Can't Stop Thinking About You

Georgina cleared her throat to make her presence known; not like Adrian wasn't already aware that she was standing there. In fact, the way he was looking at her made her feel aware of herself. She shuffled her feet from side to side in her awkward manner, pulling her gaze away from Adrian's heated ones. She cleared her throat again. "Ella," she called softly.

Ella slowly disengaged herself from Adrian's hold, pulling backwards, she turned around and finally noticed Georgina standing behind them. "Oh, Gina," she said, her voice rough. She wiped her eyes with the back of her palm.

Georgina waded towards her, stretching out the mug of coffee. "Why don't you take a seat, Ella?" she asked softly, guiding her to the couch while actively ignoring Adrian who was closing the door. She waited for Ella to sit before handing over the coffee. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Exhausted," she muttered.

Adrian took his seat beside her and Gina did the same. The three of them sat on the couch, Adrian and Gina sitting on opposite sides of Ella.

"Where are Joe and Phyna?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I put them to sleep," Gina answered.

There was a quiet, tense silence for a while. The only thing that could be heard was Ella's occasional sniffling. The three of them sat silently, with Georgina rubbing Ella's arm intermittently.

Eventually, Adrian asked, "When did he leave?"

"Saturday morning," Ella answered in a whisper. "We left for work and Gina came to babysit but….but…. he didn't return that day. I tried calling him but he never answered. So, I assumed it was one of those days where he took off for no reason," she tried to explain, her voice coming out rough and uneven. She paused and cleared her throat.

"And you've not heard from him since then?" Adrian asked, his jaw ticking. His fists yearned to punch something…..or someone, preferably that bastard, Kevin.

"No."

"Why are you just calling me now?" he demanded harshly, suddenly pissed off at Ella. "Why did you have to wait for so long before informing me?"

Ella looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She opened her mouth to answer him but Georgina did before she could. "Don't say that to her," she said in a defensive tone. "She's already sad enough, stop blaming her for something that she obviously couldn't control."

"I'm not blaming her," he snapped. "I just wished she would have called me earlier. I could have helped," he said and in return, Georgina made a face at him. He gaped at her, surprised.

"I would have called," Ella said, cutting short their small argument. "But I didn't think he would take this long." Her shoulders sagged as she reached out and dropped the mug on the center table. "I don't know what I was thinking," she said tiredly, dipping her face in her palm and rubbing her cheeks. She was exhausted from all the tears.

"Have you tried calling him," Georgina asked.

"He isn't answering," Ella said. "I….i don't know what to do."

"Maybe we should go to the cops," Georgina suggested, softly and comfortingly rubbing Ella's shoulders.

"That's a waste of time," Adrian said.

"What?" Georgina gaped at him, surprised. How could he say it was a waste of time to report that a man was missing? Not just any man but his cousin's husband? What the hell was wrong with him? Maybe he was more messed up in the head than she thought.

Seeing the look on her face, Ella said, "What he meant was that this has happened too many times and when we go to the police, we eventually always find him on the road drunk out of his mind." She paused.

"Exactly," Adrian said. Plus the fact that he didn't exactly like Kevin and he wasn't sure he cared if anything bad happened to him – but he kept that to himself.

"Oh," Georgina said. At this point, Georgina was if it wasn't Adrian who was crazy but Kevin, because what kind of man leaves his children and wife at home and disappear for five days without even a word about his whereabouts. What the hell?

Ella sighed. "But this is the longest he has ever gone," she whispered brokenly. "Do you guys think he is okay?"

"I could care less about him," Adrian snapped. He was fed up of seeing Ella getting hurt over and over again by her bastard of a husband. "I think you deserve better."

Ella's once sad eyes now flashed at her cousin in anger. "I don't think this is the time to exhibit your unnecessary hatred for Kevin, Adrian."

"Unnecessary hatred?" Adrian repeated. "The guy is a dipshit! I know it and even you know it."

"He is not a….dipshit, Adrian," Ella sighed. She shook her head. "He's just going through a lot right now."

"Oh really? He has been going through a lot for almost five years now, hasn't he?"

Ella straightened her shoulders. "I called you here to support me, Adrian, and if you can't do that, maybe you should leave."

Adrian gritted his teeth. He would never understand why Ella was so blind to Kevin's faults.

Just as he was about to talk, Georgina jumped in, "Hey, Ella, why don't you lie down on the couch while Adrian and I make you something to eat," she asked, smiling at Ella and at the same time, flashing a glare in Adrian's direction.

Ella smiled up at her, a small sad smile. "Thanks Gina," she said. "You are a good person."

Georgina smiled back, propping a pillow up for her. As Ella moved to lie on the couch, Georgina turned to Adrian. "Kitchen," she snapped.

Adrian frowned, currently pissed at both Ella and Georgina. At the same time, his heart jumped at the thought of being alone with Georgina in the kitchen. He rose to his feet, making space for Ella to put her legs out on the couch, and followed Georgina who all but stomped in the direction of the kitchen.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Georgina whirled around. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.

Adrian stared at her, taken aback. One minute, she was sweet and caring, the next minute, she was glaring hard and fiercely. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you think this is the time to antagonize Kevin?" she asked. "Really? Can't you see how sad Ella is?"

"I was just looking out for her. Kevin is an asshole. He has down this before - disappearing to only God knows where and making Ella worry about him. When he returns, he won't even apologize."

"But still, there is a certain time and place for everything, and now is not the time for you to point out how much of an asshole her husband is," Georgina chided, turning around to pull the cupboard open.

Adrian sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was shitty of me," he said. "I'm sorry."

Georgina turned to look at him over her shoulder, raising a brow, "Why are you apologizing to me?" she asked.

"I don't want you to think I'm an asshole."

Georgina turned back around, saying nothing. She didn't think he was an asshole. On the contrary. She thought even more highly of him after realizing that he left his home at night to come and comfort his cousin. And she knew the only reason he spoke terribly of Kevin was because of how shabbily he was obviously treating Ella. But she didn't tell him that. Instead, she said, "Whatever."

"What are you making?" Adrian asked, after a moment of silence where he just stared at her back with longing.

"French toast," she murmured.

"Can I help?"

"No," she snapped.

He kept quiet for while watching her hands work jerkily and with a certain swiftness. Then, he said in a low tone, "I'm glad Ella called me. I wanted to see you again."

Georgina froze at his words, her heartbeat doubling. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself and continued working even more quicker than before. It was like she wanted to bolt out of there before he had a chance to say more.

"I've been thinking of you," he suddenly blurted.

Georgina whirled around. "Not the time and place," she spat out, keeping her face impassive.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He shook his head. He was fumbling here. Why was he messing this up? That wasn't supposed to be her reaction. "I just thought I would out it out there," he added.

"Well, you should have kept it to yourself," Georgina snapped again as she grabbed the plate and toast. She turned around. "I would have preferred not to hear it."

Then, she stalked out of the kitchen.