Best ranking : #289 in newadult.
Sameera Verma had a dreamy life, which any girl would want. Enjoying without any limitations was her lifetime motto. Love, friends, dreams, money. All she had to do was ask and God gave her. But that is against the...
I hailed a cab and gave him the address to the brownstone. My thoughts drifted to the past once again, this time to the beautiful memories I made here. I spent five, great years of my life here, first, doing graduation from NYU and then setting up a business with the help of my friends.
Friends. Those friends, whose attempts to contact me, I have thwarted mercilessly after that incident. Those friends who were there with me through the thick and thin. But they are same people with whom Dhruv and I, laughed, cried and lived with. It was just too painful to handle. So I cut them off. The last contact I had with them was 2 years back when I gave them the sole responsibility of handling the company here.
I thought it will save me the pain of coming here and reliving everything again. But here I am, standing in front of the door, which I once used to call a home. I looked around me and a nostalgic feeling took over. We bought this brownstone, together, after our graduation, a small gift to ourselves. It is a two - storied house built away from the busy streets of Newyork. We happened to stumble upon this during one of our getaways and immediately fell in love with the place.
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We promised each other that we will try our best to live together in this house as a family. Unfortunately, I turned my back on this acquired family a long while ago. The people in this house are still the most important ones to me. After all, they were the ones I spent my best times with. But it seems like they don't value me anymore.
A week back I got a call from an old friend of mine, who works in the finance department saying that a huge chunk of money is missing and that the company has been getting lesser and lesser contracts over years. My friends, apparently, are too busy with their lives to take care of these mishaps. So I had to step in as a last resort.
All I have got to do is to solve this problem, get an explanation from the asses behind this door and leave this place once and for all.
Taking a deep breath, I rang the bell. I heard some shuffling and voices behind the door and it finally opened revealing a complete stranger. He is an Indian, tall and fair, dressed in formals. He had sharp features and a light stubble. He looked confident and warm in his place.
Oh God, don't tell me that they rented out this place or even worse, sold it. How could they do it? They knew how important this brownstone was to me. I thought it was just as important to them. Maybe I made a mistake by leaving this place to them. They have a lot of explaining to do.
"I am sorry, but this place used to belong to my friends. Do you have an address for them, by any chance?", I asked with confusion lacing my voice.
"Your friends will never dare to sell this place. They will have to face your wrath, won't they?", he laughed. "Please come in Sameera.", he added, as if he was expecting me.
"Sorry, but do I know you?"
"No no. But I know you like the back of my hand. I am Rishi, their friend.", he said with a hearty laugh.
"Oh hello" I said with a little hesitation.
I stepped inside taking in the familiar surroundings. Everything was exactly the same way it was when I left this place. The living room was adorned with a plush sofa and love seat in one corner, both facing the television. The wall opposite to it was filled with photographs of all of us. Single pictures, group pictures, pictures of mine with all my friends. But one picture broke my heart. Dhruv was sitting on the love seat with me on his lap. We were both looking into each other's eyes. It was on our anniversary and we were both lost in our own world.
I was suddenly engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by two people. Ah how I missed them.
"People, maybe you wouldn't want to kill me by hugging the life out of me. There are many other ways to do it. So please let me go", I said with a glare.
"Nah lady, don't try to intimidate us with your glares. WE should be pissed off at you for all that you did. You have no right to be angry at us.", Sebastian said with a frown.
Veronica was looking at me with unshed tears in her eyes. I took her into another hug and whispered in a thick voice, "I missed you people. You can't imagine how much.", I rubbed her shoulders.
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Veronica and Sebastian were among the first and best friends I made in university. They applied for the same university as they wanted to be together, away from home. When I first saw them, they looked like a couple walking out of a movie, that dreamy. Their humility and crazy nature just added to their looks. We clicked instantly. From then, there was no turning back.
"I can clearly see that.", she said sarcastically. "You didn't come here until you got to know that the company is in danger"
"How do you know the reason?", I looked at them suspiciously. They suddenly started looking everywhere but me. "Common spit it out guys. Tell me what's happening.", I yelled at them.
"It was all a plan.", Sebastian whispered in a small voice. Maybe he didn't want me to hear. But unfortunately I did.
"This is ridiculous! Is this some kind of joke? How could you people do this? When will you guys grow up and stop with these childish acts of yours?", I shouted at them in irritation.
"Oh please shut up. You and I both know that it was the only way to bring you here, after all these years. Accept that it was a great idea.", Sebastian said while giving a high - five to Veronica.
I rolled my eyes at them, making a call to my manager in India. "Mr Adams, please book me a flight to In...." The phone was snatched away from my ear. I turned around to see Rishi standing with my phone in his hands and smirking. Who was he again to snatch my phone?
"Excuse me. What do you think you are doing?", I frowned at him.
"Saving myself from getting killed."
"You see, if I let you go she will kill me.", he replied as if to clear my confusion, but only increases it in the end.
"I need to go guys. I can't stay here.", I said with a finality in my tone.
"It's three years Sameera. Three long years. They have been hell without you two. So I can only imagine how hard it was for you. But he left. He is not coming back. Stop punishing yourself by pushing everyone away. We want you back. No we want the old Sameera back who never thought twice before doing something. Who was the life to this house. Who put a smile on everyone's face. ", Veronica said, on the verge of tears.
Sebastian went to her and gave her a side hug. "We couldn't see you torturing yourself anymore. We had to do something. So we made a plan. We thought you won't ignore if it comes to the company. Especially, when your dream is about to come true."
"It looks like our plan worked after all.", said a voice, which I was craving to hear since I came here.
