Short Circuit
1145 Words
Rowan's POV
The hospital was eerily quiet when I woke up. The dim light cast long shadows across the room, and the only sound was the steady beeping of the monitors attached to our mother. She looked so frail, a stark contrast to the strong woman who once ruled our household with an iron fist. The sight of her like this twisted something deep inside me.
Rose was nowhere to be seen, likely off on another of her endless coffee breaks. It was just as well; I needed a moment to think without her sharp eyes tracking my every move.
I leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and rubbed my tired eyes. The weight of everything that had happened in the past few months bore down on me, making it hard to breathe. Chandler Enterprises was hanging by a thread, and the vultures were circling, waiting for any sign of weakness. Roland Stone had made his move, and now it was my turn to respond.
After much thought, I reached into the back pocket of my blue suit and called Killian.
"Hey," I greeted.
"How are you holding up?" Killian asked.
"Not too well, but I’m hanging in there. I didn’t call to talk about my feelings, though. I called for business," I said.
"Right, it’s always business with you," Killian replied.
"What’s that supposed to mean? I’m just trying to make the best of a bad situation by focusing on what keeps me going," I responded.
"Seriously, is that all you’ve got? You know what, never mind. Actually, no, it’s not fine. First, you start a war with Roland Stone, which leads to you being poisoned and falling into a five-year coma," Killian laughed and touched his chin, holding the phone back to his ear. "I mean, it’s crazy. As a friend, I blamed myself every day for encouraging you to do something so reckless, which could have led to your death. Although it didn’t, it freaked me out…"
"See, I don’t have…" I tried to cut him off.
"Will you just shut up for a minute? I mean, don’t go all Rowan on me right now. Because I know you—you’re impulsive, not the type to think things through. You just want to make things work, and you still don’t get that your actions are affecting other lives," Killian said.
"What are you saying? I’m the one who went into a coma. I’m the one who’s about to lose my father’s company because of some ridiculous allegations that I suffer from PTSD and am not responsible enough to handle company affairs due to my coma. I was hoping my family would manage things, but instead, my mother sold our company just because she wanted me to get married. As if she knows what love is—she’s been married eight times! This wouldn’t have happened if my family wasn’t blinded by that stupid law about being in charge of the company through marriage. I forced myself into a contract marriage and never cared about the person I married. I had s*x with my ex, she with hers, and now Sia is reported to be a mass murderer. What else is there to say? Oh! My sister Mercy isn’t my father’s child; she was the elder sister I looked up to. Damn it, my mother was a w***e who only wanted me to control my father’s company to install her bastard children. I regret that my father fell in love with her. This always happens to me—from preschool with Kate, who brought her family to rob my hope, leading to Grandpa’s death, to teenage years with Michelle causing the death of my dog, Anabella, Nana losing her left leg, Rebecca giving Nana heart failure, and poor Nana living with an artificial heart. Since then, I swore never to love again. And now Sasha—my father’s death, her reappearance in my life, my mother in a coma, and me in a coma—and my father’s company is about to be taken from me. At least with Sia, my life was a bit better. And now I’m running a drug ring, the very thing my dad and I tried to stop. It’s like my life is cursed. Trust me, man, never give your heart to anyone, or you’ll pay dearly," I replied.
"Are we even talking about the same thing? You know what, I don’t care. Let’s just get straight to business. I think I can handle that better than all the crazy you just unleashed," Killian said.
"Fine. Shut down Eagle Plant," I instructed.
"What? Am I hearing this right? Are you sure you’ve thought this through? Because if you listen to yourself right now, you’ll realize you sound crazy. Maybe we should talk when your head is cooler," Killian replied.
"Trust me on this one, okay? I’ve thought it through. If I want to win back my father’s company, I need to shut down the drug operation—no more trying to put Roland out of business or kill the top dog who ordered the hit on my dad," I said.
"So we just lower our guard and hope the enemy gives up?" Killian replied.
"It’s the only way. Besides, I’ve got a family who needs the company to stay alive more than the drug factory," I said, glancing at Rose by the coffee machine. "Besides, we’re producing meth, not something legal. We could go to jail for that."
"Yeah, but you know what I think?" Killian replied.
"And what do you think, Kil?" I asked.
"I think you’re crazy and have finally lost it. You don’t just wake up from whatever hell you were in during your coma and start making decisions without weighing the consequences. Trust me, you think you have it all figured out with Mr. X, Roland, and whatever else is messing with your head right now. But don’t come to me when it all falls apart. You’d better pray there’s no blowback, because from what I’ve heard from you just now, you’re still the same kid seeking his family’s approval, and man, you’re a mess—a big one," Killian replied.
"What did you say? You think because you were in charge during my absence, you have the right to make decisions? Or was this your plan all along?" I asked.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Killian asked.
"I knew it—you were behind it all," I replied.
"Right now, you sound crazy, and I think I’ve had enough of you for one day. I’ll chalk it up to your current situation stirring things up. So, I’ll do you a favor and end this call right now."
"You know what? Instead of ending the call, I’ll do you one better. You’re fired," I said.
"Wait, am I—what?" Killian replied, stunned.
- Writer
