Couple Chapters III: Atticus and Orchid

~timeline: sometime after Atticus's book~

~Orchid: age 17~

       I hadn't heard from Atticus in a long time and I was starting to worry about him a lot. I knew he was emotionally distant at times and had difficulties expressing himself, so I was afraid something bad was happening and he didn't know how to handle it.

       The worst part was Atticus was the type of person who wanted to be left alone at times, and when he was avoiding everyone including his own girlfriend, it definitely meant it was one of those times. He would most likely get mad at me if I bothered him when he wanted to be alone, so I was feeling really stuck right now.

       Another bad thing about the whole situation was my stupid brother and his stupid fiance being all mushy and lovey-dovey during a family dinner we were having. Nolan moved in with Jerome a while ago so I didn't have to deal with them being gross as often, but it was still bad with this family dinner.

       It was only making me miss Atticus a whole lot.

       I wasn't the only one being annoyed by their mushiness, though. Alan was, like always, but that wasn't a surprised. He was always annoyed with anyone being in love because he wasn't.

       Alan ended up grabbing a bun and throwing it at Nolan and Jerome. "Some of us are trying to eat our dinners here," he said.

       "Normally, eating your dinner wouldn't involve throwing it at people," Nolan said, placing the bun back on the table.

       "I threw it at you because you and Jerome are making me feel like throwing up my food," Alan said. "We get it. You're in love and getting married. You can at least not make us loners feel like losers."

       "I'm agreeing with Alan here," I said. "You don't have to showcase your love every second of the day."

       "What happened to Atticus?" Jerome asked.

       "What happened to your face?" I shot back.

       "...I'm so lost," Jerome said.

       "She and Atticus broke up," Alan said.

       "What? No, we didn't," I said. "He just hasn't talked to me for a while."

       "Sounds like a break up to me," Alan said.

       "How would you know?" Nolan asked. "You haven't even been through a break up because you've been single your whole life."

       Alan glared at Nolan. "Thanks for that, you jerk."

       "Okay, then if it isn't a break up, why isn't he talking to you?" Jerome asked me.

       I sighed. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure here's just going through some difficult right now. Like ninety-nine percent sure."

       "And why aren't you helping him through it?" Jerome asked. "You're his girlfriend. He probably needs someone there for him."

       "He doesn't like being bothered at times when he just wants to be alone."

       "So? Nolan wants to be alone most of the time, but I still make sure I'm there for him. Sometimes people find it hard to ask for help and him ignoring you might be his way to ask for help."

       Jerome might be right. Atticus hated asking for help and if he really was struggling with something, there was no way he would tell me about it.

       So I looked over at Dad. "Can I be excused?"

       "No," Dad said.

       "Dad!"

       "I'm kidding," Dad said. "I may not like Atticus because he's a Smythe, but I wouldn't want him struggling with something alone. Go be there for him."

       I got up from the dining room table and headed to the front door, putting on my shoes before leaving the house.

       It took me a while to get to Atticus's house since I had to walk there but once I finally got there, I knocked on the front door, really hoping he was home.

       Atticus's mom, Artemis, was the one who answered the door. "Hi," I said. "Is Atticus here?"

       "Yeah, he's in his room," Artemis said. "You can go up to see him but... Just be careful. He hasn't been in the best mood recently."

       I thanked her as she let me into the house. Once I took my shoes off, I headed up the stairs and to Atticus's room. I hesitated, deciding if I should just walk in or at least knock on the door first.

       Then I heard some sniffling coming from his room.

       I slowly opened the door, softly saying, "Atticus?"

       Atticus was sitting on his bed and when he saw me walk in, he quickly wiped the tears around his eyes away. "Hey," he said, giving me a weak smile as if he was trying to hide the fact that I just saw him crying.

       I walked over and sat down beside him on the bed. "Hey, are you okay?"

       "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Absolutely fine."

       "Atticus..."

       The tears in Atticus's eyes started flowing again as he rested his face in his hands. "I just can't handle seeing Wilder in so much pain," he said. "His schizophrenia has been a lot worse recently and his parents are even considering sending him to a psychiatric hospital. And I don't think I'll be able to handle it."

      "Oh, I'm so sorry, Atticus," I said. Atticus and Wilder were so close that they basically considered each other to be brothers. One of them being so mentally ill that he had to go to a psychiatric hospital was going to tear the other apart.

       "I know I should have told you but I just..."

       "Atticus," I said, gently taking his hands in mine. "I know it's too hard for express your feelings at times, so I didn't expect you to tell me that something was wrong. But now that I do know, I'll be here for you if you really need it."

       "Thanks," Atticus said. "And thanks for coming here even though I've been ignoring you for a while now."

       "Of course," I said, looping my arm through his and resting my head on his shoulder. "I'll always be here for you."

________________

awe emotional atticus makes me sad :( he's so soft for his cousin and it's just so sweet

and im tired but imma write one more bonus chapter for the day

Up next: Reed and Dax (dont question it)