(Formerly known as "When Our Paths Crossed")
****
A tale of two lost souls brought together by pain, grief and trauma.
Atlas tries to find a place in a world he's worked so hard to escape. Elijah struggles to balance the life he's building and the...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DESIREE DRIVES LIKE a grandma. She's so cautious as she inches her way down the road, gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. Normally I wouldn't mind a cautious driver, but watching her speed remain constant at 45km makes me itchy with frustration. In turn, she picks up on my agitation, which makes her an agitated driver, so the entire ride is filled with tense silence peppered with snappy remarks from both of us.
"You know you can get a ticket for driving too slow," I snap at one point.
"I'm not going that slow," she snaps back, "everyone else is driving the same speed."
"A guy on a scooter just passed you!"
She rolls her eyes and eases onto the breaks far too early as the light ahead turns yellow. I pinch the bridge of my nose to try and squash my frustrations. Despite her gratingly slow and cautious driving, I'm thankful she's agreed to help me. Finding Atlas would have been a great deal more difficult without her.
Rin's sitting on her front porch, smoking a joint, when Desiree finally parks along the curb. Rin's raven hair is a knotted mess, and judging from the rumpled, fuzzy pink pyjama pants she's wearing and a tank top, she's only just woken up. And, she looks royally annoyed by that fact.
Gen. Z mafia queen is what Desiree called Rin. All I see is a pissed-off, preppy, rich girl. Maybe that's all the qualifications one needs to wear the crown.
"What's so urgent that you woke me up?" she demands as we approach. "You made it sound like the world was on fire."
"Atlas is missing," Desiree explains, glossing over Rin's sassiness. "And he's been missing since your party, so we figured we'd talk to you."
Rin's dark eyes flick to me, and she waves her joint in my direction. "Since when did you two become a "we?"
"Since never you mind," Desiree says, jutting out her chin. "Do you know where he is or not?"
"Probably a bender," Rin shrugs, "he says he's clean, but I saw that look in his eyes when he came to the den. Atlas has never really had much endurance, and he sure as hell can't resist temptation."
I roll my eyes, annoyed by her already. I didn't really have the chance to speak to her before at the party, but she seems more like she was playing the role of regal when surrounded by her junkie followers. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone? His sister is really worried about him."
"Is she?" The rich girl tilts her head to the side, the movement upsetting the precarious bun on the top of her head. "Or, do you mean, you're really worried about him?"
"Rin, stop with these games and give us a hand," Desiree sighs, crossing her arms. "Please?"
Rin's eyes are unwavering from me as she smiles. It's a chilling smile, and I realize that I shouldn't underestimate her. Then her almond eyes shift over to Desiree, and she dips her head, conceding. "Fine. You're really no fun, Desi; I don't know why you bother coming to my house if you don't even drink or get high."
