Atlas

Nineteen

"Slow down! Atlas!"

He didn't reply. He swerved the car and took a small road that led into town.

"Atlas!"

"What?!" his voice was low, but very frustrated.

"Where are we going?"

He slammed the breaks in front of a brown-bricked building. "Stay inside the car."

"What?!"

"I'll be back in a couple minutes."

"Atlas!"

He took off his seatbelt before I could protest. I took a breath. I had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly my phone rang and I almost jumped.

"Mom, hey." I forced my voice to sound calm.

"Hey, darling. What's up? How's the road trip going?"

"Oh, its going well. We just stopped at the gas station. Atlas wanted snacks, he was hungry." I hated lying to her but I couldn't tell her what had just happened.

"Alright. Any dinner plans?"

"Um, probably somewhere in Brighton."

"Alright, honey. Take care okay? Also, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Hm?"

Her tone changed slightly. "Reece's mom mentioned that you told Reece about the whole Doctors without Borders thing?"

Oh, crap.

"Yeah." I tried to keep my voice levelled. "Didn't want you going through that alone."

"I'll be fine, my love. You know that."

"I can't help but worry, 'ma."

"When Reece's mom told me, honestly, I was a little shocked. But then I remembered you're my daughter." She said with a little chuckle.

"You're not mad?"

"There's no point in being mad. You have your mind made up. So I guess you and Reece will both be accompanying me."

I took another breath. My brain was being pulled in opposite directions and I couldn't register what she was saying. But when I took a moment to think about it, the place she must have been assigned to this time might not have been dangerous at all, or she wouldn't have let me and Reece come.

"Just a reminder, when you go back, make sure to get a letter from your university, okay? They won't just let anyone come with me."

"Sure, mom. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart. Call me later."

"Will do."

The phone call ended and I debated going in after Atlas. I noticed there was a sign in front of the building that said library.

But five minutes later he was back with a handful of newspapers in his hands.

"Why?" I asked. He started the car again. "Maybe I should drive."

"No, I got it." He said. He turned the car in the direction of the main highway. The reflections of streetlights glimmered across his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently.

"I will be." He shrugged.

By the time we got to Brighton, it was already 7 pm. Adrian was just putting Luna to bed when Atlas threw the pile of newspapers on the table.