The Thrill

50

'Surprise!' The three voices shriek from the doorstep as I stand there in disbelief.

'So this is where you live...?' Amanda takes a long look of the house, observing every detail it has to offer before her eyes meet mine again.

'Aren't you gonna' invite us in?' Maria's all too well-known voice queries, welcoming herself in seconds later as Amanda and Catrina do the same.

'We haven't heard from you in how long?' Catrina folds her arms, staring me down for an answer.

'I'm so sorry- I've just been busy.' I laugh in attempt to hide the guilt that instantly overwhelmed me from the moment I saw them.

'Well we wanna' hear about what's been keeping you so busy this whole time.' Maria adds.

'Come on, I'll tell you all about it.' I say before directing the three of them towards the living room.

———

After a few cold drinks and old laughter, it started to feel how it once felt before. Ever since the move here, keeping consistent contact with my own friends started to become difficult. But right now, I was just glad I could see them.

'So where's Emilio? We never got a chance to say hello.' Amanda leans forward eagerly but I couldn't help but struggle to come up with a response.

'Uh- A business trip. He's not here right now.'

'Oh, well that's unfortunate.' She shrugs before taking another sip of her drink.

'Come to think of it... You haven't mentioned Emilio at all today.' Maria points out, the three heads turning towards me in sync with sharp eyes.

'Oh... Really? Ha, I didn't notice...' I gulp down the nerves forming inside before taking a long sip of my drink.

'Is something going on?' Maria pushes further, of course she wasted no time to catch on.

I nervously look between each of them, debating whether I should even bother answering... But if they had asked me the same question a few months ago, I would've answered with no hesitation.

'Me and Emilio aren't really the best right now-' I begin before getting interrupted almost immediately.

'What!? Did he do something? Is that why he's not here?' Maria bursts while Amanda and Catrina listened intently.

'No! Well, yes... But if anything... I'm probably the reason we're not the best right now.' I sigh, throwing my head between my palms in frustration.

'What do you mean?' Amanda reaches an arm along my back in comfort as she asks.

There wasn't a direct way to answer her question. For some reason, the question itself felt much more loaded then it should.

I reluctantly lift my head back up, seeing as there wasn't exactly a way for me to avoid the question now.

'There's this guy from work... He's my boss, actually.' A laugh forces through my lips, knowing what I was about to say wasn't far from good news. 'Is it bad I can't stop fucking thinking about him?'

I witness as the three of their reactions mould before me. Maria watched me with the same sharp eyes from earlier, Catrina sat there with an expression of shock while Amanda's eyes shared a look of pity with mine, the last thing I deserved right now.

'Milan...' Maria begins.

'I know- It's bad.' I clamp my palms together with my lips pursed.

'No. That's not what I was about to say.' Maria sighs, but hearing her tone not as lively as it usually was already told me enough about how she felt about the situation. I could sense the disappointment through her watch alone, regardless of whether she was willing to admit it or not. After all, she was my biggest supporter through the whole Sebastian situation.

'Tell me about him.' She requests as my brows contort with confusion.

'About who?'

'This other guy. I wanna' hear about him.' She clarifies.

'Okay...' I take in one finale breath before continuing. 'He can be a bit harsh sometimes, but I can tell deep down he cares. Every time I'm around him, I can't help but feel a certain way. It's something I can't control. And as much as I deny it isn't there... I always feel it.'

'And what about him? Do you think he feels the same way?' She pushes further.

'No! Of course not!' I defensively exclaim, not even wanting to entertain the possibility.

'So what about Emilio?' Amanda joins, an arm still on my shoulder.

'I'm not sure anymore... We've barely been spending any time together ever since we've moved here. It's all just... different.' I explain to the group as they all do nothing but listen.

'I wish we just never moved to this stupid fucking place to begin with!' The frustration builds in me once again.

'Milan. It's up to you how you go about this... But promise me you won't do what Sebastian did to you.'

'I would never do that to him...' My words form in almost a whisper as I respond.

'I know...'

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