Conflicted

Chapter 24

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I hear from down the hall where I just came from.

"So this is Gregory Maxwell's bachelor pad." I say out loud as I peer through everything with a sudden curiosity, it's cleaner than expected since the man is practically a child living in an adults body.

Gregory lets out a faint chuckle as he comes up besides me, "What did you mean by what you said just a minute ago?" He questions as my vague attempt to dodge his earlier question fails drastically. Glancing around here and there, I notice a small bright coloured baby walker standing off to the side, rolling it over to me I place Ellisa in the chair as she immediately starts slapping the dials. Happy laughter echoing around us as I turn towards Gregory.

Letting out a nervous laugh, I fiddle with my hands as I move around, pretending to take the place in. He doesn't seem to take the hint as he follows right behind me, the sound of a child's laughter still echoing all around us as she walks with the help of the baby walker.

"You just called me all frantic and the worst scenarios ran through my mind. I show up at your door and you have a whole baby in your hands. I have a vivid imagination." I joke lamely as I lean my back on the couch, avoiding all eye contact but passing it off as being responsible and keeping an eye on Ellisa.

I don't think I'm fooling Gregory and even myself with that one.

The man in questions lets out an amused snort as he raises a blond eyebrow at me, weary blue eyes now full of held back laughter, "You thought Ellisa was my child?" Even his voice is somewhat strained as he tries his best to look as serious as possible.

I scoff and fold my arms over chest as I ignore his gaze to the best of my abilities, watching the little girl myself, "I never said that." I grumble half annoyed but feeling more stupid than anything else.

I don't care. It's not like I should care. It's a good thing I don't. I tell myself this firmly but my heart lurches in my chest and my stomach twists with butterflies as I hear Gregory's soft laughter as I feel the warmth from his hand cupping my chin. We lock gazes and before I know it, he's pulling me into his arms and placing a firm kiss on my lips before letting me go and taking a nonchalant kiss back.

"You really are cute sometimes." He says with a cheesy grin tugging at his lips as I roll my eyes.

"So what do you need help with exactly? She seems to be a breeze to handle." I say with a swift change in topic, not letting any of that get to my head as Gregory throws his head back and lets out another over exaggerated groan.

"Her mother's a red head. Trust me when I tell you she's rubbed off on Elissa. The woman is the devil reincarnated and Ellisa is Satan's spawn." He mutters while I gasp and smack him lightly on the arm before trudging over to the little bundle of joy. Ellisa notices me coming and starts jumping up and down in hear seat again and gives me a gummy smile, only her two front teeth coming in.

"She's like an angel, what are you on about?" I ask the man behind me as he grunts at my words like I've just told him the worlds biggest lie.

"Just a few minutes before you came, she was screaming the house down. I tried giving Ellisa her bottle, out on the television, checked her diaper. Nothing seemed to work until I picked her up and walked her about." He rambles before squatting down besides me and smiling at the giggling baby besides his ranting.

"She just wanted to spend some time with her-," I stop before turning to him with a raised brow, "What exactly is she supposed to call you? Other than a jackass." The faux gasp escaping the man's mouth makes me chuckle but that stops mid way as he pushes me with enough force to send I me crashing down to the ground. I groan with a glare directed at him as he grins at me innocently before picking up Ellisa who seems to love me falling on the ground.