Chapter 3: New Roommate

Emily woke up and stretched, her body sore from all of the moving the day before. She rolled over and looked at Josh who was still sleeping peacefully. She placed her hand on top of his chest and cuddled into him for a few moments before getting up and getting ready for the day. 

While she was brushing her teeth, Josh grunted and covered his eyes in bed, and she laughed at his sleepy reaction. "Good morning grumpy."

He laughed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, sitting up. "Good morning."

"What time is Stanley coming?" Emily spit into the sink, wiping her mouth off. 

"He said around eleven, so we should have about twenty minutes before he gets here." Josh checked his watch and then laid back down.

"Nope. Get up sleepyhead." Emily said, climbing on top of him. She bounced on him gently, making him laugh and try to push her off. "GET UP!"

He grabbed her and flipped her off of him, sitting on top of her. "OKAY IM UP!" 

She laughed as he kissed her gently, cupping the sides of her face with his hands. 

"Go get ready. Your morning breath is out of this world." She jokingly covered her nose and he scoffed at her as he walked to the bathroom.

Emily walked downstairs, and brewed a pot of coffee, pouring herself a glass and one for Josh. She poured some cream in it and stirred it gently, walking to the living room. She sat on the couch and turned the tv on, flipping it to the local news station. They were talking about the body that was found.

".. has been declared a homicide. The autopsy revealed the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, with all of the blood drained, matching our serial killer's profile."

The pit in her stomach grew as she heard those words. Ricky had been murdered a few years back in New York, and his cause of death was blunt force trauma as well. She sat her coffee cup down on the table and put her head into her hands, trying to control her breathing. She hated having flashbacks to that night, and she could feel her stomach churning at the thought of it. 

She turned the tv off and rubbed her face, frustrated. It felt like no matter where she went, she couldn't escape Ricky's death. It was the most traumatic thing she had ever went through, and she wished there weren't so many triggers that would bring back the flashbacks. 

"You okay?" Josh walked into the room and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"Yeah I'm good. Just checked the news about the poor girl that was found. It's still so crazy that someone could do that to a little girl." She sighed and stood up, fighting the anxiety she felt. "I made you some coffee."

"Thank you love." He kissed her cheek and walked to the kitchen to grab it. "Stanley should be here any minute."

She nodded and looked outside, right as a red truck was pulling up. "I think he's here actually."

Josh sat his cup down and walked with her to the front door, opening it as Stanley got out of his car. He had a slight limp, so he walked with a small cane to assist him. He smiled very nicely at them as he made his way to the front door. 

"Hello! Sorry it took me a little to get here, the roads up here were kind of windy. I'm not the best driver." He grinned. "I'm Stanley. It's nice to meet you both."

Emily felt terrible for judging him as hard as she did, after seeing he was just a frail old country man. "It's nice to meet you as well!" She stepped forward to shake his hand. 

"Allow me to show you the basement apartment." Josh led them around the corner and down the driveway hill to the door at the bottom, that opened up to the basement apartment. 

Stanley's eyes lit up as he saw the inside. It was beautifully furnished, with hard wood floors in the living room kitchen and dining room, and a carpeted bedroom. It didn't have anything in it except for the appliances, and a dining room table, but Emily could tell that Stanley was falling in love with it the more he saw it. "Oh this is perfect. I'm going through a divorce right now, and just need to get away from all of it. This would be an amazing place to live."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. How long were you together?" Emily frowned and placed a comforting hand on Stanley's shoulder. 

"Ten years. She had an affair with another man, and I just couldn't stick around after that." He sighed. "Some people are stronger than I am, and could try to fix things. But I'm not really the forgiving type when it comes to breaking up a relationship like that." He ran his hands along the dining table and smiled. "This is a beautiful home. I would love to be your tenant." 

Josh looked over at Emily to see how she felt about it, and she nodded and smiled. "We'd love to have you here. When do you think you would move in?" 

"Oh maybe a week or so that way I could get all of my things from the old house, and find some moving help." Stanley smiled as he glanced around the apartment again, before they headed outside. 

"I would help if you wanted it." Josh said, helping Stanley up the hill. "That would very kind of you." Stanley smiled at him as they made it back up to his truck. 

"Would the two of you like to go out to lunch with me? I'd be happy to pay and show you around the city. I know you guys just recently moved here so you probably haven't had the chance to look around a whole lot." He smiled, his eyes crinkling with the lines of age on his face. 

"We would love that! We haven't eaten anything yet this morning." Emily said, smiling. "Let me just grab a jacket quickly." 

She walked into the house and grabbed her jacket off of the couch, smiling as she walked back outside. 

"Lets go!" 

After a short drive, Stanley pulled up to a small whole in the wall restaurant on the main strip of their town. They all climbed out of the car, and made their way inside.

"Good morning Stanley! I see you have some visitors with you!" The waitress greeted them as they walked in the door.

"Yes, I do! Just the three of us please." He smiled sweetly at her and she nodded, motioning for them to follow her to a table off to the side. 

"My name is Roxy, and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you guys started with some drinks?" She pulled out her notepad.

"Just a coffee for me. What would you two like?" Stanley looked over at the couple.

"Waters for us both please." Emily smiled as the waitress nodded and walked away. 

"So what brought the two of you out here to Decatur?" Stanley asked, curiously.

"We've always wanted to live in the country, but not too far from suburbs. So this seemed like a perfect area. And once we saw the house, we couldn't say no." Josh smiled and put his hand on top of Emily's.

"That's lovely." 

After they ate and conversed for a while, Stanley drove them back to the house, and dropped them off, giving a little wave before pulling out of the driveway. 

"Do you feel better about him now?" Josh asked, as he unlocked the door and held it open for Emily. "Yeah a lot better. I guess it's just the nerves of having a stranger live with us." She sat her jacket on the back of the couch and took her shoes off, setting them by the door. "He's a really nice guy."

"I agree."

Emily jumped at the sound of a familiar voice she hadn't heard in a long time. She turned to see a man sitting on the chair next to the fireplace, his ginger mohawk bright against his pale white skin. His eyes were practically glowing gold, and he smirked.

"Hey there, Em." He grinned.

"Ricky?!"