Atlas felt the same about Benji, at least with the him being great part. He trusted the male to take care of Maddie and to look out for her, but he hated the thought of the other encouraging anything but staying where her family was. “I don’t know if he’ll be too quick to take her away anywhere after that stunt she pulled over Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I know they’re the travelin’ type, but maybe that whole scare will make him want to keep her here for a little longer. Between Ellie, Alex, and Maggie, I think we just have to lay on the whole Aunt Maddie thing thick.” Though, they both already knew that if Maddie wanted to leave town, no one was going to stop her from doing it. A quiet laugh fell from his mouth and in that moment, he realized he’d been wrong about the whole Dryden family. He’d let his shitty judgement get in the way of knowing good people, but Maddie had turned that around for him and shown him just how wrong he was. “No, it really doesn’t, but I’m the jerk who thought she was a Summit Lake snob. The guy who hates judgement, but judges. It was a surprise.” The three days after meeting had been full of surprises, but he’d spare Beth the details, mostly because there were some that he wasn’t proud of.
Another laugh rolled off his tongue and Atlas bit down on his lip to stifle the continued breathy hums of amused. Basic bitch coffee with Beth Dryden; a massive secret. “She has enough to ruin all of us already. Don’t give her something else. She has enough power as it is and I’d hate to load her up with anything else.” If she wanted, there was plenty that she could spill on him, but the same could’ve been said towards her. There were many stories that he’d withheld from Beth and everyone else with the Dryden name in an attempt to keep them from losing their minds. “It’s weird seeing her with crutches. I think I’m so used to seeing her always on the go, that now that she has to stay in one place, it’s weird.” When the crutches came off is the time he was fearing the most. She would have too much traveling time lost to just sit around in Providence Peak. “That’s a dangerous move to make there, Beth. You can’t just tell me to stop by whenever because then I’m going to be here a lot more. I can’t ever pass up freshly baked goods. Don’t matter if they’re basic or not. Turns out, basic is kinda my thing sometimes.” Basic bitch coffee lover, right? “Damn. She’s learning how to be savage early. Gotta watch that one. I think Alex is the same way. She’s too smart for her own good.” He blamed her intelligence on Aslihan, but wasn’t a bad thing. Not as long as she didn’t use it against them. “The fact that you’re saying you won’t makes me think that it at least crossed your mind.” He could cook, but he wasn’t a baker. “Sounds good though. I’ll bring her over and let the professional baker show her how it’s done. I’ll assist though, y’know, ‘cause teamwork.”
Nodding, the blonde could only shrug. It was a possibility that the events of Thanksgiving had given Benji a scare enough that he was inclined to try and keep her in town for a bit longer as well, but if there was anyone that had the same travelling bug as Maddie, it was her boyfriend. “We’ll see, I guess. But I am all for using the children, it’s pretty much the only reason I got pregnant, so I could use Ellie as blackmail against, well, every member of my family.” Looking at Atlas, Beth couldn’t help but smile. Considering how close he was with her sister and how well he got on with the family, it had always shocked her that he had such an impression of them when he had first met Maddie. Of course, it wasn’t that uncommon and the blonde had come across her fair share of people who thought the exact same, but usually they didn’t take the time to get to know them. “You’re not the first and you won’t be the last, but I’m glad you don’t think we’re assholes now, besides, we both know you’re not a jerk.”
Smirking, Beth giggled as she reached for her coffee cup again, thinking over all of the things that she had stored in her mind to use against Maddie one day, if the need appeared. “True, she has my entire life to use against me, but between the three other Dryden siblings and you, we have more than enough that she’d drop the basic bitch coffee pretty quickly.” As many embarrassing and funny stories Beth held about her sister, she couldn’t help but wonder about what Atlas could be hiding as well. Maybe there was a whole side to her sister that she didn’t know. “You know you’re always welcome, don’t even. If I’m not in, then just text me and I’ll drop some round to your place, there’s always a selection here.” Laughing again, Beth shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee, shaking the cup before she finished the hot drink and put the cup back on the coffee table. “Teamwork, we’ll make it work. At leas then you’ll be able to bake with her whenever. Just promise me you’ll never let Maddie bake with her, the girl nearly burnt down my kitchen trying to cook with Ellie a few months ago.”
