the new roomie

Taken Care Of

Work went as usual. My manager, Ryan, yelled a lot more today though. Maybe he's mad that Shawn's back in jail again. I'm not looking forward to being anymore understaffed either, but I get through those emotions without yelling at anyone. Whatever.

I got to the house around 2AM. Driving there was so different at night. The woods were quieter than I'd have liked them to be, I don't like quiet woods. Anyone from the woods knows that quiet means dangerous, means there's something scary enough in there that no animals want to be found by it.
I wish I could say that being in a car made me feel safer, but it didn't. The air in the car was stagnent and stale, and I was alone. So much more alone than I'd felt when I left the house.

I parked further up the driveway than I had before to avoid walking any longer than I needed to in the dark, still evening. When I got inside, I saw that the dining room light was on. I cautiously made my way to the kitchen, and, to my dismay, there was a man in the dining room, sliding door open so he could see right into the kitchen. Josh.

"Ayyy man, what's good?" he smiled up at me from the table as he spoke. In front of him lay about 2 notebooks with notes in drastically different hand-writing, an open laptop and some random papers, I couldn't see what they were, but they looked important.
"Hi" I said flatly. I had turned around to walk into the kitchen when I heard Josh ask "How was work?" There was a tinge of concern in his voice, I don't know why. "It was... Ok. I got yelled at a lot" I poured myself a bowl of cereal as I spoke. Josh said "Aw, that's no good. I'm sorry lil man" And I recoiled at his words. 'little man' what was wrong with this guy. I'm probably the same age as him. And I told him as much. "Hey don't call me 'little man'. I'm like, your age." "Oh yeah? How old you is?" "Twenty," I said curtly. "Ah man I think I beat you by a bit, my 21st birthday was last week!" He sounded over excited. I didn't get why. I just shot him a scrunched up little glance and headed for the stairs. "Oh, by the way," He called after me "Leo bought you sum else, it's on your bed!" And indeed it was. It was... Bedsheets! A practical gift, with a note. "I've been too busy to meet you, but Emmit's told me good things!~ Leo" My heart sank. Emmit didn't tell the rest of the guys about our weird thing in the bathroom, did he?
I stared at the note for a while, then set it down.

Upon examination, the sheets were not so practical. They matched my walls. Light yellow with small white flowers printed on them. Nonetheless, I put them on my bed. Fuck, maybe they'll buy me a pacifier next. I curled up in my adorable bed, but didn't sleep for a long time.
I don't know how long I'd been laying there, but it was long enough to hear the front door open and footsteps go up the stairs. I watched the hallway light disappear from under my door as someone passed it to go to the bathroom. I heard the sink turn on, then the cabinet open, then a loud crash. I waited, very still, and listened for anything else. When no noises came, I decided to get up.
In the bathroom was Emmit, on his hands and knees picking up everything that'd fallen from the sink counter and the medicine cabinet. He looked up at me with his big, bloodshot eyes and let me know that he was "Too high for this." I turned off the sink and helped the man to his feet. He stood by the door and watched my quickly put away everything that'd fallen. "I'm shocked you didn't wake anyone else up." I said as I turned around, but Emmit was gone. I looked around the hallway, but he was nowhere to be seen. For such a built man, he's quiet. I figured, as long as I was in here I'd brush my teeth. By the time I was done, I was finally feeling sleepy instead of just exhausted.
I walked into my room and there on my bed, shining by the moonlight, was Emmit's sleeping form. Okay, what the fuck man. I walked up to him and said quietly "Hey, what are you doing? Go to your own room." In response, he whimpered and reached out to grab me. I dodged him. Less gentle this time, I said "Emmit. I have work tomorrow. Git." His eyes fluttered open and he looked at me. "Just... Sleep here with me. or sleep in my bed. c'mere" He opened his tired arms and closed his eyes again. I took time to weigh my pros and cons. There were no pros. I gave in, afterall, it's him who's being a freak, not me. Iay down in my bed, scooting almost off the edge as not to get in Emmit's grasp. "Why don't you sleep in your own bed?" I demanded once more, my final protest. "I don't want the saints to see me high" He mumbled. Baffled, I turned away from him and closed my eyes. I'm pretty sure I slept with a confused look on my face all night.