"There are a few moments in life that are perfect and surreal; like a beautiful dream you don't want to wake up from, but when you do, you can't seem to remember what it was about. Then there are the terrible moments, absolute nightmares that nothin...
Makenna's grip tightened on Atlas' shoulder reluctantly during the ride. She found herself relaxing and even shutting her eyes as she enjoyed the ride. When she noticed they were coming up to her dorm, her grip loosened and her relaxed state was long gone.
Atlas' jaw clenched, having no idea why the way she loosened her grip on his shoulder bothered him. He'd almost been tempted to take the long way back but riding in the rain wasn't exactly safe. He slowly pulled up in front of her dorm.
Atlas felt her weight against him as she hopped off, but it was gone quickly, and so was her touch.
"Thanks." Makenna muttered subconsciously,
Atlas was surprised, and he smiled as he watched her walk away, "A please and a thank you in less than twenty minutes."
Makenna stopped and turned to look at him not knowing how to respond. She hadn't even realised she had thanked him.
He noticed she had pulled her hood over her head, but her face was wet. "It's not hard, is it?"
"What?"
"Being friends."
Stay calm. You're two seconds from getting away from him. "I'm being friend-ly."
Atlas smiled, "I'll take it." He hadn't enjoyed someone's brooding company in...ever.
Makenna wanted to huff but turned around and walked away in silence.
"Bye, Mac." Atlas' smile deepened when she didn't respond,
He let out a sigh as she disappeared from sight, his smile falling, "Things are about to get interesting."
Atlas glanced at her dorm one last time before he rode off heading to his apartment.
Makenna shut the door behind her and placed her book and Airpod on her desk. She immediately began to take her wet clothes off, feeling kind of bummed about not being able to spend her entire day at the beach.
She changed into something cosy and patted her hair dry before she went to sit at her desk. Looking out the window, the clouds had gotten darker and the rain was coming down hard. She put her headphones on and pressed play on her playlist. Lifting her socked legs, she placed her feet on the chair, bringing her knees closer to her chest.
Atlas popped into her mind. More specifically, drenched Atlas, sitting on his bike smirking at her. His hair wet from the rain, locks drooping down his face. Those glassy blue eyes seemed darker than she remembered.
Makenna captured her betraying thought with a sharp and deep inhale, letting it go when she exhaled.
What the fuck? She thought to herself,
Friends. She scoffed at the thought. She didn't understand why he bothered himself with her. After everything she had done and not done to get him to steer clear of her, he still persisted. It was like having acne when all your skincare products were supposed to prevent them.
Usually, her attitude was enough to get people to stay away. But with Atlas, she'd progressed to using words to get him to stay away, but that too hadn't worked.
Makenna kept her gaze fixed out the window, hearing through the music as the rain pattered against the window.
The rain was unyielding. Staring out the bedroom window in nothing but a pair of low-hung joggers, Atlas thought.
Just like Makenna. He wiped his damp hair with a towel.
He hadn't been able to stop going through the last thirty minutes in his head. He'd played out every scenario, every spoken word. He was trying to see if he could find something that went beyond her surface or anything in the things she had said. But he arrived at the same conclusion every time which was: He needed more time with her.
Ok, so he had a weakness for solving things. Once he was given a challenge, he couldn't help but try his best to get to the bottom of it and restack everything so that they aligned perfectly. His toys, growing up, were mostly made to help improve a kid's problem-solving skills. His dad hadn't held back on him on that front.
Then having to find a way to solve the problem with his family after his mum...it was there in everything he did.
Emily. She came to mind and he quickly shut it down.
No! No. Simply, no. He thought there was no way. He loved her. Loves her?
She's gone. How could he love someone that was gone?
But a question from nowhere gnawed at him. If she wasn't gone, would she still be someone you love or someone you loved?
Atlas wasn't mentally prepared to open a can of worms. So, he did the best thing he knew how to do. He slammed it shut and shoved it away. He didn't see the point in opening up a topic that was quite pointless seeing as the person in question was gone. It would be a waste of energy, mental and emotional.
The look in Makenna's eyes that night they'd run into each other flashed in his mind. This is why we can't be friends.
Why couldn't they be friends? All he'd said that night was: There are nights it feels like you're blindfolded no matter how bright the stars are.
He hadn't meant to speak his thoughts out loud. The night of the accident had just crept through because he'd been in a relaxed mood.
Relaxed. Atlas smiled. It was funny, really. But he found that he felt lighter when he was around Makenna. Like he was able to focus on her, what she hid below the surface, rather than himself and his worries.
But back up to what he'd said that night though. It was a simple sentence that any person would've probably given him a funny look for. Except for someone who knew that a night could get darker without it growing visibly dark.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Guess who's wrapping up with the Epilogue?
I got up much earlier than usual today and got started on it right away. I'm currently writing the final scene with Atlas and Makenna and I'm super super excited for when you guys get to read it.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram because I post about stuff I'm working on and you can catch a glimpse of anything before you find out about it on Wattpad. Also, you can just watch the booktoks I post on there as well, or get to connect with me. (Direct link ---->)
Anyway, for me, I'll be wrapping up Broken this weekend but I'm really looking forward to experiencing the rest of the journey with you guys in the comment section. I really love doing that.
