Page 9 of Screwed By My Roommate

“How do I causeyoupain? I’ve tried being friends and you shut me out. You closed the door, not me,” she yells.

“What do you want, Penny? What the fuck do you want from me? What do you think will stop your pain?” I shout.

Her pain is nothing compared to mine. She wants a friendship and I want her.

“You! You will stop my pain,” she screams.

“I won’t stop your pain. I’ll make it worse.” I have a feeling she’s not going to remember any of this, so for the first time, I say things out loud. “You think I want to be this asshole? That I want you to be the source of constant misery? I don’t, Penny. I want the exact opposite. You’re the only one who can help me. The only one who can end this agony. But I can’t let it happen. Your brother will kill me, your parents will hate me, and you’ll end up destroyed. So, hate me. Let yourself fucking hate me. It’s better than the alternative.”

I fight to stay where I’m standing because everything in me is telling me to grab her. To slam my lips to hers and strip her bare.

“Jace, what the hell are you saying?” she whispers.

I shake my head and back away. “If I need to explain it, you’ll never understand. Get to sleep, Penny.”

I walk out of her room and back into mine. My heart is bleeding in my chest as I turn around and slam the door. My fist connects with it once it’s closed.

“Fuck,” I shout, punching the door again.

I just told her everything and I fucking hope she doesn’t remember a goddamn thing.

Five

Penny

The last few days have sucked. Jace and I haven’t crossed paths at all. I don’t know what his problem is, but he seems even worse than ever. He’s avoiding me completely and if I’m honest, it’s lonely here.

My friends are all working. My brother is across the country and my roommate hates me.

He left early again this morning, so I’m sitting on the couch trying to build the courage to do what he suggested a few days ago. He told me I should fight for what I want and maybe he’s right. If I want this job, I can’t let them forget about me.

This is my dream job. It’s working with an interior designer. Eventually, I want to run my own business, but I need some hands-on experience first.

I blow out a breath and dial the number. My leg bounces as I wait for someone to answer.

“RJ Designs,” the receptionist answers.

I clear my throat, swallowing my nerves. “Hi, my name is Penny Brown. I’m following up on an interview I had for the assistant interior design position. Brian Johnson, the business manager did the interview,” I say, sounding more confident than I feel.

“Please hold,” she says.

I get up and blow out a breath, pacing around the living room. My stomach is swimming with nerves and I’m chewing my lip harder with each passing minute. I hope this was the right decision.

“Hello, Penny?”

“Yes,” I reply.

“Hi, this is Regina Johnson. I wanted to talk to you about your interview.”

Holy shit the owner of the company. My hands are sweating, and I hope I don’t drop my phone. “Ms. Johnson, thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

“My pleasure. So, I had the opportunity to go over your resume and I spoke with Brian about your interview. I’m very impressed. You are far above anyone else that applied. I see you have no hands-on experience and that was the only thing holding me up, until this phone call. I’ve learned over the years that the best employees are the ones who are determined and confident. You reaching out to me proves to me that you want this more than anyone else. I would love to have you come work for me,” she says.

I feel the tears swimming in my eyes as I cover my mouth. I can’t believe this. I quickly recover and clear my throat. “It would be an honor, Ms. Johnson.”

“How about you start Monday at nine?”

“That’s perfect, thank you so much. I look forward to it,” I say, starting to dance around.

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