It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Love,
Atlas
I flinch so hard, I almost rip the letter in two when someone bangs on my
window. I gasp and glance up to see my mother standing next to my car.
Emmy lights up when she sees me through the window, and that smile is all it
takes to make me smile in return.
Well, her smile and the letter in my hand.
I fold it up and tuck it back into my purse. My mother opens my door. “Is
everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” I take Emmy from her, but my mother’s eyes are
squinting with suspicion.
“You sounded scared when you asked me to meet you at the park.”
“It’s fine,” I say, wanting to brush it off. “I just didn’t want Ryle to pick
her up today. He’s not in a very good mood, and he knew she was with you,
so…”
I blow out a breath and walk over to the empty swing set. I take a seat in
one of the swings and place Emmy on my lap, facing out. I kick the ground
and give the swing a little push, watching as my mother takes a seat in the
swing next to us.
“Lily.” My mother is looking at me with concern. “Just tell me what
happened.”
I know Emerson is only one and can’t understand me yet, but it still makes
me uncomfortable to talk about her father in her presence. I’m convinced
babies and toddlers can sense moods, even if they can’t understand what
you’re saying.
I attempt to explain my situation without mentioning names. “I’m sort of
seeing someone?” That confession comes out like a question because we
haven’t made it official, but I don’t think Atlas and I have to put a label on it
to know where this is headed.
“Really? Who?”
I shake my head. I’m not about to tell her it’s Atlas, even though she
probably wouldn’t know who I was talking about. She saw him twice when I
was younger, and we never once spoke about him. And if she does remember
him, I’m sure she doesn’t want to, considering her husband put him in the
hospital.