[ WP ] You form a pact with the monster in your closet to work together in order to get rid of your terrible roommate .

The hobo's dirty look signaled that he wanted a bite of my dry sausage Mcmuffin. Too bad for him, this mass of flaky dough and reheated meat paste was my lunch and dinner for the day. The bus driver's announcement incurred a groan from the numerous homeless people who basked in the warmth of the bus. However, we were reaching the last stop before everyone had to get off. 
 
 The quarter of a mile walk from the bus stop to my apartment was alongside the train tracks, with scattered groups of homeless trying to find spots protected from the wind, so they could wait out the few hours before the early morning transit would come through. I had been like them once, lost, with nobody to turn to. It was n't much different now, but at least I had a bed to sleep in and a heavy quilted blanket that would make it nearly impossible to get out of on cold mornings. 
 
 I finally reached the graffiti covered door to my apartment building and got up to my apartment when I smelled a faint scent. It was indescribable, but I knew what it was. My roommate Bill. As soon as I opened the door, an incredibly thick and nauseating smell assaulted my nostrils. He was sat in front of the TV, naked and inhaling his multi-flavored vape, as The Office blared on the TV screen. Earlier in the day, I had picked up around the living room, but it took less than 12 hours for Bill to turn it into a pigsty. His clothes spread around the room in different places as if he had been hit by a tornado, and a portion of the ground was wet, where I assume he had spilled his bong water. The kitchen was even worse, as the trash can overflowed with hotpocket wrappers and soda cans. There were various sauces and oils which had spilled and solidified on the floor, along with Ramen Noodle crumbs that littered about. It had been his week to clean up the Kitchen, but it would fall to me once again to help with the process as always. 
 
 Bill's first words were, `` hey dude ya mind taking out the trash for me when you leave tomorrow? Also, if you're washing dishes, can you just rinse my plates in water and put em on the rack? Thanks bro.'' Looking at the sink, it seems he used my plates for whatever abomination he made in his stoned `` creativity.'' I replied with a quick `` sure, no problem'' and went about my work. Matter of the fact was, I could n't do much to refute him, because he was one of the only people willing the share the rent costs out in these god-forsaken neighborhoods. Bill came from a middle class family, where he was pampered and well taken care of, but had absolutely no willpower or ethic. He was a lazy slouch that lived off of the $ 800 his parents put into his checkings account every month, most of which went to buying frozen pizzas and ramen noodles in bulk. He had long since given up putting any effort into school and wanted to create new flavors for vapes, resulting in an ever present smell in the apartment that permeated the very walls. 
 
 After washing the dishes, I headed into my room, exhausted after the day's worth of school and work, longing for rest. I took off my gaudy McDonald's uniform and got in bed, waiting for my body heat to warm the blanket, so I could fall into comfortable sleep. I thought to myself, `` how did things end up like this?'' I was happy once. Surrounded by an affectionate mother and a father, life had been a dream. Unfortunately, dreams can quickly turn to nightmares, and I found myself in one when I was 6 years old. My parents got into a car accident right outside of the house. A drunk driver had ran through a red light, t-boning their car and smashing them into a lightpost. My father's left side was crushed into meat paste, and my mother was paralyzed from the waist down down. As I heard the horrible screeching of metal, I had ran out of the house, followed by my babysitter, only to see my parents bloodied and mangled in a crumpled metal box. The next 6 years of life were hell, as my mother's descent into alcohol abuse destroyed any semblance of stability in the household. I wound up as her caretaker, doing anything and everything necessary for her care, all the while having to take the venomous hatred and abuse she threw my way. Every night after I laid my drunk mother to bed, I would try to sleep as fast as possible, but always wound up turning my eyes to the closet. In that pitch black space, I often found comfort in seeing emptiness, but it eventually began to change to reflect my father's bloodied visage. It terrified me, but I could not look away, and the only respite would be the exhaustion that set in and helped me get a few hours of sleep before waking up and repeating the same daily process. When I was twelve, I returned from school to find my mother slumped over, eyes turned up into the sockets and mouth frothing. She had met a deadly end when mixing her pills with alcohol. I inherited the house from them, but decided to have it sold so I could get away from this place that consisted of nothing but painful memories and the face that haunted me every night. With what little money I had, I decided to invest it in an education, but even then it would barely be enough. 
 
 As thoughts of past memories faded, I realized that my body had not grown warm at all under the heavy blanket, and instead it had become colder. Shivering, I got up to put on some well insulated clothes, when my body exploded with goosebumps. It was an indescribable sensation, as if I was a prey that was being stalked openly by an overwhelming predator. Frozen, I turned my eyes and looked to into the unusually dark abyss of my closet to see the mangled face of my father, as well my mother, whose lifeless eyes bore deep into me, despite having no pupils and with froth coming out of her mouth. It had been nearly 6 years since I had last seen this creature, and now it was joined by my late mother. As it took a raspy breath, the temperature of the room dropped by 10 degrees. It's raspy voice was trying to make out words to say, but could not find a way to do so. I remained still, frozen with fear and expectation, as it had never spoke or even tried to do so. Finally, they managed to move their lips, `` It's been a while baby, have you missed us?'' 
 
 Their voice came out in ragged hissing breaths, enveloping my ears and finally snapping me out of my trance. I could only respond with a trembling voice, `` what are you?'' 
 
 `` How rude'' the face of my mother frowned. `` We're your parents silly,'' it said with a disturbing emphasis put on the S sound. 
 
 `` No you're not, what do you want from me?'' I responded quickly. 
 
 `` Boy, watch your tone when talking to your mother,'' the face of my father said in a tone that sounded like someone imitating anger. His attempt to frown was somewhat impeded by the missing portion of his eyebrow and eyelid. 
 
 `` It's ok honey, he'll grow out of it,'' said my mother as she tried to make out a smile towards my father. 
 
 `` Son, we're concerned about the company you keep,'' said my father in a seemingly stern voice. 
 
 `` Yes baby, that young man is an absolute slouch, how can you live with people like that?'' My mother added in. 
 
 `` I have no choice in the matter, I need him around to help pay half of the rent,'' I dejectedly responded. 
 
 `` Do n't worry honey, we'll help you. As long your mother and father are here, you do n't need to worry about small things in life,'' they said unison, before becoming shrouded in the darkness and disappearing from my sight. A moment later, I found myself in bed, profusely sweating and even more strangely, surrounded by silence. There was no blaring of Michael Scott's antics or Skrillex. It was completely quiet. I went out to my living room to see that it was dark and no multi-scented smell lingered. This was uncharacteristic of Bill, as he usually liked watching TV late at night while blasting his vape. I turned on the light to see that his door was still open, which was even stranger, since he locks it when he goes to sleep or outside. A glint of light caught my eye all of a sudden, and I saw that the sofa had a layer of ice on it. A sense of dread filled me, as I began to think of things that happened, especially after what I dreamed about the creature in my closet. 
 
 I went into Bill's room to find a complete pigsty. In comparison to his room, the messes he created in the kitchen and the living room could be considered a small spot at best. He had the benefit of having his own bathroom, but it seems that he had no respect for his own space and it became something akin to an outhouse. His floor was stained by different liquids and ants scavenged clumps of food from his desk. On it was a large silver box that seemed out of place in this dirty and rotten room. My curiosity got the better of me and I opened it to see rows upon rows of 100 dollar bills, totaling tens of thousands of dollars and a white note that jutted out between the stacks of green paper. Written on it were four words that have never left my mind. 
 
 `` Enjoy Honey'' 
 - Mom and Dad 
 

