Author: RailSupreme

The car ride was pretty quiet. I looked out the window, contemplating what could happen, what might happen when we got back to my flat. I glanced over at Marie a few times, trying to gauge what she was thinking, but she just focused on where she was driving, and any time she caught me looking, she just gave me a smile.

When we arrived, she took my keys out of the ignition and unlocked my front door. It wasn’t hard, there was only one key on my keyring besides the car key. I knew at this point I probably didn’t have a concussion, but there was something about her trying to take care of me that I really liked. Something about the way she took charge. I wasn’t an extroverted person by any means, but I’d never known any one to be so purposed like she was.

I got out of the car, and she held my front door open for me.

“Go lie down, I’ll be right back,” she said. I was a little confused, but I went into my living room, lay down on the couch, and waited. A few minutes later, I heard the door open again. I didn’t have a door to my living room, just a doorway, and she saw me when she walked in. Read more »

*I have a job for you.*

That’s all the text had said. It wasn’t specific, there was no pleasantries surrounding it, it was just a simple declarative.

*How can I help?*

There was no response. That was two days ago. I didn’t want to seem like a neurotic neighbour, so I left it alone. I spent the the next while sorting out my place, registering my new address with the bank, boring things like that. My job meant that I had a lot of spare time waiting for clients to contact me rather than the other way around, so every morning I did the same routine – I showered, got dressed in some proper work-day clothes, opened my laptop, set up the work system, and just kind of hung out from there, waiting to be contacted.

One morning, about a week after The Text, the doorbell rang. I assumed it was the postwoman; I didn’t have a mailbox or slot in my door, so while I was waiting to install one, the woman would ring the doorbell and leave the post on the doormat. Read more »

It was my first time living alone. I had finished college, and after a bit of searching, found a job that was good enough that I didn’t think about quitting every week. Since the job was remote, I could pick where I wanted to live – so I chose a small flat on the bottom floor of a housing estate. (I had a job, not a fortune.)

Anyway, it was the summer, it was hot, and I had spent all day dragging boxes from my car into my new flat (I kept calling it “my new flat” to make it feel more comfortable, at least for the first while), so I decided to relax in my small, walled-off garden. It was small, about enough room for a vegetable patch if you were inclined, but I was not.

I took one of the loungers I had taken from home, and laid it on the grass, completely completely. I was going to lie down, maybe consider sunbathing while the sun was still up. I looked around at my new miniature kingdom. This was a new kind of independence I hadn’t had before – I could do whatever I wanted, as long as it wouldn’t lose me my security deposit. I could bring girls over. I could bring guys over! The world was my oyster, and I decided to celebrate. Read more »