Chapter 10 #3
The house I’m at is a three bedroom cottage with a full wrap around porch, small backyard, and a basement. It’s much smaller than Lucas’ monstrosity of a home, and I take my first full breath in a while. Walking up the porch stairs, I knock on the front door before stepping back to wait.
“Hello,” the man who opens the door is a beta who gives no-nonsense vibes. His eyes behind his black rimmed glasses are intense as he gazes at me. “You just made it, I see.”
“I did,” I nod. “I’m not from here, and I got a little turned around.”
That’s a lie, but I can see that he isn’t happy that I was almost late to my appointment today.
“Where are you from and what brings you here?” he asks.
I give him my story about getting out of college and deciding that I wanted to live in a smaller town because of my work as a graphic designer. I’m turning twenty-nine this year, but the birth certificate for my paperwork states that I’m much younger.
“I can live anywhere, and Bargersville seemed like a nice place,” I add.
“Crime is low,” he agrees, letting me into the house. I don’t think that he realizes that I’ve been outside this entire time.
Mr. Ademíc reminds me of someone who doesn’t have to socialize often, but I appreciate that his first instinct was to verify who I was before letting me into his home. The house smells clean, and my nose wrinkles slightly as I realize there’s no real scent outside of that.
Typically, a house smells lived in, but that’s not the case here.
“I have allergies, even in the winter, which means that I don’t use anything that has a fragrance,” he explains.
“That’s why you may notice a lack of scent in the house.
I’ll be gone for several months, so I don’t expect you not to use candles and such if you wish to.
If you decide that you want to continue living here after the four month lease, I’ll feel comfortable accepting another nursing travel contract. I don’t like to leave my house empty.”
“I don’t blame you,” I murmur, looking around. The house has deep sofas in the living room, bench seats in the dining room, and low, soft bulbs everywhere.
It’s an omega’s dream. Wow.
“Let me show you the house,” he says, continuing on.
“My daughters, when they lived here, loved to be outside, so I kept up the backyard out of habit. There’s a porch swing out there, a covered pavilion with outdoor furniture that’ll be surrounded by blooms in the spring, and heat warmers.
Now, this is the living room, but I don’t have a television, unfortunately. I dislike the noise.”
“That’s fine,” I say dismissively. “I read when I have downtime.”
Nodding, he points out things as he walks me toward the bedrooms.
“I have blankets and sheets you’re welcome to, and there’s a washer and dryer in the basement. You’re welcome to any room, as I already packed anything I might need. The closets are all empty,” he says.
Stepping inside of a large bedroom, I see that it’s connected to a bathroom.
“This was Risa’s room,” he explains. “She’s married now, so it’s a blank canvas.”
The bed has four posts and appears comfortable, and it faces the backyard with lots of windows. I notice that there are heavy black out curtains hanging from them, to offer the illusion of a dark cocoon. There’s also two closets, which surprises me.
“My daughter is an omega, so I made sure that she’d have a place to nest as a teen,” he explains. “Since you’re a beta, I suppose you can use the extra closet space or put a desk in one to use as an office.”
I’m glad my blockers are still working, but this bedroom is perfect.
By the end of the tour, I’m very happy with the house.
Mr. Adamíc is a beta who misses his family, and when his youngest daughter went to college, he decided to apply to travel as a nurse and put in his two weeks at the hospital as soon as he was accepted.
He’s not as rude as I initially thought, he just isn’t used to being around people outside of his patients. This is his version of being an empty nester. He didn’t tell me how his wife passed away, and there’s no photos on the walls to give me any hints.
Either way, it’s none of my damn business.
Going over the paperwork, I bite my lip as I read something that doesn’t seem correct.
“You only want six hundred dollars for rent?” I ask. “I thought you wanted twelve hundred…”
“I’m allowed to change my mind,” he says, shrugging. “You seem like a nice, hardworking girl. I need someone to take care of the place, make sure that if something breaks, they’ll be here to open the door for the handyman. It’s silly to call you a house sitter, but that’s essentially what I need.”
“Oh,” I say, blinking slowly. “This is really nice. In fact, it’s overly so. I have my rent money, so I’m going to pay you two months in advance. If at some point you decide to raise the rent, I’ll be happy with that as well.”
“I won’t,” he insists. “You remind me of one of my daughters, figuring out her way in the world. I will only take one month's rent, and that’s that.”
Well, you can’t say I didn’t try. Pulling out six hundred dollars, I hand it to him and sign the leasing agreement. He didn’t ask anything that I thought he would for how careful he was about asking me questions about myself.
I’m kind of glad I’m his tenant, because there are too many bad people in the world.
“You can move in as soon as you’d like,” he says, staring at the cash for a moment before shoving it in his pocket. “I’ll send you a link to your email for rent a few days before it’s due so that you can pay that way. Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, I think I’m all set,” I say, watching as he hands me the keys.
“Perfect. Email will work for any questions that you think of. The house is yours for as long as you’d like,” Mr. Adamíc says, leaving. “Goodbye.”
I stand there for a moment before walking to the curtains to twitch it open to look out. Mr. Adamíc looks around at the house as if saying goodbye to it as well before he gets in his car and drives away.
This feels like a big deal for him, and I find myself feeling sad for the man who doesn’t know what to do with himself after raising children.
Walking to the kitchen, which I missed during my tour, I find that it’s fully stocked with both appliances and food. Someone really enjoyed cooking, and there are lots of spices and a single serve coffee machine as well.
Walking slowly, I check all the locks on the windows and doors, and find that everything is in order. Now, all I have to do is bring in my things.
I’ve lived in rentals with minimal furniture for years, and no one has bothered to stock the fridge before. My mattress hasn’t had a real box spring because I’m so used to sleeping on the floor. I guess it’s time to enjoy the more normal things in life.
Even if that means accepting kindness from strangers. This house is modest, but it may as well be a mansion that’s just the right size for me.