The Summer I Left

Chapter 3 Is this Love?

— ᕚ◊ᕘ —

"River, you in there?" Atlas' voice came from the other side of the door.

I quickly pull my hair over to one shoulder and get in a lady-like position, acting as mature as possible. "Yes." I reply gracefully.

He opened the door and I held my breath so I wouldn't squeal.

"I got the movie and some popcorn!" He said, his smile making his entire face glow.

"My computer is on my desk, we can watch it on that." I suggest.

"Sounds good!" He said, going over to my desk which had a few of my favorite books on it, which included: Alex Rider, My Life With The Walter Boys, and: The Heartbreakers.

"No way! You read Alex Rider?!" He says, astonished.

I laughed, and we talked about books for a while before returning back to the movie.

Atlas put the dvd into the computer and we settled on my bed, sharing the popcorn in-between us.

We were halfway through the movie and I thought it was quite entertaining! Western themes have always been my type!

Secretly, I would glance Atlas's way every once and awhile; just because I couldn't resist! He had the face of an angel! Then I would quickly look away if he caught me staring.

He would also look at me to watch my reactions to his favorite parts, and if I didn't react the way he wanted, he would throw popcorn at my face. I'd laugh and throw popcorn right back at him!

Then finally, the main character of the movie said the famous line which Atlas had quoted earlier.

Atlas nudged me with his elbow, a smile spread across his face. I could sense him staring at me, but I kept my eyes on the movie and resisted turning to look at him. Playing hard-to-get of course.

Then suddenly, Atlas leaned in to deliver a kiss on my cheek.

I could see him out of the corner of my eye and my heart nearly stopped. Just as he was about to kiss me, he stopped and looked away.

This time, I turned to look at him, "You change your mind?" I ask, before smiling. "I didn't."

Atlas just laughed but didn't reply.

After the movie ended, we watched three of my favorite movies that I had brought with me. We both were gonna see who could stay awake the longest, but that didn't last long. I fell asleep on the second movie, and Atlas fell asleep on the third.

Morning came quick, and I slowly awoke, my eyes lifting heavily. I find myself lying on Atlas chest, and the popcorn bowl spilled all over us.

Then I find Atlas' is awake, and we exchange glances before laughing.

I quickly got off of him, and we cleaned up the popcorn mess together. Then Atlas went to his room and the two of us got ready for the day.

I fixed up my hair and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get dressed.

Upon my return, Atlas looked through the doorway and stared at me as I walked in. He looked me down and up, I thought I had dressed nice but the look on his face made me think otherwise.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was just wearing a laced crop top, there was nothing showing but the lace looked really pretty. They were my mom's favorite shirts and I liked them as much as she did.

"Nothin, nothins wrong." He replied but continued to stare.

"Then why are you looking at me weird?" I asked.

"I have never seen a girl dress like that, but I like it." He said.

"Thank you, it's what my mom liked, so it reminds me of her when I wear it." I say, my smile vanishing as I thought of my mom.

He looked at me and then at the picture of my mom in the corner of my desk.

My palms became sweaty as I tried to fight back the tears, but it was no use. The pain always won. Tears shimmer in my eyes and I quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Atlas walked over to me and grabbed around my waste, pulling me in and giving me a hug. I pressed my face into his chest, and hugged him back.

We stood there for a moment, before Atlas pulled away and grabbed my chin, lifting it so that I faced him. Without hesitation this time, Atlas leaned forward and kissed me. It did not last long but it made me feel better and I got what I had been wanting.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"You're welcome." He replied.

— ᕚ◊ᕘ —

Two days later -

It was Sunday now, and man, I thought we were going to a wedding! Alex made lots of food for us to bring and we all dressed in our finest clothing.

Atlas woke me up this morning by kissing me on the forehead and then moving his thumb in circle rotations over my hand. After I awoke, he went over to my closet to find me an outfit to wear for the special occasion.

I sit up, my hair looking as though I haven't brushed it in my entire life. I want to fix it to look good for Atlas, but at this point, I'm too tired to care.

Then suddenly, I hear my phone buzz. I looked around the room for it, but Altas beat me to it, and found it on my desk. He grabs it and brings it over to me, when he sees 10+ messages from a boy named: Camrin.

"Whose Camrin?" Atlas asked, a hint of anger revealing in his voice.

I quickly delete the messages, "It's nothing." I brush him off.

"It's obviously not nothing." Atlas replies, seeing that this mysterious boy, Camrin, was talking about romantic stuff for some reason.

I sigh, "Just a distant cousin trying to keep in contact." I came up with a poor lie.

There was still a worried look on Atlas face but he left it alone. He went back to my closest and shuffled through the dresses before pulling one out. "Aha! This is the one!"

"What did you find?" I ask.

"A red dress with your boots and a fancy show belt." He replied.

"Okay, looks good. Where did you get the show belt?"

"I bought you one, I wanted you to fit in with us." He said with a grin.

"Aww, thanks Atlas! But what about my hair?"

"No problem! When you wear it down it looks beautiful." He complimented, before pausing. "Not that you aren't beautiful all the time! But it looks even more pretty when you wear it down."

I gave him a smile and then did a head nod, and he left me to change. Atlas was so different, so nice. I have never met people so nice outside of my family.

Could it be. . . Is he the one. . .

Is this the man I have been waiting for?