Chapter XXIX

The aching pit of my stomach kept reminding me that I royally screwed up. I could barely eat as tears brimmed my eyelids. Why would I do that? All I preach about is boundaries and how much they should be respected. I did the complete opposite to Atlas.

If I had Celeste, I would go find him and beg to be forgiven. I didn't, I had to wait for him to come back.

I let out a mixture of a sigh and a frustrated growl when I made myself get off my bed.

Walking to the kitchen, I scraped the food into the trash and washed my dishes in the sink.

I really could not believe myself. Angry tears fell from my face as I harshly scrubbed the plate I used from my dinner. Sniffling, I rinsed off all the soap.

This was so stupid.

I looked so stupid.

If Atlas walked in right now, I would be so embarrassed. I had cried in front of him enough today. The thought made me cry harder.

All day today, that man has done nothing but take care of me. What did I do? I threw it in his face.

After patting my hands dry, I looked out the window into the woods. It was eerily quiet. Two yellow orbs caught my eyes making my body stiffen. I called Celeste but she was too far gone to hear me.

I was alone.

I was emotionally and physically vulnerable.

I hurt Atlas.

He was gone.

What if Franco came back to finish the job?

What if it was a group of rogues?

What if it is just a pack member?

My breath hitched in my throat as I backed away from the window. Too many questions overwhelmed me, making it impossible to think.

Unable to hold me together, I slowly went to the ground to find some comfort. My back was firmly against the island and my hands were on my cheeks. I was trembling with the sense of dizziness taking over me. My cold hands weren't helping like I thought they would, which made my throat close more.

Sweat began to grow on my palms and I was starting to feel like I was sophisticating. I knew I was having a panic attack, but nothing I tried was grounding me back into reality.

Panting, I lay on the tile of the kitchen floor where Atlas and I just danced.

It was extraordinary how just a little bit of time could screw it all up.

I missed my Mom so much at this moment. She knew exactly how to handle me when I was a mess and usually made me feel so much better.

The lack of oxygen and dizziness caught up to me as more tears exited my eyes. My eyes grew heavy as the back door opened.

I didn't care who it was at this point, I just wanted to sleep.

"Everly!" A voice called and pulled me into a sitting position. Leo rubbed my arms comfortingly and moved my hair from my shoulders. "You're alright, I am so sorry. I was on a run and Declan told me he needed Atlas but he turned his mindlinks off. I didn't mean to scare you,"

I gasped as air slowly made its way to my lungs. It was nice but not enough for me to be able to function. Leo noticed this and stood grabbing water from the fridge. After taking the cap off, he held it to my lips and I took a giant drink of it.

The coldness of the water made goosebumps appear on my arms and legs. The feeling gave me enough motivation to slowly regain my wits.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, taking the bottle from my lips and placing it on the island over us.

I nodded towards him and wiped my lips.

"Where is Atlas?" He offered a hand after standing up himself.

I pulled myself off the ground and rubbed my aching temples. "I don't know. He left,"

"He left?" Leo growled out. "Come on, let's get you on the couch," He led me to the living room and helped me sit.

As a blanket wrapped around my shoulder, I sniffled a bit trying to clear my face from the attack. "We kind of fought. But, not really," I tried to explain.

"What does that even mean?" He sat on the opposite couch, allowing me to sling my legs on the one I was on.

I told him exactly what happened and his face just grew redder and redder. I could tell it was from anger, I just couldn't figure out who it was directed towards.

"He shouldn't have just walked out like that. I did not raise him to leave when he is having problems," Leo huffed looking around the room.

I sucked on my bottom lip listening to him. That is fair but I did also. "I walked away first. I can't blame him for leaving when I did and for doing what I did,"

"I can blame him because he did not just die," He harshly snipped. "He should be so grateful that he is in your presence that he would go sell his Jeep if you asked him to. He should be so happy he can sleep next to you still and not on top of the ground while you're underneath it,"

I was shocked at his words. My heart was beating out of my chest and into my ears watching my Mate's Dad completely go off about his son and how I was dead. I did not need it to beat into my head more about my heart flatlining. Hearing it from someone else brought how real this was back.

Noticing me growing uncomfortable, Leo sighed and pulled a pillow to his front. "Go to sleep, Darling. I will not go anywhere,"

I simply nodded and turned away to lay down on the couch.

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