73

~Darlina's POV~

Atlas and I tugged our bags into the little house, though I did so with far more difficulty than he did. I heard the front door swing shut quietly and lock not a moment later, my eyes finding Atlas' when he walked ahead of me and then glanced back at me, nodding his head in a manner that said to follow him.

I followed closely as he led me down the short hallway and into a bedroom, shutting the door behind us. Curiously, I glanced around the room which was decorated very sparingly. It looked like a guest bedroom, and a very rarely used one at that.

"This used to be my bedroom." Atlas told me. "Although none of my stuff is here anymore." He said with a chuckle, setting his bag beside the end of the dresser while I put mine at the foot of the bed frame.

"Somehow this doesn't look very different from your room back home." I teased him with a giggle, causing him to roll his eyes. He plopped down on the surprisingly large bed and gestured for me to come closer, so I stepped up to him, stopping just in front of his parted legs. I gasped when he reached and and tugged me onto his lap, one strong arm around my waist as I shifted on top of him.

My cheeks warmed as I met his eyes, curiously lifting one of my eyebrows at him. "It seems like your mom is actually going to start trying to fix things." I said optimistically, a smile pulling at my lips. His eyes scanned my features as he nodded in agreement, looking rather content about that. "Yeah, it seems like it." He murmured. "I just hope she keeps to it because I don't want to get my hopes up just for her to change her mind."

I smiled softly at him and brushed my fingers through his dark hair, loving how soft the strands felt against my fingertips. "This is a good start though, isn't it? Being here." I pointed out, to which he nodded his head once again, glancing down at my lips.

"What did you say to her, hm?" He asked suddenly, catching me off guard a little. I blinked at him in surprise and furrowed my eyebrows, wondering how he knew I had said something to her. "She had this look on her face when I came back, like she was actually regretting something. And she kept looking at you." He told me, making my lips part in realization. My fingers curled his hair around one digit and I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to determine how he was feeling. "Are you mad that I spoke to her?" I wondered.

He paused. "Depends on what you said." He answered with a slight shrug, pinning me with his stare in an expectant manner. It was clear he expected me to tell him what I had said, so I told him.

"All I said was that you love her a lot and that you just wanted to help her, which is why you attacked Doug. Then I told her that she should be happy because you would want that for her." I said honestly, watching as his lips tugged up into a slight smile and his hand slid lower down my back. He leaned towards me, brushing his mouth against mine. "Sounds like you know me pretty well." He hummed softly, a playful glint in his eye.

A quiet giggle left me as I continued to play with his hair. "I'm gonna assume that means you're not mad at me." I whispered, peering up at him. He chuckled and shook his head, using his free hand to grip my neck in his large hand, causing my heart to race. "Not even a little." He assured me in a low murmur, pulling my face towards him more. "I find it hot that you wanted to stand up for me." He smirked, nipping at my bottom lip. My cheeks warmed and I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly. "Hot?" I repeated quietly. "How?"

His hand on my lower back slid down to grip my butt, squeezing harshly. "Because I love seeing you speak your mind." He muttered, and I squeaked as he gently tightened his tattooed fingers around my neck to tug my chest against his. I flushed, growing a little bit shy about what he was doing.

"Shouldn't we go back to your mom?" I suggested in a whisper, glancing up at him. "S-She's probably waiting for us to come back." I pointed out. He grumbled something incoherent beneath his breath before placing a quick kiss on my lips and patting my butt, allowing me to rise from his lap afterwards. "You're probably right." He grunted, standing from the bed. "Let's go, smalls."

I followed behind him as he began to leave the room, my sock covered feet padding against the floor. I'd kicked my shoes off the second we had entered his old bedroom, as had he.

We returned to the living room and his mom was just standing there, nervously tapping her foot against the worn floors. I lingered by Atlas' side and sat down on the end of the couch, his large frame crowding me against the arm when he joined me. Gracelyn remained standing for a moment before she sat down in a rather old looking rocking chair, much older than the couch that Atlas and I were sitting on. It seemed she'd had it for much longer.

She cleared her throat and tucked her dark hair behind her ear, her eyes flicking back and forth between Atlas and I. "Um, so you two are dating? I mean, like...actually?" She asked, seeming a little bit surprised. I nodded along with Atlas, who glanced down at me while I studied Gracelyn. "Yeah. We only just made things official, technically." I responded to her, a blush creeping up my neck when I felt his muscular arm casually wrap around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.

"Have you known each other for long?" Gracelyn wondered, her eyes solely on her son now. He paused, thinking it over. "Mm, not super long." He answered after a moment. "I met her after I got out. So maybe six months now...?" He trailed, cocking his head to the side.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Oh." She mumbled. "And how did you meet, exactly?" She continued to ask questions, curiously flicking to her gaze to me for a brief moment before switching back to Atlas again. He smiled slightly. "Emmett. You remember him, right?" He said, to which she seemed to perk up at the mention of as she nodded her head, a look of recognition on her face. It seemed like she liked Emmett, which wasn't really a surprise to me at all. Everyone loved Emmett.

"Yes, yes." She nodded quickly. "I didn't know you two were still friends." She stated, and he hummed quietly. "Yep, he's the only one I had who stuck around after everything." Atlas said, shifting to spread his thighs so he was sitting more comfortably. "So when I got out, he invited me to come live with him. Lina and I met then, 'cause she's his roommate." He explained.

Gracelyn zeroed her eyes in on me now. "So you two live together, then?" She asked, at which I found it was my turn to nod. "Yes." I affirmed simply, crossing one leg over the other. "Although it wasn't like he and I immediately got along. Honestly, we weren't even friends for quite a while. We're just really different, and he didn't seem to like that at first." I told her, teasing him only a little bit. He rolled his eyes at that and I giggled, finding it funny.

For a moment she just looked at me, and then the edge of her lips twitched up so slightly I almost thought I imagined it. "Yes," She hummed quietly. "Yes, I can tell already that you two are quite different. Atlas has always been a little bit grumpy, even when he was a kid." She told me, causing a smile to form on my face. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me whatsoever." I admitted with a grin. It surprised me a bit when she laughed in response, and I couldn't help but to notice that she had a really pretty smile.

"He used to be a little hellion." She recalled, a smile on her lips. "Would run around the neighborhood ding dong ditching people, then he'd pretend like it wasn't him and they could never prove it 'cause he was too fast for them to see him. And when he was a teen, he'd go down to this river just a few minutes away with his friends and drink with girls and guys, even though I told him he shouldn't be doin' that sort of thing." She said, shooting him a look that he just shrugged his shoulders at.

"It was just some fun." He stated defensively, glancing down at me. "But you'd probably love the river she's talkin' about. I never been much of a nature person, but even I think it's beautiful there." He told me.

I smiled up at him and cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Are you offering to show me it?" I asked, briefly casting my gaze down to his lips before looking him in the eye again. "If that's what you want, smalls." He responded with a nod, playing with the ends of my blonde hair.

My eyes found Gracelyn's again, who was observing Atlas with a slight tilt of her head. I could tell she was thinking of something, though I couldn't say what. "You seem...happier now." She remarked to her son, causing his attention to divert to her. He hesitated slightly and then smiled a bit. "I am." He agreed. "It wouldn't be right to say I've changed, though." He hummed, continuing to play with my hair absentmindedly. I couldn't help but to snicker and nod in agreement. "Yeah, he's still pretty grumpy." I added playfully.

A giggle escaped her at my words, clearly finding it amusing. I smiled at her, leaning into Atlas' side, and she glanced at a clock that was hung up on the wall, ticking slowly. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, I didn't realize it was this late already." She said as she stood up from the couch, looking down at the two of us again.

"You two stay here." She said. "I'll make dinner."