Page 55 of Atlas Uncharted

Atlas

We’d barely driven an hour when the rain started coming down in sheets, pounding the windshield so hard I had to pull over. I could feel Ebony and Lu’s irritation. I couldn't even blame Kairi for telling them. I wouldn't ask her to lie for me, and I was ready to take whatever they dished out—or at least I thought I was.

“Y’all brought this rain down with you from up north,” I joked weakly.

“Eww, this is perfect,” Lu muttered from the back seat, crossing her arms. “Now we’re stuck in a car with him, and he’s corny.” She mock-whispered the last part, rolling her eyes at me in the rearview mirror.

Kairi turned around, shooting Lu a look. She was obviously amused but still defended me. “Okay, chill, Lu. He’s trying. I only told y’all what happened because I’m tired of lying. Now, don’t verbally beat the man on the trip he paid for.”

Lu’s mouth tightened as if she was about to keep talking, but then she shook her head. “Trying isn’t enough, Kairi. He married a whole other bitch over you, then tried to treat you like a character in a book—forcing you to be with him. We can jump his ass and take the car, still enjoy the trip.” she added, cutting her eyes at me.

Ebony leaned forward from the back seat, poking her head between us. “You tripping, Lu. He’s too big to fight. We’d have to shoot his ass.” She glared at me for a second before continuing, “But Atlas, tell me something real. Other than your parents, what kept you from choosing Kairi back then?”

The question caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected them to be so direct. I felt Kairi tense beside me, her gaze shifting to the window. She wasn’t going to stop them.

Ebony kept going. “I mean, if I knew someone was for me, nobody—nobody—could make me choose differently. So, what was it? Because clearly, she means something to you now. You got her dumping niggas in front of you. You messed with Davis head. He was eating and shit for days.”

For a beat, Luther Vandross’s If This World Were Mine was the only sound in the car as they waited for me to answer.

I sighed, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “It wasn’t just my parents,” I admitted. “I wasn’t prepared for what she made me feel. I was overwhelmed. Then I got pissed off when I found out she’d accepted a date with someone else on the same day as me. It bruised my ego. I was arrogant, and I thought using Ashlen would make her jealous, make her want me more.” I shook my head, the memory making me cringe. “It was stupid, and it backfired. I thought she’d chase me like other girls did, but she didn’t. I realized too late that I didn’t just want her to want me—I needed her to.”

“Honest answer. Romantic in a toxic way that's kind of sexy if you’re into that type of thing,” Lu acknowledged. “But still, you wasted a lot of her time.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “But I’m trying to make up for it.”

Kairi was watching me now. I could feel her eyes.

“So, what’s changed now? Why all the effort?” Lu asked.

“Because she deserves better,” I said finally. “And I want to be that for her. I want to do right by her and Dion.”

Ebony’s eyes softened slightly. “I’mma need you to do something extreme for forgiveness. Like get out there and sing your apology in the rain, like one of those ‘90s R&B music videos.”

Lu burst into laughter, nudging Ebony’s arm. “Yeah, do it, White Usher!”

I glanced at Kairi. “If she needs me to, I’ll do it.”

She shook her head, trying to hide a smile. “You better not,” she said. “Leave him alone, y’all. Just drive, Atlas.”

The rain had finally let up, and I hadn’t even noticed. I pulled back onto the road, turning up the music. Mary J. Blige’s Real Love came on, and Lu immediately started singing along.

“Come on, Kairi,” Lu urged. “Sing it like you be doing. Let some of this bad energy off. .”

Kairi started singing and just like that, everything felt less tense.

We stopped at a small gas station off the highway about twenty minutes later. The women got out to stretch their legs while I pumped gas. Kairi and Ebony went inside to grab drinks, but Lu lingered outside, scrolling through her phone.

I was finishing up at the pump when I noticed a man approaching Lu, getting way too close for a stranger. He was tall and greasy-looking. We were in some tiny trailer-park town in Florida, just before Lauderdale, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t Lu’s type. I saw him reach for her hand, his voice too low for me to hear, but Lu immediately frowned.

“Move the fuck around,” Lu snapped, yanking her hand away.

He reached for her again. “Aw, come on, baby. Don’t be like that.”

I left the nozzle and walked toward them. “Aye, get the fuck out of her face,” I barked.

The man turned, narrowing his eyes at me. “What the fuck you gonna do about—”

Before he finished, I swung hard, connecting with his ribs. He doubled over, gasping for air. Nobody could ever accuse me of being a patient man. Plus, I needed to take out some frustration.

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