The Hookup Pact

34| Atlas

"Turn right here," Evelyn instructed from the passenger seat. I did as she said and kept driving straight.

After receiving Veena's call, Evelyn had gone into panic mode, our argument from minutes ago all but forgotten. She didn't tell me what the situation was or why Veena was crying but I figured it was something serious. I insisted on driving her to wherever it was she wanted to go and although she was hesitant, she agreed.

"There! Stop there," Evelyn said, pointing at a figure standing on the sidewalk on our right. I pulled up the car right where Veena was standing. The car had barely stopped when Evelyn opened the passenger door and flung herself on the petite girl. "Oh God! Are you okay?" she asked.

I briefly wondered if it would be wise of me to sit inside the car to give them privacy but then quickly decided otherwise. What if Veena was in danger? What if someone was after her? At least I could save them if someone tried to attack them.

Nodding to myself, I got out of the car and was immediately pinned by two sets of wary eyes. The girls stopped talking and stared at me intently as if they wanted to make me disappear into thin air. Man, they should join the FBI or something. The intimidation tactics were no joke.

I gulped the nerves and awkwardly raised my hand. "Hi!"

They looked at me, then at each other before focusing back on me. "I didn't know you were with him. Oh, God, this is so embarrassing!" Veena squeaked as she ducked her head, wiping the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks.

"No, no. It's okay. My car broke down so Atlas was giving me a ride here," Evelyn explained, rubbing Veena's back. "He's leaving."

I was? Maybe I had caught Dylan's nosy bug but I didn't want to leave. Not when Evelyn had just had a meltdown, Veena was crying on the sidewalk and I still didn't know what the hell was wrong with either of the two.

"Well, technically I should stay in case you need a ride again. Neither of you has a car," I said, leaning on my car and patting its top.

They stared at me again for a beat before turning away from me. "Are you okay if we take a lift from him?" Evelyn asked Veena in a hushed tone.

Was I eavesdropping? Maybe. But as long as they didn't realize it was okay right?

"I'm fine as long as we go from here. I don't know if that guy followed me here," Veena whispered back and my body tensed at the mention of a guy. I looked around us, checking if the said guy was still lurking somewhere close by.

"Okay, let's go then. I'll ask him to drop us at my apartment."

Evelyn turned around to face me but before she could repeat what I already knew, Veena grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Wait! We can't go to your place. Everett knows your address and he also knows you're the only one I'll go to. He'll come searching for me and I have no desire to see him today."

Everett? As in Everett Miller?

"What the fuck Miller has to do with this?" I asked, momentarily forgetting they weren't supposed to know that I could hear them. "And why the fuck does he know where you live Rosy?"

They both flinched at my voice, their eyes wide in shock. But Evelyn was quick to recover as she narrowed her gaze on me. "You were eavesdropping?"

I waved my hand in dismissal. "My ears are sharp. But that's beside the point. What's going on here? How is Miller involved?"

"That's none of your business!" Evelyn retorted. "You shouldn't—"

"Can we leave from here please?" Veena interrupted as she looked around nervously.