Shattered Vows

October 5th

Our life is one big proverbial coin toss

- Damon Salvatore

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October Fifth:

Walking home from Buckey's, he can't contain his smile. He'd sat through Jules' entire shift again today and even snuck her phone number when she wasn't paying attention. Though she hadn't relented to his charms, he did catch the way she hid her blush behind her curtain of curly hair. Biting down on her lip, she tried to prevent the smile that teased her features.

In the grand scheme of things, he considers it a triumph.

However, his elated mood dwindles as he steps into his house. Though his parents repeatedly argued, their relationship has changed over the years, there is something different about his mother's detached tone. There is no emotion carried in her voice as she asks the three words that will break their family.

"Who is she?"

Nico freezes, paralyzed in his own skin. His parents haven't heard him enter through the front door, so engrossed in their altercation.

"Who is she, James?" His mother's shrill voice turns into a sob. Tears stain her flushed cheeks, her makeup smudged beneath her eyes. Her deep brown gaze is blanketed in betrayal as she stares at her husband, whom she no longer recognizes. She allows the negative emotions to swallow her composure, quickly her love turns to hatred. No longer willing to blind herself from the truth she's known for years.

"She's nobody, Mary. She's just an assistant at the firm." His father's voice isn't forgiving; it's defensive. He sits at the kitchen island with his gray work tie loosened and his silvering hair tousled. His dark eyes flicker over the face of his wife with a guilty expression.

She stands at the opposite end of the kitchen. So much distance between two who used to love each other. Two people who at one point couldn't stand the idea of being in different rooms, always in the near proximity of the other. Even with their pressuring work hours, they had always managed time for each other. Date night was every Friday, hiring the young girl down the road to babysit their boys.

"How- how could you do this to our family?" Mary's voice breaks off as another tear slips from its ducts and trails down her cheek.

Nico shifts his weight only slightly, but it's enough to make the wooden floorboards groan beneath his weight. His parents' tempered voices halt, their eyes flit towards the front door, where they catch a glimpse of Nico's disappearing figure. Slamming the door forcibly behind him rattles the family pictures hung on the wall.

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He drives into the city, not minding the speed limit. The lights blur past his window, all the reds, and oranges, and yellows. High-rise buildings reach towards the sky, their highest level scraping the stars. The patches of land not settled by skyscrapers are parks and paved trails. At this hour of the night, the sidewalks are barren. However, during the day, the streets are alive with people.

He drives by memory, not following the street signs. His father has taken him this way through the city so many times it's second nature. Grooming his prodigal sons to one day fill his position as partners in one of the metropolitan's biggest law firms. Richardson & Lee handles the more affluent cases, the big businesses against little guys' testimonies.

His father rose to his position in the company only by being a bully. How could Nico have been so blind to his true nature?

Stalking towards the edifice after hours, he uses his father's code to enter the architecture. The building is made of glossy metal and polished glass. The interior contains a monochromatic color scheme, using every shade of gray. It's a color that directs power. From the floors to the ceilings, it's pristine.