Today was the last day of June. That meant that tomorrow, the rent for July would be due, yet I hadn't received my roommate's portion. I knocked on her door in an attempt to politely remind her about it.
Laney was a college student and part time barista. After my last roommate moved out, I needed someone else to help pay rent, so I posted an ad on Craigslist saying that I had a spare room. After a few really terrible applicants, she was the obvious choice, or so I thought.
"It's open." She called out, through the door.
I opened it, to find her laying over the edge of her bed, on her phone. Her baggy, cropped shirt from the college was doing nothing to cover her perky breasts. This behavior wasn't unusual for her, though. She was frequently walking around the apartment wearing something skimpy, if anything at all, despite me asking her to be decent when she leaves her room. Her answer was always the same: "I work hard on my body, sorry if I'm proud of my accomplishments," followed by a heavy eye roll. I learned to stop asking.
Leaning against the door frame, I reminded her, "Rent is due tomorrow."
"So I'll pay it tomorrow." She replied, not looking up from her phone.
"That's what you said last month, and I got charged a hundred dollars for the late fee." I took a step inside her room.
She rolled over onto the bed and looked at me. "I paid that too, didn't I?"
"That's not the point."
"Then what is the point, Jared?" She said my name like it was an insult.
"The point is that you never do what you say you're gonna do. And not just rent, when was the last time you did the dishes or took out the trash?"
"I don't use any of that stuff, why should I have to take care of someone else's mess?" She was now sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at me.
"If it's not your mess, then why do your Starbucks cups take up half the trash can?" She started to argue, but I interrupted her. "And before you say that they're not your cups, your name is written on the side."
"God, you're so uptight." She rolled her eyes at me. "When's the last time you got laid?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but it's been a while." I answered her question, even though I was getting frustrated. "I don't just have a revolving door of partners coming in, like you."
"Sorry, I'm not a prude." She said sarcastically as she stood up and threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "You're such an ass sometimes."
"And you're a cunt." I said, the words sharp as they left my mouth.
Slap!
I felt the sting of her hand on my face and everything went red. Before I could think about it, both of my hands were around her throat. She grabbed my wrists, and pulled away. Stumbling, she fell backwards onto her bed, pulling me down on top of her.