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~Darlina's POV~

I nervously fretted around in my room as I got ready to leave a few days later, the reality that I would be meeting Atlas' mom in a matter of a few hours only now setting in. I was so nervous I thought I might puke, and we hadn't even left the apartment yet.

Atlas had decided yesterday that it would be best if perhaps we stayed a few days with his mom, as he and I both had a few days off, so I was now rushing around to pack a bag. I might've been too lazy to do it last night, though I probably should have.

After I got dressed in a cute blue minidress with a lace white cardigan thrown over the top, I slid on a pair of baby blue socks and began to pack the rest of my things into a bag. If things went well when he and I arrived today, then Atlas wanted to stay for two or three days with her, just to catch up a little. I packed with this in mind, silently hoping to myself that things wouldn't go awry when we arrived. Despite the fact that Atlas had seemed so nervous about seeing her again, I think a part of him was perhaps a little bit excited as well. He hadn't seen her in a long time, after all.

When I finished packing, I grabbed my purse and looped it over my shoulder before dragging my bag behind me, thankful for its wheels. There was no way I'd be able to carry it if there weren't.

My eyes found Atlas' tall frame when I entered the living room, where he was talking to Emmett near the entrance of the kitchen. Emmett looked to be pouting. "Are you sure I don't need to come with you?" He asked, sounding genuinely worried. I hid a smile and sat down on the couch so the two of them could talk, finding their friendship cute. Despite their bickering, Emmett really wanted to be there for Atlas if Atlas needed him. They had a good friendship with one another, which I was very happy for.

While I was sitting on the couch, waiting for the two of them to finish talking, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approach after a few moments. I looked up and smiled when my eyes met Atlas' gaze, adjusting my purse. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.

I nodded and stood up, clutching to the handle of my suitcase. "Yep." I chirped, my belly churning nervously. He nodded in the direction of the front door and headed to grab my keys off the table by the entry way, waiting for me to walk over to him before opening the door to leave. I waved to Emmett as we exited the apartment, who pouted and waved back at me.

He slid his hand into mine after locking the door and twirled my car keys around his pointer finger on his other hand, leading me down the hallway. I followed behind him, wanting to offer to drive due to the fact that he was a little too tall to even sit comfortably in my vehicle, but I didn't know where his mom's house was located. Rolling my lips into my mouth, I stayed quiet, deciding to let him drive even though I felt a bit bad that he might be uncomfortable during the drive.

We headed out to my car and I slid into the passenger seat while Atlas huffed as he hunched over to get into the driver's seat, pushing the seat all the way back. "Are you alright?" I asked him while I buckled my seatbelt, a little concerned.

"Yeah, but your car is tiny as fuck." He muttered, tugging on his seatbelt as well before he backed out of the spot and peeled out of the apartment's parking lot. My cheeks burned as I studied the side of his handsome face, his tattooed hands clenching tightly around the steering wheel. "Are you nervous?" I asked him softly, curious. He gave a simple, curt nod of his head that told me he was more than just a little bit nervous. I felt rather bad for him. Nobody should have to be nervous to see their mom.

"I'm sure it'll go just fine." I tried to reassure him, reaching over to brush my fingers against his thigh comfortingly. He spared a quick glance towards me as he pulled up to a stop light at a four way intersection. "I sure fuckin' hope so." He sighed heavily.

**

At some point during the car ride, I must've fallen asleep because I was suddenly being woken up by a large hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake.

I stirred and opened my eyes, a frown on my lips until I realized that the car was no longer moving and we were now parked in a driveway. My heart skipped a beat as I momentarily panicked and sat up, looking around curiously. "We're here already?" I gasped to Atlas, looking over at him with surprise on my face.

He nodded, running a hand through his nervously as he glanced away from me to look out the windshield, eyeing the front door. "Yeah." He mumbled, and I could actually hear the dread in his voice for the first time. I brushed a fallen strand of hair back behind my ear and stepped out of the car, my back popping when I stood straight and stretched my arms above my head with a satisifed groan. A moment later, Atlas got out of the car as well, though with a little more reluctance than I did.

My eyes found his and I smiled softly at him as I rounded the front of the car, grasping his hand in mine. "Do you need a moment?" I asked him, not wanting to rush him to go up there if he wasn't ready.

However, Atlas shook his head. "No." He decided with a sigh. "I just wanna get this shit over with." He stated, tightening his hand around mine before he began to lead me up the driveway. I scanned the house and saw that it was a little run down looking, the driveway filled with cracks. It wasn't the nicest looking house, nor the nicest looking area.

Still, I stood patiently beside Atlas when he knocked on the front door harshly, practically banging his fist against it. From inside, I couldn't hear anything at all. It was so quiet that I almost thought maybe she wasn't home, but the car in the driveway told me otherwise.

Then, the door opened.

The woman that answered the door looked annoyed, but she was still rather pretty even with the slight scowl on her face. Her hair was black and fell just above her shoulders, bangs falling into her dark blue eyes that very closely resembled Atlas' ones. She had a few wrinkles around her eyes and thin lips, in contrast to Atlas' plumper pair, and her skin was a few shades paler than his. I noticed that she stood a few inches taller than me yet she was still significantly shorter than him and she looked rather frail.

When her eyes landed on Atlas, shock crossed her face first and I couldn't help but to get my hopes up for a split second, but they fell to the floor when she suddenly scowled up at him. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked him, not seeming to even notice my presence. I squeezed Atlas' hand in mine, having seen the way his face fell slightly, not with surprise but disappointment. He had clearly been expecting her to react this way, but I knew it still affected him regardless.

"I thought I made it clear that I don't want anything to do with you after what you did." She stated harshly, grabbing the handle to slam the door in our faces. Before she could, he reached out and pressed his hand against the front door, stopping it from shutting without much effort.

Atlas forced it to stay open as she glared up at him, standing between the door and the door frame. "Remove your hand, Atlas." She demanded, which went completely ignored. "No." He refused outright. "We need to talk, ma." He sighed, staring down at her with a frown on his face. "It's been over four years. Won't you ever see what I did for what it was and not what you made it out to be? Won't you listen to me for once?" He asked.

She stared at him as she scoffed, brows furrowing. "You tried to kill my boyfriend!" She exclaimed, and I pursed my lips to force myself to remain silent. This wasn't a matter that I was involved in and I didn't want to butt into something that had nothing to do with me. It was something that needed to be resolved between the two of them.

"Would you have preferred that I just let him do whatever the fuck he wanted? We both know what would've happened if I didn't do anything, ma. Why are you punishing me for trying to help you?" He asked, beginning to grow just as frustrated as her. She just stared up at him, pursing her lips at his words with a stubborn look on her face. Somehow I felt like she knew he was right, but she obviously didn't want to admit that to him.

"You could've done plenty of other things if you wanted to help." She whispered, looking away from him with a frown on her lips. He sighed heavily and squeezed my hand in his, pulling me closer to him absentmindedly. "Well, it's too late to agonize over that type of shit now." He responded matter of factly, his voice coming out a mutter.

His eyes stayed on his mom as she stared down at the ground, looking like she was thinking hard about something. "Can we please come in, ma? I just want to talk with you." He insisted once more, keeping his voice quiet as if scared speaking loud would make her reject him. Yet to both of our surprise, she opened the door and it was then that her eyes finally landed on me, only now noticing that I was standing right beside her son. She frowned, confused.

"Um, who is this?"

**

A/N: decided to update once more before the new years comes in a few days and say i hope you all had a happy holidays and that i hope you're well and will have a happy new year too :) ily and tysm for all the support.