by T. L Smith
I write back.
I’m fine, just an altercation with my sister
I don’t know if he replies because I turn my cell off and lay back down, trying to relax. My nerves are shot to pieces right now.
“Tell me you will stop, Thea? Please stop seeking Lucy out,” Tina pleads.
We’ve been in the hospital for hours and the pain medications they gave me have finally kicked in. They ended up stitching my hand as I cut it deeply.
“I will.”
She smiles, pleased with my simple answer, as the doctor walks back in.
“Your ribs are bruised and can take anywhere from three to six weeks to heal.”
Tina clutches my hand as the doctor finishes telling me, “You need to be careful and not do anything that will cause pain.”
“Do you want me to call Atlas?” Tina asks as we leave.
“No,” I reply, and I mean it.
We head home. I just want some sleep.
My weekend consists of me sitting on my couch and doing nothing. Tina pops in and out and brings me food when I need it, but she doesn’t stay long. She’s an event planner and has started her own business, so weekends for her are the busiest times. I thank her and tell her not to worry about me every time she slips in for a few minutes.
Flowers also come, and I’m confused as I read the card from Nicholas.
A rose for each tear.
When Monday rolls around, I call in sick. It still hurts to move, so I let the girls know as well as Sydney I can’t make it in. On Tuesday, I do the same, being stuck on my couch and in a lot of pain. On Tuesday night, there is a knock on my door, and when I finally get up to open it, Atlas is standing there, his eyes locked onto mine.
“You don’t care for work anymore?” he asks. Then, when his eyes finally move, and he sees me dressed in my robe, he states, “Are you even sick?”
“Yes,” I say while lifting one hand to shut the door, but I can’t help the grimace.
He stops me and grabs my arm. “Why do you have stitches?”
Atlas enters my home and shuts the door behind him. I take a step back, and he reaches for my robe, opening it, which isn’t hard considering it wasn’t tied. When he looks down, his eyes zoom in on my ribs and something happens, something about his eyes, and in that moment, I am utterly terrified of him.
Not hand to my throat scared, as I was when I first met him. No, more like run despite the pain. All I can see and hear is Atlas. My body ignores everything around us as I take a tentative step back, ready to make an escape from him to keep myself alive.
His fists are clenched, his brows scrunched in determination as his lips thin in anger. His nostrils flare, and his once amber eyes seem to turn completely black. When he opens his mouth to speak, his voice has dropped even lower. Now it’s dark, darker than I ever thought possible. “Who. Did. This?”
I shake my head and close the robe, snatching it away from his grasp.
“Theadora! Who. Did. This?”
“Don’t worry, it was an accident.” His brows, which were stitched together, loosen as he looks at me. “This involves Lucy, doesn’t it?” Atlas shakes his head and steps farther into my home. He walks past me and heads into my living room to stand in front of my television, and then, all of a sudden, he starts pacing back and forth. “Lucy was getting help where she was. I had doctors for her,” he tells me, and I am stunned by his words. “She was seeing a psychiatrist I paid for. Your sister has a fucked-up way of thinking.”
“You were helping her,” I ask in almost a whisper.
“Yes.”
“So, why did you make me do everything?”
“She still owed me money, Theadora. I may be a cold-hearted prick, but I always get what’s owed to me.” And I believe him. “Now tell me… did this involve Lucy?”
“Why does she think she’s in love with you?”
He stops moving and turns to face me. “So, you did see her?”
“Yes, I saw her. Tell me, Atlas.”
“She only thinks she is because I have been one of the only men in her life who has turned her down. Your sister doesn’t like rejection. Actually, she can’t handle it at all.”
I already knew this. Lucy was like that growing up, and especially in school. If a guy rejected her, she would find a way to make him want her, and they always did. When I had my first real relationship when I was eighteen, Lucy didn’t like that, so to spite me, one day when I got home, I caught them in bed together.
Lucy is used to getting what she wants out of men; I guess Atlas was the one exception to her rule
“You never were with her?” I ask again, pulling my robe tightly around my waist but being careful as I do.
“No, never. I don’t lie. Your sister doesn’t interest me. Most women don’t, beyond a bed companion.”
I don’t comment on that, keeping my lips sealed tight.
“She is married. Why would she do that if she loves you?” I ask.
“I’ll answer that when you tell me the truth about what happened,” he asks, waving his hand toward my closed gown. “And don’t lie, Theadora, I don’t like it. What happened?”
“Why haven’t I heard from you all week?”
“You are seeing another man, Theadora.”
“No, I’m not, Atlas,” I bite back. I move to the couch and start sitting carefully, and as I do, he is by my side helping me sit.
“Zander is much like your sister, be careful of him,” he tells me, leaning in closer, his breath tickling my neck. As I look up at him, his lips are in front of mine, and I want to kiss them.
“No one is like Lucy. It’s next to impossible to be like her.” I sit back slowly.
“Just as there is no one like you,” he tells me.
My eyes lift to him. “I think you should leave. I will be back at work the minute I can move properly. I have already asked Sydney to bring my computer over, so I can do some work from home.”
Atlas stands, brushing his hands down the side of his jeans. “You don’t have to worry about work. It’s under control,” he says, walking to the door and leaving me on the couch. “I’ll be back for dinner. Curry it is,” he says, stepping out before I can tell him no. He doesn’t let me choose. He never does. He just goes ahead and does it for me, and I’m always surprised he seems to purchase what I like.
Curry is one of my favorite foods.
And Atlas is my least favorite person.
That’s a lie.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Atlas
I find it next to impossible to step out of her house, but I need to leave.
What the fuck happened to Theadora? And why won’t she tell me?
It has to do with Lucy, I just know it. It’s always about Lucy, so I call her cell, and she answers straight away.
“Atlas,” she says in a sing-song voice.
“Where are you, Lucy?”
“I’m out shopping, of course, now you don’t have me in lockdown.”
“As far as I am concerned, you need to stay locked up, Lucy,” I tell her. “It was your sister who asked for you to be let go.”
“Thea?” I can almost see the eye roll attached to that word. “You just don’t see her for who she is. No one does but me.”
“Where are you?” I ask, ignoring her smart-ass comment about her sister. She tells me where she is, and I go to her. When I arrive, she’s standing out the front, her bags in hand, sunglasses on her face, while she waits for me in her short, red skirt. Stepping out, she lights a cigarette and smirks as she blows the smoke toward me.
“Have you missed me, Atlas? It’s been days since you last saw me.” She puckers her lips and blows me a kiss. “What about a kiss for old times’ sake?”
“It’s sir to you, Lucy…” I pause. “We’ve never kissed, Lucy, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. When was the last time you saw Theadora?”
Lucy’s eyebrows rise at her sister’s name. “You call her Theadora, and she calls you Atlas
. You correct me when I call you by your first name. Why not her?”
“She gets the privilege,” I tell her. “Now, tell me, Lucy, what did you do to your sister?” She stands and offers me her bags. “I’ll tell you things if you take me for a drink. I’m thirsty.”
“Lucy, do not play me for a fool.”
“Drink or no info, Atlas. It’s as easy as that.”
“Where is your husband, Lucy?”
She shrugs. “Working.”
Benji and I were once exceptionally good friends. Until he fell in love with Lucy. That was when he lost all his senses, and all he can see is her. He has tunnel vision now and can’t see what kind of person she is. Lucy doesn’t love Benji, she loves what he gives her. And it’s whatever she wants.
“Shouldn’t you be spending time with him?”
She pushes her bags to me again. “Drinks, and I will give you the info on my sister you are seeking.”
I take her damn bags, and she slides up next to me, locking her arm in mine as we start walking.
“This will be fun. Instead of me sucking up to your clients, I always hoped it would be you buying me drinks instead.” She sighs as we walk into the bar. I hold the door open for her as she steps in front of me, entering first. I watch as Lucy prances like she is God’s gift to all men and sits on a couch. She pats the spot next to her, but I take the seat opposite. Sitting next to her is never going to happen.
“Do you even care? Not once have you asked me if she is okay.” I lean forward, my elbows on my knees.
“The fact you are here tells me she’s fine.” Lucy smiles and waves down a waiter, ordering two drinks for herself, and she looks at me. I shake my head as he leaves to get her order. “Tell me, Atlas, what is it about her?”
“She is everything you aren’t,” I tell her honestly.
Lucy’s mouth opens and closes, her eyes narrow as she leans forward. “I’m more. Better than her. Always have been,” she tells me.
“You aren’t. But typical of you to think you are.”
“Fuck you!”
“Oh, so that’s your sore spot. Why?” I ask her out of curiosity.
“She gets whatever she wants. Even the things she doesn’t want, she gets.”
“From what I’ve seen, Lucy, your sister hardly asks for anything, and works damn hard for what she has.” My anger has spiked at her words.
“You are blind to her, most men are. It’s why I have fun stealing them away from her.” She smirks.
“You’re married, Lucy.”
“So it seems,” she says, looking down to the ring on her hand.
“Tell me, Lucy, do you love him?”
Her eyes gloss over as she smiles. “A little. But not as much as I love you.”
“You don’t know me enough to love me, Lucy. Now, tell me about what happened to your sister.”
She throws her hair over her shoulder as the waiter puts her drinks down. I pay for them, and he leaves, then she picks one up, drinking it and looking at me over the rim of her glass.
“She was mouthing off at me.” She shrugs. “Pulled me away from Benji and started screaming.”
“Why was she screaming?”
“Why do you want all the details?” she questions.
“Tell me, Lucy.”
“Okay, okay. Then Benji came over, and as he pulled her off me, Thea had the nerve to whack him between the legs and knock him to the ground. He couldn’t even get it up that night, thanks to her,” she whines.
“How did she end up with bruised ribs, Lucy?”
Lucy waves her hand. “Benji was not impressed with what she did, so he knocked her down and kicked her.”
My feet are moving before anyone can stop me. I can hear Lucy saying something behind me, but I don’t give two fucks. I drive straight to Benji’s house, knowing that’s where he works from, and when I don’t find him there, my fists start slamming into walls and trashing his desk.
He laid hands on her.
He hurt her badly.
He will pay.
Calling him, my hand stops punching shit when he answers, “Atlas.”
“You laid hands on Theadora?”
“She deserved it. She had her hands on my wife,” he replies.
“Your wife is an evil bitch, and you fucking beat an innocent woman who did nothing but look out for her sinister fucking sister.”
“She fucking punched me in the balls. She deserved the beating she got. She’s lucky that was all I gave her.”
“You better hope I don’t see you soon, Benji, because I’m going to do to you what you did to her, plus more.”
“Atlas, we are basically brothers.”
“I don’t give two fucks. You drove over the line in the sand.” I hang up, and when I leave, I leave a trail of lighter fluid on the floor, and when I walk out, I let the match drop.
I let myself into Theadora’s house when I arrive back. She’s curled up on the couch watching a movie. I sit next to her, pulling the table closer so we can eat.
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. Tina comes and visits, and she brings me food every day.”
“She’s a good friend,” I tell her. As I finish speaking, the door opens and in walks Tina. She smiles when she sees me sitting next to Theadora and takes one of the opposite seats.
“You got food already,” Tina asks, tucking her feet underneath her. “Good, saves me ordering.”
“Eat, I brought plenty,” I say, nodding to the food laid out on the table. Theadora nods encouragingly, and Tina does just that, helping herself.
“I saw your sister today,” I say, looking at Theadora. She pauses and looks to Tina, then back to me.
“How was she?”
“Nope. No, you do not care. Her husband beat you up, and she stood there as if you weren’t hurting at all. Fuck Lucy, I say.”
Yep, she’s a good friend, that one. Theadora chose right, Lucy is fucked-up in every way possible.
“She just stood there?” I ask Tina.
Tina nods before replying with, “Yep. That’s one hell of a bitch—”
“I survived, that’s the main thing,” Theadora interrupts before picking up another piece of chicken and placing it in her mouth.
“So, Atlas, tell me your intentions with my girl.” Tina smiles mischievously, then wiggles her brows.
I turn to look to Theadora to see she’s already watching me. “What intentions do you want?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Theadora replies.
“Okay, one step at a time.”
We eat, we laugh, and when I walk Tina out, she threatens me with bodily harm if I upset or hurt Theadora.
I definitely like Tina, and I don’t like many people.
When I walk back to Theadora, I lean down and pick her up. She goes to wrap her arms around my neck, but flinches when she does so.
“I thought you weren’t one of those guys who does this?” she teases as I get to her bedroom and lay her on the bed as carefully as possible.
“It seems I make exceptions for you.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I will do nothing but break your heart, Theadora. They called me ‘the heartbreak’ for a reason growing up.”
“Heartbreak me, and I will heartbreak you, Atlas Hyde. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime, and the next time someone hurts me, I won’t sit by idly and just let them.”
“Unless it’s your sister, right?” I get undressed and slide into bed next to her.
She groans at my words. “You’re starting to sound like Tina,” she mumbles.
“Tina is a smart woman.”
“I’ll tell her you said that. I’m sure it will make her head big, though.”
“Tell me where I can touch you,” I ask, whispering in her ear.
She pauses and looks at my hovering hand above her, her soft fingers grip hold and pull it down so it touches her stomach, and then she covers it with her own fingers.
“No higher,” she says.
“And no lower?” I ask.
“Gentle,” she speaks, answering me.
I push myself closer to her, so my front is on her back while my hand skims down her stomach to her panties. Pushing them to the side, my finger touches her folds. A soft moan leaves her lips, and she attempts to move.
“Stay still, or I’ll stop,” I tell her.
Theadora shakes her head, but she listens.
I push a finger in and kiss behind her neck until I get to her ear, biting it. “I like you, Theadora Fitzgerald.” When I kiss around to her jaw, I see her eyes are shut as she answers me, “I like you to, Atlas Hyde.” She whispers like it’s a truth she never wanted out in the open. “But you are still an ass.”
I chuckle at her words and push my finger in hard. She moans as my thumb presses on her clit, circling it slowly. Pressing in and out, I insert another finger, and she moans louder.
I feel her come not long after, when her sweet pussy tightens around my fingers, and she tries hard to stay as still as she can while moans leave her mouth. Pulling my fingers out, I resume where I was next to her.
“Have you thought maybe it’s just about the sex,” she whispers.
“It can’t be,” I tell her honestly. “I have sex with different women, and none make me come back like you do.”
“That isn’t very encouraging, knowing you are fucking other women.”
“None since you.” I watch her breathing stop at my words.
“I’ve had enough hurt to last me a lifetime, Atlas.” I don’t say a word, because that’s not something I can guarantee her. “So, walk away if you think you will break my heart before it’s too late,” she whispers.
But that’s impossible to do.
To walk away from her.
I’ve tried and failed.
Chapter Thirty
Theadora
Atlas goes to work and comes back every night that week, and every time, he brings me food. Tina stops after the second night, knowing he’s doing it, and she smiles as she leaves. They like each other, and I like that they do. Atlas doesn’t like many people, but, for some reason, he seems to like Tina.
