Chapter 1

Leslie’s POV

I leaned against the counter watching Theo pace for the last five minutes like he was about to lose his damn mind.

“Leslie, just…don’t do this. I’m telling you right now, it’s a fucking mistake," he said frustrated. “Stay. Or find somewhere else. Anywhere else.”

He stepped closer using that annoying big brother energy. "I’ll find you a place. I’ll pay the deposit. Just don't move into his house."

“I already told you,” I said. “I’m moving in.”

“With him?” His voice sharpened. “You don’t even know him like that.”

I almost laughed.

“I know enough,” I replied. “And I’m done living on someone else's charity. Atlas offered me a room in the city, and I'm taking it. It’s two days until senior year. I’m not sleeping in my car because you have a bad feeling."

“That’s not what this is,” he snapped. “You could stay here. You could stay with me.”

“With you?”

He hesitated just for a second.

“Yeah,” he said, quieter now. “You don’t need to go running off to my uncle’s place like that.”

I pushed myself off the counter and crossed my arms. “I’m not running anywhere. I’m thinking ahead. I can save money. More than that, actually.”

He narrowed his eyes. “More than that? What the hell does that mean?”

I shrugged like I didn’t have a plan forming in the back of my head that I wasn’t about to share with him.

“It means I’m doing what’s best for me,” I said.

“Bullshit,” Theo muttered. “There’s something else.”

Of course he’d say that. Theo always thought he knew me better than I knew myself.

“I see the way he looks at you," Theo snapped. He grabbed my arm to force me to face him. "And I see you looking back.”

I pulled my arm back. I turned away from him before I said something I’d regret and walked toward the window.

“Why him? Why his house?" Theo stepped closer. "You have other friends. You could go anywhere else. Why are you choosing to live with a man who looks like he wants to ruin you?"

I looked him dead in the eye. "Because I have my own reasons, Theo. And none of them are any of your business."

I looked through the big glass windows of the house. Inside, my mom was leaning into my stepdad, laughing at something Atlas had said.

Atlas was standing there with a drink in his hand. He was wearing a suit that probably cost more than my tuition. The way he stood there was enough for me to know.

That man was… dangerous.

Not in the loud way. Not like Theo when he got worked up. Atlas was quiet about it. Controlled. Like whatever he was thinking stayed locked behind his eyes.

And God.

He was attractive.

Annoyingly so.

"Leslie," Theo said from right behind me. "Are you even listening to me?"

I didn't answer him because right at that exact moment, Atlas shifted.

He didn't even move his head much, but he tilted it just enough until his eyes locked onto mine.

He watched me with an intensity that told me he knew exactly why I was coming for him.

My chest tightened in a way I didn't like, or maybe I secretly did.

I held his gaze for a second longer than I probably should have and then I looked away like it didn't matter at all.

I really wanted it to seem like he didn't matter.

"Yeah," I said finally, and I kept my voice calm. "I'm listening."

Theo stepped even closer to me. "Then act like it. You don't get it, Leslie. There is something off about this whole thing and there is definitely something off about him."

I turned back around to face him.

"And what?" I asked him. "You're suddenly worried about me now?"

His jaw clenched hard. "I've always been worried about you."

"Then relax," I told him. "I'm not a kid and I can handle myself."

"You don't even know what you're walking into," he said.

Maybe I didn't, but I knew exactly what I wanted and I wasn't about to explain any of that to him. I wasn't going to say a word when he already looked like he was one step away from losing his mind.

I wanted to know why he was really doing this and why he was acting like my personal prison guard.

"Why are you actually trying to stop me, Theo?" I asked. "Is it because you're bored or because you actually think you can tell me what to do?"

He hesitated for a long second and ran his

hand through his hair like he was trying to find the right words. "It’s because..."

He paused.

Before I could even blink, he stepped in and crashed his lips against mine. I was so startled that I just froze there. My brain went completely blank.

After a heartbeat, I finally found my hands and pushed him away. I scrambled back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

This wasn't the first time we had kissed, but it felt completely different. The last time it happened, I was sixteen and he was seventeen.

We were both drunk at some stupid high school party where we didn't know any better. That kiss had been a mistake we never talked about, and having him do it now felt like he was trying to claim something that wasn't his.

"That's why," he said, his voice sounding raw and desperate.

"Theo, stop it," I told him. "Just forget about that. It didn't feel right then and it definitely doesn't feel right now."

He didn't back down. He actually laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "It didn't feel right? Is that what you're going with?"

He stepped toward me again and pointed a finger toward the window. "It doesn't feel right because I’m not the one looking at you. I’m not the one you want in your fucking bed, Leslie. I see the way you're looking at my uncle and it’s making me sick."

My face go hot, but I didn't look away from him. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flinch.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I said, though my voice was a little shakier than I wanted it to be.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about," he snapped. "You're moving into that house because you want him. You’re already picturing what it's like to have him fuck you and you're doing it right under my nose."

I looked Theo dead in the eye and told him to just get over it.

I didn't wait for him to say another word before I grabbed my bag and walked toward the front door.

Behind me, I heard him let out a muffled curse, but I didn't even bother turning around to see his face.

Right as I got to the front door, our parents walked back into the house and the whole mood shifted. Atlas was standing right there with them, and I could feel his gaze roaming over me as he spoke up.

"Are you ready to go, Leslie?" Atlas asked, his voice low and perfectly calm.

I nodded and kept my focus on my mom as she stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug. She kissed my cheek and squeezed my arms like she was never going to see me again.

"I’m going to miss you so much, baby," she whispered, pulling back to look at me. "Please make sure you behave yourself at Atlas's place. Don't make him regret taking you in."

"I'll be fine, Mom," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

I glanced past her, looking between Atlas and Theo. Theo was standing off to the side with his jaw clenched. I could see the anger boiling over in him and he looked like he was about to lose his mind right there in the foyer.

"Goodbye, Theo," I said, keeping my tone as flat as I could.

Atlas didn't say anything to him, he just stepped toward the door and gestured for me to head out to the car. "We should get moving before the traffic gets worse," he said.

Theo didn't say a single word back to me. He didn't even look at Atlas or acknowledge that he had spoken. He just stormed up the stairs and didn't even bother to answer when Atlas called out a final goodbye to him.

I walked out the door and I didn't look back once.

Atlas opened the car door, his eyes fixed on me and said“We’ll see how long you last.”

My lips curved into a small smile,I wasn’t planning on lasting. I was planning on staying just long enough to get what I wanted.