STALEMATE [MAFIA] [MXM] ✓

8: OPTIONS

Salem falls asleep like that, something he isn't aware of until Ruby is waking him up the next morning with a concerned look on her face.

"Salem? Did you sleep there all night?"

Salem jumps, hitting his head on the half open silverware drawer. Ruby raises her eyebrows at him, leaning back a bit. Salem looks around the room in alarm, not used to waking up in the middle of his kitchen floor. Wow, he did not sleep in a very pleasant position, either. That is, if his back and neck pain are anything to go off of.

"Uh," Salem says, rubbing the back of his head. He blinks, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the morning light. "Not on purpose."

He got quite lost in thought last night, mind running a mile a minute as he weighed his limited options. This went nowhere. Upon coming up empty, he must've fallen asleep or something. He can get pretty lost in his head, so it's not exactly uncommon for him to zone out or fall asleep in strange places.

"Okay, well there's someone here."

Salem completely sits up, leaning against the cabinets. He rubs at his face and eyes, slowly waking up. Ruby just continues watching him, worried. Finally, Salem gets enough wits about him to process what she said. He pauses, feeling immediate alarm. What time is it? No way Atlas is already here, Salem was given no time to think!

Salem looks around the room in alarm, but he doesn't have to do so for long. Almost immediately, he spots a familiar blonde woman in the doorway. He instantly recognizes her as the girl who was following Atlas around last time. His secretary, or whatever. She looks the exact same as last time, and since she's closer and there's more light, Salem can see her face better. She's really pretty, in a poised way, and he wonders (not for the first time) if possibly... her and Atlas are involved?

That was his first impression, before Atlas took off the mask when Salem thought they were strangers. Maybe it's possible? Then again, she is older than him, which probably isn't Atlas' preference. Also, he doesn't really have a defined sexuality, so Salem has no clue if he even likes women.

Salem has no idea whether the two being together would be a good or bad thing. He's troubled, which seems to be the one constant in his life

"Why are you still wearing your work clothes?" Ruby asks in confusion. Salem looks down at his attire, seeing his jeans and ACPD T-shirt. It's not necessarily his work uniform, but it is what he wears when he gets off work late and takes a shower at the substation. He never changed his clothes, too distracted by Atlas.

Salem continues trying by to orient himself, still groggy. He replies absentmindedly. "I got caught up."

Ruby tilts her head a bit. "With Atlas?"

Salem glances at the secretary girl, then back at Ruby. There's pretty much nothing else in this world he would rather talk about less. "Yeah."

"Maeve told me he's a Di Angelo." Ruby says. Salem assumes that Maeve is the secretary girl, and he makes sure to give her a bit of a look. Seriously? Like Ruby isn't already freaked out enough by him. Sure, Band hinted at it, but Ruby was far too scared to pick up on that.

Salem sighs, leaning his head back against the cabinets behind himself. He closes his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"He is," Salem says, because he doesn't really want to lie to Ruby. He watches her eyes widen minutely, which was expected. That name almost never gets good reactions. Most people have been taught to fear it. "But Atlas is... one of the good ones."

Wow, okay, that's a lie. Didn't Salem just say he was going to tell the truth? If anything, Atlas might be the worst one, as things stand. "There's no way he's good."