Bethany Wright

The sun had risen to signify the start of another day. San Francisco was alive and well, bustling with cars and people making their morning commute. While everyone on the streets below were in far too much of a rush to spare a thought to their own problems, one English immigrant was sat at home with one thought on her mind.

I really need some money.

Two months ago, Bethany Wright had lost both of her roommates in a matter of days. The first had moved to Italy after receiving an inheritance from a long lost uncle, and the other had passed away in a freak tractor accident. The timing couldn’t have been worse as Beth had only recently lost her job, and ever since then the young woman had been on the hunt to find a replacement. Days and weeks had gone by without anyone expressing an interest, but today, Bethany’s luck might just be changing.

The other day she had received a response from her online ad from someone who said they needed a place to stay, and had a sibling who was interested as well. Although she didn’t really know the details of who these people were; Bethany was willing to accept most anyone at this point.

Checking herself in the mirror, she saw her frizzy hair was bouncy as ever, and the blonde dye had mixed in well with her natural brown, her makeup was light but on point, and most importantly didn’t clash with her brown skin. Her brown eyes showed no signs of early morning puffiness, and she was wearing her favourite top and leggings.

Before her mind had a chance to wander, the doorbell rang and Beth quickly shifted gears. She walked over to the apartment door and cleared her throat. She opened the door to reveal a man with very long and dyed blueish-purple hair and a unnaturally pale complexion. He was extremely thin, standing at exactly 6 ft, he stood with his hand on a cocked hip and a warm smile. He looked Beth up and down and the young woman didn’t know what to make of it.

“Hmm, not what I was hoping for personally, but it might do?” He muttered under his breath.

“Excuse me?” Gwen said with a little sharpness to her tone.

“Morning. I take it your the tenant? I’m here to look at the room,” he said as he extended a hand. Beth reluctantly took it and gave a short shake. She moved to the side and he nodded his head in response. “I’m Blair by the way. My sister seemed very keen so I’m curious to see how this pans out.”

“Sister?” Beth questioned. And sure enough when she looked back through the door there stood a woman wearing a white buttoned up shirt and a long black skirt. She had short black hair and a pair of glasses that suited her gaunt face. Her skin wasn’t as pale as her brothers, and looking her up and down suggested that she was only slightly shorter than Blair and probably a little older considering he seemed to be very early twenties, while she seemed closer to twenty five. The woman in questioned stared at Beth wide-eyed with her mouth slightly agape.

“You okay there, love?” Beth questioned.

“H-h-hi…” The woman squeaked out.

The two stood there awkwardly for a second until the woman ducked her head and walked inside the room. Beth kept her eyes on her and noticed Blair was hanging around the window. The woman made a beeline for him and started whispering to Blair so quietly that Beth couldn’t even begin to make it out.

“Right, who are you two meant to be?” Beth said as she nearly slammed the door. Something felt very off to her, but she couldn’t place exactly what it was. Gwen took the chance to look around while Blair turned to Beth to answer her question.

“Sorry about sis, she kinda gets a bit shy around certain people. She’s not always like that I swear.”

“Better not be,” Beth grumbled.

“Let’s start over. My name is Blair; Blair Sinclair, and that is my sister Gwen. We’re interested in taking the rooms.”

“It seems lovely in here,” Gwen squeaked out as she looked over one end of the apartment.

The young woman couldn’t shake off that uncomfortable feeling that plagued her. Gwen was going out of her way not to look at her now and something didn’t sit right. She had one idea in the back of her mind, but surely that couldn’t be it. Beth had no issue with gay people, but she didn’t think she'd be comfortable having another woman leer over her all hours of the day.

“Would this be my room?” Gwen asked, poking her head out of the room next to Bethany’s.

“Yeah, I suppose. There’s another one beside the kitchen on the other side of the apartment.” Beth also couldn’t deny the fact she was **** for cash, and this might be one of those times she’d have to suck it up till she found a better option.

“Judging from that accent, I take it your from the UK?” Blair cut in as he looked over Beth. “It's kinda noticeable, you been here long?”

“A year actually,” she said with a nod.

“And what brought you here?”

“Th-that’s personal, but my business ain't finished just yet. Not even close.”

“Well we can get to know each other better I’m sure” Gwen said as she walked back in. “I actually quite like this place. It’s kind of cosy.”

“That’s a polite way of saying it’s small, isn’t it?” Beth cut in, unable to hide her annoyance any longer.

“N-no I mean it. I think it would be prefect in fact!” Gwen announced with more enthusiasm than she had meant.

“Seconded. This place ticks our boxes,” Blair added. “Good location which is most important, but decent sized rooms, bathroom ensuites and nice kitchen. We could make this work.”

“Then I guess it’s settled, we’ll take it!” Gwen exclaimed. “When can we move in?”

As Bethany stared at the two in front of her, unsure of what to say or even how to respond, she settled on two things. She needed roommates and these were roommates, not what she envisioned, but they could presumably pay. Could she afford to turn them away?