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Transcript below the cut:
Atlas: Thanks for meeting me. Ezra: No problem. I’m glad you called.
…
Atlas: I must’ve thought about all the things I wanted to say to you about a hundred times, but now that we’re here, I’m coming up empty. Ezra: Would it help if I start? Atlas: [shrugs] Go for it.
Ezra: Atlas, I am so sorry. For everything. For how our last conversation went. For interfering with you and Henry. For outing you at school. I had no right to do that. None. And I wish I could say that I didn’t know what I was doing, but I did. I knew the people I told would spread the word fast. I knew the way everyone would react, and the way they’d treat you. It’s the cruelest thing I’ve ever done, and I’d take it all back if I could.
Atlas: Well, you can’t. Ezra: I know. Is there anything I can do? Atlas: [shakes his head] Not really.
Atlas: I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few months. And a lot of talking to friends and family and my therapist… and I’m tired. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to have a big conversation about how much you hurt me, and how sorry you are for it. I don’t need that. And, frankly, I don’t care. I’m not afraid of you anymore. You or what you represent, and that’s enough.
Ezra: Okay… So, what does that mean exactly?
Atlas: It means… The Goodes are the best thing that ever happened to me. When Asher and I first started dating, he invited me over to spend Winterfest with them. His parents were so warm and welcoming that it made me anxious and I spent an hour hiding out in Megan’s greenhouse. I thought they’d be angry or offended, but they weren’t. They were so kind. I wasn’t used to that, and it took me a while to trust it, but eventually I did. They became my family, and I love them. I love them so much that I took their name. And their home, it became such a safe place for me.
Atlas: And then you showed up. You. The person who destroyed what little sliver of joy and safety I had back then, which wasn’t much to begin with, was sitting in the living room of my home with my family. I wasn’t just angry at you. I was terrified. Terrified that you’d come back to do it all over again. Ezra: Atlas, I— Atlas: Don’t. Don’t apologize to me again. Please.
Atlas: I get it. I know why you did it. I know you’re sorry. I know that you being here isn’t nothing. And I know you’re not going to destroy what good I have in my life… again. Even if you tried, you couldn’t. I know that now. But it’s going to take a lot more than an apology for me to forgive you. I don’t know what it will take, to be honest, but whether I like it or not, you’re a part of this family too. So, I’ll give you one chance. Starting now, we can leave the past in the past, where it belongs, and get to know each other as the people we are today.
Ezra: I appreciate that. I know I probably don’t deserve it. Atlas: We’ll see, won’t we? Either way, I’m not doing it for you. Ezra: Understood. Well, in the spirit of getting to know each other, there’s a coffee stand across the road if you’re interested. Atlas: Not today. I’m not quite ready for that yet. But I’ll see you at Spencer’s party on Saturday. And you’re welcome to come by the house anytime. Ash and I will be in town through the holidays. Ezra: Okay. I’ll see you soon then. Atlas: See ya.