Atlas
Chapter Thirteen
Maizyn
I practically skip into the grocery store with the boys following right behind me. They overreacted. I am completely fine. We are going to pretend that the panic attack never happened. I will try to remember to eat next time. Sue me for forgetting.
“You need real food, Chaos.” He says as if he already knows I don’t plan to listen to him. He is not wrong, yet it doesn’t hide his small smile.
I stick my tongue out at him. “Oh, lighten up. This is real food, just not the kind YOU prefer I eat.” That earns me a bored stare.
He knows my antics by now and he is not amused.
Unfortunately for him, I now have Gavin to drag into my chaos.
I wait until Atlas is walking far enough ahead that he can’t hear me as I poke Gavin in his side to get his attention.
His head snaps in my direction, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
The look is kind of adorable. I pull him to me by his shirt and rise onto my tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
“Want to help me push Mr. Grumps’ buttons? ”
“What do you have in mind, Little Tornado?”
I kinda expected him to tell me no, but his voice is tinged with the same amount of mischief I am feeling.
Something about his voice being dark and warm at the same time has my heart beating even faster.
A crooked grin spreads across my lips. Oh.
This is going to be fun. “Let me ride on your shoulders until we leave? I don’t feel like walking, and I don’t want to hear Atlas say I told you so. ”
His tongue peeks out, swiping quickly across his bottom lip before he nods his head. “Seems like the demon is coming out to play. I'm game though, let's do it.”
My thighs clench at the gravely sound of his voice.
I am starting to think my innocent ask of a shoulder ride is anything but innocent, yet I can't help but feel a bit of excitement from it. He crouches down in front of me before helping me maneuver my body to balance on his shoulders. As soon as my thighs are firmly planted on each side of his head, he holds them to keep me in place as he abruptly stands to his full height. The speed of him standing surprises me, eliciting a squeal that I couldn’t hold in even if I tried.
My fingers tangle into his hair for support, accidentally pulling it hard.
The man fucking moans. It’s so quiet that I feel like I may have misheard him, but the way his grip tightens on my thigh tells me I heard him correctly.
Heat pulls in my core and I am seconds away from pulling his hair again just to hear that sound one more time. My fingers curl deeper into his hair.
“Hey! Are you two coming or not? I don’t want to be here all day.”
Atlas’ voice breaks the trance I seemed to be in.
His clearly annoyed tone is already proof enough that he is not in the mood for my antics but that is what makes this even more fun.
Sometimes I think my soul's purpose in life is to push that man's buttons.
He can act annoyed all he wants, but that man loves it.
“Be right there!” Gavin and I yell at the same time. I laugh as he jogs to catch up to Atlas. His grip on my thigh and my fist full of his hair were almost not enough to keep me atop his shoulders. Atlas looks up at me before shaking his head in disapproval. “Will you get down already?”
“Not gonna happen, Sir. I rather like it up here. It's pretty nice being taller than you for once.” I used the word ‘Sir’ just to push him further. I feel like a punishment might be just what I need to feel better. I probably shouldn’t use Gavin in my games with Atlas, but I don’t hear him complaining about it.
Atlas shoots me a look that either means an ass spanking or an orgasm is in my future. Honestly, both sound like a fun time to me. He eventually gives in, letting out an exaggerated sigh, “Fine. Let’s just get the shopping done so we can go.”
We continue shopping. Atlas is pushing the cart while Gavin runs me up and down the aisles, letting me grab whatever I want. We are almost to the checkout line when something bright yellow catches my attention.
“Hey, wait! Slow down,” my voice comes out sounding similar to an eager child. Oops. Not far off, though.
Gavin stops almost immediately. “What is it?” There seems to be a trace of panic laced in his voice, like he is worried something is wrong.
“Go down the next aisle. I saw something I want to look at.”
“Aye, Aye, Captain,” he chuckles before walking in the direction I pointed.
As soon as we are close enough, I yank the item off the shelf and put them on.
They are yellow daisy-shaped sunglasses that remind me of the ones a clown wears in a slasher film.
I use my grip on his hair to pull Gavin's head back as I lean over so he can see me. “How do I look?” The position is awkward, but the look on Gavin’s face is worth it.
A true, genuine smile blesses his face. It’s beautiful.
His eyes light up and he looks up at me like he needed the smile I gave him. “You look perfect. Let’s go!”
“Wait, I've got to put the glasses back.”
“Nope. You wanted them; you are getting them.”
“But-”
“But nothing. This is not an argument you are gonna win.” He jogs back to Atlas.
He grips my left thigh, keeping a firm grip on it as he drops his other shoulder and maneuvers my other leg around to spin me to the front of his body, before sliding me down his body to my feet, stepping back from me.
The moment some distance is between us, it’s as if I am snapped out of a trance. What the hell just happened?
Atlas
We get back to the house and unload the groceries.
It was nice for all of us to do something so mundane together.
Distracting Maizyn from her own thoughts is always a plus.
While I am sure she did it to get a rise out of me, it was actually refreshing to see Maizyn acting like her old self for a bit.
Even if it was temporary, those few moments of her riding Gavin's shoulders in the grocery store, she was carefree. Her smile was genuine. It was the first time since everything that happened that I knew she just might be okay. He was grinning from ear to ear as well. I snuck a picture of them when she was grabbing something off the top shelf. They may fight their connection, but I feel like they may be good for each other, even if they can’t see that.
“Are we going to Elixirs?” Maizyn bounces up and down, the glasses slipping down her nose a bit as she does.
She hasn’t taken those glasses off since she found them.
They are cute on her, though. They fit her personality.
The fact that they are yellow warms my heart a bit as well.
That color will always represent what we are.
She is my soulmate in every sense of the word.
It still hurts that I know there are things she is not telling me.
I just want her to be okay. I am hoping Gavin can help.
“Why would we go to Elixirs?” Gavin asks the question before I could.
“Because it's Saturday. Isn’t that y’all’s thing?”
“Damn, I completely forgot it’s Saturday. We don’t have to go tonight.” He looks to me to gauge my reaction.
“Yeah. What Gavin said, we don’t have to go.” I didn’t forget. I also didn’t want to bring up going. After last time, I didn’t want her to feel like it’s something we have to do every Saturday. Her well-being is more important than any tradition will ever be.
“No, No. I want to go. We have to. Please?” She says in a tone similar to a kid begging for cake. I already know it’s a fight I won’t be winning. Maybe a compromise will work?
“How about I make a deal with you?”
“I'm listening…”
“This goes for Gavin too, because I know both of you probably haven't eaten a proper meal today. We will go to Elixirs after you both eat dinner. How does that sound?”
“Fine. I guess that's fair.”
“How the hell did you know I didn’t eat?” Gavin asks, sounding perplexed, like I wasn't supposed to notice that.
“Neither one of you ever eats properly. It's not hard to notice. So do we have a deal?” The words come with authority and leave no room for argument. They both know I’m right.
He sighs, “What are we having?”
Maizyn perks up at this, intently waiting for the answer.
“I was going to make chicken quesadillas. Unless y'all rather have something else?”
“Ooo yummy, do you want help?” She does a little wiggle at the mention of food.
“Let Gavin and me cook while you go get ready. Then we can eat and head out.”
“Sounds good.” She kisses my cheek and skips down the hall.
I put a skillet on the stove and turn it on medium heat before grabbing the pack of chicken out of the fridge and using a knife to slice the package open. Gavin waits until she is out of earshot before turning to me.
“Why did you want my help? I know you don't need it. What's going on?”
I place the raw chicken onto a cutting board and begin slicing it into smaller chunks, not looking at him when I answer. “I just wanted the chance to thank you.”
“Thank me for what?”
I quickly season the meat before dropping the pieces of chicken into the hot skillet with a small bit of oil, buying myself a few seconds to try to figure out how I want to start this conversation.
“For everything with Maizyn. For calling me and taking care of her when you found her. For bringing her out of her shell today at the store. It means a lot.”
“You don't have to thank me, man. She is important to you. You're my brother, so she is important to me.”
I glance at him from the corner of my eye before grabbing the tortilla press and plugging it in to preheat it. “Is that the only reason you care about her?”
“Yeah, why else would I?” His confidence wavers a bit as the words leave his lips. He doesn’t believe them any more than I do.
“No reason, just curious. Can you grab the shredded cheese out of the fridge for me?”
He walks past me to get to the fridge without saying a word.
He pauses for a moment as if he doesn't know how to navigate this conversation before opening the fridge and rummaging around, pulling out the bag of cheese and tossing it on the counter next to me.
“How is she doing, by the way? With everything?”
“Honestly? I don't really know. She keeps saying she is fine, but I am not dumb enough to actually believe that. I know she is far from okay; she just refuses to talk to me.”
“You ever think about having her talk to a professional?”
“What, like a therapist?”
“Yeah, or a psychiatrist."
“There is no way in hell she will go for that.”
“It's just a thought.”
“Maybe she would talk to me?”He sounds skeptical.
I pause for a moment, really thinking about his offer. I know it’s not an offer he would make if he didn’t think there was a chance it would work. “I doubt it, but I wouldn’t be opposed to you trying.”
“No promises, but I will see what I can do. She is not always the biggest fan of me.” His words sound a bit like disappointment. It’s an odd emotion from him.
“I am not sure if I agree with you.” It’s impossible to hide the amusement in my voice.
“What do you mean?” His eyes spark with interest, his head tilting to the side in question.
“Just-
“Smells good. What did I miss?”
My hand freezes suspended in the air at the sound of her voice.
I didn't expect her to be ready so fast. Whatever I was about to say is completely forgotten when I look at her.
Fuck, she is gorgeous. She is wearing one of her plaid skater skirts paired with fishnets and a grey t-shirt that has been cut and altered to hang off one shoulder.
She is still wearing those yellow sunglasses and managed to find yellow Chucks that match them perfectly.
It's Gavin who speaks up, “Nothing, you're just in time. Dinner is almost done.”
That snaps me back to focus on the current conversation as I finally find my words. “Yeah, have a seat at the counter. The chicken is done already. I just have to press them and melt the cheese, then we can eat.”
“Good, I'm starving.”
She and Gavin slide onto the kitchen barstools as I finish making the food. I slide a plate in front of them both before climbing onto the barstool between them.