Broken

Chapter 1

London, 2021

It's amusing how a life you wanted nothing to do with becomes a life you don't want to part with.

Atlas' thoughts drifted and he had no idea what he was doing anymore. He was living a life he had wanted nothing to do with and he loved it. But that didn't mean there weren't days when he had to drag himself through the day.

He had been at it for hours and was losing track of time and his focus was constantly shifting. But he kept going knowing he had to if he didn't want his dad on his case again.

"Shite." He pulled back from staring at his MacBook screen and leaned back into his office chair. 

Atlas shut his eyes, rubbing the corners with his fingers and sighing. He couldn't believe he was working during his last week of college break. He had to resume back at the university for the first term in his final year. There he was working with no doubt that his friends were out partying. They'd sent him a text over two hours ago with an address to the party which he'd read and ignored.

Atlas spun around in his chair and stared out of the floor-to-ceiling window. He breathed in and smiled at the calmness the view brought him. He'd loved this office as a boy when he'd visited his dad at the company. He would sneak in and just watch the world go about its way while he waited for his dad.

That was a lifetime ago before his mother walked out on them leaving him and his younger sister alone with a workaholic father. He'd spent his teenage years hating his mum and despising his father. He'd not only tried to get over that first heartbreak but also tried to be a parent and a brother to his sister.

He was really looking forward to leaving London after graduating next year. He wanted to be closer to his sister who'd moved to the United States a few months ago after gaining admission into the University of Washington, Tacoma. He would also be miles away from his dad, so two birds with one stone.

All his dad had talked about the past three years was about him taking over the Zervas branch in Seattle once he graduated. That was barely an hour's drive to Tacoma, so he could visit his sister as often as possible. She could also stay with him in Seattle during the holidays if she didn't want to fly back to London. Knowing her, she was definitely looking for excuses to stay away from home.

The silence in the office was disrupted by the ringing of his phone. Atlas spun around in his chair and grabbed his phone from the desk. He smiled at the caller's ID and answered the call.

"Where the fuck are you?"
The loud music in the background was making it hard for Atlas to hear his best friend.

"I told you I wasn't coming."

"Rubbish. Get your arse down here ASAP." Simon hung up before he could say another word.

Atlas pulled his phone from his ear and stared at the screen, sighing. He looked at his laptop and made a mental calculation of how long it'd take to complete his work and write a report for his dad without missing the deadline. He would be able to complete it in two days if he worked all day. Four, if he took his time which left his last day to write the report. He thought it was reasonable and shut his laptop then got out of his chair. He tucked his phone into his front pant pocket and grabbed his car keys from the desk and his suit jacket on the way out of his office.

Atlas passed the empty office and headed for the elevator which took him down to the underground parking lot. He greeted the security guard who he'd bumped into every day for the past month as he walked to his car. Getting into his matte black Mazda MX-5, his baby.

His dad had offered to pay for it just like he offered to pay for everything in his life no matter the cost but Atlas knew it was his dad trying to buy back his relationship with him and he didn't want that. If his dad wanted to build a relationship with him, he would need to really want to and work for it on an emotional level. He'd bought the car saving what he'd earned from working at the company for the first two years of university. It still felt like his dad's money but he'd earned it, in a way.