Emily and Becky gawk at me with a ghostly look plastered on their faces, not uttering a single word out of their mouth. I shrug and raise an eyebrow at them, giving a what-the-actual-fuck look, but it seems to get unnoticed as they keep staring at me blankly as if I've suddenly grown two heads. Jesus! They are so dramatic! Then they divert their gazes towards each other in a super slow motion and the very next second what I see is them together bursting into a peal of very hysteric laughter.

What the hell? How the fuck they can behave like this? I mean, I just told them every single freaking detail of what happened with me in the last two months and all they could do is laugh it on my face? Is this what I get in return?

"Are you sure you are not narrating some bizarre movie story, Nikki?" Becky says wiping her eyes as she tries to suppress her laughter.

She then turns to look at Emily who is sitting next to her and then again they start laughing in unison like they have just witnessed some crazy circus show. And most probably I guess I am the clown of their circus show. I shoot an annoyed look in their direction and then cross my arms over my chest.

Becky turns her head towards me after a minute and makes a ridiculously serious face, which indeed looks funny on her. "Wait! let me check your temperature." She says placing her hand over my forehead. "I have seen this happening with people when they are really stressed. They tend to speak super weird stuff and start imagining weird things that they obsess over." She suggests with a concerned look on her face. "You know how bad work stress can be these days."

"Yeah, I agree." Emily supports and I look back at her, waiting for her to spice up Becky's theory. "You know, my friend used to obsess over Iron man so much that she started imagining herself to be Pepper. You know, it was close to a kind of erotomania. Then she had to visit a psychiatrist for her treatment." She shrugs and I see Becky listening to her keenly as if she is giving her some kind of life lessons. "It can be worst sometimes, like in Nikki's case. Where people come out with some crazy shitty stories. Oh, my god! Who knows, it can be a case of schizophrenia." She observes me with a weird glance and I roll my eyes. "I knew Nikki had an obsession with Mafia romances, but I didn't know it was this crazy."

Fine. I get it now. They are literally trying to convince me that I have lost my mind. "Guys, I am serious.." I protest, letting out an exasperated breath.

All three of us are right now seated on the bench at the park in front of my clinic. It's around five in the evening, so the park is crammed with the echoing laughter of children and the agonizing distress of their parents who are here to take care of them. I and Christopher had an enjoyable week, spending it peacefully together at home. I wish I could get more time to spend with him because I realized that I have started to crave his presence being around me, but the truth is I couldn't compromise with my work, so I had to resume it soon after the second day. Christopher got back to his work too. He informed me in the morning that he is having an important meeting today so he would get back home late. Oh, god! I feel like I am already missing him so much!

When I was in my clinic, Emily came to meet me and that's when I was struck by the thought of calling Becky and discussing everything with both of them. After all, they are my best friends. Even though they might sound a bit crazy sometimes, but they do have a right to know this because they are equally important to me.

The idea of telling them everything came to my mind this morning after having a realization of how I actually feel about Christopher. He has become an important part of my life now, and I can't keep him hiding from everyone's eyes. And also, I felt like I couldn't keep all of this to myself forever. I had to spill it one or the other day, so why couldn't it be today? Apart from that, I needed to share this with someone, or else I felt like I would have gone nuts keeping it to all by myself.

First, I thought of telling everything to my sister, but then I realized it would definitely freak her out and it wouldn't be a really great idea to stress my baby sister with all my problems. So the safest thing that appeared to me was to discuss this with my friends. Emily and Becky have been my best friends since I moved here, so I decided to disclose this matter to them first. I wanted to get their views on it, but I was skeptical about how they would react, and from their faces, I can tell that my assumptions were right because right now they are giving me an expression as if I've had a terrible mental breakdown.

Even after explaining everything for about 20 minutes, both of them still keep eyeing me up and down with a sympathetic look on their faces. What the hell is wrong with them?

"Fine...you guys don't believe me? I knew this would be a waste of time." I sigh and look at them. "Okay, then I am leaving." I huff and begin to stand to leave from there. Right then Becky grabs my hand and pulls me back to sit back on the bench.

"What the hell? You can't go like this." She shakes her head and opposes pulling my arm.

"What do you expect me to do when you guys are not even trying to believe what I am saying?"

"Okay...Just sit down. So you are telling us that you had been abducted by a mobster a year ago in Boston? They got you instead of a doctor, which they required for the treatment of one of their injured gang members?" She says and I nod at her, looking surprised by how easily she understood everything now when just minutes ago she was struggling to believe any of the things I said. "You treated him and their gang leader promised to let you go? But he didn't do that....instead he kept you captured and blah blah. Then one day you escaped, then you moved here to Los Angeles?" She babbles looking away as if talking to herself, and I and Emily don't seem to have an option rather than to stare at her.

"And then he came here hunting for you and started living in our house with you? Then one day an intruder came into our house and attacked you, and then you started living with him in his house because he said he would protect you. And then you started liking him and blah blah. And then you finally had sex with him?" She says that all in a single breath and almost screams the last line, making my eyes grow big.

"What the heck, Becky? You can't scream such things in public?!! There are kids over here.." I tell her through gritted teeth when I realize some women with their kids are glancing in our direction.

"Why? What is so dramatic about screaming sex in public?"

"There are kids here....and they are accompanied by their parents too, for god's sake!" I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"Everybody knows about it. These kids didn't really pop down from the sky? Their mothers have surely pushed them out of their vaginas." She rolls her eyes and looks back at Emily. "Isn't copulation the first step of reproduction?"

I groan and look away, almost being on the verge of losing my patience. "Stop it, Becky! Can we pretend that we have other serious things to discuss..." Before I can finish the sentence Becky shuts me out.

"What can be more serious to discuss than your newly blossomed sex life?" Becky waggles her eyebrows looking at me and I shoot her an ugly scowl. Becky is so freaking annoying!

"That too with a gangsta..." She adds making Emily laugh. Emily and Becky have just met, but the way they have teamed up against me within a meeting of a few minutes makes me doubt the possibility of them not being the best of friends by the end of this conversation.

"Fine guys. I am for sure leaving..." I announce in a pissed tone standing up again, but this time instead of Becky, both Emily and her, pull me and force me to sit back. I groan loudly and look back at them. Oh, god! Why can't I have normal human beings as friends?

Not acknowledging my annoyed behavior, Becky starts talking again. "So getting back to your problem..." She taps her finger on her temple, trying to pretend of thinking about it with complete seriousness. "Whatever you said is real? Like fucking real?" She asks me looking into my eyes.

I take a deep breath and respond. "Yes.."

"Every single thing?"

"Yes.." I scoff.

"Are you sure you are not joking or messing with us by feeding us your freakish stories for not being able to give us time in the last few days?" Becky crosses her arms and eyes me with an inquisitive look.

"What the fuck? Why would I do that?" I retort instantly, sounding like a wildcat.

"Okay, wait...." She says signaling me to shut up before I can speak anything. I knit my eyebrows together, looking at her in confusion as I and Emily watch her close her eyes. Wait! What the hell is she doing? She exhales deeply and then suddenly screams. "HOLY SHITTT!!!"

"What the hell?" I ask her in shock, jerking back in my seat. I find the three of us becoming the center of attraction in this park again with Becky's little stunt as I see everyone's attention directing towards us. Oh, god! Please help me!

"What? How am I supposed to react after what I just discovered..." Her eyes almost pop out of her sockets. "If what you are saying is actually true?"

Emily giggles as she looks at Becky's overly dramatic expression. I know Becky is enjoying this way too much than she actually should. It's just a piece of revenge that she is taking from me for not telling her all this earlier.

"That's what you get for not telling us all this before," Emily says laughing and I narrow my eyes at her. I know that Emily is keeping quiet because she is aware that Becky is covering her part too. If it hadn't been Becky, then she would surely be one showing her overly dramatic ass on my face. I guess they are complementing each other pretty well.

"What the fuck? I can't believe you kept this from us for such a long time? I mean, how could you do that." Becky accuses with an irritated expression on her face. "A gangster was living in our house with you when I was gone, and I didn't even have the slightest idea about it?" She glares at me and says. "You sneaky little bitch...you were fooling around with him behind my back?"

"Now you are accusing me of something which I didn't do. I wasn't fooling around with him and we didn't really do anything in your house." I shift back on the bench and snort. "And I didn't tell you guys because I didn't know how you would take it.."

Becky studies my face for a minute. "So his name is Christopher? Huh? He already sounds sexy to me." She says nudging my shoulder playfully.

"You find every other guy sexy." I roll my eyes and speak. "But I can't deny....he is actually hot." I grin as I add later.

"See, I am always right." She says looking at Emily and then again turns towards me. "What about Peter? You went to his party last week right?"

I become a little nervous with the reference to Peter's name. I immediately look down at my fingers, trying to concentrate on something else. How do I tell them? Shit! This is embarrassing. "Yeah...I had been there.." I sigh, giving a long pause, and then continue. "but I...I kinda messed it up. I left with Christopher that night without even informing Peter."

"Wow!! You mean you ditched Peter to have sex with a hot mobster called Christopher?"

"Now you are making me feel guilty about it, Becky." I pout and say.

"And you are not even denying it..." Her face lifts up with a mischievous grin and my cheeks turn pink, realizing what I just unknowingly admitted.

"You should be..." She leans back and declares sarcastically, pointing towards me. "You should be guilty of keeping all the hot boys wrapped around your little finger."

"Yeah...I agree with that." Emily states and we avert our attention towards her. "In the start, when Nikki introduced me to Sam, I got a teeny-tiny crush on him, but then later I was disappointed because I discovered that he was crushing over Nikki." She frowns and gives me a displeased glance. "And now, after getting rejected by Nikki, I am the one who is mending his broken heart."

"Oh, my god! How didn't I figure it out before that you had a crush over Sam?" I scream and look at her in disbelief. "I knew you had those googly eyes for him." How the heck I didn't find this before? Now I realize why Emily would suddenly act all strange being around Sam.

"Anyway, it's great that I have my way clear to Peter now," Becky says.

"And mine to Sam..." Emily adds, shrugging, and I look at them with a terror-stricken expression. They glance back at me and the very next second we all burst into laughter together. Yeah, they are really a bunch of crazies.

After a moment when we regain back to our normal self, Becky asks. "So how was it?"

"What?" I ask, staring at her in confusion.

"Losing your virginity to a hot gangster?" She questions in an amused tone. Oh, god! She is not going to let it go. I am now definitely regretting the decision of telling them everything.

"It was...ummm...good!!?" I chuckle awkwardly and reply. What the hell am I supposed to answer for that?

"Oh, is he the guy who came to the club that night? Who had a brawl with Sam?" Emily asks and I nod. "I didn't remember much because I was drunk, but girl, he was for sure hot." She says looking at Becky.

She then turns towards me and her face becomes thoughtful. "But jokes apart, are you sure about what you are doing, Nikki?"

I frown and look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean trusting him?" She looks hesitant as she proceeds. "You know about him...do you think it's safe?"

Her question switches all of us to be serious. I sigh and fix my gaze on her as I say. "I don't know Emily." I close my eyes thinking for a minute and Christopher's smiling face flashes in front of me. "I just know that he likes me and I like him."

"But it can be dangerous, Nikki. What if you'll get hurt later? I don't want that to happen." Emily says with concern laced in her tone and I smile thinking that how grateful I am to have a friend like her.

"I trust him, Emily. I don't know, but his presence around me is extremely comforting." I take a deep breath and continue. "It just feels like he is genuine with his words. He told me everything. He didn't try to hide anything about his dark profession, considering how risky it can be for him to unmask it to me." Becky and Emily look at me intently as I say it.

There grows a weird silence around us, which is blown by Becky after a moment. "Are you sure you don't have Stockholm Syndrome?" She asks with her abnormally curious eyes.

She always knows how to get there. I frown, rolling my eyes, and Emily laughs. "No...I didn't catch feelings for him when he kidnapped me. I started liking him when I started living with him."

"So when are you going to let us meet your hot gangsta boyfriend?" Emily grins, directing towards me.

"I..I..." Before I can say anything, a ball comes flying out of nowhere and hits Becky's head. Ouch!

"What the fuck?" She rubs her head, groaning, and a little kid comes running towards us to take back his ball.

He timidly utters a sorry to Becky and runs away, picking it up.

"Kids these days...I don't know what the fuck is their problem.." Becky complains, making a disgusted face.

"You deserved it for torturing people around here with your whiny voice." I chuckle and say.

She rolls her eyes disapprovingly and says. "Kids are fucking devils in cute-faced disguises."

"Don't say that. I love kids. They are so freaking adorable!" Emily announces happily as she watches the little boy going back to his friends. "Aren't you planning to have kids someday?"

"I'd rather raise a dog than engage with kids.." Becky frowns.

"I can agree on that with you..." I smile.

-----------------------------

After chatting with Emily and Becky for some more time, I head back home. Instead of booking a cab, I opt for walking. It's mainly because I feel like I have grown my ass terribly fatter by becoming a couch potato in the last few days. Fuck! I am not really inclined towards maintaining a fitness routine, nor do I get time for it, so it's always good to utilize whatever little time that you get to adjust in between. And what can be a better exercise than to have a nice long walk? Christopher's house isn't that close to my clinic as Becky's was, but still, it's not quite a distance that cannot be covered in nearly 25 minutes.

I cover almost half of the way quickly with longer strides and when I am near the second block, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. I instantly fish it out and my forehead creases when I look at the Caller ID. It's Peter. I stare at his name for a few minutes and my heart sinks thinking how bad a friend I have been to him. I can't believe I have been ignoring his calls for the past five days. I have been being an absolute bitch to him and I feel terrible about it. But what am I supposed to do? What should I tell him? How do I explain everything to him after what I did at his dad's party? How am I supposed to look into his eyes after how badly I have been treating him? What would he think about me? But honestly, above all, I am terrified most by the thought of losing him as my friend. Peter is just as important to me as Emily, Becky, and Sam are. Come on, Nicole! You freaking can not do this to him. Pick his call and freaking talk to him! You can't ruin your friendship like this, you have to face it!

After a long struggle with my conscience, I finally gather the courage to answer him. "Hello..." I say as I begin to walk again.

"Thank god! You picked my call up." Peter exclaims after hearing my voice. "I was so worried about you? How are you? Where are you? Are you okay? Why were you ignoring my calls?" He shoots all the questions in my way in one go. Now I feel even worse for making him worry about me. Fuck! Why is this happening?

I take a deep breath and answer him. "I wasn't ignoring your calls, Peter. I just got busy with the clinic work. I am sorry for troubling you. I replied to your texts though.." Shit! Now I even have the fucking audacity to lie to him about being busy at work.

His tone becomes softer as he speaks. "Are you okay, Nicole?" He waits for a moment and continues. "You just left the party like that...without even telling me that you were leaving."

"I am sorry for that Peter...I got some urgent work. I had to leave with my friend...." Shit! I am such a terrible liar. Peter knows that it was Christopher and he saw me leaving with him, yet I am here trying to reason with him that I left with my friend. I freaking can't believe what I am talking about. Fuck! I don't remember if he saw us kissing or not. If he did, then it would be really horrible for me to talk about it with him. I hope he just doesn't bring anything about Christopher right now because I wouldn't know what to say about it.

Peter doesn't say anything as if he is trying to process the words that I have said. I grow more anxious about his long silence with each step as I keep walking.