15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

He glances back and forth between us. “What’d I miss?”
I swallow hard, shaking my head. Surely that wasn’t really Atlas. But
those eyes—his mouth. I know it’s been years since I saw him, but I’ll
never forget what he looked like. It had to be him. I know it was and I
know he recognized me, too, because the second our eyes met... it
looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Lily?” Ryle says, squeezing my hand. “You okay?”
I nod and force a smile, then clear my throat. “Yep. We were just
talking about you,” I say, glancing back at my mother. “Ryle assisted in
an eighteen-hour surgery this week.”
My mother leans forward with interest. Ryle begins to tell her all
about the surgery. Our water arrives, but it’s a different waiter this
time. He asks if we’ve had a chance to go over the menu and then
tells us the chef’s specials. The three of us order our food and I’m
doing everything I can to focus, but my attention is all over the
restaurant looking for Atlas. I need to regroup. After a few minutes, I
lean over to Ryle. “I need to run to the restroom.”
He stands up to let me out and my eyes are scanning the face of
every waiter as I make my way across the room. I push through the
door to the hallway that leads to the restrooms. As soon as I’m alone,
my back meets the wall of the hallway. I lean forward and release a
huge breath. I decide to take a moment and regain my composure
before heading back out there. I bring my hands up to my forehead
and close my eyes.
For nine years I’ve wondered what happened to him. Years.
“Lily?”
I glance up and suck in a breath. He’s standing at the end of the
hallway like a ghost straight out of the past. My eyes travel to his feet
to make sure he’s not suspended in the air.
He isn’t. He’s real, and he’s standing right in front of me.
I stay pressed against the wall, not sure what to say to him. “Atlas?”
As soon as I say his name, he blows out a quick breath of relief and
then takes three huge steps forward. I catch myself doing the same.
We meet in the middle and throw our arms around each other. “Holy
shit,” he says, holding me in a tight embrace.
I nod. “Yeah. Holy shit.”