72

~Darlina's POV~

Atlas glanced down at me at his mom's question, causing my eyes to flick up to his. "This is Darlina," He said as his gaze found his mom again. "My girlfriend."

Gracelyn, his mom, seemed genuinely surprised by his words. Her blue eyes blinked as she glanced between the two of us, looking almost as though she thought he was playing a prank on her. "Your girlfriend." She echoed with a furrow between her brows.

She let out a scoff and curled her fingers around the doorknob tightly. "You brought your girlfriend? Is this some kind of joke or something? Are you trying to get back at me because I refused to talk to you?" She demanded to know, causing my eyebrows to furrow at her abrupt change in mood. Just a moment ago I thought she was going to let us inside, but now she was angry with him again. I didn't quite understand this woman.

"What?" He said with exasperation, shaking his head. "No. I brought her because I was hoping that we would be able to make up and I just wanted you to meet her." He explained, to which she rolled her eyes and cocked up an eyebrow at him. "And you decide to do this after I told you that you should apologize to Doug? You know, it's your fault I ended up not being with him any more." She blamed him blatantly. Perhaps the worst part was that Atlas just sighed, taking her insults and every word she was saying. I was beginning to lose my patience with the woman, admittedly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Atlas retorted with narrowed eyes. "If you ask me, I did you a fuckin' favor."

My lips formed a nervous frown as I glanced between the two of them, biting on the inside of my cheek. "A favor? You call that a favor?" She echoed incredulously, now glaring harshly up at him. "Then why don't you do me another favor and leave?" She spit, again attempting to slam the door. And again, he just placed his palm there, stopping it from closing.

"Mom, please." He sighed, sounding rather tired of her behavior. "All I'm asking is to talk with you about what happened. I know you hate me and I know you don't want anything to do with me but I just want to speak with you. If you still don't want anything to do with me afterwards, then I'll respect that. I'll leave and I won't ever bother you again." He said, staring into her eyes. And I saw her actually considering his words, pursing her thin lips in thought. I imagine she knew that this was the only way she'd be able to get him to give up.

"Okay." She agreed reluctantly, a bitter look on her face as she stepped to the side and opened the door once more. "Then you and your little girlfriend can come in." She muttered, holding the door open.

Atlas entered the small house first, tugging me in behind him with his hand still clutching mine. My eyes briefly met Gracelyn's as I passed by her and she narrowed her gaze, looking me up and down with a slight furrow between her eyebrows. I glanced away, biting the inside of my cheek as I looked around, taking in my surroundings. The inside of the house was small and the floorboards creaked beneath my feet with every little movement, but it was rather clean despite it's clear older age.

"Her name's Darlina, ma." Atlas corrected her with a heavy sigh as she shut the door and locked it, crossing her arms over her chest when she turned to face us. "I don't care." She stated simply, staring up at him.

"Just get this conversation over with and say what you want to say to me." She insisted, not willing to entertain the idea of anything else.

We made our way into the living room and I quietly sat down on the couch next to Atlas, nervously rubbing my hands over my thighs. Gracelyn remained standing, staring down at him with her hands on her hips. "Well?" She said expectantly. "Let's hear it."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at her with a frown. "I know that you hate me for what I did, but I was honestly just trying to help. And you're right, I could have called the cops or done something else to help, but what was I supposed to do in the meantime? Just stand by and let them rape you while I waited for the police?" He said, grabbing my hand in his again as I watched the side of his face while he spoke. "And that's if the police even bothered to show up if I called. They barely ever fuckin' come out to areas like this, and even more so with shit like that."

"I just...I couldn't do nothing, and to hear them joking about it like it was funny, or about how it wouldn't be the first time he allowed shit like that..." Atlas scoffed as he puffed out a breath, getting angry about the situation all over again. "It really got to me. I mean, I always knew that you did sex work but thinking that he had participated in anything non-consensual, it made me lose it." He admitted.

Gracelyn's face had fallen by this point, and she was now staring down at him with slightly glossy eyes. I wanted to hug her, if I was being honest. Sure, she hadn't been the kindest to him after what he had done, but she wasn't fully to blame in this situation. She had been a victim in all of this. That didn't mean it was fair how she had reacted to him, necessarily, but it was more understandable.

"So I won't apologize to him, not ever. He doesn't deserve it. I'll hate him until the day I die, and I won't regret what I did either." Atlas told her, searching her face. "And if you hate me for that, that's okay, too. All I ever wanted was for you to be free of him, so you could live happier. If you don't want me here for that, then I won't be." He said, watching her closely as he waited for her to say something. However, she just looked away, staring down at the worn wooden floors beneath her feet.

Atlas seemed to understand that he had her answer because he sighed in resignation, flicking his eyes over to me. "I'm going to use the bathroom and then we'll go, okay, smalls?" He muttered, to which I nodded, my eyes following him when he stood and walked out of the living room.

That left Gracelyn and I alone in the living room, a tense silence falling over the space as I stayed seated on the couch. She didn't move even a little, continuing to stand as she stared down at the floor. I hesitated before I spoke quietly, unable to help myself.

"He really loves you a lot, you know." I stated to her, and I almost thought she didn't hear me but then she just pursed her lips, blinking rapidly, and I knew she had indeed heard me. "This isn't any of my business, really, but Atlas genuinely was just doing what he could because he wanted to help you." I added, standing up from the couch as I adjusted my purse on my shoulder.

A small smile formed on my lips. "But anyways, I hope you're happy now." I said genuinely, without malice or any trace of sarcasm. "Atlas would want that."

Before she could even think of saying anything, Atlas entered the living room again, drawing my attention to him. "You ready to go?" He asked me as he came to a stop beside me, winding his arm around my waist. I nodded, peering up at him with my head craned back. "Yep." I affirmed, following alongside him when he began to head towards the front door with a reluctant, unsure nod of his head towards his mom. He didn't seem to know how to say goodbye to her, given she seemed to want him gone.

I glanced at her face one last time, able to see the slightest bit of visible turmoil upon her face, and then turned away. We swung open the front door and Atlas went to shut it until the hurried sound of footsteps began to follow us, causing him to pause slightly. "Wait," Gracelyn called with a sigh.

Still gripping the door handle, Atlas raised an eyebrow as we turned to look at her. Her eyes met his for a moment before she looked away. "Y-You can stay." She stammered, casting her gaze to the floor. It almost seemed as though she was ashamed of her behavior from moments ago, though I wasn't sure what had made her change her mind. "I...I think you should stay." She repeated, hesitating before flicking her eyes up to Atlas' once again. There was a sad look in her eye.

Surprised, I glanced up at Atlas, who was staring at his mom with a relieved expression on his handsome face. It was brief, so brief that I almost missed it, but it had been there. I hid a smile, sliding my hand into his and giving it a squeeze.

"Um," He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at me. "I was hoping we could stay for a couple days, just to catch up. Is that okay, or just for today?" He asked his mom, who gave a quick nod of her head, playing with the long sleeves of her shirt. "Yes, that's...that's okay. If you stay f-for a few days, I mean." She stammered, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. He frowned slightly as he noticed this as well. "We don't have to, if it's not what you really want, ma." He assured, but she shook her head.

"No, I-I do." She sighed, running a hand through her short hair. "I'm trying, okay? I know I said I never wanted anything to do with you, but...the idea that this might actually be the last time I see you if I let you leave makes me not want you to leave." She admitted to him quietly. My eyes searched her features and I frowned as I saw the mix of guilt and sadness in her eyes. The woman really didn't seem to be good at keeping her emotions off her face. She was very much an open book, quite the opposite of Atlas.

Atlas nodded slowly, allowing the front door to slowly swing shut. "Okay." He muttered. "Then we'll stay for a couple days."