Atlas

I look at the top of the letter for Kayla’s address, then punch it into Waze and hand the driver my phone. “Wake me up when we get there.”

I pull my beanie down over my eyes and lean back. The problem with drinking yourself into oblivion isn’t the drinking part or even the oblivion, it’s the stopping. My head pounds like there’s a fucking dinosaur bone excavation happening in my brain.

“Sir?”

I groan. I barely closed my eyes.

“We’ve arrived at your destination, Mr. Reynolds.”

I push my beanie back and look out the window. “How long was the drive?”

Red laughs from the front seat. “Thirty minutes.”

I raise an eyebrow. Huh. I open the door and climb out, then reach for the letter on the seat. “C-22.” I look back at the buildings. “Stay here.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

I close the door and pull my beanie off, shoving it into the pocket of my hoodie. I slide my shades on and run my hands through my hair. I look at my reflection in the Escalade’s windows. I’m not at my best, but at least it wasn’t Kayla who saw me at my worst yesterday. Since then, I’ve played a badass show, slept for ten hours, and quit drinking. I mean, not forever, but at least until my mind is somewhat clear again. Maybe I’ll wait for Kayla and we can break my hiatus with champagne.

I smile at the thought.

Time to face the music.

I look up at the buildings and C is the one closest to me. Following the numbers on the doors as they get higher, I finally come to 22, and my feet stop moving forward.

What if she slams the door in my face?

“Fuck.”

“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

I look to my left as the blonde approaches me, her hands full of laundry. I walk over to her and reach for the basket of clothes, then look behind her for Kayla. When I don’t see anyone else, I look back at the blonde chick and try to grab the basket from her.

She frowns. “I can carry my own laundry basket, thanks.”

I drop my hands awkwardly. “Sure thing.”

She looks me up and down slowly. “You still look like shit, but there’s been improvement since yesterday.” She shrugs then walks past me. “At least you’ve had a shower.”

I smile sheepishly, then look at the ground. No one has ever made me feel like such a piece of shit.

“What do you want, Atlas?”

I look up and quickly follow behind her to the door of her apartment. Their apartment. My heart climbs into my throat. Is Kayla inside, just a few yards away from me?

Her roommate turns around, then shakes her head when she meets my gaze. “Wow, I actually feel sorry for you.”

My brows furrow.

“She left this morning.”

“Oh.” My shoulders slump. I pick at the edge of the letter in my hands. “What time will she be back? I can wait for her—”

“Back? Atlas, you knew she was moving back to California, right?”

I chew on my bottom lip. “Yeah, I mean, I knew she retired, and that she was moving home, but...” I sigh. “I didn’t know where home was.”

She heaves the laundry basket toward me, so I reach out and grab it. Turning around, she unlocks the apartment door and nods toward the living room. “Come on in.”

I follow her inside, looking around for any sign of Kayla. There’s nothing here that physically reminds me of her, but her scent is all over. I take a deep breath through my nose and breathe her in. She already moved back home; this might be the last time I ever feel close to her.

“Set that over there.” She points to the coffee table. “You want a beer?”

I shake my head. “Water?”

She raises an eyebrow, then disappears into the kitchen. When she comes back, she hands me a bottle of water, then looks me up and down. “Well?”

I take a long drink, then shrug.

She rolls her eyes. “Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Hi, Atlas, I’m Scarlet. Kayla’s best friend. I am not a hooker you hired to come to your suite and give you head.” She flashes a smart ass grin, and I drop my gaze to the floor.

“Sorry about that.”

“Yeah,” she says. “That was pretty bad.”

I smile and look back up at her again. “Would you believe it’s been a rough week?”

With a laugh, Scarlet walks to the couch. “Come on. Sit. Tell me how you’re going to make things right.”

I sit down beside her, then set the letter on the coffee table, and tap it with my fingertips. “You brought this to me, so I’m assuming you already have an idea of how I can make this right.”

Scarlet grins, then leans forward and places her elbows on her knees. She looks into my eyes, searching my gaze. “Do you love her, Atlas?”

I swallow hard. No, of course not. I barely know her. “Yes.”

“You barely even know her.”

“I know. Fucking dumb, right?”

She laughs, waving her hand in the air in dismissal. “Nah. She loves you too.”

The smile falls from my face. “What? She hates me.”

“No, she doesn’t. She hates this.” She points to the letter on the table, then sits back and pulls her legs up beneath her. “What do you know about her?”

I laugh. “Not a fucking thing.” I run my hand over my hair. “God, that really does sound stupid.”

“Kayla is the best person I’ve ever met. She’s driven, and strong...” She shakes her head as if trying to find the words. “This school is—was—everything to her.”

I nod. “Yeah, the um... Learn and Grow Charter School.”

“Learn and Love,” Scarlet clarifies. She looks over at a book shelf, then back at me. “I thought maybe she left it here, like she left this letter.”

“What?”

She waves toward the bookshelf. “Oh, this whole plan, you know? This binder full of every little detail. I mean, she’s been working on this plan for five years, maybe even more. Learn and Love is this amazing concept, you know? Like, it centers around the fact that schools place such emphasis on education, you know, on book smarts, and learning, math and all this other bullshit, but there’s literally no emphasis on being an actually decent human.”

I smile as she explains this side of Kayla that I hadn’t yet gotten the chance to meet. Learn and Love,” I say, because the name is starting to make sense.

“Yeah. Learning is great, but if you have all these super intelligent people, right, but no heart, no soul—”

“No love.”

She nods. “What then? Who cares if you can cure cancer if there’s no humanity left in the world? Who cares if you’re a Republican or Democrat or a surgeon or... I don’t know, I mean, what if the worst fucking guy on earth is president? Does it matter if there’s no compassion left? We’re all just... drones.”

I shake my head. Kayla is even better than I thought.

There’s no fucking way I deserve a girl like her.

I want the world to love me.

She wants to love the world.

I look at her best friend and pray she’ll help me make things right. “How much did she lose? I’ll write a check. I’ll cover what they took from her and then some.”

She laughs sharply. “Oh no, that is the last thing you should do.”

Frowning, I chew on my lip. “Why? What do you mean? She needs the money, right?”

Her eyebrows rise up. “Yeah. She lost half of her funding thanks to that little article about you two. But Kayla will hate you if you try to buy her back.”

I shake my head. “I’m not trying to buy her back... I’d be... investing. Why is that bad?”

“Just trust me.” She brings her bottle of beer to her lips and takes a long sip, watching me as she does so. When she’s finished, she sets the bottle down and leans forward on her elbows. “Look, Atlas, I know you can fix this. But you can’t fix anything if you think money fixes everything. That’s not Kayla.”

Scowling, I stand up and begin to pace the living room. She’s talking in circles. God, women are confusing. “Okay, so, she needs money, and she lost that money because of getting mixed up with me, but I can’t give her the money she lost because she’ll...” I look at her expectantly. “Help me out here.”

“She’ll say it’s pity money.”

“What the fuck?”

“I know.” Scarlet shrugs.

I pull in a deep breath. “Okay.” I scratch my head as I consider my options. “I have to go to the investors and make them change their minds.”

“Bingo.”

I turn to her and hold her gaze for a long time, then give a curt nod. “Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Okay.” She stands and extends her hand. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Atlas.” She laughs. “This time.”

I smile and shake her hand. “Likewise, Scarlet. Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiles as she walks me to the door. “Now go get our girl.”