Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
Atlas
It’s been a week since Cora was hospitalized. I haven’t left her side unless I’ve been thrown out by one of the nurses, or when the Morgans demand some time. Noah has been in and out. I tried to send him to school one day but got a call to pick him up.
After giving the guidance counselor an abbreviated version of things, I lied through my teeth and assured her I’d try to get him to make it a full day. I knew their winter break was coming up anyway. I just count my lucky stars Cora never took me off his list of approved people to pick him up.
“Noah, Cora needs you to be at school.”
He stares out the window as I pull away from the building. “Well, I need Cora home,” he spits out.
Same. “Come on, let’s visit Emma. I want to show you something.” He starts to protest, but I follow it up with, “Then we can go see Cora.” I know the doctors were doing some tests this afternoon, so I have some time to kill.
Pulling into Emma’s, I park and take Noah in. Being here again with him makes me think of Thanksgiving and my colossal fuckup. It’s not a pleasant thought, so I push it away. Emma comes out of the kitchen and looks between the two of us, then at the clock on the wall.
“No school today?” She quirks a brow.
“Nope. Early winter vacation,” I lie. Noah stands silently by my side, looking at the floor.
“How about I make you boys some lunch?” she offers, making Noah’s head perk up.
“Thanks, Em.” I follow her into the kitchen, Noah trailing behind me.
“Of course. It’s cold as shit outside. How does grilled cheese sound? I have some soup in the freezer.”
“Chicken soup?” he asks, probably remembering the time I brought it for them when they were sick.
“Of course. What kind of mom would I be if I didn’t have chicken soup?” She laughs.
“But Atlas calls you Emma, not mom.”
Looking between the two of us, Emma smiles, then explains, “I’m his foster mom, Noah.”
“What’s a foster mom?”
“It means”—I turn to look at him—“that Emma didn’t give birth to me, but she chose to take care of me.”
“Are your parents dead too?”
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. Sometimes I hope they are because the alternative makes me sick. Not wanting your own child is something I don’t think I’ll ever understand. Noah isn’t my son biologically, but I’d move heaven and earth for him.
“Oh. So, is Kash really your brother?”
I guess he has a favorite. “Yes. Kash, Rhett, and Seth are my brothers in all the ways that matter.”
“And just as big of a handful as you were.” Emma laughs, pointing at me. I know what a shit I was as a teenager, but I don’t want Noah to hear all about it. There will be time for that when he’s older.
“Where are your kids?” he asks Emma. His innocent question makes us both freeze. It’s a loaded question.
Sitting sandwiches on the table, Emma joins us and focuses her full attention on Noah. “I didn’t have babies of my own,” she starts with a sad smile. “But I knew I wanted to be a mom, so when I had the chance to take in Atlas and the others, I took it.”
“Like how Cora takes care of me?”
“Exactly like that.” Emma ruffles his hair like I’ve seen Cora do dozens of times. “He couldn’t stay where he was, so I took him in, and now he’s my son,” she says simply, shifting her eyes to me.
I freeze mid-bite and stare at her. I always thought of her as my foster mom, but somewhere along the way, I realized I should have dropped the ‘foster’ part. She’s been more of a mother to me than any other person, including the one who gave me life.
“So does that mean you’re going to be like my dad?” Noah asks, looking at me.
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Noah.
I’ll be your dad, or your friend. I’m not going anywhere.
You, me, and Cora are a unit, and as soon as she wakes up, you can tell her what you want me to be.
I’m okay with whatever you choose. Just know that it’s not only me you’re getting, but Emma and the guys too. ”
I smile at him and try to pretend my entire world hasn’t just tilted on its axis.
It’s clear Noah has accepted me, so now I just have to work on Cora.
If she doesn’t hear me out, I’ll just have to kidnap her and keep her until she understands.
Maybe I should move my stuff into her house before she gets out.
She’s going to need help after all, and I’ll be the best nurse she’s ever had.
“Hey, Noah. Wanna help me with something before we go see Cora today?”
Emma looks my way and freezes when she sees my expression. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smile, popping the last piece of my sandwich into my mouth.
It’s nearly three hours later when we pull into the hospital.
I didn’t think it would take so long to pack up my stuff and move it into Cora’s.
Most of the furniture I left behind, but I have plans to get my bed moved over sooner.
It’s bigger than hers and more comfortable. She’ll need it for her recovery.
Kash is taking over my lease. I’d get charged a bunch for breaking it, and he needs somewhere new that psycho Bri doesn’t know about—finally a win.
Heading up to her room, I’m shocked to find Matt coming out of it.
He freezes in the doorway when his eyes meet mine.
“Go ahead, Noah, I’ll join you in a second.
” I gesture, not taking my eyes off Matt.
He must really have a death wish. I’ve already skinned one guy for her; if he keeps this up, I may make it two.
Seth took care of Aidan’s body for me. Apparently, the old farmer down the road has a pig farm, and he wasn’t too happy to hear about an ex-felon abusing a woman. He simply told Seth to lock the gate when he finished visiting his ‘bacon bits.’
“Don’t say a word. I just need you to listen.” I step closer to him. “Cora is mine. Noah is mine. As long as you get that through your skull, I’ll allow you to continue to breathe.”
“Easy, crazy guy.” He holds his hands up in surrender. “One black eye was enough.”
What a pussy. A black eye would never put me off Cora. Just more proof he never deserved her.
“Dane and Noah are friends, and Cora and I are just friends. I was hoping for more, but I can tell her heart is somewhere else. Don’t hurt her, Atlas.
” Stepping closer to me, he leans in. “You may be slightly bigger than me, and covered in tattoos, but you don’t scare me.
Just remember, I have access to countless drugs and medications and could make your untimely death look natural.
” He steps back and clasps my shoulder with a smile.
Maybe I underestimated him. His threats don’t faze me, though. Pushing past him, I go in and find my Firefly still asleep. When the swelling in her brain went down, the doctors pulled out the medication keeping her under. Now she just has to wake up on her own time.
Pulling up a chair, I grab her hand and squeeze it, letting her know I’m here. “Wake up, Firefly. Let me see those blue eyes, baby.” I kiss her hand, but she doesn’t stir. It’s killing me that she won’t wake up.
“I miss Cora,” Noah says softly.
Offering him a small smile, I nod. “I miss her too.”
Resting my head on her warm hand, I find a small bit of comfort knowing she’s still here.
A new voice at the door breaks my train of thought. “Hey, little man!” Kash grins at Noah as he walks in.
“Kash!” Noah runs over and hugs him.
He leans down and picks Noah up. It’s a ridiculous vision. His blond hair is tied back as usual, shaved at the sides, tattoos on full display. Black jeans and a hoodie are all he wears. I swear, Kash doesn’t own an actual coat. It’s a stark contrast to the innocent kid he holds in his hands.
“I want to take you for a snack. Someone else is here to visit,” he says, nodding behind him to Seth. We haven’t really talked since everything went down, and it feels like there’s an elephant in the room between us now.
“Atlas, can I go with Kash?”
“Yeah, Atlas, can he go with me?” Kash asks, giving me a pouty face.
I nod. “Fine, but not a whole bunch of sugar this time.”
“I hear nothing!” Kash says, setting Noah on the ground. “Let’s go, little man.”
As soon as they leave, I turn to Seth. “Thank you.”
He looks at me in confusion. “What are you thanking me for? This shit is my fault.”
Shaking my head, I gesture toward the chair Noah was occupying at the foot of Cora’s bed. Seth sits down and looks from me to Cora.
“She looks so fucking small. I hate this.”
“I fucking loathe it. I need her back.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Seth admits quietly. “I was only worried about you, but I can see it was misplaced.” He sighs. “I’m so fucking sorry, Atlas.”
“I’m not Noah’s father. I’m letting him decide what he wants me to be. One day I will be Cora’s husband, and we’ll have kids of our own.”
“I hope they look like her,” Seth cuts in, huffing a laugh.
“Oh, they will.” I laugh in agreement. “They’ll be magnificent. I just need her to come back to me.”
“When you landed with us and Emma, I never thought you’d stay,” he confesses after a beat.
Giving Seth my full attention, I notice he looks nervous.
“I told Emma she should send you back.”
“You did what?”
“I did. I was a shithead kid, and I knew you had this darkness to you. You were always angry, and you never talked to any of us. That night you stole Emma’s car, God, I wanted to throttle you.”
“She should have left me where she found me”
“Probably.” He laughs. “But she didn’t. She saw something in all of us that no one else ever cared to look for.
She saved each of us. I forgot somewhere along the way that family isn’t just your blood, it’s who you choose.
You chose Cora, and I wasn’t ready for that. I didn’t think you were either.”
“I have been waiting for her my entire life; I just didn’t know it. I never believed I would deserve someone to love me, let alone someone with as much light in their soul as she has.” I close my eyes, resting my head on Cora’s arm.
“And Noah?”
“He’s a bonus. She’s the other half of my miserable soul. She doesn’t know it, but she saved me; they both did. I’ve killed to keep her safe, and I’ll do it as many times as I have to.”
“Good thing I made friends with the farmer then, huh?” he jokes.