Conflicted

Chapter 18

Ada Johnson's P. O. V

Tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, I clear my throat and smile meekly as Eva's mother, Flora, frets about in front of me.

"Okay if you're sure you can carry this." Flora trails off suggestively while my meek smile turns into a genuine one at her overly worried mothering nature.

"I'm sure. Don't worry." I coax as I grab the stack of dishes discreetly, eyeing a waiter who flits passed me. One part of me wants to dump the overload into their hand just so I don't end up into the kitchen but the other part of me feels guilty for even doing that and so with a final huff, I turn in the direction of the kitchen. Desperately praying to God above that Gregory has vacated himself from the kitchen after I ran as soon as our lips parted for the second time.

Blowing air past my lips, I square my shoulders and plaster a faux smile on my shoulders as I see Eva bustling her way into the kitchen with her own stack of stuff crammed into her arms. Hopefully Eva will get the unsaid hint and act like the buffer I so desperately need her to be. My smile falters in place slightly as I trudge my way into the kitchen only to find Greg still there, glancing down at his phone with a frown on his face as he scrolls through it.

The sound of plates grating against each other reaches all of our ears as Eva winces, letting the plates drop into the soapy water filled to the brim of the sink. My eyes snap from hers and over to the other person in the room only to find his baby blue eyes already fixated on mine. I gulp almost threateningly as I'm unable to tear my eyes away from his.

"Ada?" The voice of my best friend speaks up as my own eyes begrudgingly stray to hers as she watches me with a raised brow. I chew on my lower lip, pretending everything is fine and dandy as I school my face into a nonchalant expression. This doesn't seem to deter Eva as she gazes from me to Gregory and then back again, something to akin to understanding settling on her face as she clears her throat.

"Just place the dishes here. Let them soak for a while and then I'll do something about them later on. Or mum will." She adds after a pause as an afterthought. Nodding at her, I edge my way passed Greg who places his phone in his pocket, crossing his arms across his chest as I can practically feel his eyes boring into my very back, following my movements.

"Sure thing." I mumble a little late as I place the dishes down in the huge sink, making sure to not let the water overflow and get everywhere as I rinse my own hands off, making sure to not get any remnants of food on my hands, I think with a shudder as I almost gag at the thought.

Drying my hands off with a paper towel, I lean against the sink as I ball the paper up and throw it in the bin, sliding in easily. Crossing my arms over my chest, I catch Eva's eyes darting between Gregory and I once more who causes me to glare at her. Hoping to God, Gregory doesn't notice the both of us giving each other weird looks. If he does, however, he doesn't say anything as the both of us settle down once more.

"You guys didn't eat. Did you?" Eva breaks the awkward silence as I glance at her, my face turning red for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Eat each others faces? Yeah sure.

Food? Not so much.

"No. We didn't." Gregory speaks up as my face reddens further. Not sure if it's just me but I swear I just heard Greg put emphasis on the 'we'.

I shake my head in answer to her question as I try to avoid Gregory's gaze. The feeling of guilt hitting me like a freight train. Oh God.