The Landlord

Amanda and Marcus were eating dinner later that night when the topic of the landlord arose. Amanda told him what happened and what she saw. “I hate to sound like a complainer, pushy, or ungrateful, but I really want to step up our efforts to get a house.” “No problem, babe. That’s what we’re gunning for, anyway.” He studied his girlfriend’s worried expression. “What is it, hun?” “I don’t even know if I can stand to stay here for a whole year.” “But nothing has—” “I know, I know,” Amanda interrupted. “Nothing’s happened. He hasn’t done anything. Why does the guy creep me out so much then? Just what is it about him? I don’t think anyone’s ever had this effect on me before in my life.” “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him as much to get a sense of what might be up with him.” “That’s the point. Notice how he happens to come around when you’re not here? That’s what worries me. It’s like he’s getting a sense of our schedules or something like that, and it’s not like you can be here whenever I am or like I’m never going to be home when you’re not. I mean, what do I do when I’m not tending to patients, sit in the park somewhere?” “No, of course not. Let’s just give it a little more time. If you really don’t feel comfortable here and we’re not ready to buy a house, we can at least look into renting a place elsewhere.” Amanda agreed and tried to put their strange landlord out of her mind for the night. She was beginning to relax once again when a couple of weeks passed without any visits from the landlord. She did see him a couple of times when she headed out on foot for a walk, just as he was pulling up to the unit below, and when she was entering the grocery store as he was exiting it. She pretended not to notice him, but could see enough from the corner of her eye to know he had spotted her. She’d heard him downstairs a few times and wondered what was up with that. Why hadn’t anyone moved in yet? Could the place really need that much fixing up? Initially, she liked the idea of her and Marcus having the building to themselves, but now she wished someone would move in down there so she would feel less alone. She was sitting in the living room with her Kindle when she heard a vehicle pull in down below. Right away, she suspected the landlord. She gingerly crept up to the window, careful to remain out of view. Unfortunately, her hunch was right. She expected to hear him enter the apartment below, but instead, footsteps sounded on the stairs, and then a swift knock on the door followed. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She did not want to open the door to the guy while she was home alone. Where was Marcus when she needed him! Since the landlord knew she sometimes went out walking, she decided to ignore him, and he likely wouldn’t automatically assume she was home and simply not coming to the door. But what if he let himself in because she didn’t come to the door? Her heart racing even faster, she thought frantically of where to hide and decided on the cabinet in the utility area that ran from ceiling to floor and had no shelves in it. It was made for brooms, mops, and things like that. She quickly headed for the cabinet and hoped to hell the floor wasn’t creaking too much to give her presence away. She opened the cabinet as quietly as she could and cringed when its hinges squeaked. The landlord knocked again. Realizing she wouldn’t fit in the cabinet with the broom and mop in it, she removed those items as quietly as she could and leaned them against the wall in a nearby corner. Then she hopped in, grateful to be petite, and pulled the door shut. As she suspected, and much to her horror, she heard a key being inserted into the lock. Oh my God, please don’t find me in here! She told herself that if worst came to worst and he opened the cabinet, she would say that some guy had been harassing her, maybe an ex or something like that, and she was scared into hiding. But why would the landlord look in a utility cabinet of all places? Furthermore, why would the bastard let himself in without being invited? What the hell was so urgent that he needed to enter their place? Amanda sucked in a breath and tried not to shake or make any sounds. Her heart beat so hard in her ribcage that she feared he would hear it, if not her ragged breathing. She placed a hand over her mouth, trying to silence and calm herself. There were no holes in the cabinet door, so she couldn’t see anything. She listened intently. She heard the landlord step into the kitchen, and then silence. What the fuck was he doing? Then footsteps headed in her direction. The place was carpeted except for the kitchen, the utility area that was part of the hallway, and the bathroom. When you entered the apartment, the kitchen was right in front of you, and the living room was off to the left. To the right of the kitchen was a little L-shaped hallway. The cabinet she was in was at the corner of the L. At the top of the L, parallel to her hiding place, was the bedroom door. Inside that was the bathroom. The bathroom was behind the cabinet she was in, since she was against the wall that divided the bed and bath from the hall. She heard footsteps slowly approaching her hiding place, and then they stopped. They just stopped… dead in their tracks. Oh my God! She could swear he was right outside the cabinet door. He couldn’t have been more than a foot or two away! It was almost as if he sensed her presence and knew she was in the cabinet. Don’t be silly, she tried to tell herself. Then the footsteps slowly retreated, and she exhaled a shaky breath as quietly as she could. But the footsteps weren’t retreating toward the door, she realized. She was pretty sure the guy was now in the bedroom. And then she heard him in the bathroom. Did he once again think there was a leak in there? Next, she heard him go back into the bedroom and could swear she heard a dresser drawer slide open. There were two dressers in the bedroom. The one she used was right outside the bathroom. Marcus’s was against the exterior wall, directly across from hers. She silently prayed in her mind… please leave, please leave, please leave… Although it was probably only a minute or two, it seemed like an eternity had passed before he finally stepped back into the hall, once again stopping to pause by the cabinet door as if he could smell her or some crazy shit like that. Then, finally, the creep left the apartment. Amanda was so terrified that it took her several minutes to finally work up the courage to emerge from her hiding place.