L'affaire Bob

12. A New Bestfriend

I opened the door of my room with the keys Amanda gave me and stepped in. 

I tried not to think of what she has just told me, especially seeing how well my roommate and I got along. So I focused my attention on the room instead. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either.

Two beds were taking up most of the space, separated only by a small, wooden nightstand.

On my right, there was a desk and a wardrobe right next to it.

On the left, there was a door, which, I presumed, was the bathroom's entrance. It had a desk placed alongside it, identical to the first one I saw.

Closing the door, I leaned against it and tried to decide which bed to take.

A window above the left bed helped me in making my choice.

Parisian winter nights always brought a biting cold to the city whenever the sun would set. And even during the day, the icy, penetrating wind would freeze you off, no matter how many layers of clothes you tried to wear.

And seeing that we were in the middle of December, I tried to avoid the window and chose the bed on the right.

-"What about Francesco?" my conscience reminded me.

I tried to ignore this little voice of mine.

I was one hundred percent sure he prefers sleeping with a winter breeze caressing his face, unlike me, who enjoys being comfortable in my warm bed.

Well, maybe not a hundred percent. Let's say, 75%, or even 65%.

Alright, alright. Maybe even less?

It didn't matter.

He could always close the window if he ever felt cold.

I slumped down on the bed, the one I could call mine now.

Seconds later, I heard a knock on the door.

-" You can come in! I already chose my bed, so you'll take the one on the left," I said with a smirk.

-"Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I already have a room," a female voice replied.

Wait a minute, that wasn't Francesco! Unless he has been keeping up an act, and was, actually, an undercover girl.

And yes, that would be possible. It happened once when we were on a mission, me, Bob, Marc, and Pierre. Again, long story. I'll probably leave it for another time.

Anyway, Amanda was standing now in the doorway, a suitcase in her hands. She was raising one of her eyebrows at me.

-"You chose the bed with no windows above," she observed, amused. "You really are selfish, dear. You didn't think about Francesco, huh? That poor guy might get cold because of you."

-"For the record, I did think about him. Plus, he can always close the window, if he can't bear the chilly weather from outside. It's no big deal, you know."

She rolled her eyes.

-"Whatever, dummy. Samantha went to your apartment and brought you some clothes and other needs for the night."

She dropped the suitcase she was holding on the floor, and, after throwing a final glare at me, left the room.

I opened the case and found a dozen shirts, some pants, and other accessories that may not have been necessary. Sam had packed me a bag that would last for a month or more, even though I was only staying for one night.

At least, I hoped it would only be one night.

With these thoughts in mind, I packed all my stuff in the closet and laid down on my bed.

Despite what Amanda had told me, I couldn't help but think of Bob.

Who could have possibly killed him? Wherever he went, he would make friends and was always open to meeting new people and bonding with them. Everyone loved him. He didn't have any enemies. 

No one I knew of, anyway.

Could he be hiding something? But he always told me everything; we kept no secrets from each other.

"But what if he was?" my subconscious commented.

Damn that inner voice! It always made a valid point.

And yes, with everything he said the last few weeks, he surely had been hiding something. He couldn't have become suddenly insane.

I considered that for a moment, and came up with a few more theories, all crazier than the other.

Another knock on the door cut the stream of thoughts that were swirling in my head.

-"If you're bringing me a second suitcase, I should inform you that the clothes Sam brought me are enough and..."

-"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not bringing you anything. And I don't think that'll ever happen. I am not at your service, bastard. Not now, not in a million years, not ever."

Now that was a male voice.

Wonderful!

My roommate had finally arrived.

His eyes scanned the room, not failing to notice how I had chosen the right bed to avoid the window, which earned me a raised eyebrow from him.

I answered him with a bright grin.

-"Welcome, roomie! I thought you'd never come."

He ignored me.

How rude! I will have to teach him some manners later on.

Picking up his suitcase from the floor, he went to his bed, placed his bag on it, and started ruffling through his belongings.

He took the first pile of shirts and headed to the wardrobe, only to find that it was already full.

-"Seriously? You used all the drawers, and didn't even think of leaving some space for my stuff, huh?"

-"Oh."

-"Yeah, whatever," he sighed, before removing a good bunch of my favorite hats.

-"Hey! Leave my babies alone! They are precious."

-"Your babies?" he asked with an incredulous smirk.

-"Well, not all of them, but yeah. Some were Bob's, one was for Marc, and the others are all legally mine."

Seemingly not impressed by what I just said, he picked up one of the hats, threw it on the floor, and stamped on it.

-"That was Marc's! He'll kill me! Why did you do that!?" I exploded, rushing to the floor and taking the hat off the ground.

-"Oops," he dared to say, smirking.

Fuming, I got back to my bed. I was not going to hit this fellow in the head. I was not going to do it. I had to control myself. I wasn't-

Oh.

"I could do something much, much better," I thought smugly.

-"Well, I think I'll just go to the restroom, then. Maybe I could try to dust the hat off and clean it a bit."

On my way to the door, which was right next to Francesco's bed, I (accidentally, of course) hit his bed, and the case fell on the floor, as well as everything that was inside it.

-"Oops," I said, an innocent smile playing on my lips.

-"You little...!"

Just then, the door slammed open, and Samantha entered the room.

-"Hey, boys! It's dinner time. Why don't you come and join us in the dining room?"