It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Chapter Seventeen
Atlas
Josh doesn’t trust me, but I’ll wear him down. I’m willing to bet he doesn’t
trust anyone, so I’m not taking it personally. If his childhood is anything like
mine was, I’m sure he’s been toughened at the age of twelve in a way that no
kid should be familiar with.
As much as he glares at me with distrustful eyes, I can also sense that he’s
curious about me. He doesn’t ask many questions, but he watches me in a
way that makes it obvious he has a million questions on the tip of his tongue.
For whatever reason, he keeps swallowing them down. He’s probably
wondering why I went so easy on him last night after finding out he’s the one
who damaged my restaurants. He’s also probably wondering why I didn’t
know about him, and how I turned out so vastly different from my mother
and Tim.
Whatever he’s wondering, he’s attempting to keep a tight lid on his
expressions. I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, so I’ve been doing
most of the talking while he eats breakfast. It’s not that hard; I have just as
many questions for him as he does for me. It’s one of the reasons I couldn’t
sleep last night when we finally made it to my house. I kept listening for the
sound of him trying to sneak out of the house. I was honestly shocked he was
still here this morning.
As much as my questions are probably annoying him, I can remember
what it was like to be twelve. All I wanted was for someone to be interested
in who I was, even if they were faking interest. If his life is anything like
mine was, he’s gone twelve years being ignored, and I refuse to allow him to
feel that way under my roof. But I’ve only been asking him safe questions.
I’ll ease into the more difficult stuff.
Josh eats one thing at a time. A biscuit first, then bacon. He’s cutting into
the pancakes for the first time when I say, “What are you interested in? Any
hobbies?”