Page 33 of My Roommate from Hell
The goat spits out another wad of material that I now recognize as one of my favorite shirts.
Former favorite shirt, I guess.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be staying long,” says Zarmenus. “And I’ll pay you back for the clothes.”
Even a second is too long. “Why is he here?”
“He came to me,” he says. “Dark creatures do that sometimes.”
“He ate all my clothes,” I say.
“Not all of them,” says Zarmenus. “Listen, calm down, it’s not a big deal.”
“A goat just ate my clothes! You can’t tell me that’s not a big deal!”
I don’t want to be a dick, but a lot of those things aren’t replaceable. So many of them have memories tied to them. I got them as presents or I wore them on important days in my life.
“I messed up,” says Zarmenus. “I know, I’m sorry. Listen, give me an hour, and I’ll find our buddy a home. It’s what I’ve been trying to do, but nobody will take him.”
I want to help, but change my mind at the last moment. I shouldn’t have to help with this. In fact, what I want to do is leave and kill a few hours in the library. Then, hopefully, the goat will be gone.
“Seriously,” says Zarmenus. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “I’m going to the library, I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“All right.”
It’s not, though. It’s so far from that.
The problem with setting an ultimatum, even one the other party isn’t aware exists, is that you spend a lot of time waiting for it to be fulfilled.
I can’t stop thinking about the promise I made Tyrell. If Zarmenus messes up again, I’m going to tell him how I feel. I gave him a pass for the goat, as it was out of his control. But if anything else happens I’m going to have words with him.
By all appearances, my night with Zarmenus has been totally normal. After he got rid of the goat, anyway. He took it to an animal shelter, and they are apparently going to take it to a farm. He also transferred me enough money to replace my clothes.
This night has been fine. He told me a few stories from his childhood in Hell, which he describes as pretty idyllic. He grew up in a palace, his parents doted on him, he had heaps of friends.
He told me he didn’t need to come out, because labels for things like sexuality aren’t really a thing in his world.
Right now he’s gaming, and I’ve been in bed, swapping between the book I’ve been reading and browsing for clothes online. I check the time, and it’s past eleven. I climb off the bed and go into the bathroom.
I turn the hot water on and step under the water. Steam billows around my feet. I let the water run over my face, and try to stop myself from stressing.
I feel watched, and I look up and see the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.
There’s a dark figure in the bathroom, leering at me.
I nearly jump out of my skin, and then my foot slips out from under me. I fall back into the shower and look up at the figure, but there’s nothing there.
“Owen?” calls Zarmenus. “You okay?”
I know what I saw. It was no trick of the light. I get up, turn off the taps. I grab a towel, wrap it around my waist, and leave the bathroom.
Zarmenus glances at me. I’m fuming because I don’t know what happened, but I do know he is responsible. His gaze drifts down, and for a second I’m confused, but then I remember I’m in a towel.
Did he just check me out?
“Something wrong?” he asks.
