On the Outside

Chapter 3

Classes would be starting soon for the semester. It was late summer and there was still room for two new tenants to move in.
Samantha, Alison, and Anna had developed a routine of scheduling meals together.
Samantha was the only one who worked on campus for now. The other housemates had different jobs but were all enrolled in classes, all different majors.
Samantha purchased a padlock for her room for when she was not going to be there, just like everyone else did. Coming home to the house was something she was starting to look forward to. Having housemates was different than having roommates because they had their own defined space in their rooms and no reason to argue about splitting bills and cleaning. Mrs. Goodwin declared that she would clean the bathroom every week but that did not always seem to be the case... She either forgot or was just not up for it.

But that was supposedly the only time she ever entered that part of the house.

And the lack of a kitchen, private bath and even laundry was inconvenient, even for the low rental price. Samantha had started to feel better about coming home to the house with her housemates having welcomed her, but it was in the back of her mind to see if they would consider sharing an apartment with her. Eventually.

Samantha's room was cozy. The girls had started meeting up there to watch TV and contemplated using this as a study room for when school started. The girls discussed who was taking which classes and when, so they could walk or drive over to campus together, depending on the distance between the buildings, and still plan to look for each other in the evening. Samantha knew she was fortunate to have met such good people at the house.
They were sprawled out on the seafoam hued fluffy scatter rug Samantha had purchased to match her light green valances for the windows, along with pink floor pillows that matched her pink comforter to brighten the space. Normally, she would not go for such bright, "youthful" colors but this house needed it. That along with a couple of small lamps, casting a soft glow, made the room feel like her own.

"I feel pretty safe as long as that main door is locked," Alison answered when Samantha asked if there was a way to lock her room from the inside, there was not.

"Why did Mrs. Goodwin go on about not letting anyone into the house we did not recognize?"

"I suppose just for safety. We are close to the city. She probably feels vulnerable, living basically alone," was Alison's response. " I moved in a couple of weeks before you and she said the same thing to me," she answered shrugging her shoulders.

Anna was expected to be more well informed, having lived there for the past couple of years. She felt protective of Mrs. Goodwin and looked down and said,
"There have been knocks on her door late at night. If she doesn't answer her door. The knocking starts on our door. She has always told me to ignore it."

"Well I guess we are in trouble if we ever forget our keys," Alison had a way of making serious conversations lighthearted. Samantha and Alison laughed while Anna looked uncomfortable. Playing with the fringe on her robe, she stood to politely excuse herself for the night.
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The noises did not start until later.
Being in a new place, that was an OLD place was going to be an adjustment. At least they were not in a secluded area, the middle of town really. In the evening, Samantha could still hear people and traffic. There were buses traveling late into the night. It was a college town and she could still see her old dorm from her current bedroom window. She had moved out because she needed an affordable place to stay all year. Maybe take classes during the summer. But mostly, she wanted to be on her own and have the privacy of her own room.
So in the middle of the night, she did not want to overthink the noises that came from the attic. She really wished someone would move into the only other room on the floor with her. Safety in numbers. And she did not want to go running downstairs to Alison's room or Anna's room every time she got spooked.
The sliding noises she heard sounded like someone opening up a window in the attic? No, she sat up feeling a little disoriented and realized the noises were coming from somewhere else. And then it happened again.
Samantha's first instinct was to hold still. No one else was up here. She slept with the a small 25 watt lamp on beside her bed because she hated waking up in a new place and not being able to look around and see. Now she was grateful for the soft light. Samantha did not turn any other lights on, but slowly got out of bed, stopping at her bedroom door, remembering it was not locked. She cracked it open and peeked out to see the moonlight shining in from the window on the landing. She had made a habit of closing the fire door on the stairs when she went to bed. And if she needed to get up in the middle of the night to go downstairs to the bathroom, she would close it again when she came back up to her room.
It was then that Samantha thought of something. Walking down the steps and through the fire door, she wanted to make sure she was not the only one home. It was easy to tell. Both Alison's and Anna's rooms were not padlocked. Meaning they were inside their rooms, probably sound asleep.
Then a jarring of the outside door sounded, so that is what she had been hearing. And again. If it were one of her roommates she would want to let them in. But clearly, they were home.
"Alison!" She heard a voice sounding like a man's coming from the outside door.
It sounded just like Alison's boyfriend, Bryan, whom Samantha had met on her second day there. Mrs. Goodwin, of course, had a rule about men coming over but she didn't seem to pay attention either. And if he was coming over this late at night , she definitely would not notice. But it was a little rude, considering there were other people there sleeping and it was the middle of the night.
Alison came out of her room, startling Samantha,

"I'm sorry, I just saw his texts, I was asleep," she said as she walked down to let Bryan into the house.
"Samantha, I am so so sorry we woke you up!"
They both apologized profusely. Bryan was a character, genuinely kind, enthusiastic about everything and nothing. He had bright eyes and pink cheeks. Bryan had a charming way about him but he simply talked too much. This was Samantha's second time running into him and she noticed how he could go on and on. Alison was bubbly too and their personalities suited them as a couple. But Alison had a vested awareness of their surroundings and knew when to cut him off before he went into excruciating detail about how sorry he was, why he was so late, and actually striking up a conversation in a loud whisper.... Alison dragged him away. Thankfully.

"That's okay," Samantha assured them, returning to her room, very much relieved.

Then it happened again. About a week later, Samantha ignored it at first. She already knew Bryan was not supposed to be coming over so late anymore, according to Alison. Everyone liked him. He was pleasant and friendly to be around and no one was going to rat out their housemate if Brian chose to visit.
This time Samantha looked out her window. She was unable to see the entryway on the porch from where she stood, but wondered if she could catch a glimpse of whomever it was as they walked away. No way was she going down there again. And Mrs. Goodwin had mentioned to never open the door to anyone. No matter what they asked for.

Fine with Samantha...

Then a knock directly on her bedroom door!

What?

A knock again.

"Samantha. It's Anna."

Oh, thank God!

She opened the door to a wide eyed Anna,
"Don't answer the door."

"What? Okay. Who is it?"

They were interrupted by another loud knock.
And another knock, even louder than the last.

"How are we supposed to sleep? Bryan came over late that one night and promised it would never happen again. Do you know who's out there?" Samantha asked Anna.

"Well, I'm not sure. Just don't let them in no matter what."

Samantha took a deep breath, frustrated,
"You came all the way up here to tell me to not open the door?"

"I just didn't want to chance it, you almost opened the door that other night." Anna had apparently been listening to their conversation upon Bryan's arrived.

Now Samantha was really irritated.

Just then, Alison called up from where she had just opened the front door,

"Hey, guys, there are two little kids at the door asking for help..."

Before Alison could completely finish her sentence, Anna ran down both flights of stairs, only to slam the front door in the visitors' faces.