Roommate Wanted (Patreon)

Inspired by a tweet from RotherhamMan.

Sam was in a rush to move. After Olivia left he couldn't afford to stay, and frankly he would have trouble finding any place he could afford on his own. She had been the one carrying them both, and that was perhaps what finally made her end it. His contract had already been canceled when he answered the roommate wanted ad. With only twenty days left to move out he didn't even think it necessary to check the place out, but the guy he had texted with insisted. He probably wanted to check out Sam before sharing the apartment with him, which was fair.

It's a spacious three-bedroom apartment on the bottom floor, big bathroom, huge living room, good size kitchen, all in a good neighborhood. It's in the older part of town where the well-off lived when the town was young. It even felt a bit imposing with the stone stairs and the tall doors. It fitted Derek, the guy who opened the door when Sam rang the bell. He too was tall and imposing. A head taller than Sam and clearly taking workouts seriously he greeted Sam with a big smile and a forceful bro-hug that caught Sam off guard.

"There's a small toilet just next to the cloak room," Derek explained, waving in the direction of the doors just next to the entrance. "Richard and I use this room," he waved, "and this is the master bedroom that can be yours." Sam was trying to keep up with Derek's pace. "Richard?" He felt Derek was glossing over some key facts. "Yeah, Richard is at work."

"But you share bedroom?" Sam asked, trying to be tactful about it.
"Is that a problem for you?" Derek still looked as cheerful, but his tone wasn't.
"No, but wrote that there were three bedrooms."
"Ah, yes! You'll love this," Derek said and moved through the large living room to a third door. "Well, maybe not," he said glancing at Sam, "but it's good for you," and opened the door to a fairly well-equipped home gym.

Derek went on to show the large bathroom and the kitchen. "Have a coffee. Fresh brew," he said and handed a mug to Sam without expecting an answer. They both sat down in armchairs on opposite sides of a table in the lounge side of the living room. "It's kind of interesting that this large flat is so cheap compared to the rest of them above us. People pay premium to not have windows at ground level, but it's still a bit pricey for the two of us," Derek explained. Sam felt at ease next to the big armchair next to the fireplace, though the group of candles standing in it indicated it wasn't fit for proper use anymore. He'd seen enough to have no reservations moving in here, which was a low bar to begin with given his situation. Lots of space, newly renovated, and Derek despite his imposing size appears friendly enough. "I can't imagine you're particularly afraid of intruders."

"What?" Derek shoots back, then realizing what Sam meant. "Oh! Yeah, no I'm not," he smiles and does a quick flex with his arm. "There are more benefits to the bottom floor than price though. There are stairs from behind the door in the kitchen down to the basement. Here, I'll show you," he said and jumped up from his armchair. Sam strained to get up from his, but somehow he felt too weak to get up. Surprised and scared he attempted to call out to Derek, but instead everything went out of focus and faded into darkness.

As he jolted into consciousness the bright walls burned his eyes. There was an avalanche of sensations from his body, soreness, discomfort, pain in some places, a burning sensation in others. He didn't recognize the room. There was a pile to one side with what looked like what little stuff he had left in his apartment, but what really caught his attention were Derek and what he assumed to be Richard standing right in front of him, wearing nothing but sports jocks.