Page 89 of Atlas
“What about him?” I asked.
“He’s a complicated guy.”
“I’m aware.”
“He and I are both a bit cynical about people and life. But…”
I waited for her to continue.
“But he likes you a lot, Jolene. I can tell.”
I smiled back at her. “I like him too.”
We walked side by side, up the stairs from the beach and onto the property of Charles and Liv. Just before we entered, Lumi turned to me. “I’m happy that you’re here. The fact that you’re not scared off by my brother’s past and his rotten family tree impresses me.”
“Thank you, but I came into his life with some pretty bad luggage too. You heard about my stalker, didn’t you?”
“Yes, of course. It’s awful. Thank God that he’s in prison now and that Atlas was there to stop him from killing you.”
“If everything happens for a reason, then I wonder if Atlas needed to save someone from a crazy person to heal from the trauma of seeing his father kill his mother.”
Lumi placed her hand on the door handle but didn’t push it down. “I didn’t think about that. But, yes, I can see how that would be extra satisfying to him. For all it’s worth, I hope that you and Atlas stay close. I’ve worried about him and prayed that he would find love.”
Her use of the word love made my face heat up.
When we walked in to find the others sitting in the living room around a coffee table full of tea and cake, Atlas locked eyes with me right away, and an unexpected shyness crept over me. Yesterday had been a turning point between us, and I wasn’t sure where to go from here. He had admitted that he had sexual fantasies about me and that they involved dominating me. The thought was arousing, but to me, sex was part of a relationship, and I wasn’t interested in being his fun experiment if he didn’t see a future for us as a couple.
“Did you have a nice walk?” Liv asked.
“Yes.” Lumi took off her jacket and scarf. “Where’s Maximum?”
“He’s watching a movie with Saffron in the media room, or rather when I checked on them, Saffron had fallen asleep in his arms, and he didn’t respond either, so it’s more like they’re napping.” Liv pointed to the table. “Help yourself. I baked brownies.”
Lumi reached over and took a piece of the cake before sitting down on a large ottoman.
I shrugged out of my jacket too and smiled when Atlas patted the fabric next to him, motioning for me to join him.
It was a tight squeeze in the oversized chair, and the closeness between us made a current of electricity shoot from my neck down to my toes.
“Was it a good interview?” Atlas asked me.
“Yes.”
Lumi nodded. “I’ve now told Jolene everything I remember about the cult.”
Charles flinched. “Argh, I still hate to hear the Red Manor Group referred to as a cult.”
“Itwasa cult,” Liv clarified in a firm voice.
“Yes, but no one who lived there saw it that way. Cult is just a derogatory term that others used, but not us.”
River sat in the large sectional sofa. She was nuzzled up in Nathan’s lap with her blonde hair leaning against his buzz cut. “How do you know it’s a cult and not just a normal group of people?”
Atlas had his arm around my shoulder and answered in a matter-of-fact tone. “As a ground rule, when the person becomes more important than the message, then you know there's a problem. Remember how Conor’s picture was hanging in almost every room?”
River nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Another characteristic of a cult is that they seek to control you. The moment you’re asked to cut off outside contact, it’s a major red flag.”
