I'm in complete shock right now. Aiden is Victor's son?! Why did he not tell me? Is that why he got so upset I was meeting his father today? Various questions are freely popping up in my mind, muting any sounds echoing in reality. However, I'm quickly brought back by Victor's intense voice.
"I've recently seen you two getting along quite well, and I can´t deny it doesn´t surprise me. Knowing my son, his only objective is diving head-first into trouble. I'm also not surprised he hasn´t even mentioned our family ties, which he despises. As you can imagine, this disappoints me tremendously, both as Atlas' leader and as a father. So, my best advice is for you to not get so close to him, Bianca. He's no good for a young woman of such potential as you."-He confidently states, those last words instantly making my cheeks turn a light shade of pink. A tense silence follows.
Honestly, I can't find a way to respond. All this new information is hitting me with the density of a brick wall. The one thing I know is that I have to confront Aiden with all this. If he had already lied about these things, I'm not sure if I could trust him with anything else again.
"I'm sorry, I just don´t know what to say… I had no idea about any of this."- I finally say with a confused tone. Victor looks at me with a comforting nod and lightly smirks.
"Don´t worry, I understand. Let's focus on another topic, alright? I was informed by Miss Jacques that you were considering working in the field of neurology, specializing in dreams, right?"-He inquires. I simply nod.
"Right, well I can´t condition your decision, but I would suggest you focus your training on something that can objectively make you improve as an individual. The purpose of your formation at Atlas is not to crack the code of something so subjective no one knows the explanation of."-He persuades me, or tries to, but he isn't going to succeed.
"Don´t worry Victor, I know what I'm doing, and the decision has already been made."-I conclude, standing up from the white chair and leaving the office behind, not looking back and with a cheeky smile forming on my lips. He was not persuading me to change my mind, I was sure about it.
Now I had a very important thing to make clear; Aiden.
. . .
I searched for the black-haired boy in every corner of Atlas' immense complex, but he was nowhere to be found. Exasperated, I decided to go watch the sunset at the edge of the running field, where all the premises came to an end. It was such an isolated area, no one could usually be seen there, especially at this time of the day. I guess I'm back to finding isolating places for myself.
The scenery in front of me was absolutely breathtaking. On the right, the wild and leafy rainforest danced with the rhythm of the breeze, the vegetation slowly transforming into intense colors and shapes as the sun went down. On the left, the rocky cliff terrain contrasted with the horizon which was accompanied by the beautiful soundtrack of the ocean waves. At that moment, all my thoughts disappeared, and everything was at peace.
I finally walk all the way to the end of the field, which is surrounded by a tall metallic fence. There's something that catches my eye: a lonely bush in the middle of the fence, without any other one nearby. My intuition guides me to move it aside slightly, which reveals a hole in the fence, obviously made to get out. Following my gut once more, I crawl in and see a little path that apparently led to the big cliffs. I go ahead, not really realizing this was the first time I had left Atlas since I first got in, and walk across the path.
. . .
After a few minutes of walking through the passageway, I ended up finding myself right on the edge of the cliff. The ocean breeze blows my hair intensely as I bend my head down and watch the waves come crashing down and being destroyed by the prominent rocks that protected the layered wall of the precipice.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't be able to get here."-A sudden male voice sounds right behind me, making my body flinch and let out a gasp. I finally turn around and see Aiden staring at me curiously.
"You scared the living shit out of me!"-I exclaim. He briefly chuckles and just continues to look at me like I was a weird creature.
"I was clearing my thoughts here. This is my special spot where I can actually be completely by myself. I guess it won't be that anymore now that you showed up. You can´t live without me, can you Princess?"-He says casually, almost as a comment. I raise my eyebrows with a disapproving look, remembering why I had come looking for him.
"I need to talk to you, and you better have a good explanation for everything."-I state very seriously. His smuggy smirk dies out at my tone.
"Alright, we can sit down at my spot, It's not so special now that you've found it anyway. Follow me."-He says neutrally. I do as he says and we arrive at one of the corners of the cliff where it meets the rainforest, there's a perfect view of the sunset. We proceed to sit down at the very edge, legs hanging in the air.
"As you know, I had a meeting with Victor, who told me you're his son. When exactly were you gonna tell me about it?"-I get straight to the point, I need answers now or never. There's a brief silence before he speaks.
"I know what you might be thinking, and I know I should have told you sooner. Victor Atlas was my father, but I don´t want to be associated with him anymore because he has never been a good dad to me. Ever since I was born, he has been forcing me to be a "good leader", hoping I would take over this shitty institution. Whenever I told him I did not want to follow in his footsteps, he would punish me both mentally and physically. Eventually, I grew up and was old enough to stand up for myself and against him, and ever since, I've been trying to escape from this place. Being able to control our power through The Passage will allow us to get out of here and finally be free. Don´t you get it, Bianca? He's manipulating you to use you as a weapon in his favor, and if you don't obey, he won´t be happy about it."-He concludes, his voice slightly shaky and his hands in a trembling mess. I had never seen him so vulnerable before, and there was a look in his eyes that was truthful and pure. I take his hands in mine and hold them tight, looking at him with a reassuring smile.
"I believe you."-I say, my words making him show a soft genuine smile.
There's a comforting silence that engulfs us as we stare into each other's eyes, the space between getting thinner and thinner as our heads get closer together. I lay my head on his shoulder, breathing in the ocean. Instead, I breathe in his scent, which was a mix of mint and cigarettes. When I turn towards him, he's already looking back at me, until he connects his lips with mine.