Ruby felt like dead weight on her feet. She had picked up a double shift, and the way her body ached, she knew she would feel it in the morning.

"Only a few more hours until close," Chelsea reminded her in a chipper tone. It was a packed house, and Ruby was sure Chelsea was enjoying the tips. She carried a tray of drinks to a table nearby, and Ruby watched for a moment, catching a breath.

"I'm giving you table 3," the hostess said to Ruby. "I'm apologizing in advance."

Ruby shot a look at table 3. It was a group of rowdy college boys, all cheering about something on the television. Ruby rolled her shoulders, plastered on a smile, and approached the table. She had worked enough shifts now that she felt comfortable at the restaurant, but having five pairs of eyes staring at her made nerves erupt in her chest. "How is everyone tonight?"

The boy closest to her grinned and he reached out, running a hand down her arm. It sent goosebumps racing down her skin, and Ruby stood there for a moment, letting it happen, but feeling a sense of ick well up inside of her.

If she wasn't on the clock, she would rip her arm away from him. Because she needed his tip, she gave him a smile, just shy of flirty. She leaned into his touch.

"What's a girl like you doing here in a place like this?" The guy said, running his eyes down her body. One of his friends elbowed him, but he laughed it off, his eyes swallowing her whole. He was the type of boy who would have talked down to her in a college class, the type of boy who would have snapped her bra strap in middle school.

She placed her hand on the back of his chair, almost touching his back. The wink she gave him made the corners of his mouth tip up. "It's a secret. Maybe one day, I'll tell you."

The boy brought his face a little bit closer to hers, enough for Ruby to smell the booze on his breath. She wanted to recoil, and her eyes looked up for a moment to try and find Chelsea on the floor, hoping to catch her gaze and send an SOS.

"How about you tell it to me tonight at my place?"

"Take your hands off of her." The voice that came from behind Ruby has her stiffening. She squeezed her eyes shut and thought to herself, not now, not now.

Because of course Atlas would catch her in an awkward situation. In an unprofessional situation.

The customer, who was still holding her arm, tightened his grip. "Excuse me?"

Ruby smiled apologetically to the boy, her head twisting back to look at Atlas. His glare was furious, even more than it usually was when she was in his presence. He didn't meet her gaze; his entire focus remained on the customer.

"You heard me." Atlas didn't take a step closer, but his words were threat enough. The boy let her go, causing Ruby to stumble back a step. She fought the urge to rub her arm where he had been holding her. Instead, she turned to fully face Atlas.

"It's fine," she said to him. "Go back to your table, Atlas."

He finally looked at her, his glower eating her whole. He was pissed, that much she could gleam. She could practically see him vibrate with anger as he stood there, overcrowding her space. He looked as if he himself would grab her and drag her out of there.

"You shouldn't be flirting with the customers. It's deplorable." Was all he said to her. He stepped around her, closer to the table of boys. He flattened his hands on the table, leaning forward. "And you shouldn't be touching the employees here. If the only women you can find to flirt with are being paid to interact with you, then you should reevaluate your personality and lack of charm."

The boy who had been touching Ruby went slightly pale under Atlas's glare, but the rest of the boys made an ooh-ing sound. Enough that the boy muttered "shut up," under his breath at them. He shot Ruby a sullen look. "Tell your boyfriend to back off. And you can say goodbye to your tip."

"You aren't staying." Atlas interrupted. "Get out of the restaurant. Before I make you."

Ruby, who had been silently floored by the entire interaction, sprang into action. "Atlas, you can't kick them out."

Atlas swung his eyes to her, causing Ruby to take a step back at the wild look he wore. She was sure that this was the man Ryan hated. The man who was evil enough to force an entire building to be homeless just because he wanted to.

"Go back to the kitchen. Tell Chelsea you need a new table."

The command in his voice had Ruby turning around and following directions. It was odd, how his words seemed to command her forward, as if she really didn't have a say. Not that she wanted to really fight his command. Mostly, she felt relieved that Atlas was dealing with those college boys. It meant that she didn't have to worry about it.

By the time she got to the kitchen, Ruby wanted nothing more than to go home for the rest of the night. She found Chelsea talking to one of the other servers, laughing about a customer. The moment she saw Ruby, her eyes widened.

"What's wrong?"

"Atlas just kicked out table three."

Chelsea's eyes bugged. The other server dropped her mouth open. "Huh?"

"Atlas? Our usual Atlas?" Chelsea made to look out of the kitchen door, but it swung open before she could.

"Speak of the devil," the other server breathed.

Atlas didn't look at Ruby. He pointedly ignored her as he spoke to Chelsea. "Table 3 was harassing your new girl. I made sure they saw their way out before they caused too much damage."

"I could have handled it," Ruby blurted, interrupting. "You just stormed right on in, and now I lost a table. A table that would have tipped well!"

"You lost a table that was asking you to come over to their place tonight. They would have held that tip over your head."

Ruby's expression tightened in annoyance. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "Who said I didn't want to go to their place tonight?"

The silence was thick with tension. Ruby felt it, unsure why she and Atlas had this thing between them. It stretched and grew between them, as if there was no one else there in that busy kitchen. It flooded her lungs and crowded her throat and made her chest tight.

She didn't know if Atlas felt it too. How could he not?

"Alright." Chelsea broke the silence, her eyes bouncing between Ruby and Atlas. "Thanks Atlas."

Atlas ducked out of the kitchen almost as quickly as he had entered, and with his absence came a strange sense of relief. Ruby felt like she could breathe again now that he was gone. Strange, how his presence could do that to her.

"Girl," the other waitress said, shaking her head. "What was that?"

Chelsea too was giving her this strange look. "How many times have you waited on Atlas? Just the once? Because it's hard to believe you don't know each other more than that. Atlas has never done that before."

Ruby rubbed her arms, a sudden chill washing over her. "Only once." She didn't know how to tell them Atlas bought her apartment building. How to suggest that he was her new landlord, looking to evict her.

She wasn't sure why she didn't tell them. Wasn't sure why she didn't gush about how much she liked him. How much she thought about him, even if it made her embarrassed to admit.

For the rest of her shift, Ruby pointedly ignored Atlas's table. Even when Brody tried to wave at her, Ruby kept her head down and her mind focused on her job. She longed to shoot Atlas a look, to just see if he too was looking at her.

By the time he left, Ruby felt exhausted with the act of pretending he didn't exist. And as they were leaving for the night, the waitress she didn't really know placed a receipt in her palm. "Here, I think this is for you."

When Ruby unraveled the receipt, there was a message scrawled on the back in pen. The handwriting was neat and tidy. It said,

Ruby, don't do anything rash tonight. You'll only regret it.

His words however had the opposite effect. It made her want to be rash. She crumpled up the note and threw it away before heading home, her hands clenched into fists.

Because who was he to tell her that?

"Stupid Atlas," she muttered. "Stupid apartment. Stupid everything." She wanted to cry out of the frustration she felt. But she had come too far to go back now. She was finally free, finally away. No more screaming matches. No more intense fights. No more dishes shattering against the wall.

She couldn't go back home. She would just have to make this work.