1 Prologue

'Just breathe, it's easy. A deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth. Make sure to hold for 4 seconds in between breaths.' I've been repeating those words in my head for the past 20 minutes. I haven't moved, I've just been sitting here; on the floor, with my knees to my chest. Struggling to breathe after hearing the news. My dad is in a coma, the doctors aren't sure he's gonna wake up…

Why does this have to happen to him, he didn't do anything to deserve this. He's always been respectful, compassionate, and selfless. So why, if there is an ethereal being above, why did you have to do this to my father.

"Atlas, we need to go. Visiting hours are over, we can come back tomorrow to see dad." Said my older sister, Apollo. My mother studied Greek mythology and researched about the Greek gods/goddesses. She named my sister, brothers and I after her favourite gods/goddesses. I'm the youngest out of all my siblings. It's just the 4 of us and our dad; at least it was until his accident. My mom disappeared when I was little, I don't have many memories with her. My siblings say she was like a goddess herself.

She was assumed dead after a year of searching. She went on a trip for work, from what I was told. That was 15 years ago. I'm now 19, Apollo is 23, Ares is 24 he's the second oldest. The oldest is Enyo, he's 26. My parents had him when they were 18 and 19. My mom was just starting her career, and my dad had Inherited his fathers business. Grampy passed away when my mom was pregnant with Enyo, my Grammy passed when my mom was pregnant with Apollo. My mom's parents died when she was 15, she met my dad a few months later.

It was supposed to be the 6 of us living happily and comfortable in California until my parents grew old and wrinkled. But it's obvious that fate has other plans. Standing up, I follow Apollo, staring at the ground with blank eyes as we walk to Enyo's car. Apollo and I came with Enyo, and Ares went in the ambo with dad. As we approached the car, Enyo got out and walked over to Apollo and I. He said something to Apollo, I'm not entirely sure what was said but after she walked away he walked over to me and hugged me. It wasn't an awkward hug, he held me tightly while I cried into his shirt. Being the oldest out of all of us, he bore the responsibility of making sure we held our heads high. Regardless of the situation, he never let anyone see us at our worst. Nobody ever saw him at his worst, not our parents, or Ares and Apollo. Not even me, and I'm his favourite.

After the hug from my brother, I climbed into the back seat. It was a very quiet ride home. Nobody said anything. I think we're all just trying to process what happened to dad. Apollo has this distant look in her eyes and Enyo looks mad. I have no idea how to describe how Ares looks. He looks like he's physically present but his mind is elsewhere. I just wish my siblings would open up about how they feel instead of pretending that feelings don't exist. Dad always wanted us to be open about how we feel when we were with each other but he would always

say, "never let your emotions be your weakness." In my opinion, having feelings makes someone stronger; not weaker.

Regardless of that, we never cried around each other or my father. I wasn't even allowed to cry when they said it was likely that we would never find my mom. I remember Enyo holding me tightly that night while I secretly cried. Granted I was only 5 at that point. They were nearing the end of their search for my mom. The little bit I remember about my mom, she was always smiling. She would laugh a lot too. She enjoyed her work and spending time with us. She made my father smile too. His smile was so pretty, but when my mom disappeared. So did his smile, the same thing happened with Enyo. Ares became very closed off and only spoke when he had too. Ares and Apollo both moved out and got an apartment together. Enyo stayed with dad and I. I was 7 years younger than Enyo but he was my best friend, my biggest supporter.

I have no Idea what we're gonna do now. Apollo said she'd stay with me and Enyo for a while. But he told her it was fine, Ares met with Apollo outside the house and they left. They didn't live too far so if I did want Apollo to come over she would. "Atlas, how are you holding up?" Enyo asked as he walked into the kitchen. "It hurts, but I'll manage, I hope." I say in a quiet tone. "Atlas, dad is gonna be ok, he'll pull through. He always does, so don't worry about it too much." He says, he turned to look at me and his face bore a look of pity. "Enyo, I don't want you to pity me because I'm upset about this. I'm just concerned about how this happened." I said walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "I'm not pitying you Atlas, I just don't want you to be too upset about something you can't control." He said nonchalantly. How could he be so calm in a time like this? Our father is in the hospital and our mother is supposedly dead and has been since I was 5. The way he's acting is infuriating. I don't even bother to grab a drink at this point. I'm too upset to care. I ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom. Slamming the door as I walked in, collapsing on my bed and releasing everything. Why does the universe hate me? I'm still a kid for crying out loud. First they take my mother, causing my father to be void of his emotions for years, then my father has a crazy accident that puts him into a coma. The cherry on top, my siblings are acting like they don't care. What in the blue moon is going on, why now. Why do all these things have to happen now? I screamed into my pillows as more tears poured down my face. It hurts a lot.

I must've fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up with my blankets on me and some flowers on my nightstand. I sat up to grab the flowers and a note fell out. I put the flowers down and bent over to grab the little note. The note said: "Atlas, I know this is hitting you hard and you have a lot going through your head right now. Just understand that Ares, Apollo and I, are always gonna be here for you. You don't ever have to cry alone pipsqueak. We all love you very much. - Enyo" Enyo has never been one to do things like this, the only thing he's ever done to show any sort of affection towards the 3 of us is a hug when we looked upset.

Little did I know that in just a few months, my world would be turned upside down.