Taking a minute to collect myself, I fight back the tears threatening to spill. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I take a deep breath and wonder how Noah and I came from that family line. I’ll never understand it. He’s a good kid, and I won’t let her get to him, no matter what it costs.
Chapter Twelve
Atlas
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat your ass into this mat.” Seth scowls at me, stretching out his arms.
“Because I already admitted I was an asshole, and what good will it do to try to beat me up?”
Seth tilts his head to the side and pauses for a second, like he’s thinking it over. Then nods as if he’s come to a decision. “You’re almost right,” he says as he takes his first swing.
Emma let us turn the basement into a makeshift gym a few years ago. Rhett was complaining about the gym equipment and how there was only one available, which was across town. She surprised us with a gym setup, going all out. There are weight benches around the far side of the room, punching bags, cardio equipment, and of course, a set of flat mats.
Not only do we come here to work out and visit Emma, but if there are any issues, this is usually where we solve them.
Seth’s fist almost connects with my right cheek, but I move away quickly, throwing my arm up to block it. “Shit, man. I said I was sorry.”
Smirking, he steps back, his body swaying back and forth. I’mtrying to figure out where he’s going to go next, but he’s never predictable on the mats.
“Tell me what you’re sorry for.” He stops for a minute, as if he’s genuinely interested in my answer.
“I bet it’s for acting like a jealous baby over Cora,” Kash shouts from the weight bench he and Rhett are currently occupying.
Twisting my head in his direction, I scowl. “I wasn’t acting like a jealous baby,” I shout back at him. “That guy was being a creep. He—” My reply is cut short by the wind being knocked out of me.
I fold over, holding my stomach, wheezing for breath. Fuck, I forgot how hard Seth hit. “Nice one, asshole. Hit a guy when he isn’t looking,” I huff out. Lunging forward, I swing my fist out toward his jaw. Seth bats it away with a smug grin on his face.Fucking assholes. All of them.
“Come on, Atlas. If you can’t be honest with us, at least be honest with yourself,” he taunts, taking another jab at my side.
Circling around each other, I glare at him. “I am being honest. I don’t know what the big deal is.”
“The big deal,” Rhett yells, “is that you know James isn’t a creep, and that Cora is smokin’ hot, bud.”
“Shut your mouth about her,” I bite out. They shouldn’t talk about her that way. She’s too good for any of them. When she smiles, it lights up her whole face. There’s a little dimple in her cheek, and it takes everything in me to not go over and stroke it to see if I can make it go deeper.
“Ooh,” Kash hollers. “Someone is awfully sensitive about the girl he claims to not want.”
“It’s because Atlas can try to lie to everyone, but he knows he wants Cora,” Seth tosses out, a smug look on his face.
Fuck this.
I throw my full body weight into his stomach and lift him off his feet. Tossing him to the ground, I lean over him, sweat pouring off my body. “You think it’s funny?” I swing my fist into his side. “Youthink you know it all, huh?” I shout, swinging wildly. I can’t even tell if any of my punches are landing; my vision has gone red.
“Atlas! Stop!” I hear a voice shout, but I can’t. I’m too far gone. Everyone thinks they know best about me and Cora. Cora is mine, and I know it’s complicated and I’m acting like a jealous baby, but I need to fix itmyway.
“Oh, what the hell is going on now?” a feminine voice yells.
My head snaps in the direction the voice came from, and Seth seizes that moment to land a right hook so hard I fucking see stars.
Falling on my back on the mat, he stands over me.
“You owe me an apology for the wild haymakers, dick.” He glares, wiping the blood off his lip, breathing hard. “Andyou owe Cora an apology for acting like a jealous little twat.”
My breaths are coming out in heavy pants, and my heart is racing, but my blood is still boiling. I’m pissed, but it’s because I know they’re right. Idolike Cora. Iwanther, but it’d probably look suspicious if the guy she was talking to suddenly went missing.
As I lie on my back, trying to collect my thoughts, a foot nudges me. Turning to the side and getting ready to pull Seth back down for a second round, I freeze. It’s not Seth. It’s Emma.Shit.
“Have you had enough yet, dummy?” She quirks a brow down at me.
