58

~Darlina's POV~

I bit my lip as I glanced back and forth between the different options in front of me on the shelf, occasionally wandering off down the aisle before finding myself right back in front of the birth control options. It felt embarrassing to be shopping for this.

However, I knew I needed to begin to take it and had asked Avani for advice, as I had not the slightest clue about what to get or how I was supposed to get it. After exploding and demanding that I tell her what I needed birth control for all of the sudden, she had been more than happy to help me out and give me information. Thus, now I was standing in a CVS, staring at the shelves in search of the brand she'd told me. I hesitated as I stared at the little box before I snatched it up, the weight of it in my palm making it much more real.

At first I had debated whether to even go on it or not, but I rather quickly had decided it was just better to altogether. Sure, Atlas and I hadn't had sex but I could see myself giving him my virginity, and I didn't want to risk anything whenever that did eventually happen. To me, it wasn't a matter of if but of when.

After I had found the package, I checked out and left the CVS, returning to my car where I then sat in the driver's seat and stared down at the small box. I opened it and took one before I began the drive back to the apartment, entering the apartment when I opened the door.

"You're back." Emmett greeted me as I entered, glancing at me from over the back of the sofa where he was sitting. "Where'd you go?" He asked, cocking up an eyebrow curiously. At first, Emmett had wanted to tag along with me, but I had managed to convince him to stay home instead. Buying birth control was embarrassing enough for me without having to do it in front of Emmett, too.

"Just to CVS. Had to get some...medicine." I responded, shrugging my shoulders as I kicked off my shoes by the front door. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking a little worried. "Medicine? For what? Are you sick?" He asked, sounding concerned.

I quickly shook my head, still clutching at the little plastic bag with the box of birth control inside it. "No, not sick." I assured, watching as he narrowed his brown eyes at me with a confused look on his face. "Then what do you need medicine for?" He wondered, causing me to purse my lips as I struggled to think of an excuse. Eventually, I said, "Girl stuff."

Emmett stared at me and then shook his head, glancing back at the TV instead of paying me any further attention. "Alright, you don't gotta tell me the truth if you don't want." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand, making it clear that he knew I wasn't being completely honest with him.

All I did was sigh in relief and head down the hall towards my room, setting the bag on top of my dresser.

I brushed my hair behind my ear as I left my room and returned to the living room, where I plopped down on the couch next to Emmett. He glanced over when I joined him, an arm thrown around the back of the couch. "Do you know when Atlas is supposed to get home?" He asked me, to which I frowned and shook my head. "No. His shifts usually last until five or six PM, but I'm not certain if that's true for today as well because he left pretty early this morning." I responded.

"Ah. I see." He grumbled, almost looking as if he was sulking about that. I snickered and elbowed him softly, crossing one leg over the other. "What makes you ask?" I inquired, eyeing him curiously. Em just shrugged his shoulders, but dropped his gaze to his hands as he fiddled his fingers in his lap.

"Nothing, really." He muttered evasively, causing me to purse my lips and narrow my eyes at him in thought. I didn't buy that for even a second. "Right." I stated flatly, flicking gaze back towards the television despite the fact that I wasn't really paying attention to it.

"What'd you guys do yesterday? Just stay at home all day?" Em asked, changing the subject. I debated between whether or not I wanted to let his evasiveness slide, but eventually let it go and shook my head in response to his question. "No." I said. "Atlas actually took me out for lunch, if you can believe that." I told him, a small smile creeping up onto my lips as I remembered.

"Oh?" Em asked with clear intrigue, his eyes lighting up as a smile formed on his face. "Really? Like a date?" He pressed, wanting more details.

With a blush filling my cheeks, I nodded my head and bounced my leg nervously. "Yep." I confirmed, biting on my bottom lip slightly. "I didn't think he was the type for dates. Did you know he's never been on one before?" I said inquisitively, my words causing him to smile in amusement.

"Actually, yeah, I did." He chuckled. "He used to get girls asking him all the damn time," He said with a roll of his eyes, as if it was outrageous how many there had been. "But Atlas wasn't interested in relationships. I think he felt like he wasn't the relationship type of guy, to be honest." He explained, to which I frowned. I didn't like the idea of Atlas thinking of himself like that.

"He's pretty hard on himself, I've noticed." I stated softly, glancing up at Emmett, who nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, he's always been like that, even when we were kids. I think a lot of it has to do with his mom's boyfriend." He grunted, crossing his arms before he paused and tilted his head. "Or ex-boyfriend, I guess." He muttered as an afterthought.

I huffed and scowled slightly. "Atlas told me a little bit about him. He sounds horrible." I said vehemently, the anger in my voice causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. I wasn't really the type of person to get angry over things, so it was probably unusual to him to see me actually upset over something. "Horrible is a bit of an understatement." He responded, shaking his head as he glanced at the TV in thought.

My eyes trailed over the side of his face curiously. It was clear he was thinking of something, but I figured if it had to do with Atlas, I shouldn't ask. If it was something I didn't know, Em wouldn't tell me anyways out of respect for his best friend, and I didn't want to come off as nosy if it was something like that. Anything I learned about Atlas, I wanted it to be from him, and I wanted it to be because he wanted to tell me, so I didn't say anything to Emmett right then.

And just like that, the conversation sort of fizzled out on its own, leaving us in a contemplative silence as the TV played quietly in front of us.

**

At some point I must have dozed off because I was suddenly startled awake by the sound of the front door slamming shut, causing me to jolt up into a sitting position on the couch. Emmett did the same beside me, the both of us looking around with confused, panicked stares.

Atlas came striding in with his phone up to his ear, an angry scowl on his face as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, one leg hanging off the edge of the couch.

"I'm not fuckin' apologizing to that dickwad." He spit into the phone, not even sparing the two of us a glance as he stormed through the living room and down the hall, his angry voice fading in the distance. I heard his bedroom door slam shut a moment later, and glanced at Emmett as he did the same, our worried gazes meeting one another.

The sound of Atlas arguing on the opposite side of the apartment could still be heard, though it was too faint for me to hear what he was saying or know who he could be talking to that had him so upset.

When the sound of his angry voice stopped altogether, I bit my cheek and strained the hear, trying to decipher if he was truly done with his argument. Still, I heard no further sounds from his room and decided that he must be done now. I frowned at Emmett, smoothing my palms over my bare thighs nervously. "Should we go check on him?" I asked, unsure what was the right move in this situation. All I knew was that I was very worried.

"We?" He repeated, quickly shaking his head. "I am not about to go bug him when he's pissed. He'll probably punch me. You can go, though. He'll probably take to you much better." He stated, causing me to roll my eyes.

Even so, I stood up from the couch and glanced down the empty hall, debating if it was actually a good idea. "What if he just wants to be left alone, though?" I asked Emmett nervously, glancing down at him as I fiddled with my fingers. "Maybe I should just stay out here." I said, trying to sit back down. Before I could, Emmett stuck his foot out and shoved me away from the couch, causing me to yelp in surprise as I stumbled forward, almost hitting the coffee table. "No. You'll be fine, so just go check on him." Em told me, crossing his arms as he stretched his legs out on the couch to prevent me from sitting.

"Okay." I mumbled, reluctantly beginning down the hallway towards Atlas' room. I stopped in front of his door and raised my fist, knocking gently against the door.

There was a bit of shuffling on the other side of the door before it swung open, allowing me to quietly slip inside and close the door behind me.

Atlas plopped down on the edge of his bed and I frowned as I saw how frustrated he looked, my footsteps quiet as I padded over to him. I kneeled down in front of him, my fingertips curling around his. "Is everything okay? You were clearly upset with whoever you were talking to." I mentioned softly, peering up at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He muttered, enveloping my hand with his. "It was my mom." He said, causing me to blink up at him in surprise. My lips parted as I digested his words and tilted my head to the side. "Is...Is that a bad thing?" I asked hesitantly, as he didn't seem very happy about that, which wasn't how I thought he'd react to her calling him. He always seemed like he loved her a lot when he spoke of her, so for him to be angry about her calling was sort of odd to me.

"She wanted nothin' to do with me after what I did, said she never wanted to speak to me, so I suppose you could look at it as a good thing that she called. Yet I know she only called because she wants me to apologize to that douche." He grumbled, confusing me more. I furrowed my eyebrows, lost.

"I'm not sure I'm following completely." I said softly, absentmindedly playing with his tattooed fingers. He sighed and leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine as he searched my gaze with his, looking as though he was pondering something. "Her ex-boyfriend, Doug. She wants me to apologize to him." He clarified, but I was still incredibly confused by that, causing me to slowly shake my head. His lips tilted up slightly at my confusion.

"He's the one I got the attempted murder charge for."