61

~Darlina's POV~

I giggled to myself as I watched Atlas nervously fix his hair in the mirror as I turned down the street that my parent's house was on, a smile on my lips. "Maybe we should just go back home." Atlas said, glancing at me. He was clearly feeling anxious about meeting my parents.

"Absolutely not. We're almost there." I responded, and he huffed, looking out the window at the passing scenery. I slowed as we reached the end of the driveway and came to a stop just inside of it, reaching over to slip my hand into his. "It's okay, you know. My parents will like you. I'm sure of it." I assured him softly, causing his eyes to flick back over to mine again. He inhaled deeply and looked down at the grip I had on his hand, curling his fingers tighter around my own. "Sorry. I don't get nervous, but I...I guess I want them to like me more than I thought."

Pulling my hand from his to continue driving up the driveway, I smiled at him. "That's understandable. I get nervous when I think about meeting your mom, too." I admitted, and he sighed deeply. "She'll probably like you more than she likes me right now." He told me, causing a frown to form on my face. That made me feel a little bit sad, to think she'd be happier to see a stranger than her son who she hasn't seen in over four years.

We came to a stop in front of my parent's house and I hopped out of the car whereas Atlas stayed inside, staring up at the house like it was going to eat him. I lingered outside of the vehicle before I pulled open the passenger side door, causing his gaze to flick up to me with a frown on his face.

"Come on." I smiled at him, grabbing his hand in mine. He grunted and reluctantly got out of my car, rising to his towering height before he slammed the passenger door behind him. "Okay, let's go." He muttered, grasping tighter at my hand when I tried to pull away. Realizing he didn't want to let go of my hand, I hid a smile and led him up the porch, the wood lightly creaking beneath the weight of our footsteps.

I knocked on the front door and Atlas pressed close to my back, absentmindedly rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. A few moments passed before the front door swung open and there stood my mom with a confused furrow between her brows, which quickly disappeared when she spotted me. In its place was now a big smile as she looked at me, standing at just about the same height as I did.

"Oh, my little Li!" Mom exclaimed and practically jumped into my arms, causing a giggle to escape me as I hugged her back with the one available arm I had free, being that Atlas still refused to release my hand.

"What are you doing here, honey?" She asked me as she pulled away, looking up and down my figure like she was ensuring that I was okay. "It's been so long." She pouted, and then her attention was stolen by the large man standing just behind me.

Taken aback, she just stared at him over my shoulder and looked back and forth between Atlas and I. "Um, who is this?" She inquired, confused. I giggled and gestured behind her to the inside of the house. "Maybe we should go inside?" I suggested instead of answering her question, and her lips parted in realization before she nodded, stepping to the side to usher Atlas and I into the house.

We entered and mom locked the door behind us, curiously eyeing Atlas as she passed by. "Your father is in the kitchen." She told me as we headed into the living room, brushing a strand of her blonde hair back. "I'll go get him. Oh, he'll be so excited to see you!" She said with an excited grin, not waiting for a response before she turned and rushed off. I watched her go and once she was gone Atlas spoke to me in a murmur, glancing around his surroundings. "You certainly take after your mom, I see."

A smile formed on my lips at that, as I took that as a compliment. "Thank you." I chirped, grinning up at him.

The sound of footsteps interrupted our little conversation, causing my attention to drag to the walkway that my dad came barreling through, an eager look on his face. His eyes met mine and I barely got to look at him before he was tugging me into his embrace, a surprised noise leaving me as he squeezed his arms around me tightly.

"Oof!" I grunted in surprise, my cheek smushed to his chest. "Hi, dad." I chuckled, and he hummed, ruffling my hair affectionately. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he pulled away.

Dad flicked his eyes to the hand in mine and then to Atlas, having to tilt his head slightly to look him in the eye with a slight glare on his face. "Who is this?" He asked, glancing down at our joined hands again. I stepped back so I was beside Atlas, glancing up at him with a smile on my face. "Mom, dad, this is Atlas." I introduced him. "He and I are..." I hesitated, unsure how to describe the relationship between us to them. I didn't want to overstep but I also didn't want to call him just my friend.

"We're together." He cut in, catching me off guard. I blinked up at him, my lips parting in surprise. "What?" I mouthed up at him, but he merely squeezed my hand in his reassuringly. I knew we would have to talk about what he'd just said later.

My mom gasped happily whereas my dad continued to eyeball Atlas like what he'd just said had to be a joke. Mom pushed past him, her hands in excited fists. "Oh, really? Is it true, Li?" She asked as she glanced between Atlas and I with a look of hope on her face. I just pursed my lips, unsure what exactly to say. Ever since I had moved out, she had been urging me to get a boyfriend. Honestly, I think she wanted me to have one more than I had even cared to get one.

Seeing how excited she was about it, I knew I couldn't say otherwise, so I nodded my head reluctantly. "Yes." I agreed, squeezing Atlas' hand right back. If possible, the smile on her face grew even wider and she clapped her hands together happily. "I'm so happy for you, honey." She gushed, and then surprised both of us by taking Atlas' hand in hers. "It's nice to meet you, young man!" She beamed.

It was clear Atlas didn't really know how to respond to my mom because he just nodded his head, glancing down at me for help. A smile tugged at my lips. "Mom, you're gonna weird him out." I told her with a snicker, and she frowned at me, huffing. "Fine, I'll calm down." She said, releasing his hand. "But can you blame me? I know we sheltered you, but I thought you'd never find a boyfriend." She remarked, causing my cheeks to burn in embarrassment. Being told that in front of Atlas by my mom, of all people, was perhaps the last thing I wanted him to hear. "How nice of you to say, mom." I sulked.

She just laughed, glancing up when dad stepped forward and caught Atlas' gaze once again. "His name is Atlas, you said?" He asked me without sparing a glance, to which I nodded. "Yes." I affirmed, pulling him into my side a little more.

Although my dad was usually very easy-going, I wasn't very surprised that he seemed skeptical of Atlas. He had always been the one that was more against me dating, by far more than my mom ever had.

"How did you two meet?" He asked, still looking at Atlas. I looked at my mom with a frown and she just shook her head, a helpless look on her face. "Uh, we're actually roommates, sir." Atlas responded, looking slightly uncomfortable. Dad furrowed his brows. "I thought you had a different roommate. What happened to Emmett? I quite liked that kid." He said, finally glancing down at me.

"Oh, he's still there." I responded with a nod of my head. "Atlas and Emmy are actually best friends. They've known each other since they were kids." I informed him, which he seemed to be put a little bit at ease in knowing this.

His eyes flicked back to Atlas again. "Why'd you move in with them? I doubt they have trouble paying the bills." Dad asked, causing my eyes to widen in surprise. I frowned deeply, not very happy about the invasive question. "Dad!" I scolded, drawing his attention. "What? It's just a question." He shrugged, earning a huff from me. "That isn't your business." I stated simply, staring up at him. I loved my parents and I respected them a lot, but I was going to draw the line there.

However, Atlas just chuckled. "It's fine, Lina." He muttered, but I still frowned when I tilted my head back to peer up at him. I wanted to protest, but he just smiled softly at me, so I remained quiet. It was his business to tell, after all.

"I'll be honest," Atlas said as he dragged his gaze back to my dad, staring him in the eye. "The only reason I moved in with them is because I was in prison and I had nowhere to go when I got out. Em's my best friend, so he took me in." He told my parents, both of them now looking stunned at his words. Then, however, my dad's face hardened and he looked down at me with disapproval. "Prison?" Mom asked with surprise in her voice. "Can I ask what for?"

Dad just continued to stare at me, crossing his arms over his chest, and I nervously huddled closer to Atlas. I didn't like the fact that he was very clearly judging Atlas like this, as it wasn't something I had ever thought he would do. I didn't know how to respond to it.

Atlas, on the other hand, almost seemed ready for their reactions. "Attempted manslaughter." He responded honestly, causing my head to whip up to him in surprise. I hadn't expected him to be so honest with them.

Mom's eyes widened in surprise and dad's narrowed in anger. "Are you insane, Darlina?" He scolded me, now completely ignoring Atlas' presence. "Why on earth would you bring home a boy like this? There's no way you thought we'd be okay with him dating you." He said, scowling angrily. It was the first time I had ever seen my dad truly angry, and I shrunk into myself at the sight. In my entire life, he had never behaved like this towards me. He'd never had a reason to.

I squeezed the life out of Atlas' hand and looked down at my feet in silence, tears pricking at the back of my eyes. "Answer me." Dad demanded, but I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent. "Honey," Mom said softly, speaking to my dad as she nudged his arm with hers. "You're upsetting her."

"I'm upsetting her?" Dad scoffed. "She brought home a damn convict! She's dating a man who almost killed someone!" He exclaimed, the anger clear in his voice. Mom sighed, nudging him out of her way before she gently grabbed my hand. "We don't even know the guy. Don't you think you should wait before you judge someone?" She scolded him, causing my eyes to flick up to her. She, unlike my dad, didn't look angry. Only a little bit unsure of the situation.

"Come on, you two." She said as she glanced between Atlas and I, giving him a small smile that made me feel more at ease. I quickly wiped the corner of my eyes to stop myself from crying, still clinging to Atlas' hand as we followed my mom with dad stomping behind us.

"You want me to wait?" Dad huffed, drawing mom's attention. "Fine. I'll wait to kick him out until I know what happened." He stated as we sat on the couch beside one another, crossing his arms over his chest while staring Atlas down.

And though I told Atlas he didn't have to, he told them the story anyways. I just quietly sat beside him as he explained everything, playing with his tattooed fingers with a small frown on my lips. Hearing it wasn't any easier the second time around, I realized rather quickly.

Once it was over, my dad had the decency to actually looked ashamed of himself. He looked away, swallowing thickly. "I'm sorry, son." He said awkwardly, looking down at my mom when she grabbed his arm with a deep frown on her lips and sympathy in her gaze. "It seems I did get ahead of myself." He admitted.

Smiling slightly, I glanced up at Atlas, who was watching my dad with an ever so slight smirk on the edge of his lips. I knew he was likely feeling smug at the fact that he'd made my dad admit his wrongs after the way he was just acting towards Atlas, causing me to shake my head as I suppressed my amusement.

My mom, however, smiled smugly up at my dad. "Told you." She teased.