𝗣 𝗬 𝗥 𝗢 𝗠 𝗔 𝗡 𝗜 𝗔 | BOOK THREE

T W E N T Y - N I N E

[atticus eaton]

"You have to be careful in today's world. A dear friend of mine, a happy woman with a thousand desires in the world, was happily dating a man who just snapped one evening. I mean, sure, it was later revealed that he was the Ghost Pyromaniac who had been at large for months prior. But, her life went from good, great even, a good job, a kind man who loved her, the ability to do whatever she desired to a life of fear. Nightmares of the man running through her home and strangling her or lighting her on fire. Nightmares that nearly became a reality. Because of this one man, Wyatt Jones, a teenage boy with absolutely no relation was dead, an eleven month old baby was sick from smoke inhalation, a woman was suffering from Anxiety and depression, and me, a Chicago Firefighter, was in a coma for nearly a month after falling three stories responding to a fire he started. You have to be so, so careful in today's world. You never know who you can trust." I say. "Thank you."

Applause fills the auditorium as I finish my speech and walk off of the stage. I tuck my flash cards away in my pocket and approach the exit, waving. 

"Atticus," A sweet voice says, approaching me. "You did fantastic."

Lillian Young, also known as Anya to her nieces and nephews and a nickname Graham and I both picked up while speaking about her. I take her in my arms and kiss her gently, smiling at the beautiful woman in my grasp.

"All thanks to you. You are the woman who let me stay at her apartment until two this morning rehearsing my speech." I say.

We lace our fingers together and exit the building. My watch beeps and I look down at it. 11:45--Fifteen minutes until lunch with Jolene. I look at Anya and smile.

"I've gotta go. Lunch with Jolene, Graham's ex-girlfriend... I think? There was never really a label on the relationships but they technically were dating. I don't know." I say. "I will be back around one, two at the latest."

She nods and kisses me quickly before stepping back. 

"Have fun. I want to hear all about it when you get home." She says. 

I nod and smile at her as I hail a taxi. I climb in and wave goodbye to her as it drives away. I give the driver the address for the diner and look down at my phone. It feels strange to have the phone number of my Brother's Ex-girlfriend, knowing that I could send it to him so he could reach out to her. But I don't. The taxi pulls up at the diner and I climb out, paying the driver. I walk inside spotting a woman sitting at a booth by herself, sketching in a notepad. That's Jolene. I approach the booth and smile at her. She looks up at me and smiles. She stands and we hug for a moment, a greeting of old friends from long ago. We both sit and smile at one another.

"How's New York treating you, Atticus?" She asks, closing her notepad.

I smile and exhale softly. 

"It's great. I'm in a new relationship with an amazing woman--Lillian. I've been giving speeches every week, going to conferences about safety daily, having a lot of fun, really. I have to admit that I'm starting to miss Chicago. I'm pretty glad I've only got two more months here. What about you? How's Chicago? And your new studio?" I ask.

She smiles and shrugs.

"It's... new. My old studio was in the most perfect place and it was just so great. My new studio is much closer to my apartment so that's a plus." She says. "It's just strange trying to adjust when everything was perfect."

I exhale and nod. She shakes her head and crosses her arms.

"Okay, this is just awkward. Can we please just get onto the reason why we're here?" She asks. "I know you're just going to tell Graham everything anyways."

I shake my head and grab my jacket from beside me.

"If you really think I'm that shallow, I'll go spend my lunch break with someone who does trust me." I say.

She grabs my arm and exhales.

"I'm sorry, it's just been a lot lately. Can we talk?" She asks.

I nod and slide back into my seat.

"I did come here to talk about Graham, but only to figure out what went wrong between you two. I  mean, come on, you two were the couple. Everyone loved you guys together. My mom loved you. And my Dad adored your clean record and good role modeling for Graham to follow." I say.

She exhales and shrugs.

"I guess what I've been trying to say is that I'm hurt. Graham coming in and saving me was amazing and I owe him my life, but the fact that he let the one thing that I had left of my father burn down in that studio hurt my heart. He did nothing to try and stop the flames. He just let them devour the building. By the time the fire department got there, the roof had already collapsed inside and became a pile of embers." She says.

I nod, happy that she's finally telling me what happened.

"He didn't mean to hurt you. He didn't think it was safe to go back inside the building and try and salvage anything." I say. "He was just trying to look out for you."

She nods and her expression softens slightly.

"I don't know how to get over this anger I feel in my chest. Every time I think of him, all I feel is anger." She says.

I shrug and tilt my head.

"You don't have to forgive him, Jolene. But you should talk to him. He just want to talk with you one last time and then he'll leave you alone forever." I say.