“Oh, it’s you. Thank you.” Atlas sits up, taking the glass from my hands as I plop down next to him on the bed.
It’s you? What does that mean?
“Atty, are you still… do you still believe it will return?” It’s funny, considering I was being paranoid over the same thing.
Atlas gives me a shy smile, his slim shoulders shrugging. “I still get nervous.”
It makes me a bit sad, all things considered. Atlas is mine now—mine to hold and protect—and I can’t stand the idea of him continuing to live his life in fear.
But what can I give him? How can I tell him to never fear that beast again when I don’t have the power to close the gates of hell myself?
And then it hits me. It’s obvious, simple, really.
“Hey,” I prompt, taking the now half-empty glass and setting it aside. “Listen to me for a moment.”
“Alright,” Atlas murmurs, and he’s looking up at me with those big, trusting eyes that tell me that I’m doing alright—that if I can do nothing else, I can still dothis.
“If it does come back, if I somehow failed you, I will protect you from it.” It’s a promise, a declaration.
Atlas grins, his fingertips raising to run over the scar on my face. “I know, Julie. I know you will.”
In one singular movement, I have us lying down with his small body tucked against mine.
“You don’t have to live in fear anymore. Not while I’m around.”
“This means you can never leave me,” Atlas whispers, scooting back further into my arms. “You have to stay and protect me for the rest of our lives.”
Well, yeah. I thought that was a given.
“Don’t worry, little bunny,” I murmur into his hair. “I will save you over and over again, like it’s my only purpose for breathing.”
And in this moment, I believe it might be.
As I said, we belong to each other now. What else could I possibly have left to do, other than to follow him relentlessly? To stay spinning in his orbit?
