Page 52 of Atlas & Miles
Chapter sixteen
Miles
Atlas was going to tell me something massive. I could sense it. In all the months we’d been together, I’d learned their tells. The heavy slump to their shoulders, the weighty sighs, the way their near-constant sunshiny effervescence seemed to dim . . . I could read them better than I could read even Claudia at this point. And I knew that whatever they had to say—whatever had been bugging them all night—would change everything between us.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. “Daddy?”
They jerked a bit when I broke the silence and turned to me, the interior lights fading out as we sat. I could only barely make them out in the moonlight, the moon just a sliver in the sky. “Yes, sweet boy?”
I took a breath. I didn’twantto know, but I knew Ihadto.
Fuck.This was gonna be bad, wasn’t it?
“What’s wrong?” I ventured. “Something’s been up with you all night.”
I heard more than saw their sigh wrack their body, despite my eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. “Can we go inside to talkabout it?” They fumbled blindly for my hand, and I placed mine in theirs.
Squeezing, I forced a smile into my voice. “Sure, Daddy.”
We solemnly exited the car at the same time, and every step I took toward Atlas’s adorable home added to the rocks in my stomach. I felt like I was walking to my execution.
Once inside, Atlas kicked off their heels by the front door as I toed off my dress shoes. They sauntered into the kitchen to grab us a few glasses of water from the pitcher on the countertop then joined me on the davenport.
After a long, pronounced gulp and a slow, deliberate movement to set their glass on a marble coaster on the coffee table, Atlas turned their entire body toward me. Their breath caught before they spoke. “A-A few things happened today that I want to share with you.”
I swallowed water around the lump in my throat then set my glass down as well. “It’s something big, isn’t it,” I asked, though my intonation was flat. It wasn’t a question, because I knew the answer.
They nodded, and I could feel my heart start to break. This would be the end of us. I just knew it. “Jeb pulled me into his office before I left today. They let me go.”
I gasped, my eyes shooting wide. “What?! How could they . . . they love you there, and you’ve done such good work for them! How could they just—how could they just fire you?”
Their eyes were sad. “Not fired, just let go. They can’t afford me anymore.”
I blinked. “Seriously?”
They nodded. “Yeah. I get it—being a former business owner myself, of course I get it—but it doesn’t suck any less.”
I just stared back. They’d shared their whole story with me over the past few months, and I knew everything that hadgone down in Seattle, why they’d had to move back home to Gomillion.
I also knew they weren’t happy here, not really. Naïvely, I’d hoped I would’ve been enough to keep them here. But without a job and bills to pay, would I be enough reason for them to stay? Gomillion wasn’t known for their scintillating job market. I doubted they’d have an easy time finding another job that fit their skills in town—or even within driving distance.
They cleared their throat, and my full attention shot back to them, my gut tightening. “That’s not all.”
My eyes got wider, but the lump in my throat had grown into a boulder, and I couldn’t get any words out.
Thankfully, they understood and kept going. “Remember my friend, Chase? The one with the business in Seattle?”
I nodded warily, sensing where this was going.
“Not even an hour after I left work for the last time, he called me and offered me a position in his C-Suite with a massive salary and incredible benefits.”
My heart leapt for them even as it was breaking for me. “God, Daddy, that’s incredible!” I sobered quickly, though, as the aching in my chest overtook the joy. “But I assume he’ll want you in Seattle. When does he want you to start?”
Their face fell, and any hope I’d been harboring that I’d have a bit more time with them—that perhaps we’d figure out a way for them to stay—was dashed to the rocks like an ocean’s wave in a hurricane. “Monday.”
With that one word, my heart finally shattered, and I curled in on myself, my breaths shortening and chest throbbing. “M-Monday?” I managed to croak out, my cheeks flushing as my voice cracked. “Like . . .in two-and-a-half daysMonday?”
“Yes. I need to leave on an early Sunday flight.” Despite my vision starting to go black on the edges, I noticed their hands lifting as if about to touch me before they pulled them back,seemingly rethinking it. God, I wanted them to touch me. And I was glad they didn’t. “I’m so sorry, baby. This all just happened so fast, and then we were at the reunion . . .” Their voice trailed off.
