Dark Explorations

I dropped my motorcycle’s kickstand down and hopped off of it. Luckily, Alan's apartment complex didn’t charge for guest parking. While people couldn’t pin any crimes on me, I found out multiple times that didn’t stop them from towing illegally parked cars or bikes. All I had with me was my helmet and a backpack. I traveled lightly. I never bothered to really get to know somewhere. Frankly, I didn’t care to. I would always be sent on a mission somewhere else in the country or simply grow bored if I stayed somewhere longer than a few weeks. From what I was told, I may be staying here for a few months. That thought did not excite me. If it were a larger city like Washington or Pittsburgh, I’d probably adjust well. Hell, if it was in the middle of the fall and the college parties were rampant, I’d be downright excited. Morgantown in the summer seemed like the worst possible place to be.

This all was the case on top of having to babysit Alan. I didn’t hate Alan honestly. He was surprisingly useful in tracking down Roxane and in the fight with Vikky he managed to come in clutch with my gun. He avoided being overly annoying with his questions, could read a room better than most, and had enough foresight and logic to piece together what he didn’t know. Someone like that was useful and easy to protect. Truly the only issues I had were linked to my secondary task, managing him. He was smart, far smarter than me. If he wanted to escape, the only thing I could do was chase him down. I’d win that race, but I doubted it would ever get to that point. Either he wouldn’t try or I would never see it coming.

I opened the door to his apartment. Luckily he didn’t lock it, breaking down the door would be annoying at this hour of the night. The lights were all still on and my eyes immediately moved towards what had changed since I left a few hours ago. The couch now had a sheet wrapped around it and two pillows and a large blanket folded neatly on top. There was also a basket on the small coffee table in front of it with a bottle of laundry detergent and one of bleach inside. I heard another door inside, likely the bedroom, open and Alan call out as he walked into the main room.

“Hey Sofia, I hope you don’t mind I left out- Jesus Christ…”

He stopped at the entrance as we made eye contact. His face twisted into an expression of shock. He blinked a few times before speaking.

“Alice said it was bad. I just didn’t expect this.”

I ended up just putting on my clothes on top of the blood. I got the large globs that had congealed off, but there was a bit everywhere. It felt like mud in your socks, except everywhere and smelling of iron and sex. I did a once over of my own body instinctually, trying to see what exactly shocked him the most. My jacket and jeans were conservative enough to not show most of my skin. It took me a few seconds before I realized it was my hair. It was sticking up in awkward directions with a red sheen to it as the blood dried and congealed into the world’s worst gel. Alan took that moment to walk towards the couch and continue whatever he wanted to say.

“I went ahead and got some bed sheets and put them on the couch with some spare blankets and pillows. I also got a laundry basket with detergent and bleach when Alice said you were out… killing.”

He said the last part after a pause. He squirmed a bit uncomfortably at it. I dropped my backpack on the floor and he flinched as it hit the ground. He kept a friendly smile on his face, but his eyes read with fear and something else. Was that hope? Something about it made my stomach turn.

“What’s your goal here?”

He was shocked by my question. Not the same kind he got from my blood-soaked appearance. It was an innocent shock. A childish expression that was similar to asking a toddler something outside of their worldview. I decided to clarify my question and nearly found myself yelling at him.

“What are you getting at? Laying out all this for me. What do you want from me?”

He took a step back and I realized I was leaning forward as if to hit him. I couldn’t if I wanted to, but he didn’t know that. He held up his hands defensively and stuttered a defense.“I-I mean nothing! I just thought if you were staying here, I should be friendly. I don’t want my roommate to be awkward or antagonistic with me. I didn’t mean anything by offering.”

I pulled back a bit. His expression of fear was great. If he were taller or muscular, I might have considered raping him last night. As he is now though, I couldn’t help but be suspicious. He had a point though. It would only make the dull months ahead worse if we were constantly at each other's throats. I sighed and rested my shoulders. He similarly put down his hands. I responded, unintentionally sounding annoyed.

“Whatever, do you have shampoo?”

I decided to change the topic as the best way to alleviate tension. I need some desperately and I couldn’t always trust men to own a bottle. He nodded in response luckily.

“Yeah, it’ll be in the shower with anything else you might need. Oh! and the washing machines are outside and down the hall. I’ve never had anything stolen so you should be fine.”

“Good, now if you’re done…”

I picked up my backpack and tried to walk past him. When I said ‘if you’re done’ I meant ‘now you’re done’. I’m done talking. I wanted to just leave this alone. Alan decided to speak though.

“If you need, I-“

“What!?”

I turned around the second he spoke. I was only a few inches from his face and I couldn’t stop myself from yelling as the response. Alan stumbled backwards. His leg caught the edge of the coffee table causing him to stumble backwards and land on his ass.

“What more could you possibly want!?”

He didn’t stand up and instead simply looked down at the ground. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

“I was just saying I can lend you some clothes if you need.”

He didn’t look me in the eye as he spoke. I stood there looking down at him. He seemed tired and it just occurred to me to wonder why he was still awake. He didn’t seem like an insomniac, just a workaholic. I didn’t get to respond to him before he spoke exhausted.

“I’m not your enemy, Sofia. I’m stuck here too. If either of us are going to make this work, we can’t be assuming the worst.”

He looked up to me. His eyes were steeled and I couldn’t feel that typical fear. I knew he was right. My pride wouldn’t let me admit that though. He maintained eye contact with me, challenging me to tell him he was wrong. I found myself turning away and clicking my tongue in anger. I should just walk away and let it end there. I didn’t need to let him win this.

I looked towards the wall and found myself staring at the same corkboard as before. He hadn’t removed any of the pictures or sticky notes and haphazard string attached random thoughts. I didn’t notice it earlier, I was too distracted by that cop. There was a picture of Jonathon on there. He was wearing the same smile that I remembered. I couldn’t remember how many years it had been since I saw a picture of him. A sticky note next to his photo read ‘Jonathon Riley - Online Boyfriend, Stole his car’. I couldn’t look the picture in the eye and instead faced Alan. I walked over and reached out a hand to him. He hesitantly took it and I lifted him to his feet.

“I got one more outfit. I’ll be fine.”

Alan nodded and let go of my hand. I noticed how soft his skin was. For the first time, I wondered why he was here. Not why the boss wanted him. Why was Alan not a detective or some other type of law enforcement? His skills would be better served there than on YouTube. I didn’t ask though. I stepped away and headed back towards the bathroom to shower. I heard him say something behind me.

“Night Sofia”