Chapter 46

Atlas pulled up in the parking lot of Duke's Chowder House. Makenna hopped off his bike, already working on the clasp of her helmet. Atlas took off his helmet and hopped off the other side. He hung his helmet on the handlebar and Makenna followed suit on her side.

Atlas was glad to be able to follow her lead. As soon as they stepped inside, Atlas and Makenna were taken aback by the crowd - Atlas more than Makenna. Makenna wasn't sure if he'd make it through the crowd that was mostly gathered around the bar as they placed their orders.

"C'mon." Makenna grabbed her hand and manoeuvred her way through the sea of people at the, clearly, popular seafood place. She managed to get them to the front of the bar and Atlas was very impressed. Makenna grabbed the menu that was on the table with so many others.

"Here." Makenna tried to speak loud enough for him to hear her, "You've got a minute to decide,"

Atlas glanced at the menu for a second and looked up at her,

"I'll have what you're having,"

Makenna smiled,

"Good choice,"

Atlas mentally patted himself on the back and watched her grab the attention of one of the workers who stood behind the bar.

"Two Royal Ranch burger melt and two bottles of water,"

The guy nodded and put the order into the system. He told her how much she had to pay,

"I've got it,"

Makenna looked at him and gave him a look that said 'no, you don't'. She paid and got their receipt which had their order number.

"Follow me,"

Atlas followed Makenna deeper inside the restaurant to their outdoor sitting area. Atlas inhaled as he stepped outside, basking in the view of Commencement Bay. He followed Makenna who passed every empty table and stopped at the corner, outlooking the Ruston dock. She placed her arm on the railing and he watched her breathe in.

He smiled and joined her, mirroring her stance. She shifted her gaze to him and he smiled at her. They watched each other for a moment and Makenna leaned away from the railing, looking serious.

"I heard you and Tim talking,"

Atlas looked away from her and focused on the horizon. He hadn't even thought about the fact that she could've heard it. His conversation with Tim wasn't something he was trying to hide.

"What about it?"

"He lost his wife a year ago,"

Atlas immediately looked at her,

"He tries to look fine, but I can see below the surface." She looked to the horizon and got lost in her head for a moment, "Death isn't an easy thing to handle. For anyone."

Atlas stared at her,

"Who did you lose?"

Makenna looked at him and let his question sink in. She thought about not answering for a moment but swallowed the heaviness in her throating,

"Someone who was more of a sister than a friend,"

Atlas could still see the pain of the lose in her eyes and he wanted to reach out to her and pull her into his arms, but he stayed exactly where he was.

"I'm so sorry,"

Makenna swallowed and looked away,

"It was a long time ago," It didn't feel like it but he didn't need to know that,

Atlas looked in the same direction she looked,

"Time is the healer of all necessary evils." Atlas recited, "Menander probably didn't have it that hard in the first place."

Makenna snapped her gaze at him.

"You don't believe that?"

"Not a little bit," Atlas stood upright, "Do you?"

Makenna shrugged,

"I think all time does is allow us to bury the hurt deep and let it fester."

She looked at Atlas and watched him study her,

"But, for some, I think all they need is time to heal,"

"Like Tim, who can see past the death of his wife?"

"Tim believes in the life we're promised after death," Makenna explained, "Everyone will be judged when the saviour of the world returns, living and dead."

"Judged for what?"

"The way we lived."

"You say 'we',"

Makenna frowned, unaware that she had included herself.

"Do you believe it?"

"I used to,"

"What happened?"

"The world I was trying to love took something from me."

"Pardon me if I'm crossing a line," Atlas said, "But from where I'm standing it sounds like you still want to believe. You're just struggling to get there."

Makenna stared into his eyes,

"Has the world ever taken something dear to you?"

Atlas blinked and nodded, choosing not to say anything on the matter.

"So you'll understand when I say that all you want afterwards is to hurt the person who made it happen."

Atlas understood that more than anyone. He wanted so badly to make himself suffer for what happened. It was all on him but he didn't want to go think about what had happened until he'd come up with a suitable punishment for himself. The memory flashes stabbed at his chest and if he let himself truly feel the pain of that night, it would bring him to his knees.

Atlas nodded.

"More than anything,"

Makenna glanced at the number displayed on the display board,

"That's us."

Atlas followed Makenna back inside and was surprised to see it was packed to go. Makenna made sure Atlas was close as she headed for the exit. The door closed behind Atlas and he couldn't help but ask where they were heading.

"You'll see," Makenna turned to the right and headed away from his motorbike,

"We're walking?"

Makenna looked at him and nodded,

"And don't worry about your bike, it's safe here."

"I wasn't even thinking about that." Atlas said honestly, "A walk is nice,"

Atlas reached to grab the bag from Makenna but she snatched it back quickly, making Atlas raise his hands in surrender,

"I'm sorry I even tried,"

"You should be," Makenna joked with him.

IMPORTANT!

I want to inform you that I've taken a break from writing, just till the end of December. Here's why...

I usually reserve my Saturdays for my WIP but that hasn't been possible since the month began. I started working night shifts, 6 nights a week at the start of November. I thought I could power through and try to write on Sundays, but boy was I wrong. Working the night shift is really draining and I attempted to write on Sunday last week, but I barely wrote 500 words before I started feeling sleepy again. I slept through Sunday till my shift on Monday - it was crazy. But it was very much needed.

I've been trying to talk myself out of taking a break from Wattpad till night shifts are over, but I had to come to terms with the fact that I'm stretched too thin right now. So, there we have it.

I'm letting you know a few weeks beforehand that I'll be taking a break from posting new chapters after November. I'm not sure if I'll pick back up in January or February because I might still be recovering from the night shifts in the New Year. But the break won't be longer than 2 months, hopefully 1. But I'm already looking forward to it.

You'll get two more chapters this month and then I'll see you guys in the New Year. Thank you so much for your patience.

Love,

Jane.