"Did I die in your dream again?"
Atlas blinked ever so slowly, staring at the face hovering over his own. Slowly, his arms stretched toward her. He pulled her down into his arms, exhaling deeply as his hand rested on the back of her head.
Lola’s brows twitched up, her head resting on his chest.
His heart...
It was racing as if he had run a full marathon. His expression remained as calm as a lake, and even though his complexion was a little pale, one wouldn’t think he had just had a horrible dream. But his heart surely told her everything.
She glanced up briefly before deciding to relax her body against him. Pressing her lips into a thin line, a shallow breath escaped him.
"How did I die this time?" she asked quietly. "Did I get shot in the neck again?"
Atlas didn’t answer immediately as he steadied his breathing, eyes on the ceiling.
"No," he whispered. "You were on a mission... and Scarlet was able to take your body home."
"A lot of us died?"
He hummed. "Haji and Izu did too. According to the reports, it’s because they didn’t leave you behind and helped you so the rest could go."
"How did Scarlet retrieve my body, then?"
"She went in."
"In where?"
He didn’t answer at first, thinking of the details he remembered from his last dream. "I don’t know. All I know is that she said she went in when she saw everyone else. But she only managed to get you back, not the others."
Silence fell between them as she pressed her lips into a thin line.
For a while now, Atlas had been having strange dreams. She forgot when it started, but he said he usually dreams of something. At first, his dreams were vague—things he would usually forget when he woke up.
But since Henrik’s disappearance, Atlas had been having these strange dreams. They had been growing more frequent, too... and repetitive.
First, he dreamt of Lola getting shot in the neck right in the Order’s territory. He woke up that time so abruptly that everyone in their small office—where they were investigating Yuri—was startled. No one had ever seen Atlas wake up like that. Adding to that, he immediately checked the windows and ordered Allen to raise security in the territory.
They didn’t dwell on it, but lately, Atlas had been riddled with these nightmares.
It’s... been three days, she thought. That’s right. That’s how long it’s been since Henrik disappeared.
"I’m not going to die," she hummed, patting his shoulder lightly. "You know that, right?"
Slowly, Lola peeled herself away from him and propped herself up with her arm. She looked him in the eye, her lips curling into a smile.
"I don’t want to say it’s just a dream, but... I will be careful," she nodded reassuringly. "Very careful."
Atlas blinked ever so tenderly, brushing her cheek with his thumb.
"The kids were really sad," he said. "They kept crying this time."
Her smile softened. "Did you comfort them?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I can’t," he hummed. "Nothing I’d say would take away their pain."
Hearing his answer, Lola couldn’t help but flick his forehead. Atlas arched a brow at the mild assault.
"I know it’s just a dream, but you should have comforted our kids," she frowned, mildly scolding him. "I’m not saying it as practice, but if you’re dreaming so vividly like that, you might as well."
This time, he frowned.
"Also, I know no words can take away the pain of losing a loved one," she continued, resting her arm across his chest, "but just being there for them is one thing. I don’t want to say this because it makes me sad, but Atlas, if that ever happened, you have to do your best to be with our children."
Lola let out a shallow breath. "Don’t make them lose another parent."
This made her sad, but it was better to say it now, just in case. Still, she shook her head and contradicted herself with a mental note: fat chance. As if she would die just like that.
Even if the author of my life writes ten death scenes, I’ll live.
"Okay?" she hummed, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Until now, Atlas hadn’t taken his eyes off her. However, she decided not to lean too much into the heavy part of it.
He probably thought it was real for a second, she thought.
Smiling, Lola giggled. "Did you cry a lot, though?"
The moment the question left her tongue, she winced. She had just told herself not to dwell on it, but her intrusive thoughts won this round.
This could’ve ended if Atlas lied. But he just had to answer bluntly.
"No."
"Huh?" she blinked, disbelief resurfacing on her face. "Why? Did my love potion expire when I died?!"
Atlas furrowed his brows, only to catch her laughing awkwardly.
"I mean, that’s not what I meant — haha! I’m just joking, you know that, right?! Haha!" she laughed. "Love potion? Who has the time to go to the love guru to ask for advice and buy her love potion that promises if I pour it in your drink, you’d love me forever — hahaha! I’m not that low."
Lola slid her eyes to the corner as she continued hiding the traces of her lies with more of them. "I’m someone who is confident, beautiful, smart, skilled — I obviously am someone Atlas Bennet would fall for."
As she rambled on and on, burying herself in a deeper pit with every word, Atlas just stared at her. Clearly, the longer he stared, the more nervous she became. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
Her continuous nonsense rambling made the corner of his mouth lift slightly, and his eyes softened. The tension in his muscles dissipated as he heaved a sigh of relief that this was the reality he was waking up to.
Without a word, Atlas pulled her close again, embracing her tightly enough to feel her body against him.
"Huh?" Lola blinked, a little lost as she was busy building an entire narrative only she was listening to.
"I didn’t cry," he whispered. "Because I can’t."
Even if it were just a dream, he understood where that came from.
"How could I... when it is my heart I buried?" he added under his breath. "Lola, I finished the dream this time."
Lines appeared on her face as she listened to his voice. Then she froze when he added;
"I... burned the entire secret society."