THE ROOMIE (Pedro pascal)

Chapter 3

"I don't believe it, Ana" Lua said to her friend who was helping her carry a moving box "If everything goes well, I might be able to stop being a waitress and just dedicate myself to tutoring and studying".

''You've won the lottery with this apartment,'' Ana replied as she left the box on the ground, ''But there is no one who deserves this more than you''.

Lua turned to see Ana, and with her eyes on the verge of tears, she hugged her friend. While she looked at the corridor that led to the door, she thought that life had thrown her a bone, and at that moment, she was the luckiest person in the world. After putting all the boxes inside the apartment, the two friends celebrated with a bottle of cheap red wine and singed their hearts out. After midnight, Ana said goodbye to Lua, but not before turning to see her friend and feeling true happiness for her.

A noise woke Lua from her deep sleep. She realized that she was still wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and the room was still spinning slowly due to the wine. When she sat on the edge of the bed, she heard a noise again that made her eyebrows scrunch.  Maybe Ana had left something in the apartment, she thought. She remembered having closed the door, but yet again, she didn't remember falling asleep in jeans.

She left the room to find all the boxes that were scattered in the apartment. Lua touched the wall looking for the light switch, while she tried to move forward, taking care not to step on the boxes by mistake. She noticed that the entrance light was on, and after she felt her heart skip a beat, she peeked into the hallway. In front of her was the silhouette of a man against the light. For a moment, she froze, but her instincts made her took a step back without taking her eyes off the stranger, and tripped over a box that made her loose balance.

The light filled the room, and with Lua still on the floor, she glanced up, being able to observe in detail the intruder standing next to the light switch. He was a middle-aged man, with facial hair and messy hair. His eyes were brown as was his hair, and he had one of his bushy eyebrows raised, creating a confused expression in his face. Lua, ignoring the pain she felt from the fall and with a fear that kept her from moving, opened her mouth, but words seemed not to come out.

''What...'' The man decided to break the silence only to be interrupted.

"Who are you?" Lua interrupted the man in front of her. She could feel her throat move from a loud swallow, and fists clenching so hard that she felt fingernails in her palm.

"Who am I? Who are you? " He answered as he looked down to see the young woman in the floor.

"I asked first" Lua replied heatedly "W-What are you doing in my apartment?" She said trying to keep her voice from shaking.

''No'' The man looked at her even more incredulous and took a step forward. ''What are you doing in my apartment?" He replied, pointing with his hands at his chest. "And I'm Pedro, the owner of this apartment''.

He crouched down, getting to Lua's eye level, with a smile that marked the corners of his mouth. ''But you can call me whatever and as loud as you want, Sugar'' he whispered, making Lua take an audible gulp.