The only thing I noticed particularly out of place was the way the window in the bathroom had been left open, the curtain presently blowing in the wind. When I thought about it more closely, I was certain that it had to be a distraction. The only conceivable place they could remain hidden was behind the door.
There was no way they could really escape out the window so quickly when we're several stories high in the sky. I highly doubt one of the neighbors above me on a higher floor would grappling hook their way into my bathroom just to take a shower because theirs was on the fritz or some sort of nonsensical rubbish like that.
As for my earlier homeless person theory, I didn't seriously think a homeless person would seriously go through the effort of climbing in here just for a shower. I mean, you never know with how crazy people in the world are, but it just sounded too absurd to be real.
Whoever it was had to be hidden behind the door. With that thought in mind, I changed to the screen side camera, then slipped my phone under the gap between the door and floor to check behind it as stealthily as a Russian spy snooping on the president. I paid close attention to the display but immediately discovered there was truly no one there. In disbelief, I rushed into the bathroom and checked behind the door and found nobody was there.
I made my way to the window, opened up the curtain, examined both above and below, but there were no traces that anyone entered or exited through it. Was everything that happened really all just my mind playing tricks on me again?
You're not trying to tell me this was the work of a ghost, right? Haha.
I don't believe it. I won't believe it. I refuse to believe it. I turned back around-
My heart leaped through my chest and my eyes popped open wide when I discovered a straight white-haired woman wrapped in a white towel with her back faced towards me. She stood directly outside the entrance of the bathroom with her hands cupped behind her back like she'd taken a leisurely stroll in the park.
Mortified by her sudden appearance, I jumped at her and slapped the cuffs on her wrists from behind. In the process, I pushed her down against the ground. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real. They definitely aren't.
"Haaah. Haaaaaaaah. Haaaaaaaaaaah."
My breathing was slightly erratic due to the near heart attack I experienced, the result of my shock.
"Mr. Genovese. What is the meaning of this? Did you lose yourself to your lust and decide to force yourself on your beautiful boss? Should I be firing you right now on the spot for your insolent actions towards your superior?"
When the rush from adrenaline cooled down, I recollected myself. I soon realized, much unlike before, what I initially perceived as being long straight white hair was actually black. When her words finally registered, I faced a fear far worse than it being some random ghost girl.
A sexual harassment lawsuit! Becoming a registered sex offender. Termination. Never being able to find another job.
My face paled when I understood the repercussions of my actions. Far from this being a simple lucky pervert moment, this was on the level of a natural calamity that could end my life.
"B-B-Boss?! What are you doing uninvited in my apartment to begin with? Are you trying to rob your employee?"
"Me? Well, it's a rather embarrassing blunder on my part. Or should I say it's actually all your fault to begin with, Mr. Genovese?"
"How is this situation my fault?"
"If your boss tells you it's your fault, you bow your head and admit your wrongdoings like a good employee."
"No way. This is clearly breaking and entering."
"Breaking? Where do you see anything broken?"
"How else would you get into my apartment if not for breaking in?"
"You're the idiot who left your front door unlocked. I took no part in breaking in; rather, you truly are just careless as always, Mr. Genovese. Didn't you learn your lesson from last time?"
When I thought about it more carefully, she was right. I was so tired when I got home that I don't even remember locking the door after I entered. The only thing on my mind was to hit the sack and sleep.
"Even if that's true, this is still trespassing."
"Mr. Genovese, again, you are too quick to jump to conclusions. On my way home, being the good caring boss I am, out of the goodness in my heart, I came over after work yesterday to check up on you since you didn't call in. I was worried that something happened to you. You weren't answering your phone no matter how many times I called you. You didn't even answer when I knocked."
"That doesn't make any sense though, if you found me here, why didn't you leave after confirming I was fine? Why would you stay here overnight?"
"Mr. Genovese, it's too embarrassing to admit the reason."
"It couldn't be… are you actually in love with your employee?"
"Haha. You flatter yourself too much. You really think I'd be embarrassed to admit something trivial like that?"
"If it's not that, then could it be you plotted to silence me?"
"Silence you? Hahaha, Mr. Genovese, I take it you've watched too many movies lately. Isn't your imagination a little too out there?"
"If it's not that, then what is it?"
She twisted her body between my legs and faced me directly. Her legs bent up at an angle behind me and I felt her knees when they brushed against my back. The towel that was wrapped around her unraveled slightly, only just barely covering her important regions. Was this some sort of god-tier witchfuckery? Nonsense like conveniently placed portions of a towel that hid only the important parts actually existed in reality?
Initially, she looked directly at me expressionlessly, but she suddenly averted her eyes to the side, somewhat bashful, as she quietly said, "Dio, it's a bit embarrassing so promise you won't laugh, okay?"
I looked on with deadpan eyes, not expecting a thing. I'm not going to raise any expectations here just to have them shattered. I'm not that naive to believe a romcom scene straight out of an anime would happen to someone like me. I bet she's going to confess she's actually a murderer on the run and she chose to hide at my place or something.
That's the only plausible answer conceivable if I assumed she was truly just another psychopath. Aside from confessing to someone that they killed someone, what else would make a psychopath blush bashfully like this?
Well? Is this the moment of truth where my dreams of interacting with a normal woman are finally shattered? Where my hope for a simple life is twisted and distorted as I'm forcibly tossed into another bat shit crazy romantic relationship?
"Go on… I'm listening. I won't laugh." With my phone in hand ready to call the cops in the worst-case scenario, I fully prepared myself for the terrible world-shattering news I might be told. I wasn't going to let my guard down just because she was a beautiful woman who'd been handcuffed and pressed against the ground. Only a fool would be deceived by her appearance.