Atlas

Eleven

Grace

The next few days drove by fairly quickly. As November started, the leaves had all fallen and the air turned crisper. I had lunch with Atlas twice, and even got to speak to Adrian, who was very proud to show me his daughter Luna's pictures. Atlas was wrong – she was so beautiful. She had the same eyes that Atlas and Adrian did, the same brown hair.

When Atlas wasn't listening, Adrian asked me to give him my number, just in case Atlas didn't pick up. Adrian explained that he was just worried, which I understood. Atlas could be a little of a handful sometimes.

Besides that, things were fine. Dimia was recovering well, and my mom and I seemed to be on good terms.

"So I need to tell you something." Reece said over the phone. It was Friday night, and I was in my pyjamas watching old reruns of The Simpsons. I had told Dimia all about Atlas – well, not all – but I doubt she had mentioned it to Reece yet.

I suddenly sat up straighter. "You sound nervous. Don't tell me you're going to break up with Dimi."

"No, it's not that." Reece said. "You're going to hate me so much."

"Reece, what on Earth did you do?!"

"Grace, know that I love you."

"Mm Hmm." I said. "Just spit it out."

"Okay." He cleared his throat over the phone. "You know how your mom is going back in with MSF?" It took me a minute to remember those were the French initials for Doctors Without Borders.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well... I asked if I could go with her this winter break. And she agreed."

"She what?!"

"Grace, I always wanted to do this – it's been my dream. And what's the difference if I go in now?"

"You're too... you're too young for that. My mom nearly died last time! God, Reece! Why would you do that?!"

"You can hate me all you want, Grace. I'm not going to change my mind. You can either hate it or support it."

With that, he ended the call. I nearly threw my phone at the wall.

Quickly, I changed into decent human clothes and put on my jacket. What was wrong with the universe? I couldn't lose everyone.

I found my feet taking me into the direction of the bar, the only one I had been in the city square.

Everything was changing, and it was scaring me. I knew I had no right to be mad at anyone for their decisions, but I was. If something happened to Reece—

I entered, the smell of alcohol instantly hitting my nostrils. There were a few people there, but not nearly as many as last time.

My hands were trembling, and I immediately clenched them into fists.

A couple passed by, clearly drunk out of their minds. I recognized the girl – she was in my Anatomy class.

I sat on the first barstool I saw and rested my head on my hands with my elbows propped against the table.

"What can I getcha?" The bartender asked.

"A martini— no, get me vodka. Like, three shots?"

"No, that won't be necessary." A voice said from behind me. I turned around. It was Atlas.

He put a stack of crates down and frowned. "What are you doing?" He put his hand on the small of my back, and tingles shot straight up.

"Leave me alone." I mumbled. I turned to the bartender. "That vodka—"