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. âI donât know if heâll be too quick to take her away anywhere after that stunt she pulled over Thanksgiving. Donât get me wrong, I know theyâre the travelinâ 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.â 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 heâd been wrong about the whole Dryden family. Heâd 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. âNo, it really doesnât, but Iâm the jerk who thought she was a Summit Lake snob. The guy who hates judgement, but judges. It was a surprise.â The three days after meeting had been full of surprises, but heâd spare Beth the details, mostly because there were some that he wasnât 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. âShe has enough to ruin all of us already. Donât give her something else. She has enough power as it is and Iâd hate to load her up with anything else.â If she wanted, there was plenty that she could spill on him, but the same couldâve been said towards her. There were many stories that heâd withheld from Beth and everyone else with the Dryden name in an attempt to keep them from losing their minds. âItâs weird seeing her with crutches. I think Iâm so used to seeing her always on the go, that now that she has to stay in one place, itâs weird.â 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. âThatâs a dangerous move to make there, Beth. You canât just tell me to stop by whenever because then Iâm going to be here a lot more. I canât ever pass up freshly baked goods. Donât matter if theyâre basic or not. Turns out, basic is kinda my thing sometimes.â Basic bitch coffee lover, right? âDamn. Sheâs learning how to be savage early. Gotta watch that one. I think Alex is the same way. Sheâs too smart for her own good.â He blamed her intelligence on Aslihan, but wasnât a bad thing. Not as long as she didnât use it against them. âThe fact that youâre saying you wonât makes me think that it at least crossed your mind.â He could cook, but he wasnât a baker. âSounds good though. Iâll bring her over and let the professional baker show her how itâs done. Iâll assist though, yâknow, âcause teamwork.â
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. âWeâll see, I guess. But I am all for using the children, itâs pretty much the only reason I got pregnant, so I could use Ellie as blackmail against, well, every member of my family.â Looking at Atlas, Beth couldnât 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 wasnât that uncommon and the blonde had come across her fair share of people who thought the exact same, but usually they didnât take the time to get to know them. âYouâre not the first and you wonât be the last, but Iâm glad you donât think weâre assholes now, besides, we both know youâre not a jerk.â
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. âTrue, she has my entire life to use against me, but between the three other Dryden siblings and you, we have more than enough that sheâd drop the basic bitch coffee pretty quickly.â As many embarrassing and funny stories Beth held about her sister, she couldnât help but wonder about what Atlas could be hiding as well. Maybe there was a whole side to her sister that she didnât know. âYou know youâre always welcome, donât even. If Iâm not in, then just text me and Iâll drop some round to your place, thereâs always a selection here.â 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. âTeamwork, weâll make it work. At leas then youâll be able to bake with her whenever. Just promise me youâll never let Maddie bake with her, the girl nearly burnt down my kitchen trying to cook with Ellie a few months ago.â