Chilled Desires

Patience

This chapter contains mentions of the following: abuse, bullying, homicide/suicide, gore, needles
Reader discretion is advised.
3rd POV
Rhys still did not wake up even after all the tests and things the doctors tried to wake him up. Atlas begged them to wait longer before giving him a diagnosis. While Rhys was in the hospital, Atlas did not perform as well as he did before. He did not go to sleep often due to thoughts of the worst and that affected his performance in important meetings as well as general daily life. Though Atlas was not taking care of himself as well as he should, he still made time to visit Rhys everyday bringing him flowers and gifts and talking to him, telling him all about things he'd love to enjoy with him and things he did those days. Atlas had aquired over 2 years worth of journal entries but there was still no sign that Rhys would wake up. Atlas kept his faith that Rhys would wake but with each passing day that belief became less and less possible to Atlas. This was not the first time something like this had happened to Atlas though. When he was in high school his sister got into a riding accident with her equestrianism team and was in the hospital for 9 years before she died due to the horse breaking her ribs, which collapsed her left atrium and required for her heart to work harder, ultimately resulting in high blood pressure that caused her to go into cardiac arrest which she did not survive. His father blamed him for the death of his sister as he was supposed to protect her from any type of activity that could severely injure her, such as climbing trees, running around, and sports that he considered to be 'too manly for a pretty girl'. After her passing his mother still briefly spoke to him, mostly staying in his sister's room with the door locked for days to months at a time, however. The news of what happened quickly spread through the county and neighbors who would smile dearly and praise him now walked past and purposely bumped him, telling him what a bad child he was and saying he should leave the city immediately. FLASHBACK 6:40 after school (2011 14 years old)
Atlas slowly walked along the darkened sidewalk, preparing himself for his father's anger. He winced every time he took a step from all of the bruises and cuts given to him by schoolmates and his father. He was now the academy's outcast, being mercilessly bullied, "Killer!" "Murderer!" "You should just die along with her!" "You should've died instead!" Atlas walked the halls of the academy with sorrow and shame. People sneered at him and whispered as he gloomily sauntered through the halls. He walked into the classroom and sat down in his seat at the far back, deliberately placed the farthest it could be from the other students by his teacher. The class went silent and stared at him with disgust and terror. Atlas opened his mouth to speak but was quickly shut up by the screams and gasps of frightened classmates. This was an everyday occurrence and soon Atlas stopped showing up to school. He would put on his uniform, grab his book bag, and leave the house for hours to convince his father not to force him to stay home and give him more bruises in his drunkeness. On this particular day, it was raining heavily and Atlas had forgotten to bring his umbrella so he was soaked. He sat down on the wet park bench and watched the birds play happily in the rain, intrigued at how there lives at home were and how they could be so happy. A brisk wind swiftly passed by and made the bruised boy shiver. Atlas pulled his cold legs in close to him and decided to take a nap pulling his hood over his head and burying his face in his knees. 2 hours later... Atlas was abruptly awoken by the feeling of another human being sitting close to him and resting their head on him shoulder, "Woah woah woah, what do you think you're doing..?" Atlas asked as he quickly stood up and examined who had intruded on his personal space. It was a boy, no older than 12, and he had mid-length shaggy hair that covered both of his eyes and was a dark blue in color. His skin was white like snow and as smooth as fine china. He wore a battered uniform shirt that was covered in thorns and pants that were soaked at the cuff. The boy pulled his hair back in a short ponytail and stared up at Atlas with dull eyes. "O-Oh.. I thought it was alright, you looked cold.." the boy said with a frown. "Look, I don't know where you got your manners from but it definitely isn't okay to just come up so quietly on someone and touch them without permission." Atlas retorted to the boy as he started to walk away. "W-Wait! W-will you be my friend? I'd like to make up for my mistakes." The boy said running up to Atlas and pulling gently on his sleeve. Atlas didn't know why this boy insisted on being so friendly with him, and quite frankly he did not necessarily mind. "Sure whatever. Just stop being so annoying." Atlas said blankly while staring down at the rather petite boy. "What's you name anyways?" He said while they both began down the path leading to a secluded area of the park. "Yeon-jun!" He said with a bright smile. Atlas examined how he looked and could tell the smile was fake. There were many other emotions behind it but he couldn't tell what they were, though he knew they were sad. The two hung out together and learned more about each other in the process. Atlas checked his watch and noticed it was 4 hours after school. He should have been home by now. His father would not show any leniency towards him for being home so awfully late. Atlas jumped up and began to run through the park towards his home. "W-where are you going?" Yeon-jun yelled out to him as he got up and started to run after him. "I'm going home. It's late." Yeon-jun couldn't keep up with Atlas and stopped in his tracks, out of breath. Yeon-jun watched as Atlas ran away far into the distance until he was out of view. Yeon-jun walked back to the bushes that he came through and entered the courtyard to his house. He slowly strolled down the path to the front door and opened it. The housed was dimly lit by moonlight and otherwise was completely dark. His caretaker peered down the stairwell to see who entered the mansion and when he saw who it was he quickly came down. " Young master, welcome home. Is there any particular type of tea that you would like before bed? "Chamomile is fine." Yeon-jun said as he walked up the stairs, head down and moving sluggishly. Yeon-jun POV I wish he'd have said something else before he ran off. Oh well, maybe i'll see him tomorrow. I walked into my bathroom and got ready for bed. Tonight was just like any other night in this godforsaken house. Dark, quiet, and dead other than the creaking and whispers I hear. Maybe it's all in my mind, however. I wish they would've told me what to do without them.. before they left. I sat down in the chair in the corner of my featureless room and soon after my new butler came in with my tea, "Here you are, young master. I hope you enjoy your night. Please feel free to call me if you require anything." he said setting the tea down on the side table and bowing. With that he left the room and closed the door. I silently sipped on my tea, the clock near my desk on the wall ticking louder and louder as each minute passed. I didn't say a word and quite frankly I did not have a thought in the world. The silence became louder and louder with each moment I sat still in the chair. My mind began to wander and I felt as if I was going insane. The silence became too obnoxious for me to handle and I got up from the chair, finishing the tea and laying down on my bed.

After Atlas completed writing his journal entry for the day he got up to leave because visiting hours were almost over. Just as he was about to walk out the door he heard rustling from the hospital bed. "H-huh..? A-Atlas..?" Rhys said as he sat up slowly in the bed, his vision still hazy and blurred and his head throbbing. "Rhys..? You're awake..?" Atlas remarked, turning his head and walking towards the hospital bed teary eyed. "What happened? I was at the house and next thing I know i'm... here." Rhys slurred as Atlas pulled the chair back up to the hospital bed and caressed Rhys' soft hands in his rough ones. "You're in the hospital. You had a lack of oxygen to your brain and became comatosed for 4 months." Atlas said quietly to Rhys looking into his eyes with deep hurt. "4 months..?! I'm so sorry, I wish I could've been awake for you.." Rhys muttered, feeling guilt. "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. Things happen and we can't always prevent them." Atlas told Rhys sincerely, giving him a hug and rubbing his back. "I'll be back in a second okay? I'm going to tell the doctors that you're awake and see how soon you can get discharged." Atlas vocalized with a smile as he walked out the door and down the hall.