A weird roommate

After the murder of my manager,  I started getting paranoid — I couldn't walk on the streets without my heart banging against my chest and my eyes wandering here and there, searching for anything suspicious. For all I know is that he could just come to my apartment this instant and kill me, but why isn't he doing it yet? Perhaps, does he yet not know where I live even though he killed my manager? I've no idea.

I can't help but blame my unlucky self. If only I hadn't been late to work that day,  I wouldn't have gotten into the night shift and taken a walk in the park, and all of this would have been prevented. The manager wouldn't have died. I couldn't imagine what his wife and children must be going through— and it's all because of me.

I couldn't sleep the whole night. Just kept tossing and turning on my bed, thinking about a plan to save myself from this mess. I sunk so deep into my thoughts that I didn't realise that it had become morning already, that is, until I heard the doorbell ring.

"Not Hazel again. Why's she here so early in the morning?" I sighed in frustration as I got up from the bed and lazily walked to the door and swung it open. I didn't even bother looking through the peephole since I was sure of who it could be. Only Hazel's always this surprising and unexpected.

"What news is it this time?" I asked in an annoyed tone, while rubbing my eyes and yawning, as if it was my everyday routine to see her face first thing in the morning.

"Oh, you must be Rai." A happy yet sarcastic voice greeted me.

"huh?" I was taken aback when the figure standing at my door finally came into view. An unfamiliar face grinned at me. 

"I haven't seen him around..." I thought as I stared at him top to bottom in confusion. He wore a black cap, which highlighted his sadistic grin—made him seem more of a stalker than a normal human. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his blue jeans and beside him was his luggage. 

"Hm? Aren't you happy to see me?" He asked as if it was the most obvious thing. He crossed his arms and started sulking like a child.

I stared at him, more perplexed than ever.

"Who even IS this dude? Is he toying with me?" I thought. Everything he was doing was ridiculous. 

"I am sorry, do I know you?" I tried to be polite regardless of his questionable behavior. I was sure I hadn't seen him around in the orphanage but I could have overlooked this weirdo. 

"Oh, where are my manners? My name's Noel." "Like that helped clarify things a lot." I thought.

I crossed my arms over my chest authoritively, "Your name's not what I was asking." 

"Oh, okay then, let me introduce myself properly this time. I am Noel Smith, son of Ryan Smith, the director of the Peace Blossoms Orphanage. I had decided to come here for a small vacation after I got admitted to a law school abroad. I planned on staying at my apartment in the orphanage, but it seems like someone else has occupied it." He smiled at me meaningfully.

"O-Oh, I am sorry. I had no idea it was your apartment. I'll have myself shift to another apartm-" 

"There's no need for that. What's the problem in having a roommate? After all, the more the merrier." 

I nodded and slowly shifted to the side to invite him into the apartment. He carried his luggage inside one of the rooms and plopped it on the bed and slipped into his comfy shorts before joining me back in the living room where I was curiously waiting for him.

"So, Rai.." He said as he seated himself on the couch, "You're the infamous murderer, right? An innocent-looking murderer on top of that. " He smirked. 

For a second there, I swear I wished to strangle him to death. But I kept myself from extending my hands towards his neck which would have soon been painted with the red marks of my fingers if I didn't keep my cool. I pushed my anger in the depths of my soul and decided to play along.

"If you know that, then why would you want me to stay here? Who knows, you might be the next victim." I shrugged with a smile.

His grey eyes peered into mine as if it was piercing through my soul — just like his father's. 

And then, there was his sarcastic smile again, "You can't kill." 

"Oh, really? Though everyone in the orphanage knows what I am capable of." 

"Every coin has two sides. Some humans are just not mentally capable of trying to understand the entire problem in order to solve it. What they see and hear is always right to them. In other words, they're total idiots." He winked. 

The way he claimed that everyone else was an idiot made it seem like he was the only smart person on the face of the Earth. 

"Well, I'll see you later. I need to go and meet my dear friends at the orphanage." He grinned enthusiastically as he got up from the couch and headed out. 

I watched him silently from my window while he walked into the open field where Hazel, Sam and his gang were at. 

Even before he approached anyone, everyone's eyes were on him. Hazel's bored face lit up on seeing an unexpected friend and her lips curled into a delightful smile. They exchanged a few laughs and talked for a good five minutes. 

"Must be nice to have friends..." A smile of envy formed on my lips.

However, something didn't seem right. I squinted my eyes to look closely at everyone's face. I was reminded of the very horrified look they had on their faces when they realised I'd killed someone. The atmosphere was eerily tense and ominous. And, if I wasn't wrong, they were also sweating. 

Noel turned to them with a grin, "Hey, everyone. I'm back. Do you remember how much fun we had last time?"

No response came from them. It was funny and surprising at the same time how Sam and his gang were trembling in fear. They were the ones who showed off their strength and authority by bullying and beating up others, and now, they seemed like weak chihuahuas facing a lion.

I couldn't help but wonder what sort of "fun"  they had last time.