"I don't fucking care. Stop avoiding the question."

"I didn't want you to know." Atlas finally replies, and he raises his eyebrows at Salem. Like that was answer enough. "That simple."

"Why?" Salem stresses. "Why didn't you want me to know? Why were we together almost two years when you knew it would fail from the start?"

"What makes you think I was in it for the long run?"

Salem pauses. Is Atlas implying that he was only with Salem because... why? Boredom? This fucking guy was basically all of Salem's firsts, and he has the audacity to imply that their relationship wasn't serious? That he didn't want it to last in the first place? That he didn't care? Was it just some high school fling?

Salem quite literally fell head over heels in love with this guy. The thought that it may not have been mutual to begin with threatens his sanity even more.

"Uh, I don't know." Salem replies, looking at Atlas in pure disbelief. Atlas has to be bullshitting him, he refuses to believe this. "Maybe because we dated for almost two fucking years?"

Atlas' expression doesn't change, despite the exceptionally good point Salem just made. Salem is beginning to doubt his judgement.

"It didn't mean anything."

What? It didn't mean anything? Is that what he's saying—that their relationship meant nothing to him? "So, what? You were just messing with me? The entire time?"

"I wouldn't put it like that." Atlas says, and he takes a step forward. Salem tenses. "You were fun, but I never cared about you or anything."

Salem notices that Atlas isn't making eye contact. AKA his tell. This means that he's lying. He's lying about not caring about Salem, and he probably lied about not caring about their relationship either. At least, he better have.

"Stop. Lying." Salem says, voice a warning. "Stop lying to me—god, it's so fucking obvious when you lie! Tell me the truth!"

Atlas just stares at him with the same blank expression he always does, and Salem should be given a trophy or a medal or something for his patience. He can't believe he hasn't lost what little sanity he has left from this conversation.

After a while, Atlas finally answers. "I wanted to give us a chance. It got carried away. As for why I didn't tell you, I think that's obvious."

"It's not," Salem says, voice low. "Why."

"Okay, you're on," Salem hears the same voice from the doorway. Salem turns around, finding a middle aged man standing there. He doesn't even say anything, walking over to the door and slamming it, before clicking the lock. He turns around to find Atlas deep in thought.

Salem leans against the door, and now Atlas has his arms crossed. He tries to calm himself down, running his hands through his hair and taking deep breaths. He needs to stop letting his emotions get the better of him. He needs to ignore this horrible feeling of betrayal and have an actual conversation.

"There are so many reasons we shouldn't have been together, my name doesn't even scratch the surface. Do you actually need me to explain this to you? You're annoying and insane, but you aren't stupid."

Salem sighs, leaning his head back on the door, looking at Atlas and feeling many things at once. He's mostly tired, though. Feeling so much is exhausting; he really regrets not taking his medicine.

"It's not your name that's the problem." Salem says, "it's your family. And my family. And the fact that you knew all this and still allowed us to date."

"Why does the fact that I didn't dump you when I met your dad bother you so much?"

Okay, that actually pisses Salem off. Mostly because he knows it's a genuine question. Does Atlas seriously not see a problem in being in a relationship that's doomed to fail? Especially when the other person isn't aware of that?

"Because I loved you," Salem admits. He's proud that he remembered to put it in the past tense. He said it in the present for so long that he sometimes forgets. "And you've made it clear that you didn't feel the same..."

Salem sighs, staring at the floor. "I just don't understand the point of it all. I don't see where you benefit."

"I don't owe you an explanation."

Salem looks up, drilling his gaze into Atlas' own. He's only getting more and more angry by the second, as this guy continues to act like Salem is just a minor inconvenience. He doesn't care that Salem just found out one of the biggest game changers of all time. He doesn't care about his lies or his actions or how any of it affected Salem.

Atlas won't give Salem the answer he wants. He just doesn't care enough.

"Move, I'm on." Atlas says, and Salem realizes that the guy is standing right in front of him. Salem just stares into his eyes, shaking, and he can't believe this has happened. Salem and Atlas used to be so happy, so in love. Finding out that it was seemingly all one sided is soul crushing.

"They," Salem says, and the rage in his voice catches him off guard. "Are going to make sure your family goes behind bars. For good. I hope you know that."

Atlas raises an eyebrow at him, and there's doubt in his eyes. He doesn't know that Salem is about to be a part of the investigation. He thinks it's an empty threat, or he thinks it's only coming from a place of frustration. "Yeah? How?"

That almost gets Salem. He almost admits that he's going to be joining the investigation, but he stops himself just in time. Atlas is maintaining heavy eye contact right now, and Salem feels somewhat nervous under his cold gaze. Instead of admitting Salem's involvement in the investigation, he just says;

"You'll see."

Atlas' expression stays the same that it's been for basically this entire conversation when he replies, "good luck."

Salem steps out of the way, hearing Atlas unlock the door behind him, and walks over to a chair by the wall. He sits down and leans forward, resting his face in his hands as he thinks. This is mostly because he needs to calm himself down before going out there again.

Honestly, if someone would have gone up to him and told him that this is what was going to come of his relationship with Atlas, he straight up would not have believed them. Just the concept of the two splitting up was unfathomable, let alone being on opposite sides of this war.

A full minute goes by of Salem internally freaking out and questioning both his existence and his relationship with Atlas, starting from the beginning. He finally looks up after a while, and pauses when he sees Atlas still standing there. The door is open, Atlas' hand on the knob, but he hadn't left like Salem thought he did a while ago.

Atlas had an expression on his face, but it goes away when Salem looks up. Salem has no idea what it was before, though he seems troubled.

"Where's your car?" Atlas asks, and Salem frowns. He's trying to read Atlas, to figure out his angle here, but he comes up empty. Begrudgingly, he decides to just answer.

"The parking garage."

Atlas gives him an exasperated look, and that one is unmistakable. Salem can read it loud and clear, but he doesn't understand why Atlas is suddenly so irritated. So what if he's parked far away?

Atlas walks away from the door, over to his black duffel bag. He takes off his gloves and starts rooting through it, and Salem feels so confused. Why is Atlas acting like this all of a sudden? Previously he'd been all fed up, and now he's asking Salem where he parked his car? God, this guy makes no fucking sense.

Finally, he walks over to Salem. He reaches down and grabs Salem's wrist, turning it so his hand is facing up. Salem completely freezes, staring up into Atlas' eyes in pure fascination. He can't remember the last time Atlas touched him, and the contact has his senses in overdrive. He feels way too warm, heart beating out of his chest, and if Atlas keeps this hold on him any longer no doubt his brain will stop functioning altogether.

Atlas places something in his hand, but Salem doesn't even look at it. Atlas looks back up at him, their faces level and too close, and says;

"Keep your head down and stick to the main roads."

Then he's gone, grabbing his gloves and walking out the door. When it closes, it's loud. Salem looks down to find what had been placed in his hand.

It's a pocket knife, folded up with the initials ADA and a skull engraved on it. The skull matches Atlas' tattoo, and everything begins to blur when Salem's vision clouds with tears. He can't help it, feeling overcome with emotion. Why would Atlas give him this? Why would he be concerned for Salem's safety? He just said he didn't care! That he never did!

Besides, this is unnecessary to begin with. Salem was raised by cops, he knows how to protect himself. He knows to stay alert, and he knows which parts of town are bad. Granted, this part of town is really bad, so Atlas' concern isn't unreasonable.

Still, why is Atlas so confusing?

It's at least another five to ten minutes before Salem finally leaves, and the fight is still going on. He refuses to look directly at Atlas, but assumes the guy is probably in decent shape. The person Atlas is fighting, though, looks rough. He looks a lot worse than the situation would typically warrant, and Salem wonders why Atlas is being more violent than usual.

Salem doesn't stick around to watch the fight, but he can only assume Atlas wins.