Chapter 74

" I just needed a glass of water, I've already had it, " I casually stated. Whether or not he chose to believe me was entirely up to him. He made this thoughtful sound from the back of his throat, like he was still trying to decide on the extent of truth to my words. Then he nodded and returned to their earlier conversation about Katarina, his previous intended. 

I didn't like the fact that Layla was doing everything by herself, she barely got a break these days, and I would have actually considered helping her but that would have been the pinnacle of suspicion. I didn't help, it wasn't a thing that the sane Gabriel would do. 

After a while of conversation and catching up on our recent ventures, we all headed to the dining upon Layla's asking. The house smelled magnificent. The care she put into each one of her dishes was evident. My aunt wasn't really the type to do housework, but for the first time I watched as she literally set up the table. And afterwards we all sat down to eat. I occupied my position at the head of the table. On my right was Arden and Layla was next to him. She seemed further than I wanted her to be, but not because of distance, it was because I could feel a barrier between us in the form of my cherished best friend. 

" Son, you won the jackpot with this one!" Arden's dad said between nonstop bites of his food. Not believing that Layla had made everything from scratch. 

" Dear you must share the recipe, " His mom added. I held me laughter because if there was one thing Nadia Gustov never did, it was cook. Layla accepted the complements and thanked them sincerely. Her eyes landed on mine and she smiled, I lifted my brows in acknowledgement. Anton asked her about her family some minutes into the meal, her face fell blank for a second, but then she collected herself and plastered on a fake smile. She answered as briefly as she could, not giving the exact details but not lying either. All she said was that her parents had died while she was going but she had been taken care of by her sweet grandmother. That her childhood had been quite normal, nothing out of the ordinary. She sounded casual as she spoke, most of her attention on her food, using it as a momentary distraction from the discomfort she was feeling. I wanted to walk over there and hold her, to do or say something that would make her smile. The room went completely silent after she was done with her narration, Arden's parents both wondering what to say since they hadn't been expecting that. 

And with increasing anger I watched as Arden reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the skin that was mine in every way possible. She saw the tension on his parents faces and chuckled, assured them it was okay and then gestured to their meals and urged them to eat before it got cold. 

At the moment my only concern was the hand Arden still held. Why wasn't he letting her go for fucks sake?! Layla couldn't eat with one hand, so she gently tried to pull it away but was unable to, and she turned to Arden, I did the same. He seemed to be in a world of his own. His eyes were on her but he wasn't there with us. Unable to help it, I reached over and tapped his shoulder. He looked at me, shook his head and his thoughts returned to the present, letting go of Layla he reached for his glass of water and took a sip, his eyes darting across the room like he wasn't entirely with us. 

The three of us maintained our silence after that and we resulted to listening to his parents as they took turn to talk about a variety of things. A bloody range of them! One moment I was listening to Anton talk about a race car tournament and the next I was listening to Nadia's trip to a spa on some island. Just like my parents, they travelled a lot, only difference was that they actually had time for their son, they prioritized him above everything else. After lunch, Layla immediately went to work again. Clearing the dishes from the table with the intention of going to wash them, I was really burning up with the desire to ask her to stop, I wanted to take out my phone and call the cleaning company and have them send over someone right away. Especially since she had to wake up early the next day and get to work. According to what I knew, she had only asked for a one day leave. Those restrictions disturbed me immensely, but like I said, I was working on something. I needed her to myself and I would get what I wished for. 

Arden helped her this time around, and because I didn't want to stay there and watch them do the dishes together while his parents sat on the counter stools and expressed their joy at seeing their son so stable in life, I headed to my room to finish up my art project. I had been working on the same piece for the last three days, and I was finally almost done. I rarely did oil paintings but I had decided to give one a try a while back and was impressed, so now I was in a bit of an oil phase. I stood Infront of the easel that held the piece. It was my personal take on light and dark. A midnight blue night sky, little stars tinkling, but then the actual scene was clearly in daylight, the colors of the flower field vibrant. A few people walking around holding hands and picnics. A child on a tricycle smiling brightly. 

But I had forced myself to paint that lovely scene when all my fingers wanted to draw was the aftermath of a freaking tsunami. I wanted to draw those swirls of darkness and to very vividly show the suffering. Looking around my studio, I studied the countless paintings on the wall, and in their own way, they reflected a hidden part of who I was inside. I quickly finished up the piece. I wanted to pick up a brush and perhaps add something, a teenage girl crying from a heartbreak or even a nice blue river that slowly turned to crimson the more it flowed. But I let it be. Taking the painting I carefully set it aside, taking a step back to observe it. And when I glanced at my watch, I was surprised to realize that I had been in there for close to forty minutes. I still thought it needed a little darkening but I placed aways my materials, washed my hands at the sink that had been specifically placed in the room as per my instructions,and then I left. Taking one final look around before switching off the dim lights. I heard no voices as I made my way back to the living room. It was actually oddly quiet and I wondered where everyone had gone. They weren't anywhere to be seen. 

The fact really upset me. I had no way of knowing what they were up to. Taking out my phone, I sent Layla a quick text just in case she forgot our agreement.

" No more hand holding, actually I'd be quite satisfied if you maintained at least three feet of distance between you two, " It read. 

I decided to head to the gym for a workout, and as I took a bottled water from the fridge, I suddenly heard footsteps. Then Arden appeared. 

" Oh, you're still here?" I blurted out. 

He shrugged. 

" Yeah, mum wanted to go shopping and she dragged Layla and dad along. "

Nodding, I closed the fridge door and leaned against it. 

" She wanted me to go as well but I had something to do first, "

" Are you done yet? I was planning on hitting the gym, I wouldn't mind the company. "

He combed his hair back with his hand, biting his bottom lip and looking around the kitchen almost nervously. Then he slightly scratched his neck and I realized that something was bothering him. 

" What is it this time? And if it's about your mom's leopard print fur coat then I share in your thoughts. We ought to burn it before they leave, perhaps even now--"

" Layla, " he suddenly said, cutting me short. My brows arched, and I was surprised to realize that I was inwardly bemused by this then of events. 

" What about her?" 

Arden slowly made his way to the island, then he leaned towards my direction, his arms on the surface. His eyes narrowed like he was a crime detective on the brink of solving the case of the bloody century.

" I think I like her Gabriel, "

My fingers fisted around the cold bottle in my hand. I was no longer bemused. I thought he would be accusing me of something, not pouring his heart out about liking someone that belonged to me. 

My eyes widened as I tried to think of the most appropriate reaction to this disturbing news, despite being aware of it already. Should I act shocked? Uninterested? Glad? Or should I just warn him to back the hell of?