◇ KEL ◇ New York 9:29PM "How's Miles?" "Better," Niccolo sighed over the phone. "You sure?" I sat on the couch as I watched my Mommy Tilda tidy up the small dining table, unsure whether I should mention that I was on the phone with Niccolo, Miles' ex-boyfriend. She'd definitely ask a barrage of questions I didn't have the will or courage to answer. I'd rather not mention that I was also friends with Niccolo. Otherwise I might bring up some highly confidential facts about the Falcos and their elaborate involvement with the Italian mob families. My mother had cooked dinner and practically forced me to eat more than usual, knowing I was mentally and physically exhausted from our training. Clinical rotations, still. Mom said she would only be staying here for two days
◇ KEL ◇ "Are you frickin' kidding me? Why didn't you just tell me you needed more money? I could've asked Dad." I plugged my earphones in and sighed to myself, minding my best friend's incredulous tone and apparent disappointment in my recent decisions. Although I knew that Gaia's family had some real estate properties under their name, I never tried to borrow money from her or her family for my tuition, student loans, and some of Daddy Jim's hospital bills. I just didn't want to inconvenience them in any way. For the past few years, Gaia had also been busy studying for the bar exams. Clearly she thought I should've just asked her for financial help, instead of borrowing a huge amount of money from Enzo, a guy I just met some months ago. Her point was valid. But, too late for reprimands. I had already paid for loans and hospital bills using Enzo's money. I definitely planned to pay him back as soon as I earned my first paychecks, though. It might take me another year and a
◇ KEL ◇1) Study.2) Eat.3) Sleep.4) Study.5) Pass the assessments.6) Complete the trainings.7) Study some more.Rinse.Repeat.It was my routine for the past months, and more or less a full-time job I was tied to. Then, in just a couple of months, we would have to seriously prepare for the Shelf Exam. No doubt sleep and I would be having more daily arguments by then."So proud of you, sweetie. Just keep up the momentum. Get enough sleep, eat healthy, exercise..." It was my mom's repetitive advice every time she'd see me struggling mentally and emotionally.The 'exercise' part, I had been ignoring quite often—only because I preferred to read books in bed for hours than going to the gym by myself."Always here if you need me or a workout buddy," Gaia would say. "But I'm too busy right now so we're just gonna have to stick with texts and scheduled calls," she would also say.No biggie. I knew why she was too busy. Like Miles. This year being my third year in medical school, I wouldn
◆ MILES ◆ Brichese, Italy "What now?" "He's livid. He's going to kill me this time." Okay... Death threats at eight in the morning. Great. Just commonplace for anyone in the business, it seemed. Sleepless and enduring another headache, I opened the garage door to let a seething Niccolo in. Between the two of us, I had often been the unpredictable one. The one with daily mood swings, temperament issues. Except for that time when he tried to piss off my father by blackmailing me, Niccolo was my total opposite: he practiced restraint and behaved more maturely. Smart and never a slave to impulses. The type to think rationally before making a move. Almost always in control of his emotions. Until now. The guy looked like he just walked out of a crime scene. We stepped inside my garage to hide from the bodyguards. Some privacy would be necessary. From the look on his face alone, he didn't need to say that something drastic and unlawful happened before he got here. The unmistakable t
◇ KEL ◇ The next day, after spending a few hours in our campus library, I decided to go home early for a change, too tired to burn more mental energy on General Surgery books. Also, I was failing to manage another anxiety attack. No surprise there. It had been a difficult couple of months without Miles around. He used to be my Xanax. Spending time with him was always better than taking anti-depression meds. He almost always knew how to cheer me up and he helped me overcome my inner demons countless times. I loved him for that. Too bad he couldn't stick around anymore. Sometimes I really missed him that it would upset me how I couldn't hang out with him anytime I want. I couldn't call him up every day because I knew he was busy with a lot of work—his father clearly wanted Miles to earn his pay, and not get handed money simply because he was the boss' son and only child. So I made a conscious choice to keep our communications to a minimum. As busy as Miles was, I had to dedicate most
◆ MILES ◆ Brichese, Italy "Your father's got balls, I must say. First one to try to do lucrative business with me." That's what Leandro had told me while he was tentatively signing the dotted lines of that revised contract. As if the guy actually gave a crap about what that piece of paper said. Well, it was merely for formality. Everyone knew that, including Ricchar and Mamma, because weeks before that contract signing, I could already tell Leandro and Pappa had secured a deal that would be mutually beneficial for their businesses. "I'm just done with his shit."At Niccolo's loud complaining and familiar scowl, I almost laughed. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had a shitty night. "Really done? You sure?"Pretty sure his uncle wouldn't say the same. Godfather and boss, too. But I couldn't care less about Ilya's opinions of Niccolo, so, I just chuckled when Nicco kept his back to me."Self-centered pathological liar. Selfish fuckin' hypocrite." He swore again with a deeper frown
◇ KEL ◇ "You full?" "Very." "Enjoyed the food?" "Yeah." I gave Enzo a small nod and lazily got up from my seat, putting on a smile for him when I noticed he was staring at me again. The restaurant was about to close now, with only a couple of hotel guests lingering near the buffet table. I cooked him a small lunch meal earlier, but I knew he wanted to eat out for dinner. And I just couldn't say no when he invited me to hang out with him in the hotel where he's staying. Enzo just treated me to dinner for the third time, despite my refusal to let him pay for everything. It wasn't like a romantic date, though, like the first few times we dined out. Just two friends hanging out over a meal. No more, no less. "Thank you for dinner. My treat next time. Okay?" &nb
◇ KEL ◇ Packing his stuff into his luggage didn't take half an hour. They were mostly just shirts and pants, anyway. Enzo didn't even bring three pairs of socks, which meant he didn't intend to stay here in New York for longer than a weekend. His phone kept him busy while I put his clothes into his travel bag. Enzo sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over, the flat-screen TV on the wall showing the evening news. Then room service knocked on the door. The attendant brought in a small silver bucket with a bottle of wine submerged in ice cubes. Red wine? Again? Enzo already drank three glasses during dinner. I made a face as the attendant left the room. Enzo took the cork off the black bottle while I zipped his luggage shut. Why did he wanna get liquored up tonight? Because of his girlfriend? He hadn't said more than a few words since I walked in here. If he wanted to talk about something, why ignore me the past half-hour? Like he was the only one in this big hotel room. The soft