Page 89 of Tapped By My Roommate
“So bring it to the bedroom.”
Shit!I reached into my jacket pockets, withdrawing the thick gloves I’d brought with me. I’d hoped to coax Zilla out gently, in which case I wouldn’t have needed them. I used to handle her often when I was still here. As long as I left her alone when she didn’t want to be bothered, she was happy to visit with me other times.
Dan and Tess were still bickering in the hall—Dan trying to stall—as I picked up Zilla. I reached in, straining to reach the branch where she’d perched, and lifted both front and back feet at the same time, so she wouldn’t latch on and resist being lifted, then placed one hand under her shoulders and the other under her back legs to support her body and tail.
“There we go,” I murmured. “You’re fine, Zilla girl. I missed you.”
Despite the urgency I felt, I had to keep her calm. So I gave her a moment to adjust to the rude interruption to her day before lifting her up and out of the cage.
Tess exclaimed loudly behind me. “What the fuck!”
I jumped and whirled—which was a bad move on my part. Zilla reacted poorly to the sudden movement. She hissed, puffed up her body, and displayed the dewlap under her neck. These were all warnings signs. I wanted nothing more than to get her in that carrier, but Tess rushed forward—making everything worse.
“Put the lizard back in that cage!”
“Back off,” I said from between gritted teeth. “She’s riled up.”
“Because you took her out of the cage!”
Zilla dug in her claws and lashed out with her tail, and I lowered her quickly toward the carrier. In ideal circumstances, I knew how to calm her, but that wasn’t going to work with Tess in my face. The best solution was to contain Zilla safely.
Tess made another threatening move toward me, and Zilla twisted out of my grip and hit the floor. She darted forward, head bobbing—directly toward Tess.
Tess screeched, and even Dan gave a startled shout and backed up a step.
“Quiet down and be still,” I urged. “She’s just stressed. I’ll get her, okay. Just relax.”
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. “This is breaking and entering.”
“No. Dan let me in.”
“What?” She shrieked, whirling on Dan.
Zilla startled again, whipping her tail in self-defense. With a loud crack, it wrapped around Tess’s ankle, and she cried out in pain.
“Ow! Damn! I’m gonna kill that lizard,” she yelled. “Then I’m gonna kill both of you. Oh my god, it hurts!”
“Get out before it happens again,” I said in exasperation.
Dan managed to usher Tess out of the room. She didn’t fight him, still complaining about the tail whipping she’d received.
Once they were gone, I murmured quietly, “Good girl, Zilla.”
Tess and Dan were arguing again, more loudly, about his betrayal. I heard a few snippets but was more focused on getting Zilla into the carrier. After a few minutes, she calmed some and I managed it without any further incident. I closed up the carrier, knowing Zilla wouldn’t be thrilled at being contained. But it was a short trip to Oasis.
So far, Zilla looked healthier than the Savannah Monitor that had come in, but I’d want to check her out. Her enclosure had been dirtier than it should have been, and clearly, Tess didn’t care much about her—beyond using her to punish me.
I picked up the carrier and made my way out of the bedroom, stomach squirming at the confrontation that might await me.
Tess stood in the hallway, arms crossed over her chest. “Put her back in the cage.”
“No,” I said softly.
A look down showed a vivid red welt around Tess’s ankle. She glared at me. “This is theft. That reptile isn’t yours.”
“Zillaismine. She was a gift, but that doesn’t change the fact she was my pet.”
“You left her!”
