Page 20 of Sacrifice
He quickly follows it up with, “No, please.”
I shake my head and smile, repeating the question again.
“Yeah, she took me to the library, and we picked out a few books. It was kind of boring after that.”
He drives the car toward him, picking it up and turning it off. He sets it on the counter, climbing up into his seat.
“You only have a few more days before you start school. Are you excited?”
He bounces in his seat, a smile spreading wide. His brown curly hair mimics the same movement.
“I’m excited.” He grins. “Ms. Layla was really nice.”
We don’t have a lot of time before his dad will be here. The oven timer goes off and I quickly pull out the chicken nuggets, tossing a few on the plate before adding a side of macaroni and some sliced apples. It’s not ideal, but it’ll do in a pinch.
His eyes light up when I set his plate down in front of him and he digs in. Right as I reach for a dishrag to wipe up the counters, the doorbell rings.
“You finish eating. I need to talk to your dad.” I motion with my finger for Huxton to sit, walking down the hall toward the door.
Atlas reaches for the handle to the screen door and steps into the entryway, not bothering to wait for me to let him in.
He is dressed in a steel gray button-up shirt and black slacks. His hair is styled neatly, reminding me of the uptight businessmen I used to see walking the streets of Chicago. He pulls his sunglasses off slowly, letting his eyes travel down my body, doing a scan of what I’m wearing.
His jaw clenches and his eyes narrow. I know full well whatever condescending comments he’s going to make will be his jealousy rearing its ugly head, or he’ll be an asshole despite trying to cover it up.
“He ready?” he asks.
“He’s eating. He was hungry, so I thought I’d take that off your plate tonight.”
He shakes his head, clearly not liking my response.
“We need to talk about the other night.” His words come out softer, clashing with the stoic look on his face. I don’t know it’s possible for someone to show two split personalities at the same time, but he does. I’ve learned to walk on eggshells around him for this reason.
If I make one wrong move and misread him, it could turn out to be my greatest mistake.
“Okay,” I say, glancing down the hall toward where Huxton is still sitting. He’s pulled out one of the books he checked out from the library, flipping through the pages. He dunks one of his nuggets in ketchup before taking a bite.
Relieved he doesn’t seem to be paying us any attention, I turn my focus back on Atlas.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to apologize,” he says, the last word coming out higher than I believe he intended, signifying how unlike him it is to say such a thing. I don’t remember the last time Atlas apologized to me, must less for putting his hands on me.
“Can you clarify? What is it you’re sorry for exactly?”
He rubs his thumb over his chin, glancing over at Huxton before he turns his attention back to me.
“You know I would never want to hurt you, Haelynn. It’s just, this past year things have been so stressful. Between work and the move.”
When he talks about the move, he’s not talking about me moving to Arbor Creek. He’s referring to when we bought our last house together. I personally didn’t find it necessary for us to move again. The house was even further away, adding another thirty minutes to the drive to see my mom. Huxton was going to have to transfer schools, meaning he’d go to his second preschool in the past two years.
It was closer to his job though, and much like everything in life, it’s what Atlas wants or nothing at all.
We weren’t given much of a choice, so when I saw the opportunity for us to get out and make a break for it, I took it.
“You know, you can blame it on whatever you want, but it’s not what led us here. It was inevitable. It’s time you come to terms and accept it.”
“So, this isn’t your way of trying to get my attention. This is what you really want?”
