“Do you want me to kill Lucy and just end all of this? Would that be easier than dealing with me?”
Cold wind hits my bare legs as I freeze on the spot.
He can’t be serious? Can he?
“No.” My eyes blink, but I will never allow tears to fall. I would not give him that pleasure. “No,” I whisper, but know he hears me.
“Good! Shut the door and start walking.”
I step back and shut the door. My legs shake as I watch his car drive off and start my trek home, but first I remove my sky-high heels.
It took a few miles of walking until I got to the first turn off. Once I made it that far, I ordered an Uber, which I am getting out of right now.
Atlas is standing at his car in front of my house with his legs crossed over at the ankle as he watches me slide out. When I close the door, I walk toward him, but he doesn’t move, just stares at me with his brazen eyes.
“I’m too damn tired and cold to deal with you.” I shake my head and walk up the few steps to my door.
“What if I offered you a deal you couldn’t refuse?” he asks.
It makes me stop. As I slowly turn around to face him, my heart starts beating widely out of my chest.
Watching him push off from the car, he swipes at his bottom lip with his thumb, then looks at me through a flick of hair that seems to have fallen lose from its perfect coiffure.
“What offer?”
He steps forward, knowing he has me. “Do you love her? Is that why you wish to save her?” Atlas asks, his head dropping slightly to the side.
“Yes, she is my sister. Of course I love her.”
He nods his head. “But do you like her?”
“What kind of question is that?” I remark while shaking my head.
“Answer the question, Theadora. You can love someone and not like them. Do you like her?”
“How would you know?”
I’m surprised when he answers me. “I love my father, but I do not like him.” His eyes blaze into mine, and I can almost see the flickering of flames in them. “So, do you like her?” he asks again.
“No,” I utter the word but don’t break eye contact. “But I am all she has. And I would hope someone would do the same for me if I were in the same situation.”
“You think Lucy would save you?” he asks as if he has trouble saying the words.
“No. No, I do not.” I let the realization of that sink in, and I start to shake. I’m cold and just want to be in bed, forget about all of this, if only for a few hours.
“Goodnight, Theadora.”
“Do you like to control and scare people into what you want them to be?” I ask while opening my front door. Stepping inside, ready to shut the door, I notice he’s watching me intently.
“Yes, and it works.” Atlas gets into his car, leaving me standing there wondering what type of man I am in business with.
And how the fuck do I get out of this mess I am in.
“Thea! Thea!” My name is yelled, but I bury myself in my bed even farther. “Thea, get your ass up out of bed, we’re meant to be running today, and you make me do this shit all the time, even when I want to flake out on you. So get up.” Something lands on my head, and I pull the covers back.
“Tina, really?” I pull the covers back over my head.
“Aren’t you happy you gave me a key?” She laughs, and then pulls all the blankets from my bed, leaving me with only a pillow. “You do this to me, so now it’s payback, baby. Which I might add, I thought the day would never come.” Tina laughs, jumping on my bed. “Sleeping in? Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
“I had a big night. I just want to sleep.”
“If you don’t run, you’ll have a bad day, we all know this.” I ignore her words, closing my eyes. “When was the last time you ran, Thea?”
“Fucking fine! I’m getting up.” I throw the pillow and slide out of bed to get changed.
Tina watches me, waiting for me to answer her question, so she repeats it, “Thea, when was the last time you ran?”
“Last week.”
Her mouth goes wide. “A week?” She shakes her head. “You never go that long. What’s wrong?”
“Ready?” I ask, putting on my sneakers and tying my hair back.
“You’re avoiding my question. It’s Lucy, isn’t it?”
“Tina, let’s just run.”
She nods and doesn’t push me further; I know she will once we’re done, though. When we step outside, I see a familiar black car pulling up at the front of my house. I start running, and Tina isn’t that far behind me. For someone who complains that I make her run with me, she’s pretty good at it.
We don’t talk. We usually don’t, but I can feel her stare penetrating me the whole way there and back. By the time we arrive back at the house, the car is still there and so is he.
Why is he here?
Tina comes to a stop next to me and clutches my hand in hers. “Who is that man?” Her voice is raised a little louder than a whisper.
I can’t blame her for wanting to know.
Atlas isn’t dressed as he was last night, he’s dressed in ripped jeans and a white shirt showcasing a lot of his ink, and not just a flower up his arm, no his arms are covered in black ink. I thought he had some tattoos from the ones I saw peeking up his neck, but I did not expect this many.
Risking a glance, I see his eyes lock onto mine.
Tina nudges me again as we walk closer. I totally think about ignoring him. The last thing I need is for him to be a fixture in my life, and my co-workers and friends knowing about him. But I know Tina will not let this go either.
“Tina, this is Atlas.”
I watch as she steps forward, her chest rising and falling as she walks toward him offering him her hand. He looks to it, then looks at me. I raise an eyebrow, waiting to see what he will do. He’s the one who’s showed up at my place on a Sunday morning with no warning after leaving me to fend for myself last night.
“Tina.” He takes her hand, leans down, letting his lips brush against her knuckles before he stands and offers her a small smile.
“Oh my God, if you don’t marry him, Thea, I will.” Tina turns, walks over to me, kisses my cheek, and whispers, “I hope you’re hitting that. Hard.”
I can’t help but giggle at her words before she waves and disappears to her car.
I focus back on Atlas who is now leaning against his car again with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips puckered.
I wonder what he’s thinking. What is flying around in that head of his that makes him keep coming back? It can’t just be what my sister owes him. If he thought I was going to run, I would have done so already. And I like to run.
“You haven’t been running this week.”
I wipe a stray piece of hair from my face as he watches me. “I’ve been busy. You’ve kept me busy.”
“That I have,” he agrees.
“Now, if you would kindly tell me why you are here, that would be great.”
Atlas pushes off the car and steps to me, looks up at my door, and then back to me. “You should run more,” he says, as if he knows everything, then he turns back to his car.