As Will drove back to drop them off, Makenna thought back to what Atlas had said about not needing him. She knew they were her words which he'd repeated back to her. But she was trying to figure out why they didn't sound as final as she'd meant them that night. The but lingered in her mind no matter how hard she struggled to push it away.

Pink elephant. Pink elephant.
She tried to think of something else but pink elephant became pink drink and she was right back to where she started.

"Are you ok?"

Makenna turned away from the window and looked at Vanessa. She smiled slightly and nodded.

"You don't seem sure,"

"I'm just tired."

"Want us to go back and beat up that guy?"

Makenna shifted her gaze to Will and she unintentionally glanced at the rearview mirror where she caught Atlas' gaze.

"Just say the word." There was a hint of humour mixed in the seriousness of his voice,

"All good." Makenna turned away but looked back at him on a second thought, "But. thank you."

"No, thank you." Will looked at Atlas, "You just saved him from getting his ass handed to him."

Atlas laughed,
"Speak for yourself,"

His gaze met hers again in the rearview and rather than look away, she felt her shoulders fall and her body begin to relax. A look crossed his face and it was one of surprise which turned to curiosity.

The conversation between Vanessa and Will continued but Makenna tuned it out. She relaxed into the seat, not breaking eye contact with him. It was starting to get a bit weird, and she felt an urge rise within her.

She opened her mouth slightly but closed it,
"Thank you," She mouthed,

Atlas frowned and mouthed back,
"For what?"

Makenna took a deep breath and shrugged. She couldn't think of why. Not because there wasn't a reason, but because there were probably a few and she couldn't figure out which one of them she was thanking him for. Maybe it was for holding her back from Victor, being patient with her, or being there when she didn't need anyone.

Makenna dropped her gaze, breaking their connection. She looked outside the window wondering how she'd never realized those things until now. The feeling set in and she began to feel terrible for how she'd treated him. But just as quickly as the feeling slipped out of the box, she pushed it back in.

"Here we are," Will pulled up in front of her dorm,

"Thanks," She said before she got out,

"Vanessa, you can come sit in front," Will said as Atlas got out,

Makenna shut her door and Atlas held his door for Vanessa to get in before he shut it.

"Thank you," Vanessa smiled at him and glanced at Makenna.

"Bye, mate," Will said,

"Drive safe," Atlas said,

Will's truck pulled away and left Makenna and Atlas standing outside her dorm. He turned to look at her, but she looked away as soon as her gaze met his.

"Bye," She walked away,

Atlas turned to watch her go, unable to get his footing right wherever she was concerned.
"Are you ok?"

Makenna stopped and took a second to breathe, then she turned to look at him.
"Why do you ask?"

"I just need to know,"

She'd put some distance between them, so staring into his eyes was not as overwhelming.
"I am,"

Atlas tapped his forefinger on his leg. He turned to look down the road and back at her. He was holding back the urge building up inside him. He wanted to head straight for her, envelop her beautiful face in his hands and bury his fingers in her hair. Only then would he lean in and kiss her when he knew she wanted it as much as he did.

Atlas swallowed and let those thoughts go as he exhaled. If he wanted a shiner in the morning, that was the quickest way to get one. But even that wasn't enough to scare him away. The only reason he wasn't kissing her right now was because he didn't want to scare her away.

"Alright," Atlas said finally, "I'll let you go,"

Makenna nodded,
"Bye,"

Atlas smiled,
"Bye."

Makenna turned around and headed inside the building with Atlas watching her. He turned and headed towards his apartment which was a few minutes away.

On the way, Atlas pulled up Thea's number and sent her a quick text about what she wanted to have for dinner. She'd taken time off work next week because of assessment week, but she had to work today. She wanted to have dinner with him because she'd scheduled dinner with Killian the following day.

Thea texted him back just as quickly. He checked with her again to confirm the time she'd get off. He wanted to order just in time for her so it wouldn't get cold or delayed.

When he arrived at his place, he decided to head to the gym to burn off some tension. He went through everything he had to get done before dinner in his head. He needed to do his laundry but figured he'd do that after he got back from the gym. His fridge was starting to look empty, so maybe get some groceries.

Atlas hadn't been able to use his kitchen as much as he'd have liked to. Granted, he didn't know a lot of recipes but the ones he did, he was pretty good at them. He tried to make breakfast in the mornings especially when Thea came around. But he wanted to learn more dishes. There was this lightness he got when he cooked. It was almost therapeutic. The thought of it made him smile.

Without delay, he got dressed and headed to the gym - his other form of therapy.

ICYMI: you'll find that I've been creating a lot of booktoks on my Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Currently, I'm focusing on creating content for the broken series, so you 'may' find some booktoks where I'm alluding to something in the future of these characters we've all grown to love. 😉 (watch them here --->)

Early Access to Chapter 30 here --->