15

~Darlina's POV~

Of course, Atlas was the only one home when I returned from work later that day, his large frame taking up a lot of space on the living room couch. I bit my lip and quietly shut the front door behind me, making sure it was locked before I snuck another glance at him.

Unsure why I was so nervous, I shook my head and quickly headed to my room, setting my purse down on my bed. I kicked off my white converse and entered the bathroom to change clothes, tugging on a cream colored knit dress with long sleeves and lettuce style hems. Checking myself in the mirror to make sure I looked okay, I nodded at my reflection in satisfaction and left the bathroom.

However, I squealed in surprise when I entered my room and saw Atlas there, causing me to jolt. I placed a hand over my heart and blew out a breath of relief as I realized it was only him. "You scared the life outta me." I sighed, brushing a strand of my hair back when it fell into my face.

Atlas turned around, muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, and pinned me with his intense gaze. "What are you doing in here?" I asked, shifting nervously on my sock-covered feet. He leaned his frame against my dresser, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as if he were uncomfortable. "I just thought...Well, about last night," He muttered, flicking his blue gaze towards me. "You just suddenly left after Emmett and I got in that little argument. I wanted to, ya know, see if you were feelin upset about it or if you're fine."

I blinked, a little bit surprised. He wanted to know if I was okay? Why?

A confused furrow formed between my brows as I simply stared at him for a moment, uncertain of his intentions. "What?" I finally responded, dumbfounded.

He clenched his jaw and released a heavy sigh. "Don't make me repeat it." He grunted, as if it would kill him to do so. I fiddled with my fingers and stepped over to my bed, sitting on the very edge of the mattress. "I'm not upset." I told him, though the fact that I had been thinking about it since last night probably proved otherwise. However he didn't need to know about that.

"Emmett sure seemed to think that you were. He even texted me earlier about it." Atlas confessed, causing me to purse my lips. Of course Em would've noticed. The guy noticed everything.

For a moment I remained silent, thinking back to last night, and all the things that he'd said. "Does it upset you that Emmett and I are friends?" I asked softly, causing him to look at me incredulously. "What?" He scowled, immediately on the defensive all of the sudden. My eyes widened in surprise but I wasn't scared, just taken aback. "Last night, you said that you'd never prioritize a girl over Emmett. Is that how you feel about the friendship between Emmett and I, that he prioritizes me more?" I elaborated on my question, watching him closely.

It seemed he was genuinely surprised by my question because he didn't respond at first, rather just pursed his lips and stared at the floor. "No." He muttered. "I have anger issues, and sometimes I say shit I don't mean, just like any other person." He said simply, to which I slightly nodded, a little unsure if he was being honest. I still couldn't read him well.

"Well I'm sorry if you ever did feel that way. I'm sure it's been hard enough to try to adjust here and having to do so with a stranger around probably doesn't help much." I voiced aloud, peering up at the ceiling in thought.

Although I didn't know what Atlas had been sentenced for, I did know he'd been in prison for four years or so. I imagined that it must've been difficult to come out and not only not have anywhere to go, but to not really have any sort of stability that was his alone. Cocking my head to the side, I cast my eyes over to him as he continued staring at the floor and a thought hit me then. What about his parents? It hadn't occurred to me until now that he didn't seem to consider them an option to live with, and I briefly wondered why.

I shook my head slightly at myself. It wasn't any of my business so I wouldn't pry, even if I was curious.

"Yeah." Atlas grunted, a slight contemplative furrow between his brow as he looked at me. "Something like that." He muttered. I nervously bounced my leg and curled my fingers around one another. "Are you still open to going out with Emmett and I on Sunday?" I blurted, desperately needing a topic change.

He frowned, looking very uncertain with the idea. "I don't know. It's not like I know any of the people you guys are going to lunch with. There's not much of a point."

"But Emmett really wants you to go. That was the only way he even agreed, remember?" I insisted, raising my brows at him in hope. The dislike for the offer was clear on his face, but he grunted. "Fine." He muttered. "I'll fuckin' go, then."

A smile threatened to tug at my lips, but it faded when he pushed off my dresser suddenly. I blinked as I watched him run his fingers through his hair. "Wait," I said when he began to leave, somewhat surprised at the fact that he actually stopped to look at me, though he looked unamused. I bit my lip and stood up, hesitating. "Um, never mind." I shook my head and gave him an apologetic smile, though the words lingered in the back of my throat. "I forgot." I decided to fib a little.

At first I thought he was going to accept the answer and leave, but instead he turned to face me. "Just say what's on your mind, smalls." He told me, lazily leaning against the wall. My cheeks burned at his nickname for me like they always did.

"Thank you for checking up on me. I know you were just doing it because Em was asking you about me, but you didn't really have to check on me either way, so thank you." I said, and he looked at me with a furrow between his brows and a frown on his full lips. He almost looked like he was considering protesting against something I'd said, though what it was I couldn't say, and he clearly decided to let it go because he just nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, sure." He muttered, looking away. "No problem."

The two of us shared a last glance before he turned and exited, leaving me alone in my room.