Chapter 2
One Month Later
Sam’s eyes flashed open as she was jolted from sleep at the sound of crashing and banging coming from the apartment, she could only guess, as the one directly across from her. Glancing at the clock beside her bed, it flashed 4.07am in aggressive red. A groan slipped from her lips as she rolled the pillow around her ears.
“Shut up!” she yelled into the emptiness of her apartment, and for a joyous second everything fell silent. The sounds of attempted robbery of her neighbours place were muted and she wondered if perhaps the weirdo had heard her. But seconds later music started blaring, and Sam felt frustration grip onto her muscles and force her out of bed. This was the sixth time in a month she had been forced to go across the hallway and beat down her neighbours door. She almost regretted moving out of her previous apartment, yes her roommate wasn’t fantastic but at least she hadn’t been this fucking loud.
Sam stood outside the door and glared at it, feeling an ounce of satisfaction at the chip of paint that was missing from one of her previous times.
She rapped her knuckles on the door continuously until it finally opened. Annoyance building up inside her with every second it took for the girl to get the door.
Then, finally, “SIX FUCKING TIMES” Sam yelled in the girls face. “And that’s not even counting all the times I’ve chosen to ignore your noisy fucking lifestyle, do you know what time it is? I have to be up in less than two hours and then proceed to be awake for another 36, I should be able to sleep in my apartment peacefully without being coerced into listening to your failings as a human, seriously, who makes that much noise? Do you drop everything you touch? Or fall over every five minutes or something? Actually, I do not care, just shut the fuck up”
The girl stared at her, brown eyes wide.
“Coerced?” she said lifting an eyebrow.
“I will punch you” Sam said shaking her head and taking a couple of steps away from the girl to reduce the temptation.
“I’m sure you’d like that,” the girl said and Sam was shocked at how calm she still appeared. “Have you thought about trying yoga?”
“Excuse me?”
“I think it could do you some good” the girl shrugged and Sam glared at her before spinning on her heel and stalking back to her apartment.
“Cute pyjamas 10B” the girl called out, and Sam glanced down realising that she had stormed straight out of her place in nothing but an oversized t-shirt.
When Sam got back into her apartment she leant on the closed door and tried to block from her memory what had just happened. She hadn’t yelled at someone for a long time, and even when she had it never bothered her. But for some reason she still felt irked about the situation, it was like an itch that was just out of reach and she didn’t know why. Her neighbour was annoying to say the least, it was only a matter of time before someone else would have done the same, right? Right. She told herself, get a grip and forget about it.
But she didn’t, she kept thinking about the look on the girls face for her entire 36 hour shift. How strangely calm, and almost amused the girl had been, and that annoyed Sam. Who smirked when someone yelled at them? But it wasn’t just that. There had been a brief moment where it looked like she had hurt her feelings, and it was making Sam feel abnormally uncomfortable. People didn’t affect Sam. Feelings didn’t affect her. So why was this?
Come the end of her shift she was more than glad to be going home. Triple shot coffee in her hand, leftover pizza she’d stolen from the residents fridge in the other, she leaned against the wall of the elevator briefly letting her eyes rest.
The doors dinged open and she dragged herself out, but before she could even consider going into her own apartment she stared at her neighbours door with a scowl.
“Yours is the one on the right” a familiar voice came from behind her, she spun around and saw her neighbour walking down the hallway in pyjama shorts and bunny slippers.
“Where the fuck did you come from?” the words fell out of Sam’s mouth.
“Jumpy are we?” The girl smirked, she wasn’t wearing glasses and Sam tried not to let that distract her.
“No” she mumbled, watching her neighbour open the door, her chance to say something, whatever that may be was running out.
“Um” Sam stared vacantly at the coffee in her hand.
“Yes?”
“I uh…I’m, I’m not a morning person” she said and glanced at her neighbour who was looking at her curiously.
“You don’t seem to be an evening person either” the girl shrugged and Sam frowned.
“Look I just…I’m sorry I was shitty earlier, or something” Sam shrugged.
“Wow, that was quite an apology, truly you are a charmer” the girl was smirking at her again. “But I think I’m the one who owes you an apology, I didn’t realise I was quite so…clumsy”
Sam lifted an eyebrow and the girl just smiled.
“I’m Root” she said and stuck her hand out.
“Like the plant?” Sam looked at her full hands, then at Root’s long dainty fingers.
“No, Sameen”
“How do you know my name?” Sam stared at her.
“I ran a background check on you 10B” Root smirked and Sam’s mouth fell open.
“Relax” Root kept smirking “Your name tag is still on, Doctor”
Sam glanced down at where her name badge was still pinned to her scrub top that she had been too lazy to take off.
“Right” Sam nodded “I’m going to go sleep, in silence”
Root smiled, “I’ll be quiet, don’t worry”
“Wasn’t planning on it” Sam said balancing her coffee cup under her chin while she threw her unlocked door opened and disappeared inside.
“See you round, Sameen” Root’s voice called out as the door slammed shut. Sam rolled her eyes. No one called her Sameen. She told people not to call her Sameen, why didn’t she tell Root not to call her Sameen.
Sam took a quick shower, and when she got out finished off what was left of the pizza before falling onto the couch and flicking on the TV quietly. She shut her eyes thinking that within minutes she’d be asleep, but half an hour later she was still awake. Staring at the ceiling she tried to talk herself out of doing something really stupid. Tried, but failed.
She knocked on Root’s door, sighing frustratedly at herself for being so annoying. The door opened and Root looked genuinely surprised to see her.
“Aren’t I a lucky gal” Root said and Sam rolled her eyes.
“No one calls me Sameen” she said, “It’s Sam, or Shaw, but not Sameen”
“You came here to tell me that?” there was a devilish look on Root’s face.
“Yeah”
“Was that all?”
Sam shrugged “Almost ironically I can’t sleep”
Root chewed her bottom lip, “Did you wanna come in?”
Sam looked at her. Their eyes locked. She felt air leave her parted lips.
“No” she said suddenly, “that’s not a good idea”
“Why not?” Root asked suddenly finding this whole situation rather amusing, judging by the look that was still playing on her face.
“Because, um…I don’t like you” Sam pointed out.
“You don’t know me” Root commented.
“I know enough” Sam countered back.
“Come inside Sameen, it’s not like we’re going to have sex and get married” Root smirked stepping out of the way of the door waiting for Sam to go in. And it took a few seconds, but she did.
“Isn’t it supposed to be marriage then sex?” Sam said as she walked in, carefully looking around.
“Well then I’m going to Hell” Root said from behind her and suddenly Sam felt the image of Root having sex creep into her mind.
“So” Sam said changing the subject abruptly “What’s your deal?”
Root’s apartment wasn’t so different to her own, aside from the extensive selection of candles and cushions, there was no fruit bowl or family photos anywhere, no excessive amounts of furniture or decoration. Just a single coaster on the coffee table, surrounded by a shit ton of dismantled tech and cables.
“I’m a hacker” Root said falling into an armchair and grinning.
Sam glanced at the coffee table then at Root and folded her arms.
“So you did run that background check then?”
“Maybe”
Sam sat down and Root eyed her carefully.
“You look like you need a drink” she said finally and got to her feet. “I only have vodka”
Sam shrugged and Root disappeared into the kitchen. Sam watched her, she was to Sam’s frustration annoyingly cute, with her brown wavy hair and constant smirk, not to mention the way her eyes followed Sam’s every move. Root returned a few moments later with two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka.
“Can I ask you something?” Root said pouring them each a shot and handing one to Sam.
“Why do I feel like I don’t have a choice?” Sam said taking the shot, clinking the glass against Root’s and dipping it back. The cold liquid slid down her throat with an icy burn. She looked at Root who had sat herself down on the couch right beside Sam.
“Why did you think I had a boyfriend?”
Sam looked at her “You and death metal don’t exactly look like a match”
“Well” Root said pouring another shot “Opposites attract, right?”
She glanced at Sam playfully, but when their eyes met she found herself looking away quickly from Sam’s dark gaze.
“So hacking” Sam said throwing back the next shot, “kinda illegal, kinda hot”
Root looked pleasantly surprised by Sam’s statement.
“What can I say, the stock market’s my bitch” Root tossed back another shot.
“Now you’re just trying to impress me” Sam said almost smiling, feeling the tension of her shoulders starting to loosen a little.
“How am I doing so far?” Root asked.
Sam shrugged “Money and politics bore me”
“So what doesn’t bore you, Sameen?” Root asked letting her fingers graze against Sam’s before shoving the shot glass back into her hand. Sam looked down at her hand then glanced up at Root.
“Vodka” she said tipping the shot back.
Root’s phone began to buzz across the room on the dining table and she groaned loudly.
“I’ve should probably take this” she said leaping to her feet and dancing across the room.
Sam leaned back into the couch and ran her finger around the rim of her empty shot glass wondering if it were just the alcohol talking, or whether her neighbour maybe wasn’t as bad as she had thought.
*
Sam’s eyes fluttered open, immediately greeted with a gentle thumping headache. Everything was quiet except for the sound of keys tapping away in the background. She looked at the ceiling, pulling the blanket around her tighter, it smelt nice like something sugary and sweet. Looking down she realised that this was not her blanket, nor was it her couch, and sitting up suddenly not only induced her headache more but also bought her to realisation that this wasn’t even her home.
Root was sitting in the armchair, feet kicked up on the coffee table, laptop on her knee, a tiny frown of concentration tugging between her eyebrows.
“You drug me, hacker?” Sam mumbled and Root immediately looked up.
“You wish” she said, “you fell asleep and I thought I’d just let you crash for a while”
Sam frowned “You should have just woken me”
“You knocked on my door tonight and told me you weren’t sleeping, I wasn’t about to throw you out when you finally shut your eyes”
“Weirdo” Sam grumbled resting her head on the pile of comfy cushions.
“You are” Root replied.