2 | Shrinking

1.01

She knew that it was a bad idea to post an ad on Craigslist for a roommate. All sorts of creeps would see it and maybe even a murderer or two among them that thought she was the perfect victim. But if she was gonna be able to stay in her apartment that was only two blocks from her job, then she needed some help paying the rent. And she didn't know anyone who could move in with her so that left her...

With Craigslist.

Not many people liked the area that her apartment was in and the people that lived in her apartment building. It wasn't exactly the best area, but the rent was cheap, well, it was cheap when you had a good job. Something that she didn't exactly have.

But even though it didn't pay as well as it could, she needed the job and so she needed the apartment that was just two blocks away. Which is why she needed the roommate and the ad on Craigslist. It had taken too long to get both to just give up on them, no matter how degrading her job was or how disgusting and disturbing the people that lived around her were.

When the first few replies came in, it didn't take long to determine them as creeps and dismissed them. But then one came through from a man named Scott and on all accounts, he seemed like a nice guy, and definitely not a creep. He was the first response that she got that she didn't immediately dismiss so she agreed to meet with him to talk about the apartment.

They met in the diner next door to her work, just a block and a half away from from the apartment. It was an old place, but a nice one and it was the perfect place to meet someone. When she got there after her shift, he was already sitting in a booth, his hands moving nervously and his leg bouncing under the table.

"Hey, Gracie, can I get two coffees and a plate of fries?" she asked the waitress at the counter. She gave a nod and then disappeared into the back with the order.

Switching her bag and coat to her other arm, she made her way over to Scott. When the man saw her, he stood up immediately and held his hand out to her.

"I'm Scott," he said, "Scott Lang."

"Samantha Dixon," she replied as they sat down.

"It's nice to meet you in person," Scott said.

"Likewise," Samantha agreed, "so you said you needed a place to stay because you just got out of prison?"

Scott suddenly looked more nervous, "uh, yeah. I- I did."

"Don't worry, I'm not judging, just collecting facts. A criminal record doesn't scare me, at least not one like yours. Being a thief isn't nearly as intimidating as being a murderer," Samantha said, smirking.

"No, I guess it's not," Scott agreed, laughing a little.

"Have you found a job yet? That is kind of an important part of sharing the rent payment," she said.

"Yes, I have. It's, just a ten-minute bus ride from here," he told her.

"Good, good," Samantha said, "you have any family?"

"A- a daughter. My ex-wife won't let me see her. But I'm working on that," Scott explained.

"Well, I say that's as commendable a motive as anything. One last question. If I agree to let you move in with me, are you gonna kill me in my sleep?"

For a moment, Scott blanched, staring at her wide-eyed. Then he saw the smirk on her face, and he laughed. "No, I can promise I won't kill you in your sleep. But if someone else tries to, I can't promise I can stop them."

"Don't worry, I think I've got that part covered for the both of us," Samantha joked.

Scott and Samantha talked in the diner for a little while longer before they both decided it was probably time they both left. At the end of their meeting, Samantha was sure that she had found the right person to help her pay the rent. When she told Scott as much, he was really happy about it. And that just solidified Samantha's decision that she made the right decision.

They set up another date for Samantha to show Scott the apartment and then went their separate ways. When she got back to her apartment, Samantha collapsed back on her couch and sighed.

Sure, she was glad that she was now going to have someone helping her pay the rent, meaning that she would be able to pull a little fewer hours at work, but after a long day already, she was tired. And until Scott moved in and was actually helping pay the rent, she wasn't going to get to take a little more time off.

Samantha was exhausted. She was tired and had sore feet and knees, a sore back and the more she thought about all these, the more appealing a bath sounded. But that also required getting up off the couch and going to the bathroom. Which, honestly, didn't sound as appealing as actually being in the bath.

Closing her eyes, Samantha was tempted to just fall asleep right there. Of course, she also knew that if she did that, she'd have a crick in her neck in the morning and that would bother her all day at work so she couldn't do that either.

"Ugh," she groaned, "I could really use superpowers right now."

Samantha laughed at herself, but picked herself up and walked towards the bathroom, grabbing some bubbles out of the cupboard and beginning to prepare her bath. As she filled up the tub, she debated on whether to get herself some snacks and maybe a drink. Laughing again, Samantha did just that, departing to the kitchen before returning to the bathroom.

Overall, it had been a good day. She found someone to help her pay the rent, she was having a relaxing bath... Maybe, just maybe, things were gonna get easier from here on out.