Atlas wasn’t just a childhood crush for Lola. He wasn’t even what she would call her first love.
Atlas Bennet was... DREAM. AMBITION. PERFECTION — THE GOAL.
That was if she dared to dream BIG — dream impossibly. The guy was, after all, so far beyond her reach. He was heaven, and she was in the pits of nine hells. The gap was too wide; even if she somersaulted in between, there was no way it would connect.
That’s the clearest illustration she had in mind about her and Atlas.
So even when mixed signals came her way, Lola chose to ignore them. Even though sometimes they were impossible to ignore. Still, she learned to brush them aside or at least tell herself she was a rock.
But today... that man had made a bold move she never thought would happen in reality.
"So... that means... he likes me, right?" Lola pointed at herself, blinking. "Like... me? Me?"
Her eyes slowly crossed as she stared at her fingertip. A laugh bubbled out as she shook her head.
"Nah, nah... hahaha! No way. I’ve always been told I have a vivid imagination, and I used to daydream a lot," she rambled between her laughter. "There’s no way that happened..."
She trailed off as horror spread across her face, her eyes going wide. "Wait. It didn’t really happen, right?"
Does that mean she was going crazy?! That she could no longer tell reality apart from her imagination?!
Panic spiked in her chest, only for Lola to smother it with nervous laughter. She kept giggling to herself, but the sight only drew worried stares.
At a short distance, Slater, Chacha, Second, Baby, Atlas, the garden contractor, and several workers on break sat in folding chairs, watching her quietly.
Instead of laughing with her, their faces showed nothing but concern.
"Father Sir, I’m worried about Mommy," Chacha whispered, her normally bright eyes damp with worry. "Is she going to be okay?"
Second sighed. "Did she forget to wear her earplugs again?" His little brows furrowed as he shot his father a bitter look.
"Wow..." Slater muttered, unable to look away from Lola’s ever-changing mood. "I’m honestly starting to get scared. This is... horror-movie scary."
He wasn’t worried anymore; this was pure dread — like watching someone snap, sliding into madness in real time.
"Maybe she’s hungry?" one worker whispered. "The Young Madam is still so young."
"I’ve heard about the pressure on young people these days," another chimed in grimly. "Didn’t think it could look this scary. What’s just happening in our society?"
The group sighed together, then turned their eyes back to Lola. Earlier, she’d been talking to herself while gently tending the lawn. Now she was furiously ripping it up like it had personally wronged her. It was scary!
While everyone else wore troubled looks, Atlas — the culprit — looked pleased. Arms crossed, he leaned back, watching Lola with delight.
Attack, attack, attack.
That was his sister’s advice. It was the trick she swore by, the way she’d scammed her own husband into ending up with a lunatic like her: attack, attack, attack, until the poor man didn’t have time to think.
Atlas nodded to himself with a satisfied smirk, whispering, "Attack, attack, attack," before letting out a low chuckle.
The others furrowed their brows, hearing his murmur. After a moment, they exchanged glances, then nodded in unison.
Yep. They were meant for each other. Atlas and Lola. Definitely something wrong with both of them.
*****
As the sky deepened into dusk, everyone gathered for dinner at the food truck Slater had sponsored. Since work had started early, they were also ending early.
For Lola, however, dinner was awkward beyond belief. Eating with Atlas, Slater, and the kids so soon after... that incident, left her head spinning. She hadn’t even thought of Hudson or Melissa all day.
So she came up with a solution: eat fast. As in, don’t chew, just swallow. Once her plate was empty, she slipped back to work until it was time for everyone to leave. Luckily, Atlas had to go elsewhere, which meant the ride home was just Chacha, Second, and Slater.
His absence was a relief.
"Mommy, did Father Sir say something mean to you?"
Lola blinked, pulled from her daze by the twins’ voices. She was crouched by the edge of the tub while they splashed in their bubble bath, their little faces scrunched in concern.
"Did the earplugs not work?" Second frowned. "Mommy, if Father Sir says anything bad to you, I’ll protect you!"
Chacha nodded. "That’s right! Second is a brave man now. He said he’ll protect the both of us!"
"That’s right!" Second puffed his chest. "Don’t be scared, Mommy."
Lola blinked as their words sank in. Darting her eyes, she couldn’t help but...
"Pfft—" She stifled a laugh behind her soapy arm.
The twins pouted at once.
"Mommy, don’t you believe us?" Second whined.
"Please don’t laugh at us," Chacha added.
"Haha! No, no, I’m not laughing at you," Lola explained in between her chuckles, scooping up some bubbles and tapping their noses. She cupped their cheeks and grinned wide and warm. "I’m laughing because I feel so safe knowing Second will protect me and Chacha."
She chuckled. "And because my babies are so cute, so considerate, so sweet. You make me very happy. That’s why I was laughing."
The twins studied her for a moment, then their frowns cracked into big grins.
"Don’t worry about your Father Sir," she added softly. "He... didn’t say anything mean."
Their heads tilted in unison, eyes round with curiosity. "If he didn’t say something mean... then why is Mommy going crazy?"
Lola’s smile twitched. ...Was she really going crazy? Looking back, well...
"Hehe..." she laughed awkwardly, biting her lip. Instead of answering, Lola leaned against the tub excitedly. "Kids, do you have anywhere you want to go this weekend?"
"A place we want to go?"
"Yep!" she nodded brightly. "Anywhere at all. I’ll take you there, no matter what."
The twins exchanged innocent looks before their lips curved into mischievous little grins.
Lola’s own grin faltered upon seeing them look back at her.
Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?