Chapter Text
You park your car in front of your new house. Probably the only downside to your new place was that it didn't come with a garage, but it was a small con compared to its multiple pros. You still couldn't believe your luck. Your new home is a huge two-story house, complete with its own office space, an attic for storage, and is fully furnished. You might as well have won the lottery with how much money you’re able to save on this house.
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It was two weeks ago when you were browsing through listings for a new house. At the time, you were renting a small one-room apartment by yourself and had been laid off from your previous job. Not because you were terrible at your job, quite the opposite. You were a hard-working employee. Sadly, the company began to lose money and had to lay off employees in order to cut costs. Unfortunately, you were one of those employees. Without a job, you had become more of a shut-in than you already were, staying in your room constantly on your computer and searching for a new job.
After being locked in your apartment for weeks, only leaving to buy groceries, and receiving multiple rejected applications, you had decided you needed a change of scenery.
“You need to get out of that apartment and talk to literally anyone, other than your furniture.” Your friend, Sam, joked.
You saved enough money to move to another small place, so finding the listing for your new house was like an answer to your prayers. You had messaged the homeowner, and the conversation was very mundane. You didn’t see any red flags that this person was dangerous or that they were going to scam you. You asked a few questions, they answered, exchanged information, and planned to meet, so you could see the house for yourself.
When you first arrived at the address, it looked even bigger in person. You walked up the steps and stood in front of the door. You were a little cautious meeting a stranger online, and made sure to text Sam about your plan, sending pictures and the address of the house, in case anything went wrong. You took a breath and raised your hand into a fist, ready to knock on the door, but stopped when you noticed a door knocker. As you release a sigh, you redirect your action and use the door knocker. When the homeowner opened the door, they politely greeted you and let you in. As soon as the homeowner began their tour of the house, you immediately fell in love.
The house had tons of character and was filled with objects you weren’t expecting. The living room had a sofa and chairs, a flatscreen TV, a gaming console with multiple games, and a fireplace. There was a blanket sprawled on one of the chairs, making you imagine how cozy winter nights would be huddled under it with the fireplace lit up, while you watched a movie or played a game.
You brush your hand on the blanket as you pass by, and you smile. It was soft. However, you didn’t have much time to fully take in the room, as the homeowner quickly moved on to the next room and left you behind. As you caught up, you noticed one final thing in the room: on top of the fireplace mantle was a cute little ship in a bottle.
Walking into the patio, the first thing you saw was an elegant grand piano. It sat in the middle and was the clear star of the room, taking up most of the space. You weren’t much of a piano player, but maybe having this piano will inspire you to want to learn. When asked about the piano, they only say it was a hand-me-down. Two other interesting things you noticed were a magnifying glass on display and a globe sitting on the corner of the room. Again, as you passed by the globe, you decided to brush your hand against it, and it began to spin lightly. The homeowner moves onto the next room, not even acknowledging the magnifying glass.
Moving into the living room, it contained a dining table and chairs with a beautiful candle on top (“A knock off from New Jersey,” they comment), and a record player by the window. You weren’t able to comment on the record player before the homeowner was in the next room. It was starting to get a little suspicious. Why had they been in such a rush to get the tour over with? You decided to ignore it for now.
The kitchen was something you were particularly excited about. It had a large space and contained so many essentials for cooking and dining, so you wouldn’t have to bring or buy your own. You could see some of the plates and cups through the glass of the cabinets; they looked exquisite. You see, on top of the counters was a microwave, a toaster, a cookbook, and even an air fryer. There was a stove that also served as an oven, a huge fridge, and a dishwasher. You see a coffee maker and think about how you were excited to make coffee that wasn’t instant (not that there was anything wrong with instant coffee, but it was a nice change). Your apartment room only had a microwave, so if you ever wanted to cook, you had to cook in the shared apartment kitchen.
Seeing all of the equipment before you was almost overwhelming. So many possibilities for you to cook have opened up. There was also a minibar in one corner of the room, and you wondered how often you would be able to make use of it.
After this, you two begin to breeze through the other rooms on the first floor.
There was a bathroom with all the usual things: a shower, toilet, and a mirror hanging above the sink. The laundry room had a nice woven hamper, a washing machine, and a dryer that were stacked on top of one another, which you found amusing.
The office room was something you were quite happy with. The computer looked like it was top of the line, a board on the wall that would help you organize your thoughts (and thankfully, there were a ton of office supplies), and a bookshelf that contained a variety of books. They mentioned to you that the water heater was just behind the door of the office closet.
Before you exited the room, you took another look at the computer and realized something. “Hey, that's a Valdivian computer!”
The homeowner froze for a moment by the doorframe before they cleared their throat. Then they turn to face you, fiddling with their fingers, “Ah yes… Valdivian provided it to me when I worked for them.”
“That's neat! I'm actually working for Valdivian.” You say, proudly.
Their eyes narrow as they eye you up and down. “O-oh..?”
“Well…” You grin. “Technically, I haven't started work yet, but my friend put in a good word for me. I just had my interview yesterday, and I start working remotely next week.”
They seem to relax at your statement. They turned around, and you heard a soft “Congrats.” before they left the room. You quickly followed after them.
With the tour of the first floor finished, you both began to climb up the stairs towards the second floor. Each step you took made a creaking noise, and the homeowner apologized for how old the stairs were. You didn’t mind; it gave the house a homey feeling.
Maybe you had glossed over it when you were looking at the listing, but you were surprised to see the gym room. You didn’t take the homeowner as someone who exercised enough to have a room for it. It had multiple exercise equipment such as a treadmill, weights in a weight rack, and a yoga mat and ball. There was another TV hanging on the wall, a fan, and a bunch of ribbons and trophies on display. You weren’t able to take a closer look at the trophies before they called you over to a closet, filled with boxes of more sports equipment.
Maybe this was a sign for you to finally start exercising again.
There was also another bathroom that connected to the gym. It was similar to the one downstairs; however, instead of a shower, this bathroom had a bathtub. For a moment, you hear them muttering something about an annoying rubber duck, but you weren’t quite sure. Next was the electric closet. There wasn’t much to it aside from the breaker box, a toolbox, and a few boxes. It was good to know where the breaker box and toolbox were in case of an emergency.
And the final room was the bedroom. Compared to your single sized bed in your apartment, the bed that sat in the room felt like it was king sized, even though, realistically, it was queen sized. But the thought of you flopping on that bed after a long day and having enough space to roll around for a bit was a funny thought. There was also a cabinet, a bedside table, and a big closet. As you exit the room, you see the homeowner begin to descend the stairs.
You pointed to the final room and asked about it, which you assumed was the attic mentioned in the listing. They looked down and hesitated for a moment before glancing back up at you and apologizing. They had lost the key and haven’t been able to replace it. You look at them a little disappointed.
What a waste of space if it couldn’t be accessed.
Seeing your expression, they began to apologize profusely, and you could get the sense that they were worried about you changing your mind about buying the house. Seeing that you thought about it for a moment. It wouldn’t be hard to get a replacement key for the door, so it wasn’t a deal breaker. You reassured the homeowner and told them you were still very interested in buying the house, which was clearly a huge relief to them.
And just like that, the house was sold. You were ecstatic about it, but not as much as the previous homeowner.
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You didn’t have many things to move into the house. It’s mostly clothes and personal items. You open the back of your car and take out a large suitcase, a duffel bag, and a backpack. As you walk up the steps and take out your new house key, you pause for a moment, put a hand on the doorknob, and place your forehead on the door.
“I’m in your care now, and I’ll make sure to take care of you, too.” You whisper with a smile on your face.
When you enter the house, the atmosphere feels different. Maybe it was because the sun had set and because all the lights were off, but everything felt gloomy. You set all your bags down in the living room and search for a light switch. It didn’t take long for you to find one, but when you flipped it, nothing happened.
“Huh?”
You flip the switch again, but nothing happens. You try a different switch, and still nothing happens. It was starting to become a little hard to see as the sky had darkened into a night sky. Remembering where the breaker box is, you carefully make your way upstairs, the creaking of the steps sounding louder than you remember it. Once you make it to the small room, you open the breaker box and see that most of the switches have been turned off, and some wires are sticking out.
How strange. Did the previous homeowner do this?
You flip all of the switches on, but as you flip the last one on, you feel a sharp pain in your fingers, like you had been zapped. You let out a hiss and recoil your hand. It only hurt for a second, as you were more surprised that it happened. You stare at the breaker box for a moment. Why had you been grounded? You aren’t a mechanic or electrician, but you know enough to make sure your hands are dry, and you didn’t touch any of the exposed wires. You close the breaker box and leave the small space to begin turning on all the lights in the house.
The lights are now working, and you’re satisfied that you can see again. Next, you turn on the AC, but you barely feel a difference in temperature. You walk towards one of the vents and reach your hand up to feel the air. It was faint, almost as if your HVAC could barely muster the strength to blow any air. You frown and turn the AC off.
“It’s alright. You must have been working very hard.” You say, looking up at the vent. You really need to find a way to get up to the attic.
After making a mental note to do some maintenance around your house, you decide for now to bring your bags upstairs and unpack everything the next day. After grabbing your bags and taking them to the room, you flop down on your new bed and let out a long sigh. You roll over to grab a pillow and hug it. The bed was soft, and you’ve never left so comforted, almost like you were pulled into a warm embrace. It makes you feel too lazy to get back up to take a shower, so you could change into more comfortable clothes.
You reflect on the past few weeks. You had been let go of your previous job, became more of a shut-in than you already were, found a new job, and bought a new house. It didn’t sound like much on paper, but have never felt so exhausted in your life. All the planning, paper work, interacting with more people than you were used to, packing, and then the actual moving, drained you physically, mentally, and socially. Now that you are laying on a bed, having all of that finished, you were ready to crash out early.
And that’s just what you did. You close your eyes and let yourself fall into a deep slumber.