The Roommate | zdh ✓

Seven

EDITED 7.10.2020
❀

Ben's p.o,v

A small beeping sound crowds my head as I open my eyes slowly. My head is pounding, and my vision is blurry. I soon make out two tall figures in the corner. It's my mom and brother. Where the hell am I?

"Hey bud, you're in the hospital. How are you feeling?" Zach smiles and walks over to the side of me. He looks pretty tired with the dark circles under his eyes and his messy hair. I'm more confused than ever.

I clear my dry throat. "I'm feeling fine, I guess. How'd I get in the hospital? I don't remember much."

Zach notices my dryness, so he steps to the other side of the room and pours me water into a small cup. I glance at my mom quick. She hasn't said a word. What's her deal? Zach hands me the water, and I take a sip.

He sits on the chair close by, and speaks. "You went to a party last night, and I got a call from Everly that you were in trouble. It's a long story, kind of. I'll tell you it all later when you've gotton more rest."

I'm about to say something, when a doctor comes through the curtain.

"Well, look who's up finally! I'm Dr. Raymond. How are you feeling, Benjamin?" Raymond asks.

I hear Zach quietly chuckle. Probably because the doctor called me Benjamin. No one calls me by my full name. It's always been just, Ben. Minus the time when my brother used to call me Benny when we were younger.

I look up to Dr. Raymond and reply, "I feel fine, but what was wrong with me earlier?"

Dr. Raymond looks at his charts, and then goes to put on some blue gloves. He walks over towards me, and has me stick out my tongue.

"You were dehydrated for the most part, and had a minor concussion. You came in with a bloody nose, a few bruises, but don't worry your nose is just fine. We just want to make sure you are alright for the night. I think you're free to go after a little bit do paperwork." He goes over to talk to my mom, and leaves after.

My mom comes over to the bed and finally speaks to me, "What were you doing at a party? How could you be so irresponsible? You better not be trying to be like your troubled brother. I did not send you to this school to go out and party."

You could practically see her veins on top of her forehead, and steam coming out of her ears. I've never been yelled at before. Even when Zach and I were kids, he was the one who broke the rules, not me. I know it's just a party, but I feel so guilty in disappointing my mom. God, what's wrong with me? I'm 19, not a kid.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" My mom stares at me for an answer.

"I'm sorry mom, really. I just wanted to have a little fun after having tests all week. I know that it's no excuse, and it won't happen again." Man, I'm such a goody-goody.

My mom straightens up, and walks over to grab her purse. "Apologies mean nothing to me. Fix your mistakes, that's what I taught you. I better not see you in this hospital again. No more fun, only studying." My mom gives a quick glance at Zach, but doesn't say a word. As she walks out of the room, the clicks of her heals echo down the hall.

The drive home is quiet, which is way too quiet for Zach. I turn on the radio and switch the channels. I pout in my seat. There's just no good music these days. Zach notices my face, and opens the middle compartment.

"Here, I got these CD's from home. I figured I'd leave them in the car just in case I wanted to listen to some old music." Zach hands me the stack of CD's.

I skim through each of them, until I finally find a bunch of bands and artists that were popular in the older days. The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, and a bunch more. I put in Michael Jackson, and the song "Bad" starts to play. Zach and I jam out in the car with the windows rolled down. After a while, we both sit in silence and hum the song to ourselves.

Well they say the sky's the limit
And to me that's really true
But my friend you have seen nothin'
Just wait 'til I get through
Because I'm bad, I'm bad come on
You know I'm bad, I'm bad come on, you know
You know I'm bad, I'm bad come on, you know
And the whole world has to
Answer right now
Just to tell you once again
Who's bad

Zach turns down the music and shifts uncomfortably. "Hey uh, Ben? Can I ask you something?"

His eyes turn to mine before looking back to the road. We are almost back to the school.

"Yeah sure, what's up?" I say.

"It's just–" he hesitates, "at the hospital. You saw how mom looked at me. Now I know I'm the "tough" guy, acting like I have no feelings, but it hurts me that my own mom hates who I am."

I can't believe Zach is telling me how he feels. I know his toughness is an act, and that he's hurting inside. I've always tried to have him open up to me, but he's always been stubborn. Eventually in high school, I stopped pushing him. I just assumed he didn't care about anything except popularity, and doing whatever he felt like doing. Does he really think our mom hates him?

"Zach, you don't really think mom actually hates you, right? That's crazy." I shake my head and laugh, "You may be a pain in the ass, but you're still her child. She doesn't hate you. I just think she doesn't like some of the choices you make. You honestly don't make the best ones."

Zach stops the car and puts it in park. He looks at me before getting out of the car. I'm confused until I notice we made it back to the apartment.

Once I start to follow him towards the entrance, Zach stops me in my tracks by saying, "She hates me. You don't have to lie to me. I know the truth."

The rest of the walk to our room is silent, and a little awkward. I can't even imagine what Zach's feeling. I need to talk to mom. I want her and Zach to stop this feud or whatever that has been going on for years.

Zach opens the door, and I'm suddenly at a loss of breath. Memories of last night crash into my head, and I feel my knees shake. Zach looks towards me with concern in his eyes, and helps me steady myself.

"What's wrong, Ben?" He asks.

I look up towards Everly who's standing there with a tall, blonde haired boy. I look down at my feet, and then at Zach. If I tell him, I know he'll freak, but he needs to know. Not the whole story, but definitely what happened to me last night.

I take a deep breath, and just let the words fly out of my mouth. "Zach, that's the guy who fought me last night."

❀

Yay, another update. It's currently a Monday, 1:32AM, and I'm up because there's a snowstorm and school got canceled. So me being dumb, I stayed up. I was going to go to bed but decided to push through and write instead. I hope you guys liked it! I am truly sorry for making a lot of you guys wait for an update. My schedule is so busy and my grades are really important for me right now. Crazy for me to say that considering I absolutely hate school. I just really want to do these cool classes next year when I'm a junior, but I have to be top 30% of my class..which i'm not lol. So yeah, hope you all understand.
PS. THANKS SO MUCH FOR 2.7+k READS AND 60 VOTES! LIKE WHAT THE HECK. That's crazzyyyy! I have no words. Thanks for giving my book a try and adding it to your reading lists. Also thank you to the ones who patiently wait for an update!
Vote, comment feedback, & add this book to your library!
Much love,
Izzy :)