The Hookup Pact

30| Atlas

As soon as the words left her mouth, she started sobbing uncontrollably.

"She-she was here. I saw her," she said between gasps. "I saw her and then she left. I-I lost my mommy again."

I pulled her into my chest, rubbing her back soothingly. That's when I realized she was shaking. Badly.

"She was here," Evelyn repeated. "I r-ran after her and... and then she disappeared. I called her. Again and again but she didn't stop. She never stopped."

Another stream of sobs shook her body and I held her tighter. Some of the people around us gave us concerned looks but I ignored them, putting my sole focus on Evelyn. Her breathing was starting to get ragged and I was worried she'd pass out.

"Maybe if I had run faster... caught up with her, she would have taken me back. She would have taken me with her," she cried, gasping for air.

I cupped her face, making her look at me. A lump formed in my throat at the sight of her tear-stained cheeks and puffy, red eyes. She looked so devastated.

"Evelyn, baby you need to breathe okay?" I said, wiping her tears. "Shall we breathe together? Will that help?"

She nodded and I took a deep breath, exaggerating the movement. Inhaling a breath, I exhaled loudly through my mouth. Evelyn mimicked my movements. I kept rubbing her back and arms alternatively, hoping to ground her.

Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she placed her head on my chest, clinging to me. Two women from a nearby store walked towards us and stood a few steps behind. "Is everything okay here?" one of them asked.

Evelyn flinched at her voice and buried her face further in my chest as if hiding. She clutched the front of my t-shirt in tight fists and I wrapped an arm around her back, holding her close. "Yeah. We are okay. Just need a few minutes," I replied, giving her a small smile.

The woman eyed Evelyn with concern but nodded and walked away. Once they were gone, I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair. "Do you want to sit somewhere? Or do you want to leave?" I asked.

"Leave," she whispered.

"Okay. Let's leave." Letting go of her, I took a step back to adjust the bags in my hands. Evelyn's eyes widened in fear and she grabbed my arm, holding it in a vice grip.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not leaving. I'm here. Just have to adjust the bags," I said and showed her the bags in my other hand.

Evelyn immediately let go of me and looked down at her shoes. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Don't apologize," I said and threw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. She immediately curled into my side, snuggling closer. "Let's go."

On our way to the parking lot, we got quite a few stares. Whether it was because they had seen Evelyn's meltdown or because she was clinging a little too close to me, I did not know. But it made Evelyn nervous.

She kept fiddling with her fingers and staring at her shoes, letting her hair fall in front of her face to block the people out. It broke my heart to see her like this.

The parking lot was thankfully empty, a reprieve from the stares of people. I made Evelyn stand to the side and kept the bags by her feet. "Will you wait here while I go get the car around?"

She shook her head, latching onto my arm again. When she met my gaze, her eyes were glassy, pleading. "Don't leave."

I clasped her hand in mine. It was worryingly cold. "Okay. Okay, let's walk together, alright? Can you hand me those bags?"