Sin and Sinner

11

~Darlina's POV~

Over the next few days, the tension between Atlas and I grows thick as I tiptoe around him any time we're alone, not wanting to upset him or make him uncomfortable. While he used to be the one always dodging being in the same room as me, now I am the one doing so.

And with Emmett's work schedule during the week, he and I ended up being alone together more often than I expected. It's unfortunate to me because I don't have a problem with Atlas, yet now I feel like I am forced into walking on eggshells in my own space. I still don't understand why he dislikes me in the first place, though he doesn't seem to hate me, he doesn't like me either and that in itself makes me more wary about what I've done. Part of me worried that his current dislike of me may worsen to disdain.

I rubbed my back as I stood beneath the warm stream of water in the shower and stared at the floor, watching the water trickle down the drain. After a few minutes of waiting for the conditioner to be rinsed from my hair, I turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping myself in a towel.

Tapping my foot on the floor, I searched through my dresser until I found a pair of underwear that I pulled on and then continued to look for something to wear. I'd just gotten home from my shift at work not too long ago, so I was in need of something comfy and thinking about what I wanted to order in for dinner. Seeing as Em's work schedule was a little later today than normal and I didn't feel like cooking, I was left to instead order from somewhere, which I was fine with.

After picking out something to wear I grabbed my laptop and sat in bed, scrolling through DoorDash to see what sounded good. I eventually ordered Buffalo Wild Wings and then hopped out of bed, happily skipping down the hallway towards the kitchen. Now all there was to do was wait on my food to get here.

The second I entered the kitchen and saw Atlas was already there, I came to a sudden halt and pursed my lips. I hesitated before I looked away from his broad back and opened the fridge, scanning my eyes over the contents within. When I spotted the small bottle of tea that I had been looking for I snatched it up and let the fridge door swing shut, turning around to find that Atlas was now looking at me. Though I stared back at him for a split second, surprised, I quickly snapped out of it and quietly turned to head back to my room.

"Darlina," He suddenly called for me with his husky voice, making me turn to look at him over my shoulder. Atlas rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, glancing away from me.

Staring at him expectantly yet patiently, I tried not to get my hopes up and nervously wrung my fingers together. "Um," He mumbled, furrowing his brows. "I feel like I upset you the other day." He said, finally meeting my gaze. I frowned at him and couldn't help the way my shoulders slumped a little. "Oh." I whispered, giving him a small smile and a shake of my head. "It's fine." I assured him.

He stared at me for a few seconds and leaned against the counter with a sigh. "I didn't necessarily mean that I dislike you or anything, by the way." He muttered, looking down at the floor as if it embarrassed him to say that. I, however, perked up again at his words.

A few seconds of silence passed before I spoke, though my voice shook slightly with my nerves. "Then does that mean we can be friends?" I asked, the hope leaking into my tone. He lifted his head and met my gaze, cocking up a dark eyebrow. "No." He responded evenly. I frowned and curled my fingers tighter around the bottle of tea in my right hand, embarrassed at the clear cut rejection. "I don't really get it. You don't dislike me, but we can't be friends?" I asked, a humiliated flush to my cheeks.

"That's right." He confirmed, causing me to look at him incredulously. I had never heard something like that, nor met anyone who was so blunt.

"Why not?" I wondered, admittedly a little hurt. I didn't understand why he was against us being friends. He sighed and pushed off of the counter when I approached him, his large biceps flexing as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Because you're too different from me." He told me, which was something that, honestly, I couldn't deny. That didn't mean I couldn't argue with it, though.

"So?" I frowned, placing my hands on my hips. "Maybe that's a good thing." I tried to suggest. After all, sometimes opposites mesh well, perhaps even better than those who are similar. Sure, Atlas and I were different but I was failing to see why that mattered at all when he and I still knew basically nothing about one another.

Despite the intentions behind my words, Atlas seemed to take them in the exact opposite way that I meant them. "Why?" He scoffed, looking at me with his brows raised. "Because I'm an ex-convict?" He asked.

Surprised by his words, my eyes widened. "What?" I gasped, quickly shaking my head. "N-No! No, not because of anything like that!" I exclaimed, a little hurt that he would even think I'd meant that. His bright eyes narrowed on me and I frowned at him as he stepped forward, the pink of his tongue swiping across his bottom lip. I resisted the urge to step away, flustered by the decrease in proximity between us, and instead tilted my head back to look up at him.

"Do you actually think I see you like that?" I asked with a furrow in my brows. He just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, searching my features with his gaze. "Maybe for a moment." He admitted in a mutter. "It's not like I know you well enough to say what exactly you're like."

I couldn't help the slight offended pout that formed on my lips. "If I thought of you like that even a little, do you think I would be asking to be friends with you?" I pointed out, hoping that he would understand that I had never judged him that way. For a moment he was silent, likely considering the words I'd just said. "Touché." He hummed, seeming to accept the point I'd made.

"All I meant is that you and I don't have to be exactly alike to get along, to be friends." I told him with a small smile, but he just lifted an eyebrow. "Look, smalls, you seem to have the wrong idea here." He sighed.

The nickname caused my cheeks to immediately burn with embarrassment, earning an astonished look from me as my mouth parted. "Smalls?" I echoed, baffled. "I'm not small!" I protested weakly.

Atlas promptly ignored me and continued on speaking. "I don't want to be friends with you not necessarily because we're so different, but because of the effort it would take to even become friends due to those differences." He explained, my shoulders slumping in defeat at his words. That wasn't a good way to look at things.

"But any friendship requires effort, especially when you're just getting to know them." I responded softly, holding my bottle of tea to my chest. He just gave me a frown and a look that told me he didn't agree, which shouldn't have surprised me. "Not in the way it would with us. The gap is too wide, Darlina." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm not exactly a fun friend to have anyway."

A huff left me and I tried to control my frustration with him, but it was building back up all over again. "Shouldn't that be an opinion for me to form on my own?" I retorted, but he just narrowed his eyes at me in a slightly unnerving glare. "No. You can't form one sided friendships, so don't even try." He grunted. I pursed my lips and stared at the side of his face when he turned his head away from me, now more than a little frustrated towards him.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was jabbing my finger into his muscular chest.

"Why are you such a grump?" I snipped, the sudden jab of my finger quickly catching his attention. He looked down at me with an eyebrow raised in surprise. "I'm not a grump." He scoffed, earning a look of disbelief from me. "You are too. Even though Emmett warned me of this, I didn't think you'd be this much of a grouch. I've been nothing but nice to you ever since you moved in and you can't hardly be in the same room with me."

Atlas' jaw ticked as he clenched it. "I never asked you to be nice." He said, but that just made me even more frustrated. I glared at him, something I hardly ever do to anyone. "So? Nobody should have to ask for kindness from someone else." I snapped. He went quiet and looked away, clearly still seething silently.

I stared at him for a second, waiting for him to say something, and sighed in disappointment when he didn't. As I went to say something, there was a knock on the door that reminded me that I had ordered food from Buffalo Wild Wings. Once I quickly grabbed the food I returned to the kitchen with two bags, somewhat surprised to find that Atlas hadn't left yet despite having the opportunity to.

Sparing him a glance, I set the extra bag of food I'd ordered on the counter. "I ordered a few extra flavors of wings for you and Emmett." I told him quietly. "Take however many you want."

His eyes flicked over to me but I left, heading back to my room in hopes that my wings would calm me down.