Pinky Promise?

     I had known Jared for no more than a couple months but, if you saw us hanging out you would've thought we had been friends since diapers. Now I met Jared when I decided it was finally time for me to move out. I thought that having a roommate would take away some of the loneliness and, of course, make it easier on the bank. So, I proceeded to add a post to craigslist.

     A couple days later after sifting through the countless replies I was left with one submission. Out of all the inquiries I had gotten Jared seemed to be the perfect fit. He was close to my age and didn't have any outrageous demands and overall just seemed like he was in the same boat as me, so I decided to shoot him a text.

     Within a few hours Jared and I were talking like friends rather than strangers that just met over a craigslist ad. I found out he shared my love of video games and learned that he worked at a local printing store. Over the course of the upcoming weeks we kept in touch regularly and finally it was moving day.

     When I met Jared he was, in all honesty, exactly what I expected him to be. He pulled up in an old beaten up sedan that had obviously seen better days. He stepped out wearing a backwards ball cap, over sized t-shirt, and some sweatpants. As he approached me I quickly slipped my cell phone into my back pocket and greeted him with a firm handshake. "Man, thank god you aren't some psycho. I was worried this was turning out to be too easy" I said jokingly as we climbed the cold concrete staircase to our new apartment. "Ha I could say the same to you! I have been trying to find a roommate for months but you wouldn't believe how many people can't listen to simple rules!" he said setting down the flimsy cardboard box he was holding. "I hear you" I said as I fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door.

     After we were done unpacking for the day we decided that the best course of action would be to order some takeout. We settled down on the floor of our empty living room and began talking like we had been for the past couple weeks, like friends. The conversation quickly turned to that of video games and the latest movies and TV shows that we were watching. Neither of us seemed to be too interested in sports and we found that our music taste overlapped in quite a few places. I admit, ever since I graduated high school none of my old friends kept in touch. This was mainly because they all went off to different states to go to college and start new luxurious careers. I was never the brightest in school and decided that once I graduated I was done. So many people live their lives without college so why go into debt over suffering through four more years of school? Although this sounded great to 18 year old me I ended up stuck at home with my parents who were not too fond of the idea of their 20 year son living at home any longer, but now it seemed like things were beginning to turn around for me.

     As we chatted, the smell of cheap, greasy Chinese takeout started to fill the room. "It's starting to feel more homey already" I said, taking another forkful of noodles into my mouth. "Yeah," Jared said, digging for another fortune cookie in the bag. "Oh by the way, I wanted to talk about the house rules we want to have" he said finally finding the cookie as he looked up at me. I quickly slurped up the rest of my noodles and gave a confirming "m hmm".

   Even though I felt that Jared and I were more friends than just roommates looking to mooch rent off of each other, I couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety rush through me. I hoped it wasn't going to be anything strange or oddly strict but most likely it was going to be something about who showers when or who's turn it is to do the dishes."What did you have in mind?" The buzz of our kitchen light filled the room with an odd ambiance. "Well honestly I'm not one of those sticklers who has to have the house spotless at all times if that's what you were worried about" he said lightly punching me in the arm. "The only real request I have is that you stay out of my room". This, to me at the time, didn't seem like an odd request at all. Many people, including myself, like to have their privacy and I understand the concern he might have as he was moving in with a stranger he met only a few weeks ago. "Oh yeah that's no problem at all" I said visibly relieved at the simple request. "Pinky promise?" he said outstretching his arm with his pinky extended. Pinky promise? I thought as my face shifted into a confused expression. Didn't we stop doing pinky promises around the time we were moved off of the playgrounds? Jared didn't seem phased by my obvious confusion. "I know it's a little, "old fashioned" but it's just a little thing I like to do. '' His arm was still outstretched waiting for my compliance. "Oh" I said, finally reaching out and completing the gesture. "Alright pinky promise."

     The next couple months were completely normal and Jared and I seemed inseparable. We often set aside Saturday nights and would rent a movie or spend the time just talking about the week's events but, as time went on, I realized how much time Jared actually spent cooped up in his room. What he was doing in there was a mystery to me and quite frankly, I could care less.

     In all honesty I spent quite a lot of time on my computer while I was at home, so to each their own.

     We continued on watching movies, going out to clubs, and just having a good time while we could. All throughout this I never caught on to the red flags that are obvious to me now. Although we were having a good time and most of the time Jared was normal I started to notice weird quirks he had. When at home he kept the thermostat no higher than 67 degrees which honestly we both knew neither of us could afford. I also noticed that ever once in a while silverware would go missing, or he would leave early in the day only to return at late hours in the night going directly to his room and locking the door. To me I didn't think too much about this. I thought maybe he was just going out with friends or even on a drug run both of which were none of my business.

     I began to grow concerned around the seventh month we were rooming together. One day as I passed his room I caught whiff of an awful smell. It was a mix between rotting food and a pile of trash. Jared wasn't home at the time and I assumed that he had left some food in his room or forgotten to empty his trash. I went to open the door and when I grabbed the knob I remembered, "Pinky Promise?" This made me pause. Sure I made a promise but what does it really matter? It was just some childish game he made up like he does with so many other things on a daily basis. With this thought I turned the handle and slowly opened the door.

    At first, everything seemed normal. His bed was made and his room was actually surprisingly cleaner than I thought. I slowly walked in and stood looking around. In the far side of the room I spotted a desk underneath the window. I started to walk over and noticed a small whirring sound to my left. This immediately took my focus off of the desk and I walked over to investigate. In the corner near his bed Jared had what appeared to be a black rectangular mini fridge. Of course now I had to open it. I crouched down to the level of the fridge and pulled the surprisingly sturdy door open.

     Upon opening it I realized this wasn't a fridge but a freezer and it was full of tightly packaged meat products. I picked up one of the packages and inspected it. It was small and about 3 inches in length. I tried to make out what exactly it was but it was tightly packed in a bloody soup. The sight of it made me gag and I couldn't bring myself to open the package. What kind of person would keep a freezer full of meat in their bedroom and why were they my roommate?

     Fully disgusted I placed the package back in the freezer and continued over to his desk which sat directly beneath the singular window within the room. The wood was stained and there appeared to be some objects scattered across the surface. As I approached, the smell from earlier became almost unbearable. I got to the desk and reached out to pull the chain that was dangling from the lamp and light flooded the room.

     Fingers. There were about a dozen human fingers laying on the desk. Many had been sewn together or assembled into strange patterns and shapes. Looking up I saw murals of hands of various shapes and sizes arranged into a sick twisted gallery of human extremities. This made me realize the hours upon hours spent in his room or out at night created this. This horrifying, masterpiece he so diligently worked on in the room right next door to mine. In that moment I got a glimpse into the true personality of who I thought was my friend. I stumbled backwards knocking over the chair and lamp causing a loud crash. I was too in shock to care. Where did he get them? And more importantly whose fingers are those? I stood back in trying to comprehend what I was seeing and figure out what I should do now. Do I call the cops? Do I leave the room and pretend like nothing happened? Surely he would know that I had been inside. How could he not? As I was taking in the situation I heard a voice from behind. "Sam," it said, my head instantly whipping around to see Jared standing in the doorway only illuminated by the lamp behind me, "You Pinky Promised."