bad this is this morning? Pack a bag, Oli. You're moving in with me."
A nervous laugh creeps up my throat. "I can't do that! This is where the Council put me, they're paying for it. I don't have any money or anything. They won't let me get a job."
I feel shame curling in my stomach. I hate admitting just how freaking bad my situation really is. I have nothing, no money, no job. The education I'm getting is just to keep me under their thumbs and not to actually help me find a job I want. I'm freaking powerless and it sucks.
Gryphon’s card sitting in my bag is taunting me, but I’ve already decided that I’m not using that little plastic rectangle unless someone is dying.
"Pack a bag. Looks like they haven't let you have anything here anyway, so it'll all fit in your duffle. You're coming with me now and I'll deal with the Council if they have questions. You're my Bond, I'll take care of you."
My cheeks flush with shame. "You don't need to do that, I can take care of myself. Well, I could if North would let me work. I'm kind of... bored sitting around here all day."
Atlas gently moves me over to the bed with a hand under my elbow. "Pack. We can figure out how to get you a job later, once you're out of this shithole. It would be my honor to take care of you while you find your feet, Oli. Wouldn't you do the same for me?"
I answer without thinking. "Well, of course, but the others will be pissed you're doing this and… I can’t bond with you. I can’t give you any reasons why either, this is a fucking mess.”
He scoffs. “We’ll figure out our bond when we’re ready, you don’t owe me a goddamn thing and, Oli, I need you to understand that I don’t give a fuck what they think. I care about our bond. I care about getting to know you and us making decisions together. My place isn't swanky or anything, it’s just an apartment, but it's better than this. We can eat real food too, not the cafeteria crap we just had to choke down.”
There’s no arguing with him and he’s right, it only takes me a minute to pack everything into the small duffle bag I have. Honestly, the only reason it looks reasonably full is because I have two other hoodies that Gryphon left behind and they take up a heap of space.
He takes my duffle off of me and slings it over his back, smirking at one of the girls when we step out together in the most arrogant, cocky way that has me giggling. She looks shocked and a little shaky as she darts back into her room.
“Come on, Sweetness, let’s get the fuck outta this shithole.”
He leads me down to the small parking lot behind the dorm that I’ve never stepped foot into because everyone always picks me up from the loading zone out the front. I know which car is his immediately because there’s no car that screams BDE like the black Dodge Challenger Hellcat, and the grin he shoots at me when he unlocks it is total smug asshole. It’s cute, and also a little gross, how well he pulls this off without looking like an utter douchebag.
His apartment is only a few blocks away, still within walking distance of the campus. He drives as confidently as Gryphon and a little less crazy suicidal than Gabe on his motorbike.
The apartment is on the top floor and he was definitely underselling it when he said it was nothing fancy. Sure, it’s not North’s mansion, but there’s a view of the entire campus and two bedrooms in the place. The kitchen is full-sized with granite countertops and the bathroom has a tub.
The dorm feels like a dirty little hovel compared to this place.
When Atlas finishes the tour in his bathroom, he drops the duffle down onto the bed and scrubs a hand through his hair and blows out a breath. "I can take the couch."
I glance out of the open doorway and then give him a look of disbelief. The couch is a two seater and there's no way in hell he's going to fit. Hell, I won't fit on it either. "It's fine, I don't mind sharing. I mean, we're Bonds, right? We have to get used to it sometime."
He smirks at me, the dimples flashing at me. "I