"Were you worried?" Aiden asks as we both lean on the car, but he’s staying close enough to me, for me to feel like someone is there.
"No, Atlas would have done anything to get me back." I look over at the entrance of the building anticipating Atlas to return anytime soon now.
"He would have and we would have backed him." Aiden turns to face me. "Brooklyn, are you sure you're good, physically?" I think this is the first time I'm about to see Aiden show some emotions towards anything.
"I am, I think Atlas kidnapping me prepared me for this in some fucked up way." I quickly turn to Aiden. "Do not tell him I said that," I smile, as he lets out a small chuckle.
"Your secret is safe," he gives me a wink, and then looks over at Atlas and Rhys coming over to us.
"We’re going to the hospital," Atlas tells Aiden, and looks over at me.
His finger strokes the side of my face like he's too scared to touch me, I'm a fragile flower he doesn't want to break. My hand moves to stop him.
"Atlas, I promise I'm fine. All I want is a shower and to go home," I tell him, as I lean up and plant a small kiss on his lips, he doesn't return it, and that scares me.
Atlas doesn't reply and opens the door for me. "Call the doctor," I hear him say as he gets into the car.
I look over at him, and it's like he's talking to himself. Arguing with himself. What the hell has happened to him?
"He will be fine, I should be saying this to him, but looks like I have to say it to you. He needs to get home," Rhys tells me and looks over at Atlas who moves closer to me.
"Are you sure he didn't touch you, what about when you were unconscious? Or maybe-"
"Atlas, are you okay?" I ask him.
"Yes, you're safe, that's all I care about." Atlas sits back in the seat, brings his arms over my shoulder and pulls me closer to him.
I lean my head on his chest listening to his soft heartbeat and close my eyes. This is what kept me going, knowing that I would be in Atlas’ arms again.
My eyes peel open to find Atlas sprawled peacefully behind me, spooning me. Looking around, I see that he has moved us to his room. Knowing him, he’d have silently carried me to the bed. I’m happy not to be woken up at least, it’s been a rough few days and a girl needs her beauty sleep. I lean closer to him and plant a kiss on his lips as I slowly try to scoot away from him. I head downstairs in fresh clothes that Atlas must have kept aside on the bedside table for me and make my way towards the kitchen. I have been starving forever now. "Please tell me Atlas is sleeping." I turn around and see Rhys standing by the door with a pizza box leading to the garden. I walk over to him and perch on the swing. "He only went up ten minutes ago."
"He’s fast asleep. I didn’t want to wake him." I reach for the pizza and turn to Rhys as he sits down next to me. "Has he been bad?"
"I think ‘bad’ is a nice word for it. He hasn’t slept or eaten since you were taken. He's been drinking and smoking, and with you getting captured, it brought his old memories back." Rhys stops and leans forward, his elbows resting on his legs. "But, you're home now-"
Rhys doesn't hide anything from me. “Do you think my return will make him normal?” I ask not really knowing what Atlas' normal is. He always has this shield over him.
"He's not been himself since we got back from the war, the way we found him fucked Aiden and me enough, Atlas bored it for a week." Rhys looks out at the garden, as I lean closer to him and give him a hug. "Aiden locks it away in some box, one day it's going to eat him up, all I want to do is tell Atlas that I'm sorry we didn't find him earlier, or I didn't take his place. So if both of us are like this because of the way we found him, it's going to fuck Atlas up in ways only he knows."
I have no idea what Rhys sees in my eyes because he looks away from me. I am more worried and scared that Atlas might never be himself again before he went to join the army, and Rhys knows it too.
"You think my return will-"
"Brooklyn, he loves you, know that, remember that. Atlas loves you." Rhys takes my hand in his and starts rubbing it. "He is still in a fucked up place, and I don't know what that means, it's a waiting game, but I'm here, Aiden and Beth are here. You're not alone."
I look away from Rhys as I don't know what to say to him, how do I help Atlas come back to the man he was when I first met him. That man was still able to fight throughout the day, by the sounds of it now, awake or asleep, Atlas is losing himself to the demons that eat away at him.
"Can I ask you a question?" I ask him. This one thing has been playing on my mind for a long time, but I know Atlas won't answer me.
"Sure."
"I know that you two would do anything for Atlas, but if you didn't have the guilt about what happened to him, would you still be here?" I whisper.
"Yes." I jump at the sound of Aiden's voice. "The three of us understand each other better than anyone else, we all had the same shit happen to us, and we both hold guilt, but we hold it because that happened to not Atlas, but our brother. These two men are my brothers. Rhys, Atlas, and I will always be brothers. So yes, we would still be here." Aiden tells me, and I give him a smile hoping to convey how happy his answer had made me.
The three of us turn to the door and run into the kitchen when we hear Atlas shouting my name.
"Rhys-"
"Stay close to Aiden." I get warned by him and I take a step back, as Aiden stands in front of me.
"Rhys, Aiden, they're coming back for me," I hear Atlas, but I don't see him yet, I hear a clicking. "Rhys, are you ready?"
Ready for what?
"Call him back." Rhys looks over his shoulder at me.
"Atlas, it's me Brooklyn," I look at Rhys to see what he wants me to do.
"Rhys, they’re tricking us. Are you ready?" Atlas shouts as I hear the clicking again.
"Fuck," I watch Rhys speed walk around the kitchen, moving things. What is happening? "You need to get out," Rhys shouts at me, his tone isn't worried, but edgy.
"I can help-"
"Brooklyn, you need to leave this room!" Rhys shouts at me again, and I look over at Aiden as he pulls me to the door.
I fight and push Aiden's hands away from me, struggling to get free of his hold. I don't know what I can do to help, but I know I can do something.
Aiden grabs my arms and shakes me a little so that I look at him, but I see Rhys still walking around like crazy, Atlas shouting that they need to get ready, saying some other things, but I can't make out what he is saying, it's too fast.
"Brooklyn, listen to me. You have to leave, if anything happens to you, Atlas will never forgive himself, it will kill him." Aiden tells me as he pulls me away. Before I can fight with him about it, the door is closed, and I realize that I'm standing in the hallway, staring at the door.
I put my ear to the door, trying to hear what is happening in there. I can only hear Rhys trying to calm Atlas down.
"They are here, I can hear them." His voice is loud like he's fighting to get his words heard.