shaun, but they didn’t listen. As John was being dragged away, he looked back to see Shaun staring back at him, with a grin on his face.