Page 14 of Westward

It took all within me not to look at Atlas. I wondered exactly what he and Jasmine had done once I had left them. It wasn’t my business, though. After all, he was single. Jasmine was single. And they had always looked good together, even when he had been on my arm.

“With such small numbers in our graduating classes, it made sense to do an event every four years that celebrates the four years past. All graduating members are welcome to attend, and those who are at five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and so on reunions will have access to additional events. We hope you’re able to join us on the planning committee.” Jasmine turned and spoke to Atlas directly, and I did my best not to look annoyed. I was probably seeing things, honestly.

“I’m in,” a man said from the other side, and Jasmine looked reluctant to pull her gaze from Atlas. For Atlas’s part, he looked down at his phone, not caring about the no-technology rule.

Jasmine smiled and continued on about planning, with others being added to the committees.

I worked with the school every day, and reunions were not my cup of tea. So there’s no way that I was going to volunteer. Or be volunteered for that matter.

Jasmine walked off, speaking to one of the tall, bearded men who I now recognized as Remy. We had dated a couple of times and had even slept together, but he hadn’t been my only. Remy smiled over at me, and I felt Atlas stiffen against me. Or perhaps I was only imagining it.

“Next up is the festival dance,” the mayor began, and Atlas leaned over to me, his voice low and deep.

“How many dances does this town have a year?”

“We don’t ask those questions. But there will be a summer festival parade,” I muttered.

Atlas’s shoulders began to shake, and I turned away from him, knowing that if I looked over at him, I would laugh.

This man was a menace, and he knew it.

By the time we went through all the items on the agenda, I was tired, my butt hurt from the hard seat, and I was ready to go home. Others were heading to the bar and grill for dinner and to enjoy time together, but honestly, I just wanted to get home and check on my parents.

I said my goodbyes and escaped before I had to say anything to Atlas. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with more of the town’s onlookers when it came to that man. We didn’t fight. Contrary to what other people believed, we liked each other. But it was harder sometimes than others when it came to being near him. And that was on me. Never him.

I made my way home, calling my parents over Bluetooth and waiting for them to answer. It clicked over to voicemail, and I sighed. They never kept their phones on, and it killed me. I needed to stir my crockpot and get a few things done, and then I would head over to their house.

Just as I walked inside, my phone buzzed, and a sense of relief filled me.

“Mom.”

“I’m sorry, baby. We fell asleep watching our favorite movie and missed the meeting. Did I miss anything fun?” she asked.

I quickly stirred the crockpot and went to get ready for an evening in. It was still daylight out, but here I was, deciding to get in my pajamas before dinner. I really needed a life. But this was the life that I chose, and I loved it.

“You’ll never guess, but we do have a festival parade and dance on the way.”

My dad’s deep laughter filled the phone, and I smiled, leaning against the wall as my parents spoke about their day, and I filled them in on the meeting.

As I hung up, tears pricked my eyes. Well, there was a reason that I stayed behind. I would take them my leftovers later, so perhaps I wouldn’t get in pajamas fully. Mom and Dad still cooked, still took care of themselves, were perfectly able to do most things.

But I wanted them to know that I was always here for them.

There was a knock on the door, and I frowned, wondering who could be here. Then again, it was Ashford Creek. It could be any one of my friends dropping in unannounced.

I opened the door without looking through the window first and blinked.

“Atlas?”

“Hey. You didn’t say goodbye.”

I let my head fall back, and I groaned. “Really? Do you really think I should have given a heartfelt goodbye in the middle of town hall as if waiting for people to whisper?”

“Is it really always that bad?” Atlas asked.

And that’s when I realized that he didn’t know. He might think he had an idea of how this town reacted when it came to him, but he didn’t know what it was like when he wasn’t here.

“Come inside before somebody walks past and sees you standing on my porch. I don’t need to be on the front page of the Gazette. I’m fine with being in the middle, like always, when it comes to you.”