Two days had passed since that fateful day and I was back in our apartment. It was a chilly evening. The sun had already set. I observed the small apartment which had somehow become the location for a gruesome crime. There was not a single change in the apartment, almost like the past two days were a nightmare and Mitchell could walk out of the kitchen any moment with a coffee mug in her hand, her auburn hair up in a messy bun. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and started towards my room. Our living room leads into a small corridor on either side of which our rooms lie facing each other. I reached my door and before opening it I looked at her room. The door was closed. For a second an urge to open the door filled me. Just to open the door and see if things were like before or not. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even though she was not in this world, it still felt like I was going to trespass into her private space.

According to detective Graham, her parents arrived after five hours of the murder. That was after I left. They collected her belongings the next day and went back to their town with her body.

I was shocked to realize that Mitchell never mentioned her parents and I never bothered to ask her about them. I had never even seen their pictures anywhere in her room. I used to talk a lot about my parents with her though.

Jeez!

It was like seeing her for the first time. I was amazed at how disconnected I could be with people to whom I think I have some connection.

I quickly opened my door, threw my bag on the bed, and fell on it myself. Despite the strangeness in the apartment, it felt good to lie in my own bed again. Though Jane and Matt were nothing but kind to me for the past two days I couldn't help feeling like an intruder. Third-wheeling was not my strongest suit and I was always grateful that Mitchell and Kevin never hung out in the flat for a long time. And that brought my thoughts back to Kevin.

"He was on the run." Detective Graham said when I called the station yesterday morning. "His mobile was switched off and SIM was deactivated. We haven't traced his location yet. But we will."

He didn't venture any more information than that. Maybe he didn't believe me enough to fill in all the case details to me. Maybe I was still one of the suspects. For all, I knew there could be a disguised cop outside the building spying on me. I rolled over, opened my bag, and took out the laptop from it. I recalled the conversation I had with Jane this morning.

"What about your new roommate?" She asked when we were sipping coffee in her kitchen.

'Huh?" I asked, baffled by her question.

"You have to find a new roommate, you know? You can't afford that apartment on your own." She said matter-of-factly.

I bit my lip. I completely forgot about that. I was still shocked by the murder that normal things stopped to matter. Of course, I had to find a new roommate. I never searched for one before. That was going to be a lot of work. I sighed.

Back in my room, I sat with the laptop composing a flyer. I had to put it up on the notice board. It's hard to find one in the fifth semester. Most of them would be settled by now. Maybe my new roommate would be a freshman.

Ugh!

As soon as the work was over, I drifted into sleep. I didn't catch much sleep on Jane's couch. I was feeling so restless even though I did nothing but being cooped up in her apartment for the past two days. When I woke up, it was dark. My body felt stiff because of the deep sleep I caught after two days of insomnia. I stretched my hands and slowly opened my eyes with much trouble.

I still wanted to stay asleep. I didn't even know what woke me up. Then I saw it. A shadow simmering like a fluid at the hinges of the door. I just sat there not processing what I was seeing. I closed my eyes, willing the thing I have seen to go away. When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing. It must be my imagination. I really shouldn't have seen those horror movies.

I was still uncoordinated when the doorbell rang suddenly making me jump out of my skin. I waited for my breath to come down to the normal rate before getting out of bed.

"My overactive imagination," I muttered to myself and walked to the front door and opened it.

Mrs. Lewis was standing at the door with her dog Tom on her side. She had a large plastic box in her hand. It contained her famous chocolate chip cookies which I loved very much. But this evening, even the prospect of chocolate chip cookies couldn't lift my spirits.

"Good evening Mrs.Lewis." I offered a tired smile to her and moved aside so she could come in.

"Hello darling," She gave me a warm hug which was quite rare for her, "I have been worried about you. I'm glad you're back." She said patting me on the back.

We walked into the living room and she made herself comfortable on the couch. Tom was standing by her side wagging his tail.

"Do you want a drink, Mrs.Lewis?" I asked, recalling what drinks we have in the fridge. There must be some wine left by Mitchell.

"No, I just came to check up on you." She smiled. While we were trying to have a light conversation, Tom's posture suddenly became alert. The dog started snarling and before we could stop him, he ran towards Mitchelle's room and started scratching and barking at the door.

"Tom, come here boy," I started calling the dog but he didn't even listen to me. I stood up and strode towards the dog. I took the leash and started to tug him back to the couch. But he was hell-bent on staying and barking there.

Mrs.Lewis came to my aid and together we tugged the dog to the couch.

"I'm sorry Naina. He was always well behaved. I don't know what got into him." She apologized.

"It's okay Mrs.Lewis. I know him." I said. The dog was still trying to get to that door.

"I should better take him to the vet tomorrow. I'll leave now. Those cookies are for you." She said pointing towards the cookie box. I nodded and followed her towards the front door. At the entrance, she turned to me with the strangest expression on her face.

"Don't go into her room." She said and went into her flat leaving me wondering what the hell did that mean.