Roommates

Chapter 1

Present Day

Lisa

Sleeping in a rusty, grey '73 Ford Mustang isn't as comfortable as it may seem. I'd been sleeping on the front seats for the last two weeks. The pleather seats were ripped and dug into my back as I slept. I awoke to the sound of the highway screaming past. I knew that passing through states would take a while, but I didn't expect it to take so long for it to drive from Flagstaff, Arizona to San Francisco, California. Really, who knew the USA was so bloody big?

Although I was miles and miles away, I still felt that Shane was out there chasing me. Every noise I heard while sleeping jerked me awake. The nightmares I had--.

A blurring horn interrupted my train of through and I finally stepped out of my car. It was my dad's, before he and my mum left. He used to collect old classics and fix them up. He never got around to this one, though and since Shane already had a car and didn't have the money for a new one, I got the rusty classic. It should've run like a charm after all the times I fixed it up, but no.

Grabbing the newspaper off the front seat, I closed the car door and looked at the folded over page. I'd picked the newspaper up at one of the truck stops on the way. The page I looked at had almost twelve red circles randomly pattering the page. Each one circled a possible apartment. Most of the apartments were completely empty and had one bedroom. However, I had my eye on one apartment in particular. Rent was cheap, food was included and I ended up with a roommate. It didn't say much about her in particular, but I just needed to be around people.

The money stashed away in my duffle bags would keep me going for at least the rest of the year without having to get a job. Not that I minded manual labour. Okay, I minded manual labour, but doesn't everyone?

I caught my reflection in the window of the car and I turned my face to eye any remaining bruises. Luckily for me, I was as clean as a whistle with absolutely no bruises. No bruises meant no reminders of Shane and no Shane meant a new life.

I could only hope. 

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"This is it," I said to myself, pulling my backpack out of the car and locking it.

Instead of parking in the nearby parking lot, I parked on a little side street. I walked towards the large four storey building. It wasn't shabby, but it wasn't five stars either. The building was white cement rather than red brick and it had balconies coming out from each of the floors. The newspaper had said room 4C. There had also been a contact number that I had rung two days before. I walked into the apartment building and when I looked around for an elevator, I came up short.

"Stairs it is," I groaned and stalked to the staircase. There were six flights of stairs and every time I looked over at the next door, the apartments were set out the same way. Eventually, I reached the fourth and final floor and looked anxiously around the floor. Room 4A was to my left and 4B was to my right and lucky last was at the end of the hallway. The hallway was a bright blinding while the doors were green and doorknobs and numbers were silver. I reached 4C and raised my hand to knock, letting the thumps echo through the silent hallway. After five long minutes of waiting, I stopped knocking, lowered my hand, and twisted the doorknob. The door easted open without a creek.

"This is not breaking and entering. I'm merely entering a premise that could be my new home," I reassured myself. "Hello?" I called out, tightening my backpack.

Smoothing out my green tank over my black jeans, I nervously looked around the apartment, my long, brown hair swishing around me. It was beautiful. The door entered the kitchen and living room. A small plasma TV sat on a stand and two leather armchairs surrounded it. A coffee table resided in the middle of the living room with rubbish scattered on top of it. The kitchen had a breakfast bar and eye-height cupboards. The benches were white, splattered with tiny black dots. I sighed in pleasure and assured myself that this would be my new home.

"Hello?" I called out again.

There was no answer, but I heard  a noise coming from another room. I walked from the living room, which was to the right of the door and down a large hallway. There were pictures of random backgrounds like sunsets and trees. I raised an eyebrow and deliberately sneered at the photo of  a pink kitten. I kept walking down the hallway and paused when I reached a closed door.

"Hello?" I repeated, brushing stray hair away from eyes.

There were faint footsteps from behind the closed door and I tightened my grip on my backpack for security. I turned my head back down the hall and made sure no one was behind me.

"I'm not breaking and entering…" I said, repeating my mantra.

I reached out a hand and turned the silver doorknob and pushed the pale blue door open. The door revealed a large bedroom. The curtains were pulled back and the windows were open. Wandering from the door and to the end of the massive bed, I observed the room in a completely non-creepy way. The bed was neatly made with purple blankets and matching patterned pillows. 

I was in the middle of being completely non-creepy when I heard footsteps and a cough.

I spun around so fast, my head hurt. And then came face to face with a sexy young man. Dark hair, dark eyes, lean build and a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Um," was all he said and I waved my hand and closed my eyes.