CARTERSTROPHE

CHAPTER 9.

"I knew you were trouble when you walked in."

CARTER

"No scratch that, let me rephrase. Are you basicallylyrical@yahoo.com?" She blurts out.

I am still overwhelmed that a girl is sitting on my toilet with her pants down. Don't get it twisted, I have actually seen a lot of girls with fewer clothes on, not quite a big deal though. However, there was something about this one. I recognized her a few minutes ago as the girl Harry brought to lunch yesterday, but I'm a little bit confused.  Why on earth would she be in my bathroom if she wasn't with my roommate?

I try so hard to avoid her eyes- those large hazel eyes, I hate how they look so fierce yet calm. The effect she had on me was becoming infuriating. I love the way she struggles to find composure and blinks each time I say something upsetting.
She looks very confused and her perfectly plucked brows are twisted in a frown. There must be a mixup somewhere, why would she insist that I was in her house and where the hell did she get that Gmail from?  I place my arm on the door frame and reply

"Yes, I am basically lyrical. I occupy the second room in this flat and my name is Carter." Her eyes grow wide when I say my name and I add. "Carter Cavendish". 

"C-c-carter Who?" She stutters. She looks like a papillon dog with her eyes wide in shock and hair sticking out from her loose pony. I nod and shrug. I didn't expect such a reaction from a girl I met just yesterday - unless she honestly didn't recognize me until now.

"Wait a minute, you are that arrogant jerk- sorry guy that blew me off at Venus." She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

Okay, now she does recognize me

"Yeah, I am that jerk".

"Fine. Now we are both clear on that, can I know what's going on here? A different location and some real clothes would be fine too". She sneers and avoids looking at me and the towel hanging loosely on my waist.

"The sitting room then". I say giving her a slight asymmetrical smile. She slams the toilet shut before flushing, and moves into the other room through the opposite door while I go into mine. I hear her secure the door with a bolt and pull the handle to make sure it is locked. I grab a pair of shorts and an NFL Jersey and throw them on before leaving my room.

When I get to the sitting room, she's standing next to a sofa and leaning slightly on the wall. I take a seat across from her and fold my arms.

"What are you doing here?" We both ask at the same time after a few minutes of silence. We pause and I go first.

" I own this place, so technically you should tell me what you are doing here?"

"Actually, I paid for this space on Friday". She says tapping her foot continuously on the ground in annoyance.

" Well, I think you are mistaken." I correct. To the best of my knowledge, I had received just one mail from a guy named Billard Relish." She shakes her head and produces two small pieces of paper from her jean pocket.

"I am Billard Relish. I made payments and sent my Identity and evidence to the address I saw on this le roommate wanted paper or what ever that means."

You must be kidding me! Who on earth would name such a beautiful girl Billard? I knew her name was Bee, but honestly speaking I thought it was short for Beatrice, Brenda, or even Beyonce. Just not Billard.

I grab the papers from her and my distinct scrawny writing catches my attention. It was the exact paper I had pasted on a couple of notice boards last week. The other contained a receipt of the payment she had made. She was actually being truthful.

How in the world would I live with a girl?
This isn't going to happen.

"Well, I'm sorry for the mixup but this space was reserved for a guy. I mean the note I posted clearly stated-"

Male roommate wanted!

She moves closer and examines the paper that's when she notices that the word Male was missing the first two letters. Her face dulls with disappointment as she clutches the partially ripped paper in her right hand.

"Ohmigosh" Her left hand is covering her mouth as she exclaims. "How in the universe did I miss this?"

"Well, I'm thinking the same. I could give you a refund right now. Do you want it in cash or...." I suggest but her deadly stare cuts me short.

"As much as I can't stand the idea of sharing a roof with a douche bag, I don't have another option. Which brings me back to the reason I decided to move in here." She scrunches up the paper into her fist and sits on the sofa across me.

"For starters, if you are considering sharing this roof with me I suggest you drop the name-calling, Billy". I knew the little nickname was going to piss her the hell off and I was right. Her nose and ears turn a bright red in anger as she fires me another deathly glare.

Man, if those pretty eyes were bullets, God rest my soul.

" Look who us preaching about name-calling. For the first and hopefully the last time, my name is Bee. Period." She sneers causing me to snicker.

She has just given me a clue on how to make her life a little hell without knowing it. Now I know how important this house is to her, it's time to make her beg.

I take out 400 dollars from my wallet and place them on the space next to her. Her eyes widen in shock and her lips twitch like she's searching for something to say.

"Here's your 400, you can get your things and leave now." She looks at the bills then back at me. I avoid her eyes and pretend to be focused on my phone. I silently wish she wouldn't take it the money and leave. If she did all the cleaning then I could really use her help. She waits for a few minutes before snatching the bills and standing up to my surprise.

"Fine, I'll get my bags".