Sheltered(6)

I really should have met Roxy before I moved into the apartment. Then maybe I would have known that Roxy is a man and not a woman like I thought.

When I found the apartment online I thought I’d struck gold. The price was affordable and close to my work. Not to mention it had a small gym and even a pool. The pictures of the place looked amazing and I knew I could never afford a place like this on my own. Not to mention it was in a safe gated community.

The ad said that Roxy played violin and would sometimes practice at home and was in a band that traveled often for gigs. I thought hearing a little violin wouldn’t be so bad. And as a bonus, I’d have the place to myself from time to time.

I was oh-so wrong. I should have looked them up first. Roxy plays the violin in a death metal band. I didn’t even know that such a thing existed, but apparently it does. And let’s not forget the singing he does with it, or as most people would call it, screaming. Also, he hasn’t traveled once since I moved in. Which is not shocking, because who would book his band for a show? They’re terrible. Or at least to my ears. It also doesn’t help that I can’t stand Roxy. He’s a jerk and rude most of the time. It doesn’t help that he’s a slob. I thank the heavens that he at least hires a cleaning person to come in every other week to clean up after him.

“Johnny,” I call out to the guy who is always sitting on the bench outside of my apartment gates. “I got us dinner at some fancy place,” I tell him as I make my way over to where he’s sitting.

Johnny is probably in his late sixties if I’m to guess from the gray hair and wrinkles on his face. He’s the only friend I’ve made since I moved into my new place. I bring him food at least once a day. I love cooking when I have the extra time, it’s not a problem. This is the first time I’ve ever really had a kitchen that’s actually stocked. I may have gone overboard a few times, but Johnny seems to enjoy it.

“One day at that art studio and already too fancy for fast food?” he teases me.

I laugh. “To be honest there wasn't a fast food place close enough for me to walk to. My feet are dead.” I drop down onto the bench next to him. He gives me an easy smile. Johnny is always smiling, and it lights up his whole face. It’s contagious. It helps that he’s so easy to talk to. I spend more time with him than I do with my own boyfriend.

“I’ll eat anything.”

“Okay. Well, the place might be fancy, but I can’t understand their menu, so I acted like I was ordering for children and got us stuff off the kids menu. I think it was a French place. It was crazy busy and I thought if it was so busy it must be good. All those thoughts disappeared when I saw the menu.”

Johnny bursts out laughing and I pull out the containers. “Chicken fingers or cheeseburger?” I give them a little shake.

“Chicken,” he says, and I hand it to him.

We open the boxes and start eating. I tell him about my day and he tells me about his. I always worry about him. A few times I’m pretty sure he slept out here. He always tells me he gets into a shelter at night, but I’m not so sure he does. I’ve stopped asking because I know it makes him uncomfortable. I may not be able to do much for him, but I can always get him a warm meal. It’s the least I can do for a man who fought for our country. Johnny can talk for hours about his time in the Army. I love listening to his stories. He reminds me of a grandpa that I never had.

“I better get inside. I need a hot shower and my bed.” I stand, and a yawn leaves my mouth. I glance up at the window of my living room. The light is on, so I’m guessing Roxy is home. Lovely. I hope that he’s at least alone tonight. His bandmates are creepy. They like to stare a little too much. I hide out when they’re around, not even going out to the kitchen. I’ve got a mini fridge in my room to keep stuff for when I get hungry and I’m barricaded in.

The women he brings home aren’t much better. I’ve tried to make small talk with a few of them, but they ignore me for the most part. I walked in on him having sex on the sofa over the weekend and that image will forever be branded into my brain. He lost his shit on me after the girl left. Not that they stopped going at it when I walked in. Nope they kept on going, like it was totally fine. I stood there shocked for a good ten seconds. It was like a train wreck and I couldn’t look away. All those years in college and I never walked in on two people doing it.

The girl he was with asked me if I wanted to join in. That’s when I came back to reality. I shook my head then ran to my room. Roxy started calling me a voyeur after that. I na?vely had to look up what that meant. I’m still a little unsure if he was pissed I walked in on them or that I hadn't joined them. From the look of the women he’s been with, I’m so not his type in any way.

“Roxy’s home,” Johnny says as if reading my thoughts. “You let me know if he’s giving you trouble again.” My eyes meet Johnny’s dark blue ones. I swear the man has a sixth sense sometimes. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking. I smile at him. At least someone cares.

“Nothing can be worse than last weekend.” I let out a forced laugh.

I try to lighten the situation, because I don’t want Johnny to worry about me. I told him everything that happened, and I might have dumped more on him than I should have. But my roommate is super crappy, and I don’t have anyone else. Fritz is too busy, and I’m still kind of upset that he didn’t mind my roommate was a man. When I asked Fritz about staying with him only for a few days while I tried to find another place, he looked at me like I was crazy and I didn’t bring it up again. So I moved in with Roxy and tried to make the best of it.