I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Atlas’s POV

I just fucking had to mess it up.

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Didn’t mean to bring up Howard. Didn’t mean to sound like a territorial dick. But I was caught off guard, thrown into a blender of panic, jealousy, and whatever the hell this weird obsession with Emery had turned into.

It’d been two weeks since that first night. Two weeks of pure chaos behind closed doors. Couch, bed, shower, kitchen island, we were like magnets. Couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Couldn’t go a single day without… well, doing something.

We didn’t talk about it. Didn’t define it. Just kept riding that wave, pretending nothing had changed in public while acting like we were the only two people on Earth in private.

I was happy. She looked happy.

Until she threw that sentence at me. “Maybe we should start seeing other people.”

It hit me like a slap.

She was lying beside me, the blanket barely covering her legs, her hair messy from hours ago when I had my hands buried in it. And she said that. Just tossed it into the silence like a damn grenade.

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My jaw tightened. My stomach dropped. And all I could do was… deflect. I didn’t mean to sound like an ass. But it came out anyway.

“What… did you just say?” she asked slowly, her brows pulled tight, voice sharp with disbelief.

I swallowed, then shrugged like none of this mattered, like I wasn’t falling apart inside. “I’m just helping.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And by helping, you bring up Howard?”

Shit.

I shifted my weight, running a hand through my already-messy hair. “You were laughing a lot at his jokes last week,” I muttered. “And come on, let’s not pretend I didn’t know you were making out with him that night.”

Really? My brain screamed. You really wanna be the jealous prick now? This is your plan?

Emery blinked. Her mouth parted slightly, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Like she was trying to process if I was serious or just stupid.

Spoiler alert: both.

Her lips parted in shock. “Are you serious?”

Her tone, her face, all of it screamed You absolute moron. I swallowed hard, jaw twitching. I didn’t want to

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Chapter 60

back down. Didn’t want to look weak. But fuck, I already knew how wrong this was going.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. “I’m just saying…”

“No,” she cut in, voice rising, “you’re being an asshole.”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are.”

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“Oh my god,” she said, voice low and dangerous. She pointed at me like she was choosing violence. “You’re actually jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” I shot back, fast. Too fast. “I’m just offering a solution since you’re so desperate to explore your options.”

I winced the second the words left my mouth.

You’re such a fucking idiot, Atlas.

Her lips parted in disbelief. “Desperate?” she echoed with a scoff, storming off the bed and yanking my t-shirt over her head like it personally offended her.

She turned back to me, eyes blazing. “You know what, Atlas? You’re petty. You’re a Jerk. And you can go fuck yourself.”

“Emery…”

SLAM.

Door. Shut. Just like that.

I stood in the middle of the room, the echo of her footsteps still vibrating in my ears. My hand ran through my hair as I let out a shaky breath.

“Fuck.”

I dropped onto the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the spot where she’d stood seconds ago.

Way to go, genius. You just screwed up the one thing that actually made sense in your life.

And the worst part?

I couldn’t even blame her for walking away.

I hated this feeling.

The heavy pit in my stomach. The guilt chewing at my ribs like it belonged there. I hated that I kept replaying the fight in my head, word for word, her voice shaking, my tone sharp, the way her eyes went cold.

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Chapter 60

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Hell, I hated myself. For running my mouth. For being a childish, jealous asshole who couldn’t handle hearing the words “see other people” without throwing a damn tantrum.

And now here I was, dressed in a stupid collared shirt, poking at overpriced food I couldn’t taste, sitting beside the girl I hadn’t been able to stop touching for weeks… who now wouldn’t even look at me.

I stared at the candle in the center of the table like it was gonna offer me divine wisdom. Spoiler: it didn’t.

“Atlas.”

My head snapped up, heart skipping before I realized it wasn’t her. It was Mom. She was watching me with that soft concern she wore too easily. Rory mirrored the same look, and Emery, still beside me, kept her eyes fixed on her plate, fork slowly turning over a piece of salmon she hadn’t touched.

Shit. Had someone asked me something?

“Sorry, what?”

“Rory asked about hockey,” Mom said gently, voice low like she was trying not to embarrass me in front of

company.

Guilt doubled down and punched me square in the gut.

I straightened a bit, forced a smile. “Hockey’s good. Great, actually. Coach is a hard-ass, but fair. Team’s been killing it. Well, not literally. Except maybe on cardio days.”

Rory chuckled. “I always knew you’d make an amazing leader. I’m proud of you, kid?”

That hit harder than it should’ve. I swallowed past the tightness in my throat, managing, “Thanks. That means a lot.”

Then Rory said. “So… has Emery been a pain in the ass to live with?”

“Dad!” she groaned, shooting him a look.

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