Was It Always Us?

𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍

Side Note: Dual POV is included in this chapter, so I can portray the view of both Atlas and Lily clearly. 

***

Atlas Corrigan:

"What the heck were you thinking?!" I blurted out, seething with anger as I saw Josh and Theo sit ashamedly on their respective seats, with an officer waiting patiently nearby. After paying a fine and promising that nothing like this wouldn't happen again, I barely got these boys out of jail. However, they had to spend the night and I sent Lily back home while I myself camped outside the police station in my car. First thing in the morning, I had gone to confront these blithering idiots.

"Alcohol?! Freaking DRUGS?!" I shouted.

"We didn't do anything, Atlas, come on." Theo said, but one glance at his drooping head and his bloodshot eyes told me all I needed to know. According to the police officer I talked with, both of them had been fairly drunk when the party was raided.

"Do you realise the severity of your actions?! Drinking? I trusted both of you. Especially you, Theo! And then you go behind my back, get yourself wasted and drag me in the mess too?!"

They both said nothing, their heads bowed in shame. I motioned for them to get up and nodding at the police officer, took them both to the car, where Lily was waiting. We hadn't contacted Brad yet, but I was planning on taking them both straight to his house. I did not expect them to go behind my back like that. It was so wrong. So wrong. And I felt particularly angry because I had been through this phase too. One where I used to sneak into bars, take a couple shots of vodka, and then vomit in the bathroom until everything closed and I had to drag myself through the abandoned streets. It was a bad time. Something I would never want to relive. Just thinking about the fact that Josh and Theo could have ended up doing worse than drinking if not stopped in time made me shudder. 

I had failed. Failed as a guardian. Failed as a role model, as a mentor. Failed as a parent. 

Failed as a brother.

Failed. Just like that. And though I may not know what factors contributed to this, I knew the trust I had in them would take a lot of time to rebuild. A lot of time.

***

Lily Corrigan/Bloom:

I saw them both entering, and I felt a twinge of guilt. It was me who had allowed them to go to the party. They hadn't bothered asking Atlas, and I was frustrated due to me and him fighting, so I just blurted out my consent without even thinking it through or asking them about details, or who else would be there. How could I be this foolish? Me and Atlas had just mended our relationship and if this came out in the open, he would definitely be angry at me. As the door opened and Atlas sat in, I saw the unadulterated rage in his eyes. They were brighter, and yet darker at the same time. They had this fire in them, this coldness that sent shivers down my spine. His jaw was clenched and he was biting his cheek, which I would have thought of as attractive if we weren't in this situation.

Josh and Theo sat down, and I felt even sadder. Should I risk getting Atlas mad at me by telling him the truth? Or should I just keep my trap shut and pretend like it really is entirely Josh and Theo's fault.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice quavering. Atlas turned on the engine and pressed on the accelerator hard. The car gained speed, and soon we were practically flying. Well, not really. But it was pretty fast.

"To Brad's. These kids need a good lecture." Atlas replied.

"Atlas, not my dad, please. He'll, he'll never let me come to the restaurant and restrict my going out too. I barely got out of the mess made when he caught me with Annabeth, please don't do this." Theo muttered, his voice having that tinge of desperation that made me feel nauseous.

"That's even better." Atlas countered.

"But we did take permission before going and I've already told you this a million times!"

"And I told you that I don't believe you a million times too! Who did you take permission from? Huh? Emerson? Your friends? Or the person who supplied you the alcohol you got drunk on? How dare you go behind me like that?! And now you have the audacity to argue with me and act like you were innocent when it's clear you've been drinking?!" Atlas half-screamed at them, his face pale and his voice having an edge to it. Theo just glanced at me and I stammered, but he didn't say anything. I think he must have figured out I could get in trouble with Atlas too. But this was too much. The boys were wrong, yes, but I was too.

And it was going to come out in the open eventually, wasn't it? Better he listens it from me than from them.

"I...I was the one--" 

"You don't need to cover for them." Atlas's reply was bitter, venomous and concise. I was so in trouble.

"I was the one who let them go to the party without any confirmation or asking for details, Atlas. I didn't even know where the party was being held, let alone the type of people going there." I whispered, but Atlas's wide eyes and the way his jaw clenched even more made me snap my eyes shut.

"You what?"

"I'm sorry--"

Atlas laughed, but it wasn't lighthearted jest. It was like that look he gave me when he gifted me Ellen DeGeneres's autographed book. One that let me know how disappointed he was. In me.

But before Atlas could reply to my confession, a call interrupted him and he picked up the phone, annoyed. It seemed like there was an issue at the restaurant.

"I'm going to the restaurant right now. You, Lily, are going to take them to our house and call Brad."

"Let it go--"

"Drop Theo off at his house, then. Do whatever you want. Like you did when you gave them permission to go to that party."

Oh, Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

***

Hey you guys! So I noticed I've been getting good views for this story but none of you bother to upvote. And that's really...depressing? I don't know. I just know it makes me lose motivation. So please don't forget to upvote this time, or I'll be forced to delay next chapter.