/attached pic of Vanessa/

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"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
- Leo Buscaglia

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"Kia!!"

Before I could look up from my cellphone screen to investigate the source of the feminine yell advertising my name in the middle of a bistro filled with people, I was engulfed in the scent of Gucci and a tight pair of arms choking the strawberries out of me. I struggled pointlessly under her steel grip. Wow, for someone who can fight off a potential kidnapper, this was surprising. She finally let me go only to fire a half a dozen questions.

"Oh my sweet lord, Kia! Rhys said that you were almost effing kidnapped. Are you okay? What happened? And when were you going to tell your best friend?"

I opened my mouth to calm the panic package in front of me, but the buffoon standing on my right beat me to it.

"What are you talking about? She told me first thing."

The little rat had messaged Vanessa and J before I could even stop him. He was dumb enough to think I wouldn't get violent if he couldn't stay silent. He was even more dumb to think that I would stop at one hit and stopped only when he bribed me with a beach day tomorrow. I had readily complied. God knows I could use some tan and salt air.

The four of us had decided for me, without asking me, to meet them at this bistro downtown as soon as they heard about what happened. Now, Rhys was just testing Vanessa's patience which was already running thin. A closed my eyes and pressed the bridge of my nose as a headache became eminent. The call to the police hadn't taken too long but despite it, I was unable to shake an underlying feeling of fear in my stomach.

As Van's eyes shifted from me to Rhys, she wrapped a perfectly manicured hand on my upper arm and pulled me aside. I lifted my hand up, inspecting my own nails with disgust.

"I'm her bestie. Girls get along with other girls way better. And couldn't you inform me a little earlier you nut?!" Van said with her hands on her hips and pursed lips.

"Oh, don't be such a sexist. Kia and I are soulmates. We're like two peas in a pod. Your like the nosy caterpillar trying to separate us."

There was a gasp. Van took a threatening step towards Rhys. Although her stature was even smaller than my 5'6, her stance stole the show.

"You did not just call me a caterpillar, you nincompoop."

Rhys gulped. An angry Vanessa was like mentos in coke, water in concentrated acid, Big Bang part 2.
You can only expect an explosion here. Even Rhys knew that and hurried to fix his slip up.

"Err.. Why don't you look at the bright side? Even the ugliest caterpillar will one day become a butterfly. But poop? I can only see bio gas contaminating it's future there..."

I slapped my forehead. He just dropped the 'ugly' bomb and no way was I staying to witness its consequences. I can't believe he actually used that disastrous adjective. I headed up to the counter and asked for an ice pack for my bruising knuckles. By the time I'm back I see the two idiots still arguing. Rhys was pleading to me for help with his eyes. I puffed out a breath and debated on it. I didn't want the manager to throw us out. He was already shooting disapproving looks at the pair. I sighed and started towards them.

"Alright, could you guys stop flirting?"
I said, casually walking around them towards the tables.

"Excuse me?!"

"What? Eww"

Bingo. I so knew that that comment would distract Vanessa. She circled around my right and expressed her extreme disgust at my assumption,

"I would prefer a life of celibacy over that little piece of shit." She said with contempt.

"Hey-" Rhys tried to protest from my left. I instantly silenced him with a glare and mouthed 'shut up'. He had better bunch up and swallow his indignation or I'd happily let Mama Vulture feed on him. Rhys just pouted and took off towards a window booth.

I was about to take a seat across him when someone squashed me in a polar bear sized hug from behind.

"Princess! What happened to my baby girl!?" J said unwinding his hulk- ish arms from around me and I turned to face him, not before shooting Rhys a deathly glare who was so responsible for this freak out session.

I pulled J in the seat and jumped right into the story without wasting any time. Paracetamol, a hot bath and my bed was what I wanted right now.

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It was dark by the time we left. The hood of Rhys's car was down and I sighed as I stared up at the night sky. J had been adamant on telling my parents and going to the police. It was a task convincing him otherwise because he hadn't witnessed the disaster I'd caused when I left the city and flew across the country last year without a word and returned as a crying mess. My parents were devastated. It had taken a lot of 'I'm fine's and fake smiles to stop them from treating me like I was a ticking time bomb. I wondered how he would have reacted if he were here today and for a brief moment I could vividly imagine his eyes swirling with the same depth and darkness as the sky. I was pulled out of my daze as the car came to a halt in front of my house. I still had some serious disaster management to do after today's Tiffany fiasco.

"Mother of Christ is that a Lamborghini in my driveway?" I slow whistle left my lips as I eyed the yellow beast.

"Wow that looks like a 2013 Gallardo but I'm not sure..." Rhys murmured, squinting in the dark. "Who's is it?"

"Dunno, but I'm going to find out. I'll see you tomorrow at the beach. Don't dodge the baywatch."

I sprinted up my driveway, throwing a quick admiring glance at the car. A tall silhouette, became apparent in the dim porch light. A lean figure stepped out into the moonlight, head bent over his phone and one hand scratching his chin.

As I came closer, he looked up. I was met with  a pool of grey eyes . I took a step back and did a once over of the Armani model material standing in front of me, hands in his denim pockets. His brows slowly pulled together as he continued staring at me, like he was trying to figure something out. 

Just as I opened my mouth to say something, his phone started buzzing. The puzzled look dissipated from his face as he spoke into the phone and sidestepped me to get in his car.

"Hello?" I raised my hands to get his attention. He looked up at me and a slow, dazzling smile materialised on his face. 

"Hi" His voice was light and mischievous, like he was hiding a secret. He backed out of my driveway and drove off while I looked on with raised eyebrows and an uneven breath that I convinced myself had everything to do with the purring of the Gallardo and nothing with the one driving it.

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