"I like you."
Had it been five years ago, Griffin Barett would have abhorred and evaded Atlas Mavrick Corner, like the bubonic plague, after he said those words.
Had it been a month ago, Griffin Barett would be beaming from ear to ear and his eyes...
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"ATLAS!"
Mrs. Orwell Corner's ear-piercing voice reverberated throughout the residence and startled the giant baby to wake.
Atlas fell down his bed which made a loud thud and alarmed her mother who was preparing their breakfast in the kitchen.
Mrs. Corner sprinted toward her son's room and forcefully pushed the door open as though she was about to save him. But as soon as she saw his state, every inch of worry in her body dissipated.
There was no emergency to attend to. There was just a half-naked and half-awake child of hers who haplessly rolled down his mattress. She found him quite a sore for sight.
"Go and tidy yourself now that you're awake." Mrs. Corner instructed but Atlas had no intention of doing so and instead made a cocoon out of his blanket.
"I'll give you three seconds. You better move or you'll get what you're asking for." She threatened.
Atlas groaned. "Fuck." He mumbled quite audibly.
He did not want to go to school. However, he knew better that his mother would hit him if he didn't listen.
"What was that?"
It was late for him to realize that he swore quite loudly and that his mother must have heard it. No. She did as it was not just loud. It was loud and as clear as California's Lake Tahoe.
Now, Atlas was sure that he would not just get a beating. He will be beaten to death like a piece of freshly delivered meat.
He felt his mother's murderous gaze pierce through the thick fabric. And, as if by instinct, he flew off the floor like a flea while shielding his body with his comforter.
He jumped to the other side of his single-sized bed. The only medium that was keeping him safe at that moment.
"I didn't say anything." He lied in a muffled voice as his hands covered his sinful and troublesome mouth.
He should have done that earlier. Too late for him.
"Did you just cuss at me?" Mrs. Corner pressed, stepping forward.
His head shook like the leaves in autumn as he denied the truthful accusation and kept his distance from Evelyn. Getting near was absolute K.O.
"Mom,"
A disembodied yet familiar voice resounded throughout the multiple walls of the Corners' humble abode and stole the madam's attention.
