Sin and Sinner

27

~Darlina's POV~

I stared at Emmett and Atlas as I stood in the living room about fifteen minutes later, still not having exactly processed what Adrian told me in the kitchen. My grip on my wine cooler tightened as I thought about it again.

Attempted murder.

Had Atlas actually gone to prison for attempted murder? If he had, what had happened? Why did Emmett not think that this was something I'd want to know? I know he'd said that Atlas hadn't gone to prison for something that was a big deal, but attempted murder was a pretty damn big deal in my book.

I took another sip from my wine cooler and leaned against the wall, trying to calm myself down to think a little more instead of internally panicking the way I was now. Sure, Em hadn't told me the specifics of Atlas' prison sentencing, but he had assured me that he was harmless, which was true as far as I could see. Atlas hadn't done anything to hurt him or I, or anyone else. He was just a little mean, but he hadn't done anything else.

Besides, I didn't exactly know Adrian whatsoever and he didn't know Atlas until tonight. How would he know the first thing about what happened? Why would I trust his word over Emmett's?

With that in mind, I finished off the wine cooler in hand and struggled to push my way through the crowd to find a trash can to dispose of the now empty bottle. I then made my way back to the kitchen again, a little wobbly on my feet, and got another wine cooler out of the fridge. This was only my second one, but I was feeling a little bit tipsy already. It almost felt like I'd somehow become even more of a lightweight recently.

Having found what I wanted, I headed right back to the living room and jolted in surprise when a man's arm was suddenly thrown around my shoulders, startling me. I looked up and frowned at the unfamiliar face, furrowing my brows. "Hello?" I said, confused.

The man grinned and swayed on his feet as he hung off my shoulder, clearly very wasted. "You're lookin' p-pretty lonely." He said, slurring his words slightly. "You here by yourself?" He managed to get out, though his words came out spaced apart as he tried to find them. "Oh, um..." I shook my head in response, trying to escape from the arm he still had around me due to the strong smell of alcohol on him. Also, he was a stranger.

"Well, you wanna dance?" He asked, not seeming to take the hint as he pulled me back into his side. I cringed as my wine cooler sloshed out of the bottle and onto my hand from the sudden action, quickly shaking my head. "N-No, thank you." I stammered, now a little overwhelmed and incredibly uncomfortable. Still, he just frowned and pouted at me like we were good friends or something. "Why not?" He sulked while I struggled to slip from beneath his arm.

Yet suddenly, the weight of his arm was gone as it was flung off of me, causing me to stumble in surprise. I looked up and there was Atlas, looking indescribably annoyed on my behalf. "Fuck off, shitface." He spit at the drunk guy, who immediately raised his arms as if to surrender and stumbled away.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment and I looked away when his dark eyes cut over to me, a gasp leaving me when he grabbed my elbow to tug me closer. Surprised, I looked up at him as he spoke. "You okay?" He asked, to which I gave a dazed nod of my head and dumbly remained quiet. All I could focus on was his tattooed hand, how surprisingly gentle he still held me, and the little distance between us just so we could hear one another over the noise. "Yep." I forced out, unsure why my heart was racing so quickly.

Why did he have the capability to make me feel like this?

"You should've kicked that guy in the dick." He grunted, causing my eyes to widen at his very blunt words. "What?" I gaped at him. "No! I couldn't do that...." I trailed, watching as he rolled his eyes. "Look, I know you're probably the nicest person in this entire house but you don't have to be nice to people who make you uncomfortable, smalls."

Still, I just shook my head. "He was just drunk." I excused quietly, to which he gave me a flat, unimpressed look. "Doesn't matter." He responded simply. "Now come on." He said, not waiting for me to respond before he released my elbow and turned to walk off. I quickly hurried after him, gently grabbing the fabric of the back of his shirt so I wouldn't lose him in the crowd. My cheeks burned as he immediately glanced back at me and I avoided eye contact, instead staring at his broad back while I followed.

We reached Emmett, who was chatting with Justine and Vance, the rest of his friends sitting around on the couch as well. Even Adrian was here now, who smiled up at me when we approached. "There you are. You disappeared earlier." He said to me, and I gave him a small, shy smile in response. I had half expected him to not acknowledge me, but it was nice that he had even greeted me, honestly. He seemed nice enough, though his words from earlier were still lingering freshly in my mind.

"Li!" Emmett exclaimed before I could respond to Adrian, drawing my attention. He was swaying even when he was sitting on the couch, so I knew he was most certainly very drunk, even more than the guy who had just hassled me a minute ago.

I smiled, a laugh escaping me as he stood and wobbled on his feet. "Come here, come here." He said, gesturing wildly with one hand for me to come closer, so I did. The second I was within arms reach, he pulled me into a hug as if he hadn't seen me in a long time, causing me to wheeze at how tightly he embraced me. "Why are we hugging?" I giggled, making sure my wine cooler didn't spill as I still clutched it tightly. "Because I love you." He slurred, patting me on the head when he pulled away.

A smile crept onto my face. "You're so drunk." I teased, but I found it endearing if I was being honest. He had only gotten soppy like that towards me maybe two other times when drunk, as he usually had to be utterly gone for it to happen. "No I'm not." He denied, but then he promptly wobbled a little bit too much and fell back onto the couch, where he didn't even attempt to get up from.

Not wanting to stand around, I looked around for an empty spot and found one directly beside Atlas, which I was almost certain was due to the fact that he likely scared anyone who tried to sit beside him away. I sat down beside him and he huffed, trying to distance himself from me by scooting closer to the arm of the couch. "Do you have to sit here?" He grumbled, causing me to peek up at him with a frown. "You're the one who brought me over here, remember?" I responded, cocking up a brow. "Besides, where else am I supposed to sit?" I said a bit defensively.

He just shrugged. "I dunno. Anywhere else." He answered grumpily, looking away when I gave him a look. "You know, you were just being kind of nice to me a few minutes ago." I stated sulkily, unsure why that had suddenly changed.

"That was different." He excused, only making me more confused. "How?" I huffed, crossing one leg over the other. His dark eyes flicked to me once again, meeting my brown ones. My heart hammered in my chest from the intensity of his gaze, almost enough to make me look away, but I held it this time. "Because that guy was bothering you." He said simply.

My lips pursed at him and I was sure he saw the dissatisfied look on my face. "So you were nice out of....pity, then." I guessed, somehow finding that even worse than the idea that he had simply had a fleeting moment of kindness and nothing more. "No." He said, clenching his jaw attractively. "I just...wanted to help you." 

For a moment, I stared up at him, biting on my lip as I considered his words. "Well, whatever your reason was, thank you." I decided to say eventually, a warmth creeping into my cheeks. His gaze flicked from my eyes to my lips and back up again, making me shift shyly beside him. Had he just looked at my mouth? Was something stuck in my teeth? I hadn't even eaten anything so I doubted that, but I wasn't sure my brain could handle the other possible reasons why he might've looked at my mouth like that.

Blushing at my thoughts, I quickly took a few hefty sips of my wine cooler and looked away, too flustered for my own good.