What kind of brother are you?

"Mom, please, I can explain! Don't kill me!" 

"Mom!!! Ah, shit — damn it!" 

Atlas smacked his lips and raised his eyebrows, pulling his phone away from his ear to check it. "Guess I called a little late," he murmured, thinking his day had been so busy he nearly forgot to tell Yugi about his car. 

"Well." Atlas ended the call, giving Yugi and his family a bit of privacy. "I'm sure Aunt Jessa is just exercising some tough love. He'll live." 

If only Yugi could hear Atlas's optimism—he might not have thanked him so quickly for delivering his car. Of course, Jessa wouldn't actually kill her son, but anyone who'd experienced her "tough love" knew just how severe that could be. 

Atlas shrugged, slipped his phone into a drawer, and fixed his gaze on his computer. Taking a shallow breath, he refocused on the last task of his day. 

"Please…" he whispered, reaching for the computer mouse, "... give me something."