The Thousandth Floor

“It sounds incredible.” Avery smiled at the image of Atlas in rolled-up shirtsleeves and a big floppy hat, hauling fish into a boat in the middle of nowhere. It was a far cry from what he did now, working for their dad.

“It’s tech-dark,” Atlas was saying. “They don’t ever have visitors. I had to specially rent a boat just to get there, and it took most of a day.”

Avery was gripped by a sudden, wild, wonderful idea. “What if we went there?”

Atlas looked at her. She forged on, the idea gaining momentum. “You just said it, they’re completely tech-dark. No one would ever find us. We could reinvent ourselves, start a new life.”

“Avery,” he said cautiously, but she didn’t care, she could see it now: the little house she and Atlas would live in, with a porch and a hammock for hot summer nights; and steps leading down to the beach, where they’d walk hand in hand as the sun set over the water. Except—

“Mom and Dad,” she said aloud, and the perfect image wavered a little.

“Exactly,” Atlas agreed. “You’d be sad to leave them.”

She nodded, her mind still racing over the plan—and realized that something about his wording had been odd. “We both would.”

He seemed reluctant to speak. “Except they aren’t my parents.”

“Of course they are!”

“Avery,” Atlas said levelly, “I wasn’t born to this life the way you were. I was seven when they brought me up here. I remember what it was like before, how it felt to be hungry and scared. To not know whether you could trust anyone.”

“Oh,” she breathed, her heart aching. Atlas had never shared any of those memories. Whenever she asked questions about his life before, he would just shut down completely. She’d eventually stopped trying.

Atlas reached for her hands and squeezed them tight, looking straight into her eyes. “This life was never mine to lose. It is yours, though. I want you to think very hard before you say you want to give it all up.”

Avery blinked back tears. But there wasn’t a question. She would do anything, give up anything, to be with Atlas.

“Maybe we can visit them someday,” she suggested. Atlas looked up, realizing the meaning of her words.

“You’re serious,” he said slowly, as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “You actually want to go.”

“Yes,” Avery whispered, then said it again, louder. “Yes, yes, yes!” She kissed Atlas over and over, knowing that this was the right decision, the beginning of the rest of her life.

Atlas pulled her into a hug and held her close. She stayed there for a while, her head tucked into his shoulder, relishing the feel of him. It was so glorious being able to touch him. She would never take it for granted, she promised herself.

“How soon can we go?” she asked when they finally pulled apart.

Atlas raised an eyebrow. “How soon do you want to go?”

“This week?”

He laughed, but didn’t seem shocked. “Okay. I think I can figure that out.”

“Tomorrow night let’s have a party,” Avery decided impulsively. The moment she said it she knew it was a fantastic idea. They would bring everyone here, and act like it was just a normal Saturday night, but secretly it would be their going-away party. Someday when she and Atlas lived together on the other side of the world, they would look back and laugh at the memory of this—a silly high school party where everyone else got too drunk; and they stole furtive glances at each other the whole time, wildly in love; and said silent farewells to all their friends.

“Really?” Atlas asked.

“Yes! We haven’t thrown a party here since before you left. It would be fun, hosting it together. Like our secret good-bye.” Avery wavered for a moment, realizing that she’d never see Eris again, or Leda. But she couldn’t think that way. She had to think about her and Atlas, and the fact that they were doing what had always seemed impossible. They were actually building a future together.

“Okay. You’ve convinced me.” Atlas smiled.

Avery pulled out her tablet and composed a post, then uploaded it to the feeds. “That’s perfect,” he said, viewing the message on his contacts as it went live. “You’re perfect.” He leaned in to kiss her, but Avery pulled back.

“No one is perfect, least of all me,” she countered, a little thrown by the statement. Atlas had always known not to say stuff like that to her. He was the one person she could count on not to.

“Sorry. I should have said that you’re perfect for me,” Atlas amended.

Satisfied, Avery scooted forward to kiss him. She was deeply content in a way she’d never felt before. “I’d go anywhere with you, you know,” she told him, and Atlas smiled.

“Good,” he said softly. “Let’s go everywhere. Together.”

And then the night really was over, and the holoscreen kept on playing its movie to an audience of none.



LEDA



LEDA STUMBLED FORWARD and fell to her knees behind the fountain, trying to keep out of sight of the restaurant. Though she wasn’t the one who should feel ashamed here. Eris and her father. She briefly considered going home, but she was too desperate and her hands were shaking and she couldn’t risk being caught by her mom. Her poor, clueless, cheated-on mom.