Sin and Sinner

12

~Atlas' POV~

I lingered quietly in the living room early the next morning until Emmett came wandering down the hallway after he finally woke up, knowing Darlina was currently cooking breakfast in the kitchen. After the argument we'd gotten into last night, I couldn't bring myself to be around her so soon yet.

Especially not after the way she'd completely avoided me this morning when she walked through towards the kitchen, acting like I wasn't here.

"Why are you just standing around like an idiot?" Emmett asked grumpily as he flopped onto the couch, stretching a leg out lazily. I crossed my arms and looked down at him, shrugging my shoulders. "I dunno. Why are you lazing around like you didn't sleep for ten hours?" I retorted, causing his brows to raise at my tone. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He said with a shake of his head, grabbing the remote off the table to switch on the TV.

He glanced over at me after a second. "Is Li cooking breakfast?" He wondered, only earning a simple nod of the head from me, which I hoped would be enough for him to know that I wasn't interested in making conversation. Because it's Emmett, he kept talking anyways, knowing me well enough to know that I'd still answer even if I wasn't in the mood to. "What's she making?" He asked, dark eyes wide as he sniffed the air curiously.

"Not sure. She's been in there a while." I answered in a mutter, hesitating before I sat down on the other end of the couch Em was on. Emmett eyed me for a moment before he stood and wandered off to the kitchen, the faint sound of their voices reaching my ears after a few seconds.

It was after about ten minutes that the two of them came back, both with their own plates of food. Emmett returned to his seat while Darlina took the other couch, curling her small frame up beneath the throw blanket before she cast a glance at me, catching my gaze. She looked away whereas I didn't care to, instead watching her closely in an attempt to determine if she was angry at me.

Just a few minutes later, her eyes flicked my way again. "I made enough food for you, if you want some too. It's nothing special, just some breakfast burritos." She told me, causing me to frown slightly as a bit of guilt crept up over my shoulders. Despite how upset I had clearly made her last night, she was still being nice to me. Why? I didn't get it. She had no reason to be kind to me, yet here she was, offering me breakfast.

Darlina looked away and I curled my fingers into a fist, clenching my jaw as I stood from the couch. I wandered to the kitchen and got myself a plate before I returned to the living room, where I found Darlina giggling softly at something Emmett had said. My eyes lingered on her lips and her wide, pretty smile, a bit stunned at the sight. This was the first time that I had really seen her smile like that.

I shook my head at myself and sat down, beginning to eat. If I was being honest, I hadn't expected her to make food for me anymore and the fact that she'd been considerate enough to make enough for me as well was probably more than I deserved.

When Emmett got up to leave and I had already finished my own food, I glanced over towards Darlina, who was focused on the TV. "Smalls," I said without thinking, the nickname slipping out. Her head snapped my way, the expression on her face just as flustered as when I had called her it last night. "I'm not--" She went to protest but I cut her off, already knowing she was about to tear into me. "Thank you." I muttered, glancing away from her.

She went quiet, as if surprised, and I could feel her gaze still on the side of my face. "You're welcome." She responded. I hesitated before I rose from the couch and took our dishes to the kitchen, where Emmett was cleaning them, for once. This was the first time I'd seen him washing dishes since I'd moved in.

Em looked up and scowled when I set the other two plates in the sink, adding to the amount he had to do. "Did you really just give me more dishes?" He asked with irritation, to which I just cocked up an eyebrow and chuckled. "Asshat." He griped, but continued doing the dishes anyways.

"So, what is going on with you and Li?" Emmett asked before I could leave, catching me extremely off guard. I looked at him from where I stood by the counter, eating one of the leftover burritos Darlina had made. "What?" I said through a mouthful of food, furrowing my brows. He turned off the water as he finished the last of the dishes, giving me a look that told me not to play stupid. Jesus, how the hell had he already fucking noticed?

"Don't think I didn't notice, man." He sighed, kicking the dishwasher shut gently. "You guys are behaving even more weird around one another than usual." He mentioned.

I couldn't help but to scowl slightly at that, not amused, but my irritation quickly faded as I let out a deep sigh. "Fine, you're right." I admitted begrudgingly. "We were talking last night and I might've insinuated that she thought less of me because I'm an ex-convict." I told him, and he immediately snapped his head over to me with such speed that I worried for the well-being of his neck.

For perhaps the first time since we'd been friends, I saw anger flash through his eyes towards me, which was surprising because Emmett didn't get mad over almost anything. The last time I had seen him truly angry was when we were Juniors in high school, which was almost nine years ago now.

"What?" He pinned me with a glare. "Why the hell would you say that to her?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice low so Darlina wouldn't overhear anything.

"It just slipped out when I was angry, but I didn't mean it and she knows I didn't mean it." I defended in a grumble, crossing my arms over my chest. Emmett stared at me and shook his head, smoothing his hand over his cornrows. "You can be such an asshole sometimes, man. Li would never think less of someone unless they deserve it." He told me, cocking up an eyebrow.

Another sigh left me and I rubbed the back of my neck before looking away, trying to avoid his gaze. "I might've also told her that I don't want to be her friend." I added, practically muttering the words beneath my breath.

Emmett's eye twitched, I could've sworn it. "God, you're stupid, A." He sighed with a shake of his head. "What, then, did you say that for? Did that also just happen to slip out?" He asked, clearly unhappy with my behavior towards her. I shook my head and finished off the last of the burrito in my hand. "No. She asked me a question and I answered it." I responded simply, shrugging my shoulders.

Stupefied, he just stared at me with an incredulous look on his face. "Really?" He rubbed a hand over his face with a deep sigh. "Did you give her a good reason?" He asked, eyeing me expectantly. I paused. "It was a good reason to me." I grunted, pushing past him to look through the fridge. I opened the door and Emmett braced his hand on the back of it, promptly forcing it shut so I couldn't half ass the conversation. "Darlina's too different from me, okay?" I snapped, shoving his arm away so I could open the fridge again. "The fuck is the point of a guy like me befriending a girl like that?"

The hard look on his face softened slightly, but only slightly. He stepped away and shook his head as he watched me while I looked through the fridge's contents. I could tell he wanted to say something but instead he just turned around, walking off without a word.

I pursed my lips and tightened my fingers around the fridge handle. I knew I had fucked things up but this was as good as it could be anyway.

I just hoped Emmett could see that too eventually, even if he didn't right now.