Atlas

Thirty Three

The music was still blaring inside Atlas's head when he woke up the next morning. It was 8 am. He had slept for a total of forty minutes – which was way more than he was getting recently.

He thought of calling Grace, but she was probably sleeping at her friend's. She had been pretty drunk yesterday, and he couldn't help getting a little worried for her. He remembered the jealousy in her voice when she had seen him with the blonde, and he wondered if she was still upset. He knew he would have been if the roles were reversed.

Once he had showered and had breakfast, Adrian had called to check up on him and to tell him he was coming for a visit soon. Atlas was relieved. His relationship with his brother was a lot better now and he looked forward to seeing him.

Still, his mind was on Grace. He decided he'd give her a call after his therapy session.

"So, how are you today?" Dr. Alice pushed her glasses further up her round nose. "Oh, by the way, here." she reached across the table for her bag and began to pull something out.

"Tired." He yawned. "I had the closing shift yesterday. Bar."

"Ah." She pulled out a stack of cookies covered in cellophane. "For you."

"I.." he reached over and took them. "Thanks, doc." He was surprised. H didn't think doctors would go to lengths like this. He bit into one.

"They're actually great. I appreciate it." 

"No problem, Atlas. So, want to start?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." She clicked her pen. "So I thought of an approach we could take, let me know what you think."

"Sure." He dropped his elbow on the arm rest. He was barely functioning, but Dr. Alice seemed interesting enough.

"You already know it's going to take a lot of extensive therapy to undo the damage, but, I was thinking we could get through some of the initial, hard facts today before we start focusing on the emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to work on a puzzle today, Atlas. Of what happened to you. What you remember, what we can piece together. The first step is always acknowledging what you've been through."

He sighed. Always with the memories.

"As long as you promise it'll help."

"There's a good chance." She said with a smile. "Willing to take it?"

He hesitated for a brief second. But he was so tired of going in circles for years. He didn't want to stay in a loop for the rest of his life.

"Yes."

"Perfect, then the hardest part is over. Now, we're going to start from the very beginning. You're going to tell me everything you know – even if it's from other people – or your memories, or whatever, like you're telling a story. Think you can manage?"

"I guess." The fatigue was beginning to fade from his body. His heart always raced any time he thought of Abingham.

"Okay, let's begin. Tell me all you know about," she checked her notes. "Clara and James. Your biological parents."

Atlas took a moment to gather his thoughts. "They lived on top of a mansion on a hill. Everyone called it the Abingham Estate. They had three children. Adeline, the oldest. Adrian. And then me."

"Go on, love."

"I didn't know much about them. I never knew who my birth parents, until recently. From all that I know now, they were wealthy. Clara -my mother- got into an accident, I don't know when. I think she went crazy or something. And then James shot her. Only..."