Lost and Alone without you

Chapter 1 : the meeting

Before you read this book I just wanted to say that English is not my mother tongue at all so if there are mistakes, don't lynch me in the comments, it's not my fault. On that note, happy reading!

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Stella looked out the window of the plane for a long time, a tired look. Usually, flying across the country to use her skills didn't feel this good. She was even proud to be able to help and to have the rank she had. But... it was necessary to say it, the investigation which brought her here, was not going to be of any rest and she wondered already, if psychological after-effects were not going to occur. She had a huge bad feeling that usually, she had never had this impression.

She had simply had time to clean her bathroom, the day before and made a beauty mask to appear less tired than it seemed and more beautiful than she was already.


For a long time she had looked at herself in the mirror and wondered if it would be better to stay here and wait for everything to calm down in her mind, but her superiors did not agree with her. She had to go on a new mission.


In the mirror, she saw a woman overwhelmed by events. But she also saw her father's eyes, her father's smile and nothing of her mother.


Then, with a weary hand, she grabbed the few things they could carry, thinking that she would only be there for a few days, a week at the most.


Once her bag finished, she had spread the file all around her on her bed and opened her computer in search of new information on the body of a young woman who had just been discovered and those why, she was asked. Alice Monroe.


The first victim.


She read the article diagonally while analyzing it to understand what a man could want from a woman like her to murder her in cold blood. What a monster he must have been! Or her. She didn't know. However, her super-cop instincts told her that it could only be a poor victim of another of his deranged people who lived in this crazy, obsessed world.


Awake until late at night, she hadn't been able to get much sleep, pondering all the possibilities that lay before her.


She eased the pressure by closing her eyes while focusing on the music. It wasn't the only factor that made her not quite herself on that plane. A few things made her hate this time of year. The deadline was approaching and... she shouldn't think about it !


She yawned again. Sleeping had become an endless torment. Silently, she watched the passengers on her plane scanning them one by one. Since she was a child, Stella had always done this, wondering what people could do with their lives, with their free time.


Her eyes were drawn to a redheaded woman in the row next to hers. She was obviously reading a book, headphones in her ears, swaying her head to each different tune, which made her smile.
Their eyes met a few times and the young woman blushed each time before looking away.


She had already been attracted like a magnet by the young redhead at the London train station despite herself. Stella was waiting for her train to the airport when she heard a group of musicians and a voice so melodious, that she didn't hesitate to go towards the already dense crowd. Thanks to her heels, she could see two women side by side playing the piano and the electric bass, a man with a kind of drum kit made of two boxes and two iron bars. Another one at the guitar who was also the singer. Three of them undoubtedly resembled each other and the last one, from the way he looked at the woman with the guitar, must have been her husband, because the ring he was wearing lit up on his finger.


Their eyes locked for a few seconds. Ten seconds to be precise. And her heart had missed a beat.
The music came to an end and Stella slipped away without further ado so as not to miss her train. And then she had seen him again.


Then she had observed him in more detail. She was wearing a travel outfit, an old torn jeans, an old sweater a little too big, a leather jacket and a beret without forgetting sneakers.
She didn't know her name and that attracted her even more.


Stella sighed as she returned to the present moment. The plane began its descent and she drank the last drop of her water bottle before putting on her seat belt. She half turned her head and saw that the young redhead was holding on tightly to the armrests as if it were the last lifeline. This made Stella smile. With a weary hand, she closed the investigation file she had just learned by heart.


The hour and a half drive had not allowed Stella to rest properly, but at least she had managed to doze off. Coming to a new brigade from abroad was never an easy thing and to tell the truth, Stella was anxious. The one person she knew was not... the best person in the world.
Sure, she wasn't a person who liked stability, but she didn't like some of the unfamiliar situations.


Everything in Stella's life had never been simple and bland. Or too dangerous for a personality like hers. There could be no stability in her world.


The plane landed in a few minutes that she didn't even notice. People were all moving around, but she hadn't moved yet. She tucked the file into her bag and stood up to smooth her coat with an elegant hand as she stepped off the plane.


Only a few more meters separated her from her work and slowly she got into the skin of her character. The insensitive one, who is not afraid of anything or anyone.
She pushed back her hair as she crossed the arrivals hall and that's when she saw him. The two blue eyes met those of the young redheaded woman who was obviously... arguing on the phone next to a man carrying her sign. The man in question was glancing at her discreetly and a thin mocking smile split his lips before coming straight back to face her.

"... But you are only bastards in the service, whore!

So loudly that all heads turned towards her.

"WHAT?! YOU WANT MY PICTURE?" she shouted angrily. No, I'm not going to wait any longer Mulder ! I have a fucking urge to go to bed ! Do you know what jet lag is? Damn it, I had to fly to London ! You had plenty of time to do something. Please, Mulder, don't leave me here with him!


- Hey Starbuck, you should calm down, I think it's her." answered the man at his side with a weary voice, surely very used to the blows of his colleague.


- Do I talk to you?! Let me give a shout out to my teammate! It is not the sea to drink, Hulk?" she answered on a breaking tone.


Stella smiled gently. She liked the character of this young girl. The man, stiff as a board, opened his mouth and then shut it again. He knew that if he said anything, he would be fooled in less than five minutes. He was convinced that the young, blonde, beautiful woman could only be her.

That was the word their boss Jim Burns had used when he had briefed him when he got out of the car. The famous "Hulk" was actually named Harry Kulman and had been Jim's personal driver for years, yet he knew virtually nothing about his boss except of course all the unwanted secrets they possessed.

Stella approached him with a confident stride.


"Are you expecting Divisional Commissioner GIBSON?" she asked at the outset.

- Yes, Madam.

- In that case it's me.

- Alleluia, we will FINALLY be able to return. It's nothing against you ma'am," she resumed immediately, "Good Mulder, you'd better get your ass to HQ before I get there. Yes, that's right. Black coffee without sugar.

- Please excuse my colleague, ma'am. She is sometimes, not to say inevitably disrespectful and very unkind to everyone. says Kulman by throwing him a black look.

- Are we talking about the fact that in five minutes you are as dumb as a tomb and as friendly as a prison door on riot days? I'm learning from the best. she replied, flashing her best smile at Stella. Lieutenant Dana SCULLY says Starbuck, at your service."

Stella nodded and the three of them headed out the door towards what was sure to be a very long day. Long as she moved, Stella felt Dana's eyes on her.

And she didn't mind at all. No. On the contrary, she liked it and she didn't know why.