59

~Darlina's POV~

His mom's ex-boyfriend....Atlas had gone to prison for attempting to murder his mom's ex-boyfriend.

I just stared up at him as I attempted to process this information, my lips parted in equal parts surprise and disbelief. Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised by this, being that Atlas hadn't exactly ever tried to hide that he disliked this Doug guy, but I still was taken aback.

Atlas smiled slightly as he saw the look on my face and tugged me up onto the bed beside him, his eyes scanning over my features in attempt to gauge how I was feeling. More specifically, I was pretty sure he was trying to see if I was judging him for what he'd just revealed, but I wasn't. I was just shocked, which I was sure he could easily figure out.

"I'll explain, yeah?" He hummed, waiting until I nodded my head before he began to tell me what happened.

"Doug, though they were dating, was more like my mom's pimp than anything else, and not a very good one at that. They were dating, but he didn't treat her like she was his girlfriend. He didn't treat her like she was important, or like he loved her." He began explaining, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand as he spoke. "It was small, occasional things in the beginning—shit like just losing his temper over tiny things or saying things about the men she would have over, even though he had been the one to approve them."

My eyes trailed over his features and I bit the inside of my lip as I leaned into him, listening closely. "But as time went by, he grew less...caring about the way he was acting, the way he was seen, I guess. At first, I think he felt like he had to be just nice enough to make her trust him, to make her stay, and once he knew that she wouldn't, he didn't care to keep up the little bit of a mask he tried to wear. He didn't need to."

"So he started treating her worse, calling her names, beating her, threatening her and I. There were nights where I kept myself up all night just because he was home, and I worried if I fell asleep, he might do something that I couldn't stop him from doing if I was sleeping." He recalled lowly, staring down at the floor.

"We lived with him like that for years, but eventually, I began to...really hate him. Despise him, really, and I still do. I never intended on doin' shit to him, though, 'cause mom would've been heartbroken." He admitted, shaking his head. "But I came home one night and I walked in the living room, and he was there with his three shithead friends. My mom..." I felt his hand tighten around mine and squeezed back, trying to soothe him. "He had knocked her out and she was just on the floor, while he was making jokes to his friends about how they could take turns with her if they wanted."

I gasped softly, utterly mortified and disgusted, and squeezed tighter to his hand. "I thought it was a joke, which still wasn't something I liked, but he urged them. He was being serious about that shit, and said it wouldn't have been the first time men have done it. It pissed me off, infuriated me really, so I just...jumped him. And I didn't stop until the cops got there. It was so bad that he went into a coma for a while."

Frowning, I cocked my head to the side. "The only reason I got attempted manslaughter and not attempted murder was because it wasn't premeditated. I just...did it because I was pissed. If he hadn't gone into a coma, I would've probably gotten an even lighter sentence than I already did." He muttered, running a hand through his hair before he glanced at me, meeting my gaze as I stared up at him in thought. He quickly looked down. "I get it if you think less of me now. I just...I wanted you to know, before we go any further with one another." He said in a murmur.

A small smile pulled at my lips. "I don't think any less of you, Atlas." I assured quietly, leaning into his side. "I'm just...sorry that you were put in a situation like that. You and your mom. To be honest, I can't say I blame you for it at all."

And it was true. I knew if it were my own mom, I would probably have done the same.

He just lifted my hand, placing a light kiss on it before he spoke again. "Anyway, that's why I was mad at her. She isn't with him anymore, but apparently she wants me to give him an apology." He grumbled, causing my brows to furrow in confusion. "But why would she want you to do that?" I wondered, incredibly perplexed.

Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head and dropped his gaze to my lips briefly. "I dunno." He said with a heavy sigh, as if exasperated just thinking about it. "I'm thinkin' of just ignoring her request. She should know that I'd die before I'd ever apologize that piece of shit." He grunted, and I hummed softly in response, my thoughts wandering. "Have you seen your mom at all since you got out, Atlas?" I asked, to which he shook his head once more. "No. She refuses to see me. Haven't seen her since I got sentenced, actually."

My lips parted. That would mean he hadn't seen his mom in over four years. "I know where she lives, of course, because she never moved out of that house. The fact that she doesn't want to see me is the only reason I've stayed away. Not because I'm ashamed or feel bad for what I did, but because I don't want to give her any more reasons to push me out of her life. I don't want her to have reason to hate me that I don't deserve it for." He confided in me, causing me to purse my lips and slightly shake my head.

"Even though I know she resents me now for what I did to him, I can live with that. At least she's safe, you know?"

Maybe there was something wrong with me because my heart did a funny thing in my chest when he said that. I found it sweet, in a way, that he saw it that way when he had plenty of reason not to.

"What if you just go see her?" I suggested softly, causing his eyebrows to raise up in surprise as he looked at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, giggling quietly. "You said you know where she lives, right? It's been four years. Don't you think you should talk to her about what happened, or at least try to?" I inquired, searching his gaze in an attempt to figure out what he was thinking. He looked like he was considering my idea, but he also looked rather uncertain about it.

"I dunno about that, Lina." He muttered with a frown. For a moment, he just silently studied me, something very clearly on his mind, before he spoke again. "If I did go," He began, flicking his tongue out to wet his bottom lip. "Would you come with me?" He asked, surprising me greatly. I couldn't help but to gape up at him, not expecting him to ask that of me. "To meet your mom?" I squeaked, already flustered by the mere idea of that.

Atlas smiled in amusement and nodded. "Mhm. That's what I said, smalls." He chuckled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. I shifted nervously beside him on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. "Oh, um," I tucked my hair behind my ear and glanced away. "Shouldn't you go by yourself, though? I mean, she might not like me being there." I stated, and he just cocked up an eyebrow at me.

"She'll probably be upset that I'm there anyway." He pointed out. "What's one more person, hm?"

Still, I just bit the inside of my cheek, not very convinced. A sigh left him as he gently grabbed my chin, turning my head towards him so our eyes met. "Please, Darlina." He muttered. "I want you there. It'll make me feel better, having you nearby." He insisted, his words causing my cheeks to warm, flattered.

"O-Okay." I stammered, unable to deny him when he was asking me like that. "I'll go, if it'll make you feel better." I agreed, gasping when he ducked his head to crash his lips against mine in a deep kiss. Surprised, it took me a moment to catch up to his pace but I clung to his shirt when I did, curling my fingers into the fabric. He bit my lip between his teeth and tugged it as he pulled away with a hum of content that rumbled through his chest.

"Thank you." He murmured, the sincerity in his voice and the embrace that he pulled me into surprising me in a completely different way than the kiss had. I flushed, my chin propped atop his shoulder as he buried his head in the crook of my neck with his arm around my waist. My fingers splayed across his shoulder blades as I leaned into his embrace, a tiny smile on my face.

Gripping gently to his shirt, I let my eyes flutter closed, relishing in the feeling of his hold.