Atlas

Phoebe

At 12 am, the doorbell rang. Phoebe was sitting on the kitchen floor, a shawl wrapped around her bare shoulders.

She wiped her tears but more continued to fall down her face.

She was expecting Ben – the bartender, or maybe her neighbor. What she didn't expect was him, standing at her door. He was scratching his neck awkwardly, a wilting bouquet in his other hand.

"Phoebe." He sighed sadly when he saw her crying. "Come here."

She didn't even hesitate. She walked into his open arms and he enveloped her in a hug.

"Why are you here?" she wiped her tears.

"I came to see if you were okay."

"Clearly." She spluttered.

"Can I come in?"

She thought for a second, and then slowly nodded. She moved to the side and wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

He walked into her house – well, her grandma's house. Even though her grandma had passed away two years ago, the house still smelled like baked cookies and there were always fresh lilies on the kitchen table.

Phoebe took the flowers from him and put them in the vase next to the lilies. "The best I could get at this time." he looked apologetic.

"Where did you even find them?"

"Tesco. The 24-hour one." He took a seat at the kitchen table. She slid against the wall opposite of him and sat back down on the floor, hugging her knees close to her chest. The only light came from the oven and the stars outside the garden. He eyed a bottle of gin on the ground.

"How much did you drink?"

She didn't answer. Her head had just started to spin.

He pressed his lips together, then got up and kneeled in front of her instead.

She rested the back of her head against the cold wall.

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

He reached out to hold her hand, but she pulled away. Silent tears streamed down her face.

"I'm not crying for you. I'm crying for Dusk." Part of that may have been true, but the way she looked at him, with hatred, with longing, Adrian knew that a part of her still wanted him. Just like a part of him still wanted her.

"You left, remember?" she said. "You left."

"Do you remember our trip to London?"

She nodded. How could she ever forget? He took her everywhere that day. Held her close to him in the metro, never let go of her hand on the train – or the entire time there – took her to dinner, told her she was pretty – the memories came back to her like a blurry screen that had just been focused.

The trip itself was spontaneous – Adrian had come to see Atlas, had met Phoebe, and had to go to London for business the following week. Phoebe had to go to get her paperwork done, and so they went together.

When they came back, their innocent flirting had turned into something more. Adrian slept over the next few nights, and she thought she had finally found someone.

Until he told her about Stella, that is. He left, without warning. He went back to Stella.

Hatred spawned over her, mixed with grief. The alcohol didn't make things any better.

She looked at him in the moonlight. Brown hair brushed back, just a little shorter than his brother's. her eyes dropped to his strong jaw, his lips that seemed so tempting.

The sad thing was, even after everything he'd done to her, she'd still go back to him in a heartbeat.

"I went back to Stella to end things." He explained. He cupped her face and used his thumb to wipe off a tear.

"Liar."

"Its true, Phoebe." He sighed again. "I was going to come back to you. To Atlas. Then she told me she was pregnant. We ended things, but Luna was the best thing to happen to me."

She raised her shoulders. "So what now?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "Luna is my priority; I hope you can understand that. But I missed you so much."

Her heart started beating a little faster. "Liar." She repeated.

He pulled himself a little closer to her. Her heart beat even faster. She could smell his familiar scent -  warm like cinnamon and sandalwood, mixed with just a little bit of Luna's baby powder.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer until she was sitting on his lap. His lips rested against her temple. She grabbed the material of his sweater in both her hands. His grip tightened around her waist so she wouldn't lose balance.

She closed her eyes, and the world seemed to spin just a little bit.

How long had she imagined this? Him. Here. Back to her. Where he belonged.

"I didn't think you'd ever come back. I didn't think what we had mattered to you at all."

She grabbed the bottle of gin. If she was going to pour her heart out, she needed at least another swig. He looked at her in disapproval but didn't say anything.

"Thought you weren't upset at my anymore." He joked lightheartedly.

"I despise you, Adrian." She said. She was sitting on top of him, brushing her long strands of hair away from her face. Adrian couldn't help but breathe her scent in. He was getting lost in her eyes. Beautiful, bloodshot, mesmerizing.

"Say my name again." He breathed into her. Her eyes dropped to his lips.

"I can't let you do this again." Her voice faltered.

"I promise, this time, I'll make things right." Her hair fell over his face, like a curtain that covered them both. This time, he used his hand to tuck her hair behind her ears.

Her heart was beating so fast. Like a drum in her eyes. Blood was rushing to her brain.

She leaned down to kiss him. Just as her lips were about to touch his', he stopped her.

"Not like this." He said. "As much as I want to."

Her hands that were grasping his shirt slid up into his hair. "You made me wait this long," she whispered. "Why wait longer?"

"I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you, Phoebe."

She almost laughed. She would have done the same thing a thousand times over even if she was sober.

"Say my name again, Adrian." She pleaded.

"Fuck, Phoebe, you're making me lose all self-control."

"Good."

And just like that, neither could have taken being separated even an inch from each other. Phoebe's mouth came crashing hard on his' – not that he minded. He kissed her back with just as much longing.

"Fucking hell, I missed this." He kissed her everywhere. On her mouth, on her neck, in her hair. "I missed you so much."

Phoebe felt like she was on top of the world. Adrenaline rushed through her body.

They kissed for what seemed like forever. When they both came up for air, Adrian lifted her up and carried her into her bedroom.

She made a move to take off his sweater and that's when he stopped her. "As much as I want to, I won't." He kissed her cheek. "Not until you're sober."

"Stay, at least." She said.

"Happily."

He got into bed with her and pulled up the blankets. One arm slid under her and the other just above her waist.

"So what now?"

He kissed the back of her head. "This time, the decision is all yours. I'm yours."