Page 140 of My Roommate from Hell
“Not yet,” he says, his voice thick. “It’s like she’s sleeping but won’t wake up.”
I squeeze him. “When does the other vet get here?”
“It should be soon.”
We’re quiet for a moment.
“I’m glad you came,” he says.
“Of course.”
The door to the vet clinic opens, startling both of us. A woman in a pair of dark blue scrubs, I’m guessing the vet, has come outside. At first my stomach drops, but then I notice she is holding a very awake and very squirmy Bell. She wriggles out of the vet’s arms, then rushes up to us. She does a circle around my legs, purring loudly, then does another circle around Zarmenus. If we weren’t here, I’d say there’s nothing wrong with her.
“You fixed her!” says Zarmenus. He nearly gives the vet a hug, stopping himself at the last moment.
“I didn’t do anything,” she says. “Not yet. She just woke up and started meowing at a pitch that cracked our window. Then she came into my thoughts and told me she’s fine and I should take her outside. That’s one very special pet you’ve got there.”
The vet spins on her heels and goes back inside.
“Was Bell faking?” I ask. “Can she do that?”
“I don’t know,” says Zarmenus, clearly reading my confused-as-hell expression. Then it seems like he figures it out. “Bell is tied to my emotional state. And after last night—”
He stops himself.
I start to put the pieces together. If Bell is tied to his emotional state, and she got sick last night after we had our talk, what does that mean, exactly?
“Or maybe she just wanted us to talk,” suggests Zarmenus. “She’s always been a drama queen.”
Bell meows, as if confirming his theory. Then she vanishes into thin air, leaving the two of us alone.
Bell is okay. The only thing holding me back from telling Zarmenus is gone. Actually, given the way she was acting, I’m starting to think this was all a plan orchestrated by her.
I go to speak, but then shut my mouth. This didn’t go the way I’d had mapped out in my head. I was supposed to see him at the dance and tell him there. Not on the street in front of a vet. My brain tells me to wait, to wait until I’ve had time to make a new plan, to come up with a new script.
“What’s wrong?” he asks. “Bell’s fine.”
“It’s not that.”
Am I really doing this?
I think I am.
“I want to tell you something, but it scares the shit out of me.”
He takes hold of my hands. “Want me to take the lead? Scary shit is my specialty, after all.”
“It’s tempting, but no.” I stand up straighter. “I like you. And not as a friend or a fake boyfriend or even as a roommate.”
“Ow,” he says, his eyes still full of affection.
“I mean, I do like you like that, too. But I like you in the other way, as well. And I’m not saying that for the internship or for any reason other than I want you to know. I’ve started to like you for real.”
His whole face lights up. “Um, I have a confession for you, too, roomie. I’ve liked you for real pretty much this whole time.”
“Really?”
“Why the tone of surprise? You’re the funniest, smartest, hottest, just all-around best guy I’ve ever met. I can’t believe that youlike me. Or maybe I can, I am kind of amazing. But you, you’re incredible.”
