the roommate → brad simpson | ✓

twenty - "she has to leave"

It was my last night staying at university before I go home for a week and I was spending it at Tristan's apartment at a party.

I put on my white shirt and tuck it into my signature mom jeans before I make my way out of the dorm, making sure to lock it up since Brad was at a party, too.

The taxi was waiting just out of campus and I climb in, giving the driver a smiler as we set off and begin the journey to the apartment, which I had found out was the same one as when I went to the party with James.

"Thank you," I give the driver the change and he takes it before I leave. I put my phone in my jean pocket and walk up to his apartment door.

As I remembered, people hung outside of his door, practically dry humping each other and empty bottles of vodka were laying on the floor. The room stank of weed and alcohol but I welcomed the smell, instantly reaching for an unopened can of cider and taking a huge gulp of it.

"Margo! I'm so glad you could come," Ana pulls me in for a hug as soon as she sees me. She was dressed in a tight, burgundy dress that ended mid-thigh and showed off her perfect modelling figure. "Tristan's probably with his mates getting high right now."

"Sounds fun," I comment and finish the cider. "Is there any more alcohol anywhere?"

She nods and leads me into the kitchen, weaving me past the crowd of dancing people. The kitchen was quieter and the music was drowned out and no one else was in here.

"So what do you study at uni?" Anastasia sparks up small talk. We had sent a few messages back and forth but we didn't really know each other.

"Fashion," I smile in reply, opening up a bottle of beer. "You?"

"Modelling," she shrugs. It wasn't a surprise, she had the perfect legs and the perfect body, she looked how I wanted to. "So do you like any boys?"

"No," I shake my head confidently. "I had a thing with one guy but it turned out he was an arsehole who just wanted to get into my pants and then get with my best friend."

"Boys suck," she concludes and I nod in agreement. "You're bomb as fuck though, I don't know why he wouldn't want to get with you. It seems like you've got a sense of humour and I don't know many people that could pull off your kind of style."

I blush at her compliment and take a swing of my beer. As I do, Tristan walks through the door with a cigarette in his hands and takes a puff and I stop myself from scrunching my nose up.

"Hey, Margo! You came!"

"Yeah," I smile and he engulfs me in a hug. I put my arms around his torso and he eventually moves away to give his girlfriend a kiss.

"Do you smoke?" He asks and offers the cigarette to me but I shake my head. "How come?"

"I just never really thought about it," I shrug. I didn't have a vendetta against smokers or anything, I didn't mind people who smoked at all.

"How about you try?" He doesn't move his spliff away from me and I shake my head.

"No thanks, I'm only get drunk tonight, not high."

"Come on," he urges, taking my hand and putting the cigarette in it and I hold it uncomfortably. "You'll feel amazing afterwards."

"I really don't want to try it tonight—"

"Come on! Don't be a party pooper."

"Tristan," Ana frowns. "If she doesn't wanna smoke it then she doesn't have to."

"It's not like she's gonna die from one cigarette," Tristan rolls his eyes. "Come on, Margo. I thought you were fun."

"I am."

He chuckles, "then just take one puff! You know how to smoke, right?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to," I shake my head, trying to hand the cigarette back to him but he pushes it back towards me.

"Just one puff and I'll stop asking."

"You know what? I have to go," I shake my head, still holding the cigarette. I didn't want to cause a scene by not smoking it because I had no intentions to. It stunk and made my noise wrinkle up in distaste.

"No you don't," he rolls his eyes. "Just try it! You might even like it!"

"She has to go," a familiar voice growls from behind Tristan and I didn't even notice Brad walking in the kitchen, let alone pulling Tristan back and snatching the spliff off of me, dumping it in the sink. "Margo, get the fuck out of this apartment."

I just looked at him in shock. He looks angry, infuriated with his set jaw and his dark eyes were pointing towards Tristan in disgust. He looked scary.

"Margo. I'm not fucking waiting for you to leave," he looks over at me as I lean against the kitchen counter. He tosses me his keys and I catch them. "Wait in my car. Now."

I hesitantly look over at Ana who looks at the boys in confusion, and Tristan looked uncomfortable as his friend shot him daggers.

"Margo."

The tone of his voice was cold and I just nod timidly, walking out of the kitchen and soon I'm out of the apartment complex altogether. The crisp October air hit my warm skin and I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't know that I was holding in.

I see Brad's car sitting at the back of the parking lot, and I walk over to it slowly, unlocking it and climbing into the passenger seat. Once the door is closed, I rest my head against the seat and look out the window, trying to comprehend what just happened.

I nearly got peer pressured to get high and Brad was the one who came to my rescue. How romantic.

I turn on the car so that it would warm up, since I was practically shivering against the freezing, leather seats. I put on the radio but only pop music plays so I switch it off straight away.

Brad eventually comes down five minutes later and gets in the car, slamming the door shut and completely ignoring me as I glance over to him. We don't speak throughout the entire car ride and the tension is practically suffocating me by the time we reach the campus.

He turns off the car but neither of us move. He rests his head against the seat and closes his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips while his hands grip tightly on to the steering wheel.

I glance over at him and I only move out of my car seat when he starts unbuckling his belt. I copy his actions and when we're both out of the car, he locks it and I have to fast walk to catch up with him and his long strides.

He was angry, anyone could tell that. His fists kept clenching then unclenching and his jaw was tight as he walked. He didn't even spare me a look. Was he mad at me for going to the party and nearly getting high?

We reach the apartment and he unlocks the door, opening it up for me and I walk past quickly, not wanting to test his patience.

He slams it shut and a loud bang echoes through the walls of our dorm. I flinch at the sound and slide off my shoes, before turning to look at him. He was leaning against the door with his arms crossed while he stared at me, following my every movement.

His eyes fall from my face to the floor as I turn around and I hold back a sigh. I wish he'd say something rather than being angry because I was scared he was going to snap at me.

"Can you say something to take my mind off of ripping Tristan's fucking throat out?"

unedited.