Chapter Three

 

COLTON

 

There were many times in my life where I could have taken off at the drop of a hat and traveled around the world for the next year or so and when I returned, everything would still be where I had left it. When I was younger, I was more apt to make those types of decisions and take those types of risks with minimal repercussions because I had nothing to lose because I had everything to gain.

Becoming a billionaire at twenty years old was a dream come true for me, I had more money than I could ever want or imagine. You’d think I was still jet-setting around the world and living it up at some dance club overseas, but that was far from the reality I was currently living in.

While it was true that I was still jet-setting around the world, but it was only to attend business functions. You would never find me in a dance club getting it on with the first woman that I set my sights on.

It wasn’t like that because, by the time I graduated from high school, I married the love of my life, Karen. I know it was silly to think I was mature enough to get married so young and that we’d be together forever, but in some ways, it was the primary reason as to why I became so wealthy at such a young age.

I made my initial fortune making risky choices in the stock market with whatever money I had left over from the two jobs I had at the time. It was supposed to be for our honeymoon, but I was determined to make a life for Karen, our future children and me. I learned quickly that I was really good at playing the stock market and I spent every dollar I saved despite Karen’s worries. I insisted I knew what I was doing and that it was for us. It was always for us.

When I hit my first million, I played it smart and invested most of what I earned into carefully chosen and diversified investments, studied to become a financial advisor who encouraged me to start my own business years later. Now I’m a billionaire.

I never imagined that I would be where I was today considering that I lost my parents when I was only ten years old and quickly became a part of the system. I didn’t have any siblings I could rely on because I was an only child and my friends were always too busy with whoever their current significant other was.

These days I was a single father of a six-year-old son named Chris who was a complete handful. He reminded me so much of her because of his wild streak and when Karen was alive, raising Chris seemed so much easier. She always seemed to know what to do and how to calm him down. She had the magic touch, and I didn’t. How could I?

I never knew what to do most days because I spent most of his childhood in the office working late hours. I wished there was a manual somewhere that I could refer to and just automatically understand what he wanted. I wanted to be the child whisperer like Karen was, until she was killed in a tragic car accident.

Taking care of my son and balancing my work schedule on my own had proven to be very difficult. I wasn’t cut out for this, and I had been thinking more and more lately that I needed a live-in nanny because I was getting behind in my workload and I couldn’t keep working at home forever, even if I was the CEO.

Chris needed more attention than what I could give him, and I felt guilty that I was actually considering live-in help, but I couldn’t take care of what was needed at work and worry about his safety at the same time. Not to mention that he looks like the male version of Karen. From her hair color to her cute button nose and the way she smiled. He had the same smirk she used to give me when she was pleased and at peace.

I miss her every day, but I couldn’t afford to relive the pain over and over again. Some would say I was weak using work and having a drink every day to run away from the pain of losing her, but until you lose the love of your life and suddenly find yourself a single father, then no one could say a god damn thing about it. Besides, I called it being smart because I was tired of hurting and you can’t blame me for not wanting to escape for a little while, at least until I found a solution for myself.

“Hey Chris, are you hungry? It’s lunchtime, buddy.” I called out as I finished reviewing some profit and loss statements my team emailed me. I was working from home today because I had forgotten that Chris has a student free day at his school and I couldn’t find a babysitter at the last minute no matter how much I was willing to pay.

“Chris, buddy?”

He didn’t answer the second time around, and as I got up and walked over to his bedroom where I last saw him playing on his bedroom floor, I realized he was no longer there. His toys were, however. I felt myself go from zero to panic in two seconds flat when the idea of Chris playing a one-sided game of hiding and seek with me didn’t seem like a plausible explanation.

Was his bedroom window always open? The hairs on the back of my arms stood on end with the realization that Chris was there one second and now he’s gone, and I didn’t know where he disappeared to.

“Chris? Chris!” I called out. I heard a faint whimpering, but I couldn’t pinpoint where it came from, and I ran outside to his bedroom balcony. “Chris, where are you, buddy?”

I heard the faint whimpering again, but this time I looked down and found Chris on the ground, eight feet below me on the backyard trampoline.

“I’m coming, buddy!” I quickly ran downstairs towards the backyard trampoline to find Chris in agonizing pain. “Don’t worry buddy, I’m going to take you to the hospital, and the doctors will make you feel all better.”

It practically killed me to see him in pain and to hear his cries. I felt completely helpless, and it was my fault that he fell off the balcony and in the fact that I didn’t do a better job at making sure he wasn’t able to get out onto the balcony. I just had to move him to the bedroom that had a balcony and a door to it that he was old enough to open by himself. I was selfish that’s why.

I made work so much of a priority that I moved him into the bedroom closest to my home office. I risked his safety so that I could work and watch him at the same time believing nothing would happen to him but the worst possible thing happened to him because I stopped paying attention to what he was doing.

I drove as fast as I could to the closest hospital, and I rushed him into the Emergency Room, and the doctor and nurses on staff admitted him in quickly. I wanted to go with him to ease his fears and cries, but the doctor said that I needed to stay in the waiting room for a little bit while they took care of him. They insisted that I could see him afterword and that I’d just only add to the chaos.

I didn’t protest much because I didn’t want to do anything that would prohibit him from getting the best care he could possibly get. Out of obligation, I took the opportunity to let Karen’s parents know as much as I didn’t want to. They didn’t like me and would only blame me again for another thing I fucked up for them.

They never liked me because I took their daughter away from them at such a young age and they really didn’t like the fact that as much as Karen wanted children right away, I made her wait years before I warmed up to the idea of having any. I told her from the beginning that I wanted to focus on my career first and get to the particular stage in my career before we decided to bring another life into the world.

It didn’t matter what Karen and I chose to do with our lives, her parents blamed me for everything. I’m pretty sure they blamed me for her death too. She had gotten into a car accident on the way back from the mall because she spent the past couple of hours finding me the perfect birthday gift. They believed that if I didn't mention to Karen that the only thing that I wanted were these custom graphite golf clubs, she would have bought something else for me and wouldn’t have been on the road that particular day.

“Where is Chris?” my father-in-law Jerry Williams shouted as he walked briskly down the hospital hallway half an hour later, followed by my mother in law Ruth, startling me from my thoughts.

“He’s getting looked at by the ER doctor on duty, I’ve already notified his primary,” I explained.

“What in the hell happened to him?” Ruth glared at me.

“I don’t know. I think he fell off the balcony in his bedroom and landed on the trampoline in our backyard.”

“What do you mean you don’t know and you think?” Jerry questioned.

“I didn’t see it happen, I was in my office working.”

“Instead of watching our grandson?” Jerry grilled me.

“I was taking care of some important work. Chris was fine, he was playing with his toys. No one could have predicted he’d find a way to open the sliding window and fall off the balcony!” I argued.

Why was I even bothering defending myself? It wasn’t any of their business what I was doing with my life and how I raised my son.

“It’s common sense, Colton! I knew this would happen.” Ruth paced around.

“We knew from the first time we met you that you were going to ruin this family. Not only did you ruin Karen’s life, we knew that it was a bad idea for her to want to have children with you. You have no idea how to take care of a child, you care more about yourself than anyone else! With Karen gone, you’re even worse than before!” Fred spat.

I don’t even know what came over me, but it must have been all of the comments and insults they have spat at me for years adding up including what they said right now that sent me over the edge. Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed Fred by the throat and shoved him back against the nearest wall.

“Don’t you dare accuse me of being a bad father or insinuate that I ruined Karen’s life! Despite what you two think, we were in love, and she never regretted choosing me to spend the rest of her life with. If I ever hear you say that the life we built or the life Karen and I created together which includes Chris was a mistake, I will…” I threatened before I realized all of the hospital staff in the ER department, as well as the families of other patients, stared at me with shock and confusion.

Shit. I quickly let go of my father in law and instead of feeling afraid or threatened he had a fucking smile on his face.

“You just sealed your fate buddy. You just proved to the whole world that you are a good-for-nothing son of a bitch who was never good enough for our daughter despite what you think. By the way, if you think that we are just going to walk on out of here and allow our grandson to be put at risk, you have another thing coming. You’ll hear from us again.” Fred threatened as he adjusted his jacket.

“Humph.” Ruth agreed as they walked out of the ER with smug looks on their faces. “We will see our grandson again.”

“Shit.” I exhaled as I pounded the nearest wall. I reminded myself that I needed to learn to cool off before I get into any more situations because of them. I needed to go for a walk and headed towards the opposite direction that Fred and Ruth left in.