6. Melody
6
MELODY
T here has to be some mistake. Either that, or the universe is dolling out its karma on me in one effective swoop. I knew spitting into that one handsy customer’s beer would come back to haunt me. I just didn’t expect it to be spectacularly handing me my ass all at once. The most I figured it would do was maybe a bout of food poisoning. This is arguably worse.
Being saddled with Chase Milford for a project that my entire grade hinges upon. It doesn't help that he already hates my guts for just simply existing, but I can't even escape the guy when I go home. If I had enough money of my own to rent a place off campus, I would, but it turns out waitresses make a shitty living since it mostly is dependent on tips. And well, people haven't been feeling all that generous the last few years. Money is not a commodity I'm used to having. And now that I'm reliant on my stepfather’s coin, I'd rather not make any waves to fuck up the good thing I have going for me. Being here at this school is an opportunity many would kill to have. So, what if I have to put up with some annoying roommate. I've worked holidays and with rowdy sports fans during the Super Bowl. I can totally take being paired up with Chase Milford.
Okay, scratch that. This is torture.
He immediately stalks off in a huff as soon as he sees our names together, not even giving me a chance to talk to him. Fine. I'll just catch him back at the dorm.
Only, once I'm there do I realize I don't have my own key and I never got Chase's number. It’s not like I can call him anyways, since my phone has been dead all day. I have no idea what his schedule is, so I don’t even know when to expect him back. I sit with my back against the wall and my luggage propped up next to me as people step over me on their way down the hall. My feet ache, and all I want to do is lay down. And possibly take a shower.
My mind snags on the one bathroom we share, and I wince, not looking forward to navigating that whole situation. What was my stepfather thinking putting the two of us together like this? I mean, he has money, so I don't understand deciding not to spring for a little apartment off campus. Unless there isn’t one since this place is so secluded. I know better than to ask him though, my brief impression of my new stepfather was that he wasn't interested in fostering any type of relationship outside of a financial one. That's fine with me. I've had my fair share of my mom's romantic interests to last me a lifetime. He's just the most recent one in a long line of men. I'm surprised she got him to marry her, though. All the other times she's been in a relationship, the whole thing would blow up in a matter of months. That's why when he and my mom offered to have me enrolled here, I jumped at the chance. I know what a prestigious place like this could do for my future.
It seems like hours before Chase finally shows back up at our dorm room, and now my butt has gone numb from being in the same position for too long.
"Waiting for someone?" He asks, eyebrow cocked.
I can feel my anger simmering close to the surface. Hot and ready to lash out.
"Yeah, you. I can't get in." He takes his time with the keys, and I have to breathe out of my nose slowly to keep from exploding.
He flashes me a smirk that I want to smack right off his pretty face. He's one of those guys that knows he's good looking. I bet everyone falls at his feet, doing his bidding, begging for his attention. I roll my eyes, but that just makes him smile even wider. It's infuriating.
"Home sweet home," he says. I push past him and head straight to the bathroom feeling like my bladder is about to burst from how long I’ve been waiting.
Once inside, I take care of my business while admiring the expansive space, especially the walk-in shower with a large chrome shower head. There are white subway style tiles on the walls and large marble tiles on the floor. It's surprisingly clean, and it makes me wonder if he has a maid do his cleaning for him. He seems the type. Curiosity gets the better of me and has me snooping through the medicine cabinet once I finish washing my hands. You can tell a lot about a person by what they tuck away in there. No surprise, I find a box of condoms and several bottles of lube. At least he uses protection.
I note the expensive array of skincare products that I could only dream of being able to afford, before closing the cabinet and exiting the room. The impression I get is that Chase is the kind of guy that likes things a certain way. Definite Virgo energy. I make a mental note to find out his birthday without seeming interested. He might get the wrong idea.
Chase is propped up on his pillows in bed, feet crossed at the ankle and laptop open. He has noise cancelling headphones affixed to his ears, that screams 'leave me alone'. I pad over to the fridge, and thankfully find some lunchmeat to make a sandwich with. There's some counter space and a microwave that will come in handy. There's also a coffee machine that I will absolutely be using daily. Today, I suffered through the cafeteria’s sludge that they pass off as coffee for the meager amount of caffeine. I was desperate, but quickly learned to steer clear of them in the future. At least they make decent eggs. For lunch, I found a taco truck parked near the quad. I stuffed down three chicken tacos, topped with extra guac and a healthy dollop of sour cream. The expense was worth it. It'd been a tough 48 hours, and I deserved a little treat. I’ll have to find a job, even though my meals are covered, living here long-term doesn’t seem feasible. Though, I have no idea when I’ll find the time with all the catching up I have to do.
"What the hell are you doing? That's my food," Chases' voice booms. My mouth is full preventing me from responding.
He stands there, hands on his hips and brow furrowed. Yeah, he really doesn't like his space messed with. I'm betting Virgo for sure. Possibly a Capricorn.
"I was hungry," I manage to say once I swallow. He looks at me like I've just kicked a puppy. I roll my eyes at him again. Man, my optometrist is going to have a field day with how much my eyes are getting a workout here. "I promise I'll replace it if it's a big deal. I took one piece of turkey and one provolone."
"And two pieces of bread."
"Right. Can't forget that."
I swallow the last piece and brush the crumbs away from my fingers. He follows the bits of bread with his eyes, nose flaring.
“You’re going to pick that up,” he says. His voice crawls along my skin, making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, like I’m in the presence of an apex predator.
“What?”
“The crumbs. Get down on your knees and lick it off the floor.”
My eyes widen. He has to be kidding. But one look at his face tells me that he’s dead serious. His lips are tipped up in a smirk, knowing that he’s unsettling me.
“What are you going to do? Make me?” Nerves flutter in my stomach knowing that he could fold me in half if he wanted to.
“Pick up your mess, princess. I won’t ask again.”
I swallow hard. It’s a game. He thinks by intimidating me, he’ll run me off and he can have his precious room back to himself. Bully for him, I’m made of harder stuff, and it’ll take more than some stupid threat to scare me off. This is my future, and I won’t let some spoiled little prick take that from me.
Crouching down, I run my tongue along the floor trying not to think of how disgusting this is, while I look up at Chase. He’s mesmerized, watching me with rapt attention as I lick up every last crumb. When I’m sure I’ve picked them all up, I stand, not breaking eye contact.
"So, about that project for music theory?" I ask, needing to fill the void of silence. The way he looks at me makes me feel unnerved. Like he's upset about me being here, but also like he doesn't know what to make of me. Well same here, buddy. He definitely isn't my first choice of roommate.
"We can discuss it tomorrow,” he says, walking out of the kitchen and back over to where his bed is located. I smile, knowing I won that round. As soon as he’s back in his bed, I make a beeline for my luggage and grab my toiletries. Locking the door behind me, I wash out my mouth, taking extra care to scrub the feel of the nasty floor from my tongue. After I finish, I strip out of my sweat coated clothes and step into the shower. I let the water heat up while my mind spirals.
I'm so far behind in every class, I don't know how I'm ever going to catch up. I've already been assigned two group projects, one paper, and three reading assignment. It's all so overwhelming and I can feel the beginnings of a headache blooming in my temples.
My brain feels loud as the water rushes over my scalp. There's a list of never-ending tasks that I run through while the shampoo lathers in my hair. The warm water is a welcome balm to my aching muscles, ebbing away some of the tension I've been carrying around.To ease the stress, I find myself singing, as I usually do when I need to let off some steam. The words and music light my soul on fire, and all my problems melt away.
When I emerge from the bathroom, dressed in my pajamas that are Arcane themed, Chase has moved from his bed to the couch with the guy I saw yesterday.
“Nice singing,” Chase says.
I can’t tell if he’s being annoying or if he actually means the compliment. Crossing my arms over my chest, I feel awkward while trying to cover up that I'm not wearing a bra. A part of me hoped that Chase would be sleeping so I could look up ways to curse him on my phone.
"Hey." The guy says with a nod. I can't remember his name, but his butt is directly on the pillow I'd been using. Lovely.
“Hi,” I say back, but he's zoned back in on a game. Chase sits on the other end of the couch eating from a bag of chips. Being here like this makes me feel like such an outsider. They have their established friendship, and I've been plopped here like a freeloader. My wet hair drips down my back, so I go and grab my hairbrush from the luggage, trying to find something to busy myself so I don't feel like an even bigger idiot than I already do.
A knock comes from the door, and neither Chase, nor his friend make any move to get it.Fine. Guess I’ll grab it.
"Hi, can I help you? Oh! Good my mattress is here." I say, opening the door to an exhausted looking maintenance worker. "Can you set it down over there?" I ask, pointing to the clear space across the room. It's over in the corner near the windows, a respectable distance away from where Chase's bed is. There's a half wall that offers little privacy, but there's enough space for the twin mattress.
"I thought you said you didn't need this?" The man asks, and I swivel my head to glare at a smug looking Chase. Oh, that rat bastard. I knew there was something fishy about the mattress situation.
"My mistake,” he says, turning his attention back to the game and shoving a handful of orange chips into his mouth.
This jerk. Now I'm not even sorry that I ate his lunchmeat. I wish I took even more.
The maintenance worker sets up the bed with and hands me a note detailing where I can pick up the rest of my things that have been delivered. Perfect. I can grab my stuff in the morning before class.
Once he leaves, I'm left with two annoying boys glued to whatever game it is they're playing now that Chase has joined in.
I settle myself into the bed, fixing the standard issue sheets and blankets it came with to my liking. Somewhere packed away in the boxes I had delivered is a duvet set that will replace this, but it’ll do for now. At least the fabric is somewhat soft and not at all scratchy against my skin as I tuck in, shoving headphones in my ears to drown out Chase and his friend. If this is how it's going to be, I'm going to need a better plan to make it through the year, let alone the next week.