Lifeless Daisies

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚡

Roxy

2 Weeks later

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lo asks for the millionth time, and I glare at him, seeing him sitting at his computer. I'm getting so sick of people asking if I'm okay, you would think I jumped out of a building or something.

"It's literally just a few cuts," I grumbled from on the floor in his bedroom, playing on the Xbox with JJ.

Lo's bedroom has light grey walls and dark grey carpet. His family is wealthy, so he has all the high-tech crap like a PC with three screens; he's always been the nerdy one out of our little group. His four-poster white bed and grey oak bedside cabinets with picture frames of the four of us.

JJ and I are similar on the class scale; we have a two-story house in a nice neighborhood. I have no clue what Atlas is like; I've known him for six years and still never met his family or been to his house. Speaking of which...

"Where's Atlas?" I ask distractedly as I kill the zombies on the screen; the game is Left 4 Dead 2. One of my favorites, the guys put it on easy mode for me as I kept getting slaughtered and dying.

"I'm not sure," Lo sighs.

I let the topic drop as I get invested in the world of gore, blood, and zombies. After what felt like 5 minutes, a soft knock on the door brings me out of the video game, and Lo's mom, Maria, comes in with a somber look on her face.

My shoulders slump as JJ asks, "What happened"

She takes a deep breath and holds her phone to the side, shaking it. "That was your mother. She's picking you up in thirty minutes." She says with an Italian twang, darting her eyes over to me.

"What?" JJ and Lo yelled simultaneously as Atlas froze in the doorway.

"Why can't she stay here longer?" Lo hissed, but it wasn't directed at Maria; it's just the situation in general.

She walks over to me as I get up and holds my hands. "I'm sorry, dear. But this is out of my control, she's your mother, and I could go to jail for keeping you here without her permission," she whispers with watery eyes.

"Are you serious? Have you seen what her mother is like?" JJ furrows his brows, coming up behind me and putting his arm over my shoulder.

"Yeah, she can't go back. No fucking way." Atlas snarls.

I know my mother has become a monster, but she is still my mother, and I promised my father to look after her. I could never break that promise; I would go back to the house and help her get through this. Then I can go back to school with guys.

"Okay." I nodded tightly and moved over to his wardrobe packing away my stuff.

"No, you can't just leave," Lo murmurs.

"You guys, I'm only twenty minutes away, and I have your phone number if it gets too much." I look at each of them, showing them that I'm serious.

Atlas storms out. "Fuck this." he bellowed down the hall.

Lo and JJ are looking at me as if I've lost the plot, which I probably have.

"I'm gonna go after him; I'll meet you guys downstairs." They don't say anything, just glaring at Maria as I take my bag, throw it over my shoulder and start hunting down Atlas.

"Atlas!" I shout, running after him, wincing at the healing cuts, but he doesn't slow until he gets to the kitchen and places his elbows on the counter with his head in his hands. "Atlas." I try again but whisper it when I come up behind him.

The kitchen is massive; it has shiny white cupboards, grey and white marble countertops, and an enormous island in the middle.

Placing my hand on his back, "Turn around." I demanded when he didn't talk to me.