It Had To Be You

Chapter Three

TWELVE DAYS UNTIL THE WEDDING

     I waited anxiously by the door, clutching my duffle bag like it was the only thing keeping me standing. I was going away this weekend with Atlas, to meet his family. Someone I've only really spent the last two days getting to know, and now I was meeting his whole family? It was just.... nerve wracking. 

     "Gemmy! I made you guys a little snack thing for the road." Hope approached me, a smile dancing at the edge of her lips as she handed me a Trader Joe bag that was stuffed full with snacks and treats. We had a six-hour drive ahead of us, and Atlas didn't want to stop. I opened it, laughing as I pulled out a piece of paper with the words: SOS I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED written on it. "Just in case it ends up terrible and you need an out." 

    I threw my arms around her tightly, duffle and trader joe bag and all. I was just so grateful for her. We had been friends since high school. She was the one person in my life who knew everything and didn't shy away. "You're the best. If I don't come home from this, you can have everything in my closet. Don't let Rose get her hands on a single thing. She'd build a memorial for everyone." 

       A light shove into my ribs made me laugh as I pulled away, my grin fading as the doorbell rang. Oh, damn it. Big damn. He was here. My nerves were crawling up my stomach, and I felt like the meager bowl of granola I had for breakfast was going to come right back up. 

        I turned and opened the door, revealing Atlas. He had his hands in his pockets, glasses that I had never seen before resting on his face, and if it was even possible, they made him look more attractive. I skimmed my eyes over him, carefully releasing my nerves in a single breath. I was good under pressure. I could do this. 

    "Gemma, Hope." Atlas said, tipping his head at my best friend as he reached forward and grabbed my bags. "Is this everything, babe?" I rolled my eyes, fighting a little smile. We hadn't seen much of each other over the last three days, but I found myself grateful that he had to be the one I said, that he happened to be in the hallway that day. 

      "Yup! Thanks." Atlas nodded once, turning and heading towards the car, a swing in his arm and a skip in a step. He was excited to see his family, and I was excited for him, but I was absolutely terrified. So terrified to meet his mother. I turned to Hope, let out a big sigh, and gave her one last big hug before I followed him outside the door. He already had my bag in the car and was leaning against the passenger side door, the dorkiest smirk on his face. 

        "What are you looking at?" I asked with a laugh, shoving him a little as I approached. "Is something on my face?" I swiped the corners of my mouth to make sure that none of my oatmeal was on my face. Atlas just shook his head and opened my door for me, making sure that I noticed that he opened my door. 

         "Nope, just looking at you." I snorted, ducking into the car and fastening my seatbelt as he shut the door and walked around the front of the car. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared out of my mind but being with Atlas made me feel a lot better.  "Okay, what kind of music do you listen to? Just One Direction or do you listen to actual music?" 

       Honestly, I should start a tally at how many times I wanted to punch him or roll my eyes, because I think after two days we were up to the thousands. "I listen to other stuff, and for your information, One Direction is actual music." Atlas just laughed, putting his car into gear as he started heading down the road. "I like lots of stuff. Country and Pop mostly." 

Atlas made a face when I spoke, his nose crinkling in disgust. "You like Country? Are you serious? And pop? What are you five?"

     "What does being five have to do with it? Its good! Luke Combs, Tyler Childers, Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, they are all really good."

Atlas began to fake gagging, being completely overdramatic. "Oh my gosh. Olivia Rodrigo? You're twelve. Is this even legal? Will I go to jail?" It was this moment, this very second when I decided that Atlas was a total pain in my ass and would be for this entire time. I didn't have to worry about falling in love with him because all he had done in the ten minutes, we were alone together was piss me off. 

     "Well what kind of music do you like?" He changed lanes, definitely thinking about his words carefully. I was looking for any chance to make fun of him the way that he had just made fun of me, so I didn't blame him for being cautious. 

       "I like Rap, Alternative, Indie. Stuff like that." 

         "You think that Rap is better than Country?! Oh my word. Your music taste is worse than mine." Atlas laughed, handing me his phone for bluetooth. 

"Alright, here's the deal. For the rest of the drive, you pick a song and then I pick a song and we'll see who has the better music taste." I took his phone, looking at him skeptically before finally agreeing. 

"Deal." 

For the first three hours, we played this game. It sparked heavy debates, especially when artists toed the line between our two genres. But it was fun. It was fun. However, after three hours, Atlas began to get restless. 

    "So, tell me about your ex." It wasn't a question, or a suggestion, but a demand. I HAD to tell him. there was nowhere to run, nowhere to go. I was trapped in his car, and he wanted to know. I mean, he had a right to know because it was because of my ex that we were even doing this. It was fair. 

      "We started dating in college, my junior year, I think. He was a Deisel mechanic and we met through mutual friends. We got together pretty fast, but we dated for a really long time. We had a date for our wedding, and I was just waiting on him to propose when I walked in on him with another girl." I swallowed, hating this part of the story. "He convinced me to stay, convinced me that it was a onetime thing, and it would never happen again, and I just...I fell for it. I couldn't believe that this man that I had fallen for would hurt me like that, you know?" I finally looked up from my hands to look over at Atlas, who was staring straight at the road, clearly listening to every word I said. "After that, he started just gaslighting me. If he came home and the dishes weren't done, he would tell me that that was one reason why he cheated. Or if I had a long shift at the hospital, he was lonely, so he cheated. I started doing everything so he wouldn't cheat again, like it was my damn fault." 

         "It wasn't your fault." Atlas said quietly, glancing over at me. His green eyes were full of concern and sadness. Sadness for me? I barely knew him, but it felt comforting to know he cared. 

       I cleared my throat and grabbed my snack bag from where it was between my feet, grabbing some trail mix. "Anyway, after a while I felt pretty crappy about myself, and I came home and found him with a different girl and I just left him. I couldn't do it anymore. He's still really good friends with my family and I guess I didn't want them to think badly of him or me, so I never told them." At that, Atlas scoffed, reaching over and grabbing a handful of my snack. 

      "Wouldn't your family take your side? It wasn't your fault." I shook my head in response, picking out a raisin and putting it in the trash bag he had in his car. 

      "You don't know my family. They are kind of the worst." Atlas signaled to get off the freeway, reaching over and grabbing some more. 

         "Well then, you're going to love mine." 

Chapter three is finished! Hope you love Atlas like I do, and got to see a little bit more of him and Gemma together. This next chapter is going to be good! I would love to hear your thoughts so make sure to comment and vote!