THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "ÉXTASIS TOTAL"

Leave me your coments.

BirdsandStars

It's Friday and I'm exhausted. I got off work later today. A last-minute meeting and my boss asked me to stay. I couldn't say no to her. I wouldn't think of it.

This week has been really exhausting. Since she's given me more responsibility in this position, I don't have much time for anything. And I appreciate that, so I can keep my mind off other distractions that I don't need at the moment in my life.

Like men.

I'm arriving at my apartment when I see a disturbance near the building where I live. The street is closed and I can see several car lights while a policeman asks me to park. As soon as I do, I get out of the car and walk to the barricade in the middle of the street. Behind the barricade is my building, and it is being cordoned off right now.

—What's happened? —I ask the officer who keeps the curious from entering.

—There's been a murder. —he says to me as I look at my building.

—I live in that building. —I tell him as he stares at me. —Which apartment was it?—I'm curious to know.

—In 5A.

—5A! That's my apartment! —I say, trying to break through.

—Wait, miss, you can't go in there. It's a crime scene.

—But I live there! What happened to Leyla? —I ask him, trying to find out if anything's happened to my roommate.

—What's your name?—he asks me.

—Ana. Ana Steele. —I answer nervously as he communicates on his radio while looking up and down at me.

—Please come with me. —he says as he opens the gate for me and another policeman takes his place as he leads me to the officer in charge. —Joel, this is Miss Steele, the roommate.

—Thank you, I'll take care of it. —he says as the officer leaves. — Miss Steele, how well did you know Leyla Williams?

—What happened to Leyla?

—Please answer my question.

—She was very private, but we'd been living together for almost six months.

—Did you notice any strange behaviour during this time?

—What's with all the questions? Is this some kind of interrogation? What happened to Leyla? Please tell me. —I'm screaming at him, almost begging.

—As far as we know, nothing's happened to your roommate. —I almost breathe a sigh of relief at those words. Almost. —But she's on the run and is wanted for murder.

—What?—I scream as I cover my mouth with my hands.

—I'm going to need you to accompany us to the station to give your statement.

The sun bothers me in my eyes when I leave the police station. I put on my sunglasses as I walk to the parking lot after a hellish night. I haven't slept, I haven't eaten anything but a snack from a machine and I can barely stand up after finding out so many things.

It turns out that my roommate had a psychological disorder, which I knew nothing about. And she took out her anger on the pizza delivery guy who went to make a delivery for her.

I had to call Kate to pick me up. Kate is my best friend, even though we didn't live together, right now I wish we had when she offered. I called her last night explaining what happened and she offered to pick me up this morning as my car is in police custody, as my roommate used it from time to time.

—I don't know what I'm going to do now. —I tell her with a tired sigh as I drop down defeated in the leather seat of her car.

—What do you mean?

—I can't go back to that apartment, I don't want to continue living there. I need to find a new place. Where am I going to stay in the meantime?

—I think I can help you. —she says to me by taking out her phone and dialing a number.

I stare at her without knowing what she's up to. I wait a few seconds until someone answers and I hear part of the conversation going on in front of me.

—Did you get a roommate yet? —she wait for the answer. —My best friend needs a place to stay. —she wait again. —All right.—and she hang up. —Come on, it's all worked out.

—Really! —I scream excitedly.

—Yes. You can stay in my old apartment.

—Old apartment?

—Yes, I don't live there anymore. I moved in with Elliot a few days ago.

—I didn't know anything.

—Almost nobody knows.

—You had a male roommate, didn't you? Won't he find it strange if someone suddenly stays there? —I ask her with doubts. I've never lived with a man before.

—Not at all, besides, he needs someone to pay next month's rent.

—He's not a psychopath, right? —I'm curious.

—No, he's a great guy. Besides, this month's rent is already paid. —she says to me with a smile as she winks at me.

—I'm not promising anything, first let me see the apartment, meet him and then I'll tell you.

—Very good.

—But first, we have to go through mine. I have to see if I can get some of my things back.

We're having some lunch at the corner burger joint while we wait for the forensic techs to pick up my stuff. I see one of them come out and give me a signal. I leave my half-eaten lunch and run out the door of the building. But as I'm arriving in front of him, I realize he's got my stuff in his hand. This can't be happening to me. I grab the black bag he's holding.

My things have been reduced to a bag with two dresses, a pair of jeans, two blouses, two pairs of shoes, two thongs and a bra.

—That's it? —I ask, seeing that there is not half of my things here.

—I'm very sorry, all your things were on the floor of the bedroom. This is the only thing we could recover.

—And what am I supposed to do now?

—You'll have to wait until the investigation is over so you can get the rest of your stuff back.

—But I can't live with this!

—I'm so sorry. —he says to me and walks back inside the apartment.

I'm going back, head down to where Kate's waiting for me. I don't understand anything. My things were perfectly arranged in the closet. Apparently Leyla wasn't what I imagined.

I go inside and sit down in front of Kate while I put the bag on the seat next to me. As soon as she sees the bag, she stops eating.

—That's your stuff! —she asks me in amazement.

—It seems that, besides having no apartment and no car, I'm left with nothing to wear. —I say to her with a sneer of disgust.

—You should look on the bright side. —she says to me as I look up and see her smiling.

—And that's it?

—A chance to go shopping.

—I can't go shopping, when in the end I'll get my stuff back as soon as the investigation is over.

—In that case, I think I still have some clothes left in the apartment, I can leave them with you if you like, I don't wear them much.

I understand what she means by not wearing them much. Kate has a body full of lush curves. Since she started at the gym a few years ago, her body has been getting more and more shaped and some of the clothes we used to share to go to some party, she had finally given them to me as they didn't fit anymore.

I, unlike her, continue my slender figure. I don't have Kate's exuberant curves, but with kick boxing training my body has been defining and gaining some volume, although not overly so. I continue to wear the same sizes of everything.

—I'd really appreciate it. —I tell her as I look at the bag again. —But I'm going to need to buy some underwear if I don't want to go to work without it. And I think I'll need to get some grooming things, too. —I say as we both laugh out loud.

I finish my lunch, without much enthusiasm, and we go to his car. I put the bag over my legs and she stares at me.

—If it's all there, we'll do your shopping and then I'll take you to the apartment. Maybe if you're lucky you'll meet your new roommate. —she says to me with a smile.

It's Saturday, it's almost 6:00 pm and it's already getting dark when we get to the apartment. Kate lives, or used to live, in downtown Manhathan. In an apartment that I couldn't afford on my salary alone. Not because it's too big, but because the rent in this area is so expensive. Kate opens the door and gives me a brief tour of the apartment.

I can't believe that in the time she's been living here she's never shown it to me. But of course, I was always busy and when we went out each one would return to her apartment.

The most impressive part of the apartment, is the terrace with an impressive view. The rest, it's a normal apartment. A little more spacious than the previous one I lived in. She shows me the bedroom, the kitchen-dining room separated by the bar and the living room with a huge sofa and a flat screen against the brick wall of the old building.

I stop in the middle of the living room admiring everything around me. The apartment is a duplex, wide and spacious. Well, compared to the previous one, this one turns out to be like that for me. Each room has its own bathroom, we would only share common areas like the kitchen, the dining room, the terrace and the living room.

—I don't know, I can't imagine living here, let alone sharing the apartment with a man. —I tell her honestly not very convinced even though I have already uploaded the bag with my things and the new purchases.

The door of the room on my right opens and through it comes a tall man with very long black hair and a huge beard that completely covers his face. I stare at him in shock as he makes his way to the kitchen without even noticing our presence.

—He looks like a homeless person! —I say in a whisper to Kate as I look at my new roommate.

Kate just laughs next to me very quietly.

—I assure you that he is not, otherwise he could not live in this apartment. Besides, for this price, you won't find anything better.

I watch him pull a water bottle out of the fridge and start drinking it slowly while I stare at him in amazement.

My life has been complicated in the last 24 hours. And if I had been asked yesterday to choose between living with a murderous psychopath or a homeless person, I think I would choose the homeless person without hesitation.

—He's not a serial killer, Ana. —Kate says to me as I roll my eyes at his comment and look away from him.

If it had been any other time, it would have been funny. But not this one. That just reminds me that I had been living with a psychopath, who is still on the loose, until the last 24 hours. Just the thought that it could have been me and not the poor pizza delivery guy makes me start to tremble.