The Lucky Lodger (Chapter 2 Added)

[alanders]

Chapter 1 - Agreements

“Phew, here it goes” Oscar said to himself as he opened the door to the quaint and old fashioned coffee shop finally shielded from the pouring rain.

Oscar had recently managed to secure a place at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities to study astrophysics and was recognised as one of the brightest minds in the country in the subject. However, this meant moving nearly 5 hours away from his family home to a city he’d never been to before and due to laziness and his general unorganised nature he’d taken too long to arrange university accommodation. This resulted in him frantically searching for lodging opportunities and after sifting through the super expensive options, he found one that may work.

This led him to being in the doorway of the coffee shop, as he looked around to see if he could spot the people he’d agreed to see. The lodging opportunity he’d decided to pursue was via a middle aged couple who had a spare bedroom only a 15 walk from campus which sounded absolutely perfect and he couldn’t quite believe his luck.

“Oscar!” he heard from behind him as he turned around and saw the couple. The man stood up and introduced himself as John and his wife then followed, introducing herself as Joanne.

They ordered him a coffee and began chatting about Oscar’s journey to meet them and general smalltalk before getting onto the main subject.

“So we’ve had a few different students lodge with us over the years and we’ve never had any problems, and hearing you speak I think that you’ll be absolutely lovely to have around. You’re clearly a very clever young man!” John praised.

“Thanks I really appreciate it, and thank you for being so generous with the cost of staying with you!” Oscar replied.

“We realise how costly it is to be a student in this day and age so we’re glad we can help you out. We do have a couple of expectations from you though if that’s okay?” Joanne added.

“Oh sure I’ll do anything you need me to!” Oscar replied.

Joanne then pulled a folder out of her bag and then pulled out what looked like a ten page document. “So due to the terms of the mortgage on our house we have to ask any guest that stays with us for a prolonged period of time to sign this document which just covers the terms and conditions of the property. Feel free to take it home and read it, you can bring it signed when you first arrive in a few weeks” Joanne suggested as she passed Oscar the document.

“Nah it’s okay I can sign it now if you like to make things easier. Do you have a pen?” Oscar responded.

“Oh yes, of course!” Joanne said as she grabbed a pen out of her bag and handed it to Oscar, who flicked to the final page and signed the document. Joanne and John both looked at eachother and smiled.

“There you go. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for letting me lodge with you” Oscar smiled.

“No problem our pleasure, we’re looking forward to getting to know you better” John said.

After a bit more smalltalk, they went their separate ways and Oscar headed back home, feeling much more relaxed and excited about starting university knowing that he had accommodation sorted at the fraction of the price he expected to pay.

A few weeks later, and two nights before he was due to leave to university, he received a text from his new hosts:

Hi Oscar, it’s John. I was wondering if you could send me an address for a car park near where you live so I can pick you up?

Oscar was shocked by his generosity and went back to him straight away:

Hi John, it’s not a problem I can get a train? I realise it’s a long car journey?

No bother, you’ll have loads of bags so my pleasure!

With that he sent him the address of the local supermarket car park and to be honest it was a bit of a weight of his mind as he was anxious about having to get the train with all of his bags.

Finally the day had arrived and he was heading off to university. He said his goodbyes to his family and slowly walked over to the car park where he’d be meeting John. He had two large suitcases and a mountaineering backpack so he was so grateful John would be picking him up. As he walked into the car park he heard a beep coming from a large white Tesla and realised who it was.

“Oscar! Good to see you, ready for the journey?” John asked as he shook his hand.

“Yeah all good, thanks so much again for picking me up” Oscar said as she put his backpack down on the ground.

“No problem, I doubt you would’ve coped with all these bags on your own on the train! Let me help you get them into the boot” John said as he opened the boot of the car and lifted the suitcases in. Once they were inside they both hopped in the car and the long journey began. Luckily they quickly bonded over a passion for football so that helped the time pass, and Oscar began to relax and feel like he’d really get on with John.

Around half way through the journey, John indicated they needed to stop at a service station to charge the car and before they knew it they’d parked up alongside a charging station.

“Shall we go and grab some food? I’m a bit peckish don’t know about you?” John asked.

“Yeah sounds good” Oscar replied.

They both headed to Burger King and ordered some food, and just before Oscar was about to pay John stepped in and tapped his card to pay.

“Oh you didn’t have to do that! Thank you” Oscar thanked.

John just smiled and led him over to a table and they began to eat. Oscar went for his usual order of a bacon double cheeseburger, fries and a Fanta lemon while he saw that John went for a whopper burger.

“Thanks again for paying for that John. I can’t begin to thank you for all this!” Oscar said as he wiped his mouth with a tissue.

“Oscar honestly you don’t need to keep thanking me. In the agreement you signed it detailed that all food will be provided by me and Joanne. Remember?” John detailed as they walked back towards the car.

Oscar thought back to when he nonchalantly signed the agreement at the coffee shop and he started to think that maybe he should’ve read it in full, but free food for the entirety of his stay sounded good to him. “Of course, sorry I forgot that part!” he lied.

The rest of the journey was slightly quieter and Oscar thought more about the document he failed to read through when he first agreed to lodge with Joanne and John. What else did he not read? He thought about it a lot but theorised that it was likely just legal stuff and nothing to worry about.

After what felt like days the car eventually pulled off the motorway and into the city where Oscar would be studying. He saw all of the major amenities he’d be using in his stay. He then saw the main university campus and in the remaining few minutes of the journey he realised how close the house was from the campus. “I’ve struck gold!”He quietly said to himself.

“Here we are, home sweet home!” John said as the car pulled onto the drive. The house was a semi-detached house with two floors and a loft conversion. The windows were accompanied by flower boxes and the front garden was very well kept. As he got out the car, he noticed how homely it felt and he instantly knew he was going to be comfortable here.

“Hello Oscar, welcome to your new temporary home! So glad to have you here” Joanne said as she opened the door and gave Oscar a hug, which he thought was sweet. “John will get your bags, why don’t you come with me and I’ll get you a cup of tea”.

Oscar was led into the living room, which was well kept and warm. As he sat on the sofa and waited for Joanne to bring him a cup of tea, he saw a few framed photos on the mantelpiece of some younger men with the couple.

“They are previous students who’ve stayed with us over the years, I’m sure by the end of your stay you’ll have a photo too” Joanne said as she spotted him checking out the photos. Oscar smiled and took a sip of the tea she’d gave him. “Let me show you to your room”.

Joanne then led him upstairs and into the bedroom. As she opened the door he was slightly confused by what he saw. The room was painted with pastel pink paint, and the single bed had darker pink bedsheets with flowers on them. He looked around and saw a few items like a dolls house, a big mirror above the desk and a pink armchair with a bunny plush toy on it.

“Sorry about the decor, this used to be our daughters room and we’ve not had time to redecorate. The previous lodgers didn’t mind I hope you don’t either!” Joanne explained.

“Oh no, it’s okay. It’ll be fine” Oscar said rather nervously, hiding his embarrassment at the fact he’d be staying in what looked like a little girls room.

“Sounds like John is all done bringing your bags in so shall we go downstairs and discuss some of our house rules?” Joanne suggested.

“Sure” Oscar responded as they made their way back towards the living room.

“Right so we’re so glad to have you here Oscar, and we can’t wait to get to know you better!” Joanne said as she sat down next to John on the sofa as Oscar placed himself on the matching armchair.

“So am I, thank you again so much for helping me out you’ve already been so generous!” Oscar responded.

“That’s okay, we’re going to do our best to accommodate your needs, but we’re also asking for you to follow the rules we have too. They are all detailed in the document you signed a few weeks ago, and if any of them are broken the agreement will be voided and we’ll have no choice but to ask you to leave. Understood?” Joanne said.

“Yes I understand, although I have to admit I can’t quite remember all of the rules in the document. Could you remind me again of what some of them are?” Oscar admitted.

“That’s okay, some of the simpler ones are keeping your room clean, lights off at 9pm, no girls around, and like we mentioned earlier we will be providing food and other necessities” John explained.

“There will be some other rules but let’s just explain those when we get to them. For now you are free to get settled and start unpacking if you like?” Joanne suggested.

“Sounds like a plan, thanks guys!” Oscar said as he got up and headed to his new bedroom.

[Eagle0769]

Good start. Sounds like two stories I read on this site.

One was great but the other was not.

Hope it's like the one I liked. 🙂

[Dirty Boy]

I don't sign things without reading them carefully 😅

[alanders]

Chapter 2 - Settling In

Oscar entered his new bedroom and let out a deep breath. The last few hours had been pretty overwhelming and he was glad to finally have some peace and quiet to himself, and although Joanne and John seemed like lovely people he still craved some time alone where he could gather his thoughts. As he looked around the room he was a bit annoyed by the decor and knew it would take some getting used to but something about it was also confusing him - if they had hosted other lodgers in the past how did they not get time to redecorate the bedroom? Did the other lodgers not have a problem with it either? He knew their previous lodgers were boys? He had lots of questions that he wasn’t sure would ever be answered.

Trying to put them to the back of his mind, he unzipped one of his suitcases and placed most of the clothing on his bed ready to pack away into drawers and the large cupboard. He picked up a pile of neatly folded t-shirts and pulled out one of the large drawers he saw that inside there was a selection of pastel coloured t-shirts that were clearly shaped for a girl, and what was more puzzling was that they featured patterns and graphics that would be much more appropriate for a young girl compared to a late teenager or adult. He assumed their daughter had grown up and moved out but these clothes suggested otherwise. He decided to simply put his clothes on top of them, seeing no other option as he had nowhere else to put them.

Next he picked up various hoodies and sweatshirts and opened the cupboard wanting to hang them up but he was met with a similar sight. Hung up in the cupboard were multiple dresses and a few pairs of dungarees, with baskets below full of skirts, ballet tutus and other dress up items. Luckily there were some spare hangers so he put his clothes on them and hung them up next to the girly clothes. What was weird to him was that all of the clothes were very childish but in adult sizes. He couldn’t get his head around it.

Finally he pulled out a bag full of underwear and socks out of his suitcase and opened the top drawer above the drawer he’d just put his t-shirts in, and surprise surprise as he opened it he was met by the sight of numerous pairs of rolled up knickers all in different colours but again the same strange question entered his head, why were they designed to be for a young girl but were clearly in adult sizes? He threw his own boxers and socks into the drawer and closed it. He then moved to the small desk and placed his electronics down. As he sat at the desk he pondered the strange things in the room and he really wanted to ask why the room and clothes were so infantile, but was scared of causing offence as it could be a case of Joanne and John’s daughter dying and them wanting to leave the room how it was or something, so he decided to leave it for now and just overcome the abnormalities.

As he scrolled through his emails on his laptop he heard a knock on the bedroom door. “Come in” Oscar said loudly.

“Hey Oscar, we’ve just cooked tea and I was wondering if you’d like to join us?” John said as he poked his head around the door.

“That would be lovely thanks. I didn’t realise what the time was I was just getting settled in!” Oscar replied as he looked at the time and could now see it was the evening. As it was summer the sun hadn’t set quite yet but as he looked out the window he could see it was approaching dusk.

Oscar followed John downstairs into the kitchen and could see that him and Joanne had prepared a lovely roast dinner and he happily accepted the invitation and sat down to eat with them. They happily chatted about all sorts and got to know eachother better, with Oscar telling them about his upcoming studies and his hobbies, including football which came up again in the conversation. Once dinner was over, Joanne offered up a bowl of a freshly baked tart she’d made before he arrived and it was absolutely delicious. Besides the oddities to his bedroom, he was beginning to feel like it was definitely the right decision lodging with them. He then excused himself and went back up to his room, using the excuse of feeling tired and wanting a bit of down time to himself.

As he sat on the bed in his room over the top of the sheets, he heard a weird rustling sound as his bum made contact, sounding a bit like the rustling of a plastic bag. He stood back up and pulled of the sheets and felt the bed with his hand, realising there was a weird plastic sheet on top of the mattress that he couldn’t see. “What the hell?” he said to himself as he put the bedsheet back on and sat down again. Choosing to ignore it for now, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted his parents to let him know he had arrived safely and was settling in. He then began to text some of his friends back home about all sorts, before opening up YouTube and watching a few of his favourite content creators.

As the night approached, he once again heard a knock on the door and welcomed in Joanne. “Hello Oscar, just to remind you it’s lights off at 9pm so if you need to have a shower or something you’re welcome to - just use the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Towels are in the cupboard next to the door. Also can I just ask, are you a bedwetter?” Joanne asked casually.

Oscar was shocked by the question and made a visibly confused face. “Ummm no, of course not I’m an adult?” Oscar responded.

“Sorry it’s just that our last lodger actually had a few problems staying dry at night, hence why there is a plastic sheet on your mattress. Just for a few nights do you mind if we keep it on? We’re just a bit cautious after last time you know?” Joanne explained.

Things were starting to get weirder. The last person that lodged with them for university was a… bedwetter? Out of all the things that had happened today that was the strangest for him. He reluctantly agreed and Joanne said goodnight, leaving him to shower and get ready for bed. Even the light out rule was a bit much, 9pm was early for him and once he started university he’ll definitely be wanting to go to freshers so that might become troublesome for him. He made his way to the bathroom and proceeded to shower, but not before noticing a few bath toys like rubber ducks and Barbie dolls on the side of the bath. He guessed they were for Joanne and John’s mystery daughter and ignored them, focusing on showering and then drying. Finally he was back in his room and decided to get an early night and fully adhere to the 9pm rule, not wanting to annoy his new ‘housemates’ too much.

Oscar wasn’t formally starting university for another week and thought it would be a good idea to arrive early so he could find his bearings and explore the city a bit. The next few days were spent walking around scoping out places that would be handy for him during his studies and his stay. He found his preferred supermarket, some clothes shops where he could get some extras stuff if he needed it, a barbers where he could get a haircut, and plenty of pubs and clubs to go to for freshers and with new friends he’ll make at university. Each day Joanne and John were very kind and accommodating to Oscar, providing him with breakfast and dinner (and lunch if he was in the house), offering him lifts if he needed to go anywhere and even washing his clothes for him. He couldn’t believe how lucky it was and it was pretty much like living at home, just without the responsibility of the people he lived with knowing everything about him. He still hadn’t plucked up the courage to ask about the peculiar items in his bedroom but he was really thinking about it a lot and once he was a bit more comfortable with Joanne and John he was going to quiz them, but not just yet.

As the clock struck 9pm, he switched off his bedside lamp and began to get ready for his fourth night as a lodger. He scrolled his phone for a bit before plugging it in and setting an alarm. He tossed and turned as the plastic bedsheet rustled every time he moved, which he was getting used to but was still slightly annoying, but despite this it didn’t stop him from falling into a deep sleep. Hours later, he was woken up by the buzzing of his phone, indicating that his alarm was going off. As he leaned over to put the alarm on snooze, he noticed a strange feeling that he wasn’t used to. In a panic, he threw off the bedsheet and looked down, horrified at what he saw.

He realised that he was laying in a large, obvious wet patch in the middle of his bed, which emanated from underneath his bum. His flannel pyjama shorts were completely soaked in the front and back, and the wetness had even reached up to his bellybutton on his t-shirt. It’s a sight he hadn’t seen since he was in primary school, when he wet his bed after a late night watching movies with his sister But at least then he was just a little kid and that sort of thing was expected at least a couple of times. Now he was a fully grown adult, who had just soaked the bed without realising.

Fight or flight kicked in and he leapt out of bed, quickly stripping the sheets off the bed and undressing himself before throwing on his dressing gown and tip-toeing downstairs, being careful not to wake Joanne or John. He reached the washing machine and very quietly put his sheets and pyjamas in the cylinder, setting it to a quick wash and then letting it run. But just as he turned around away from it, he was met with a sight that made him jump.

“Oscar what’s going on? Little early for a wash isn’t it?” Joanne asked, as she stood in the doorway leaning on one side, dressed in a matching pyjama set with a white dressing gown over the top.

“Oh sorry, it’s just my gym clothes and I need them for later this morning” Oscar replied, quickly making up a fake excuse.

“Are you sure that looks like a pretty big load?” Joanne asked as she walked towards the washing machine. “Wait a minute they look like your bedsheets?” she added as she bent over and looked into the window of the machine.

“I can explain, you see I spilled my drink all over the sheets and…” Oscar explained before he was cut off.

“Oscar I want the truth. Did you wet the bed?” Joanne asked directly.

He wasn’t sure he could get out of this one, he was rumbled before he even got a chance to make up a proper lie. He tilted his head down and nodded.

“Oscar you said you weren’t a bedwetter?” Joanne tutted.

“I’m not I swear, like this is the first time it’s happened for years and years!” Oscar pleaded.

“Hmmm okay let’s just hope it’s a one off. Why don’t you go and have a shower and I’ll deal with this” Joanne asked.

“Thanks it’s alright, I’m sorry” Oscar said.

“It’s okay, let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen again okay?” Joanne asked.

He then headed back upstairs and hopped in the shower. He stayed in there for about half an hour embarrassed to come back out in case he bumped into Joanne. Eventually he headed back to his room and could see some new bedsheets had been put on, and this time they were just a plain purple set of sheets. He quickly got dressed and headed out, making sure to avoid any interaction with Joanne.

Oscar spent the rest of the day just walking around and looking around the shops, as well as treating himself to a Nando’s just as a way to avoid having dinner with Joanne and John as it would be too awkward for him. He stretched his day out for as long as he could until he couldn’t hang on for any longer and he headed back to the house. As he got in, he couldn’t hear much movement until he walked past the living room doorway, where he saw John sat in the armchair.

“Oscar? Could we talk to you for a minute?” John said as he walked past. Without hesitation he walked into the living room and sat down at the opposite end of the sofa to Joanne, knowing what was inevitably coming.

“I’m sorry but I had to tell John about the incident this morning and we’ve had a chat together and we thought we should probably talk to you too. As I mentioned on your first night we have had some experience with previous lodgers wetting the bed so thankfully we had the plastic bedsheet on so there was no permanent damage, but you do realise this can’t continue” Joanne ordered.

“Of course I’m so sorry, but it was just a one off. Must be the new surroundings or I just drank too much before I went to bed. This isn’t a normal thing for me” Oscar reassured her.

“Thing is Oscar this is what our last lodger told us, but we had repeat events. And as per your contract, the rules state if there is any sort of lasting damage to bedding it is our discretion to put in place measures to prevent it happening again” John said.

This bloody document he thought to himself, if only he had read it. “Sure I understand, but I promise-“ Oscar said before he was interrupted.

“No buts Oscar were being serious. So tonight we’re not going to let you consume any liquids before 7pm, and you must use the toilet before lights out. Is that okay?” Joanne said.

“Absolutely fine by me. Sorry again” Oscar agreed.

They settled the issue and Oscar went to his room to change into some more comfortable clothes  before joining them for dinner. He noticed instead of a glass of coke or Fanta his dinner was a pint of water and it was a slightly frosty atmosphere as they ate. Once dinner was finished, John stood up and began washing the dishes along with so  washing up that had accumulated throughout the day, including some plates, mugs and a large mixing bowl.

“As we mentioned earlier that’ll be your last drink tonight, and before bed I’ll make sure you go to the bathroom okay?” Joanne explained to Oscar. He reluctantly agreed and he went to the living room to watch some television until it was nearly lights out time. Joanne then accompanied him upstairs and she stood outside the bathroom and waited for Oscar to finish going to the toilet and brushing his teeth. Once she was satisfied, she said goodnight and Oscar was finally alone. It was a mortifying evening and there was nothing he wanted more than to head to sleep and escape it all, but what had happened last night had made him nervous of a repeat, but reasoned that this hadn’t happened before and it was surely just a one off. However as soon as he put his head on the pillow, he was fast asleep. He’d noticed over the last few days he was finding it much easier to fall into a deeper sleep than he was used to, maybe it was the bed because he did notice how comfortable it was.

Oscar jolted up on his bed as the morning sun pierced through the gaps in his curtains. After pausing for a few seconds he realised someone was knocking on his bedroom door. “Oscar are you awake? I’ve made you some tea” he could hear muffled from behind the door as Joanne continued to knock.

As he moved, he felt a sudden feeling of shame as he realised once again his pyjamas and bedsheets were thoroughly soaked. He couldn’t believe it had happened again, why was this happening to him. Before he could even get up, Joanne walked in and placed the cup of tea on his bedside table.

“Sorry to barge in, I just thought it was later than normal for you and wanted to see if you were okay. Did you sleep well?” Joanne asked.

“Yeah I did thanks, could I just have a bit of privacy?” Oscar said as he pulled his bedsheets over his upper body. Without warning Joanne grabbed the bedsheet and ripped it off him, revealing the huge puddle he was laying in.

“I knew it, I knew I could smell stale wee! I thought the night before was a one off?” Joanne said angrily.

“I’m so sorry I don’t know why this is happening??” Oscar said as a tear dribbled down his cheek.

“Go and get yourself cleaned up, and when you are done come downstairs. We’re going to have a chat” Joanne said as she huffed.

[Dirty Boy]

For me, the two are two psychopaths, and perhaps they are putting something in Oscar's food to make him have accidents. Maybe they lost a daughter who had bedwetting problems or the daughter left because they are crazy

[thedman]

5 hours ago, Dirty Boy said:

For me, the two are two psychopaths, and perhaps they are putting something in Oscar's food to make him have accidents. Maybe they lost a daughter who had bedwetting problems or the daughter left because they are crazy

The story does say he has been having an easier time falling alseep