The Odd Family's Book of Bedtime Stories

The Roommates

Amber and Ashley had been friends since they were in third grade. They had shared every single class from that point on and grown up together. After high school, they had been lucky enough to get accepted into the same college and had even gotten to share their first dorm together. They were like sisters, they were so close. They even fought like sisters.

If Amber was honest with herself, Ashley was beginning to get on her nerves. Both girls wanted to be nurses but they were taking very different approaches to get there. Amber stayed up studying every night, trying to do her very best. Ashley was enjoying their new freedom and living it up. She was out every night, drinking and partying with everyone she met. She depended on Amber's hard work to see her through and Amber was sick of it.

It wasn't unusual for Ashley to burst through the door at any hour, dragging a different boy behind her and waking Amber. That had been the source of their most recent fight. Ashley had come barging in at two in the morning, laughing and carrying on. This had caused Amber to be late for a test that morning and the fight had been awful.

That was the reason Amber didn't say a word when Ashley came barging in at three in the morning. At first, she was angry and reached for the light switch beside her bed. She was going to give Ashley a piece of her mind but then decided against it. It wasn't like Ashley to leave the lights off. She stumbled around and bumped into a few things before finally falling into bed across the room. Amber let go of the light and leaned back, listening in the dark.

She was even happier that she didn't turn on the light when she realized that Ashley wasn't alone. It had saved them all some embarrassment for sure. Making up her mind to have a civil conversation with Ashley about it the next morning, Amber went back to sleep. They were best friends, after all, they could learn to compromise.

The next morning, Amber woke up slowly. Her warm bed called out to her, tempting her to stay and sleep in but she knew she had to get up. Instead, she stretched and rubbed at the sleep in her eyes before swinging her feet onto the cold tile floor. The first order of business was to wake up Ashley and go get breakfast so that they could talk before class. Amber looked over to her roommate's bed and froze.

Ashley stared back at her, her big eyes empty and unblinking. Her mouth was opened and twisted in a horrible grimace. Blood had soaked through the mattress and dripped down onto the floor in a growing puddle. Amber couldn't move, staring at her best friend's lifeless body. Then, as she began to scream, she saw it. Written in Ashley's blood across the wall were nine horrible words.

Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?