Make Me Stay

Chapter Seventeen

A single rain drop trickles down the window and Atlantis sighs knowing that it will be training within a few minutes. She never liked the rain, how it sticks to you and makes one feel uncomfortable. Maybe she would go to the book store another day.
A few weeks earlier, the young girl, after having forgave Aaron, moved in with him. She had taken him up on his proposal in Paris and despite everything that had happened, moving in with the man is another step towards a new life. Of course, things in a sense went back to normal, but something always lingers in the back of her mind.
While Aaron is away at work, Atlantis spends her days at either art classes or the book store. Since her expenses are payed by Aaron, a little situation they both have different opinions on, Atlantis has all the time in the world since she doesn't have to work. Of course, some days Atlantis gets bored and finds herself wandering around the large apartment. And other days, she is too engrossed in her art work to even notice Aaron walk in through the door.
Though things are great and Atlantis is happy, she doesn't tell Aaron about the looming threat of her father. Terrifying voicemails litter the young girls phone and she finds herself crying after she listens to each one. She wouldn't tell Aaron, he would take the measures too drastically and call the police or something of the sort.
As more drops of rain land on the window sill and the sound of water hitting the windows around the apartment fill the quiet space, Atlantis rolls her desk chair over to where her laptop is situated. Her emails lay open on the screen before her and with a sigh, she scrolls through them.
Most are asking about her art, and wether she does commissions or not, but some as about buying her art as a whole, those she replies to first. It takes time, but she considers the content of each email before replying, wanting to say just the right words.
She can hear the door lock click from the other side of the apartment and with one last click of the send button, she is up and rushing her way to Aaron. He holds about a dozen or so plastic grocery bags in his strong arms and Atlantis struggles to take a few from him, dodging every kiss on the cheek that Aaron goes to five until she does so.
"Well afternoon to you too." Aaron laughs and follows Atlantis to the kitchen where the pair begin to unpack the food from the bags.
"How was work?" Atlantis asks simply, the ignoring a sinking feeling in her gut as she tries to make conversation. She had been feeling rather depressed and self conscious lately, but it's nothing she would want to worry Aaron about.
"The same, you know, taxes and people problems and stuff." Aaron shrugs and proceeds to put away boxes of cereal into the nearly empty cupboards, not that Atlantis would ever eat the cereal, or any of the food Aaron brought home for that matter. She simply just doesn't eat anymore as it is.
"People problems and stuff," Atlantis mutters under her breath and chuckles. Aaron glances in her direction.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, morning much, just the way you speak about things." Atlantis crumples up some of the plastic bags and shoves them under the sink with the rest of the plastic bags they have. Almost suddenly, a pair of arms wrap around Atlantis' waist and she squeals in surprise.
"So the way I speak is funny now, eh?" More giggles erupt from Atlantis as Aaron spins her around the kitchen, her back pressed against his torso.
"Aaron! Put me down!" The sound of a phone ringing stops their play fighting and Atlantis glances over to where their phones sit on the counter. It's Aaron's phone that lights up with the call. And annoyed gross escapes Aaron's lips as he picks up his phone.
"I'll be right back.. and someone's messaging you." He quickly rushes out of the room, pressing the phone to his ear. After a quick, unnecessary glance around the room, Atlantis picks up her phone to see that indeed, someone has been messaging her. The name Steven pops up multiple times, angry messages hanging below the name. She has changed her step fathers contact name from dad to Steven when she moved in with Aaron.
Swears and course languages spew across Atlantis' phone and the burning sensation on her wrists increases. It's like she's back in Toronto, back in the house where they treated her so poorly. She had no one she could go to about it back then, by then again, other than Aaron, she has no real friends here either.
The feeling of loneliness is like a punch in the chest and Atlantis drops her phone back onto the counter, unable to read the messages anymore. Depression and thoughts of the past fill her mind, the words that Steven once spoke to her and the situations she had unintentionally gotten herself into in the past. She drops to the floor, rubbing her wrists, tears streaming down her face.
It's funny, how some simple text messages could cause all of this, but then again, Atlantis has always been a sensitive girl. Throughout the time that she lived with her foster parents, she had never felt what real love was, until she met Aaron. All she has ever known was pain and misery and the messages that she had been receiving the past weeks were reminders that she will never be able to escape the past that holds her captive.
Atlantis curls up in a ball on the floor, back to the oven. Sobs rack her body as the panic attack sets in. Her hands cover her ears as she screams, trying to rid herself of the demons in her head. Seconds later, Aaron is there, holding her close to his body as he strokes her hair.
"Sh sh, darling it's alright." Her tears soak Aaron's shirt but he just holds her, waiting for the attack to pass. It's never been good when he's tried to talk to the young girl while in this state, so instead, he shows her love and is there for her while it passes.
"I can't do this anymore Aaron he-"
"He who love?" Aaron's soft voice floats around Atlantis and she begins to calm down.
"Steven he- he has been texting and calling me." Aaron tenses and the urge to get angry about the words he just heard surfaces, but he suppresses it. He knows he must be calm for the girl he loves.
"It's alright, we will sort this out, but for now, try and calm down."
Atlantis falls asleep in his arms thirteen minutes later, the lingering thought of how things will play out on her mind.

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