Page 35 of My Roommate from Hell
“Are we not going to talk about this?” I ask. “I nearly died.”
“No, you didn’t,” he says. “Bell likes you, she was probably just showing off.”
“Zarmenus, your cat nearly killed me. The least you could do is say sorry.”
He huffs. “You’re right. Sorry. I’m going to bed now.”
So that’s it? No apology? Nothing? If anything, he seems somewhat upset with me because I ruined his hookup. It’s ridiculous.
Bell has gone back to staring, and it’s more than a little alarming. It seems predatory, almost. Like she’s sizing me up as a meal, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
This settles it. I need to do something.
Tomorrow morning, I’m going to figure out a way to fix this.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Like usual, Zarmenus is gone by the time I wake up.
This morning, there’s no matcha latte sitting on my desk.
There is, however, more mess. It seems as if this morning he went through his entire closet when trying to decide what to wear, as now there isn’t anywhere in the room that’s free from clothes.
It’s a shit show, basically.
There are clothes pretty much all over the floor, and even on his desk. Kicked over onto my side of the room are sneakers that, from the looks of them, are years old. And they smell like they haven’t been washed in that entire time.
I need to talk to him. I know I do. But conflict isn’t something I’m used to. My family don’t really fight.
But I’m trapped in a room with him. For months. And as hard as it is to see right now, I’m worried that this version of Zarmenus is him on his best behavior. He was at the meeting with Leeke, and I know his parents are hanging a lot on this going well. What that means is his behavior is going to keep on sliding, with things getting worse and worse until… well, what, exactly? I explode?
Bell appears on Zarmenus’s desk. As cute as she is, she’s in my bad books as well, after last night. I haven’t been able to forget what I saw. I doubt I ever will.
Bell jumps down off Zarmenus’s desk, then starts making a wet, retching sound.
Oh no.
“Bell, no!”
She doesn’t listen and throws up onto the carpet.
Only it’s not regular cat sick, which would be gross enough.
She’s thrown up what appears to be molten lava. The carpet catches fire and sends up foul-smelling black smoke. I sit up and try to figure out what to do. Bell doesn’t seem to be throwing up anymore, which is good.
But there’s still the burning puddle of lava to deal with.
I saw a fire extinguisher down the hall. I jump over the lava, grab my key card, then run down the hall to retrieve it. I sprint back to my room. The lava is spreading, eating into the carpet. Bell is now sitting on Zarmenus’s desk, licking her paws.
I aim the extinguisher at the lava and pull the trigger. It coats the lava, killing the flames.
I drop the extinguisher on the floor. I’m so worn out it takes me a moment to come to my senses.
The door swings open. Zarmenus comes inside, clearly back from a run. He’s holding two coffee cups, as well as a white paper bag that’s filled with what appears to be some kind of pastry.
He pauses. “What are you doing?”
“Bell was sick.”
