62

~Darlina's POV~

"Are you guys going to stay the night?" Mom asked as we all ate dinner, which mom had made. I shook my head, happily swallowing my mouthful of food. "Probably not." I responded. "Atlas and I have to work tomorrow." I stated.

Dad curiously glanced at Atlas. "What do you do for work, anyhow?" He asked him, drawing Atlas' gaze up from his plate of food that he was devouring. He paused to finish eating and then wiped his mouth. "Uh, I work at a mechanic shop." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not really ideal, but it brings money, which is better than nothin' at all." He stated with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

"Wait, really?" Mom smiled as she popped into the conversation.  "Lennon used to work as a mechanic too, if you can believe it. A long time ago, of course." She recalled with a giggle, referring to my dad. He seemed to cringe at the memory.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, as this was something that even I didn't know. "You used to be a mechanic?" I gaped at my dad in disbelief. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Hardly. I wasn't very good at it, so I got fired pretty quickly." He admitted with an embarrassed look on his face that caused both my mom and I to snicker in amusement.

Atlas smiled slightly, his dimple poking attractively into his cheek as he did. "I used to work on cars before I got sentenced, so I'm actually pretty good with them, if you ever need any help with yours." Atlas remarked to my dad, which was also something I didn't know. He had never told me that. I was learning new things about both my dad and Atlas, it seemed.

"That's nice of you to offer." Dad said gratefully, nodding his head. I finished off the last of my food and then looked up as my mom rose with her and dad's empty dishes in hand, standing from the table with my own empty plate before she could take it. "I'll help you clean up." I told mom with a smile, following her to the kitchen as my dad and Atlas continued to make conversation.

Mom and I stood in front of the sink, the dishwasher open as she washed the dishes and glanced over at me. "You seem to really like Atlas." Mom pointed out, a smile on her lips. I nodded my head, heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. "Yeah, I do. He and I didn't get along very much when he first moved in, believe it or not." I remarked, setting a clean plate into the dishwasher. "But I've really grown to like him a lot." I admitted shyly.

She smiled at me and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Does he treat you well?" She asked, to which I nodded my head. "Of course." I hummed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You raised me better than to pick a man who wouldn't." I said playfully, the two of us giggling softly at that. It was true, however. My mom had always said that it was important to find a man who treated me well, and insisted I know my worth and what I deserve from whoever I'd end up with.

"Have you guys..." Mom trailed off and raised her brows at me, wiggling them in a suggestive manner. I gaped at her in disbelief and shook my head, embarrassed by her question. "Mom!" I grumbled, but she just giggled.

"What?" She laughed, rinsing off the soap of a plate that she was cleaning. "I'm just wondering how far you've gone. Is it serious?" She asked, and I shrugged a little. "We haven't done that yet, no." I mumbled, a heat in my cheeks. "Now can we stop talking about it?" I practically pleaded, unable to stand talking about this with her any longer.

"Okay, okay." She agreed with an amused smile, clearly finding it funny how embarrassed I was. "I'm just glad you found someone, and that you seem happy." She told me softly, becoming a bit more serious. I took the clean plate from her and set it in the dishwasher, brushing a strand of hair back. "When you first moved out, I was a little worried about you." She admitted, glancing at me with a soft gaze. "I thought maybe we had sheltered you a little too much, and you'd get taken advantage of because of it."

The corner of my mouth pulled into a small smile. "Well, I didn't." I chuckled, loading the last dish into the dishwasher. "But even if I had, it's kind of just part of life, isn't it?" I wondered. She smiled slightly and shrugged. "Maybe, but what mother wants to contribute to that, even inadvertently?" She responded.

"So I'm just glad that you have good friends, like Avani and Emmett, and I highly doubt anyone would try anything with you if Atlas is around." She added with a snicker. "He looks kind of intimidating."

"That's what I thought when I met him, too." I confessed, closing the dishwasher with an amused smile on my face. "But he's secretly a softie at heart, even if he'd never admit it." I whispered, giggling to myself. She joined me in my laughter, her eyes bright with mirth.

"What are you two giggling about in here?" My dad asked as he suddenly entered the kitchen, causing the both of us to glance over at him, halting our laughter. Mom still wore a smile on her face even as she waved her hand at him dismissively. "Nothing that concerns you, honey." She said with a big grin, grabbing a kitchen towel to dry her hands on while my dad sulked silently over being excluded from the conversation.

Atlas came walking in a few moments later, his empty plate in hand, which I quickly grabbed from him. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head as I began to wash it, as if knowing there was no point in trying to stop me.

"Was dinner good?" Mom asked Atlas as she took a step away from me, worry in her voice. "Oh, um, yes. It was great." He responded, a somewhat shy look on his face when speaking to her that told me he still felt a little awkward around both of my parents, understandably so. I opened the dishwasher and placed the last dish into it before shutting it again, sliding up beside him once I was done. "I'm so glad to hear that." She grinned, her eyes flicking down when he slid his arm around my waist loosely.

"Um," I cleared my throat as I glanced at the clock hung on the wall just beside the fridge, frowning when I saw the time. "Atlas and I should probably get going back home, unfortunately." I stated with a sigh.

Mom pouted. "Already?" She asked, looking as though she wanted us to stay. However, I just nodded my head. "Yeah, we both have to work tomorrow." I reminded her once more, earning a nod of understanding from my dad whereas mom continued to sulk. "When will you visit again?" She wondered as we headed towards the front door with my parents in tow. "I'm not sure. We can figure something out, though. It won't be long." I assured her with a smile. "And we can always call, if you want to talk." I added as an afterthought.

She stepped closer and tugged me into a hug, my arms wrapping around her frame as she whispered her goodbyes into my hair. After she pulled away, my dad stepped in and crushed me against his chest, causing me to grunt in surprise. He paid it no mind and kissed the top of my head, rubbing a hand over my back. "Come visit whenever you want, Li. You know you're always welcome." He muttered. I nodded into his chest and looked over at my mom, who was, to my surprise, hugging Atlas.

It was admittedly an amusing sight, my small mother hugging Atlas' large frame as he stood there awkwardly, shooting me a look for help. I couldn't help but to giggle to myself as I pulled away from my dad.

When mom pulled away, Atlas scowled at me, not missing the giggles of amusement that left my lips. I just grinned at him and slipped my hand into his, pulling open the front door open. I bid my parents one last goodbye before we left, heading out to my car together. "You looked terrified of being hugged by my mom." I snickered as we got into my car, glancing over at him while I pulled on my seatbelt.

"Uh, yeah. It was...weird." He muttered, rubbing a large hand over the back of his neck. "Not really used to that sort of thing. Motherly affection, I mean." He admitted. "At least not in that form."

I smiled softly at him and stuck my key into the ignition to start the car. "She's nice, though. Honestly, you really take after your mom a lot. Even in the way you laugh. You're both bright and bubbly, and warm." He stated, causing my cheeks to warm with the compliments. Nobody had ever said something like this to me before.

"Y-You don't have to say that." I said shyly, unable to look at him as I reversed out of the driveway. He just chuckled, reaching over to run a hand against my thigh. "Why wouldn't I?" He hummed. "It's true." He insisted with a smirk that tugged at the edge of his mouth, glancing out the window as we began the drive back home. Still blushing, I curled my fingers tighter around the steering wheel and blew out a breath, unable to find anything to say.

Instead we just lapsed into a comfortable silence, his hand remaining on my thigh for the remainder of the drive.