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Atlas lifted his hands away from the dish and backed up.
God, she’d acted like a bitch. What was she doing taking this out on him?
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” She wiped her forehead, trying to fight the first signs of the migraine that was coming on.
“It’s alright . . . Was that another brother?” Atlas asked.
She sighed. “Yeah.”
Was it her, or did Atlas seem to relax after she answered?
“How many do you have?” he asked.
“Just the two. Well, their best friend, Andre, counts himself as an honorary big brother too. So, I guess that makes three.”
Atlas nodded.
“What about you?” she asked.
“One brother.”
“Does he think you’re incapable of making decisions like my brothers seem to think of me?” She laughed.
He gave a curt nod as his gaze clouded over. Had she said something wrong?
“I’ll see you later.” He turned and left the room.
Great. I had to go and open my mouth and ruin this progress. Now he probably thinks I’m a raging bitch.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Jasmine went through the stack of paperwork that had been calling her name while Zoey twirled to the music blaring from Jasmine’s phone in the common room. It was easy enough to lean over and peek around the corner to check on Zoey every few minutes.
While the few night classes she’d taken in accounting had helped give her a handle on things, they hadn’t made balancing the books any more fun.
“Mr. Atlas, do you want to see my performance?” Zoey’s little hopeful voice asked.
Jasmine held her breath, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of their exchange.
“I can’t right now. I have some errands to run. But I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”
Zoey’s bottom lip stuck out as she looked down and nodded. “Otay.”
Atlas walked past Jasmine, towards the front door, not bothering to glance her way. Jasmine took a sip of her water and checked the clock on the computer. She could finish this up after Zoey went to bed. She’d just add it to her never-ending to-do list. “Hey, Z?”
Zoey walked towards her, disappointment evident on her face. “What?”
“Wanna build a sandman?”
Zoey’s mouth split into a smile. “Silly Mommy. It’s a snowman.”
Jasmine widened her eyes. “What do you mean? There’s no snow outside, so we have to improvise. Let’s go build a sandcastle before I make us dinner.”
“Yay!” Zoey agreed, running towards the kitchen.
If she did one thing right, it would be to bring a smile to her daughter’s face every time something in this world brought her down. But there would come a day when she wouldn’t be there. When sandcastles wouldn’t be the solution. When the real pain of Jasmine’s past would stain her daughter’s world. Would Zoey hate her for what she’d done to survive? How could she expect Zoey to forgive her for something she wasn’t ready to forgive herself?
* * *
