Sin and Sinner

61

~Darlina's POV~

I giggled to myself as I watched Atlas nervously fix his hair in the mirror as I turned down the street that my parent's house was on, a smile on my lips. "Maybe we should just go back home." Atlas said, glancing at me. He was clearly feeling anxious about meeting my parents.

"Absolutely not. We're almost there." I responded, and he huffed, looking out the window at the passing scenery. I slowed as we reached the end of the driveway and came to a stop just inside of it, reaching over to slip my hand into his. "It's okay, you know. My parents will like you. I'm sure of it." I assured him softly, causing his eyes to flick back over to mine again. He inhaled deeply and looked down at the grip I had on his hand, curling his fingers tighter around my own. "Sorry. I don't get nervous, but I...I guess I want them to like me more than I thought."

Pulling my hand from his to continue driving up the driveway, I smiled at him. "That's understandable. I get nervous when I think about meeting your mom, too." I admitted, and he sighed deeply. "She'll probably like you more than she likes me right now." He told me, causing a frown to form on my face. That made me feel a little bit sad, to think she'd be happier to see a stranger than her son who she hasn't seen in over four years.

We came to a stop in front of my parent's house and I hopped out of the car whereas Atlas stayed inside, staring up at the house like it was going to eat him. I lingered outside of the vehicle before I pulled open the passenger side door, causing his gaze to flick up to me with a frown on his face.

"Come on." I smiled at him, grabbing his hand in mine. He grunted and reluctantly got out of my car, rising to his towering height before he slammed the passenger door behind him. "Okay, let's go." He muttered, grasping tighter at my hand when I tried to pull away. Realizing he didn't want to let go of my hand, I hid a smile and led him up the porch, the wood lightly creaking beneath the weight of our footsteps.

I knocked on the front door and Atlas pressed close to my back, absentmindedly rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. A few moments passed before the front door swung open and there stood my mom with a confused furrow between her brows, which quickly disappeared when she spotted me. In its place was now a big smile as she looked at me, standing at just about the same height as I did.

"Oh, my little Li!" Mom exclaimed and practically jumped into my arms, causing a giggle to escape me as I hugged her back with the one available arm I had free, being that Atlas still refused to release my hand.

"What are you doing here, honey?" She asked me as she pulled away, looking up and down my figure like she was ensuring that I was okay. "It's been so long." She pouted, and then her attention was stolen by the large man standing just behind me.

Taken aback, she just stared at him over my shoulder and looked back and forth between Atlas and I. "Um, who is this?" She inquired, confused. I giggled and gestured behind her to the inside of the house. "Maybe we should go inside?" I suggested instead of answering her question, and her lips parted in realization before she nodded, stepping to the side to usher Atlas and I into the house.

We entered and mom locked the door behind us, curiously eyeing Atlas as she passed by. "Your father is in the kitchen." She told me as we headed into the living room, brushing a strand of her blonde hair back. "I'll go get him. Oh, he'll be so excited to see you!" She said with an excited grin, not waiting for a response before she turned and rushed off. I watched her go and once she was gone Atlas spoke to me in a murmur, glancing around his surroundings. "You certainly take after your mom, I see."

A smile formed on my lips at that, as I took that as a compliment. "Thank you." I chirped, grinning up at him.

The sound of footsteps interrupted our little conversation, causing my attention to drag to the walkway that my dad came barreling through, an eager look on his face. His eyes met mine and I barely got to look at him before he was tugging me into his embrace, a surprised noise leaving me as he squeezed his arms around me tightly.