Tantrum

Opening my eyes was hard; it literally hurt. The first thing I saw were the bright, badly adjusted lights. Ugh, it's a fucking hospital. I'd know those shit green walls anywhere. Right in front of me was Jasper, adjusting my bandaged hand.

"You awake, Sugar? Can you hear me? Fuck! Why didn't you take security with you, idiot? Look at you," Jasper welled up with tears. "Stupid!"

"Don't cry," I said. "Just tell me the damage."

"I can't help it, Sugar! Look at your arm; you're so lucky this is the extent of it!" Jasper continued to cry shamelessly. "You have a broken arm, stitches on your head, and a few bruises on your face and torso. You'll probably have a few sores in your mouth too. Just look at you."

"I'll be fine. I'm sure it's nothing bad," I assured him.

"Move aside!" The room door slammed open, revealing an immaculately dressed Elizabeth. "My baby bro! You're awake! Don't worry, even though what happened is on camera, those unscrupulous media won't dare slander you! We'll sue that guy's ass and balls!"

"Back in my day, I'd have him in a barrel and sunk in the river myself," Mrs. Azure walked in behind Elizabeth. She took a long moment to look at my face. "Mr. Tang sent you two something to eat."

"How do you want Dad to deal with this?" Elizabeth pried. "And before you say anything, Dad said we can't execute him ourselves."

"Can Travis do it?" Jasper asked.

"Dad also said no exploiting the loophole," Elizabeth said. "Maybe slow torture?"

"Illegal in the US," Jasper whimpered. "We can put him in jail and tell everyone he's a child predator. They'll never let him live in peace after that. He'll definitely get beaten every day."

"No, just make sure he goes to prison. I know some guys in there for life who will spread the word to not let him live in peace," I said.

"When did you invest in the prisons?" Mrs. Azure asked.

"When I took over Todd Corporation," I said.

"Who do you know that's in prison for life?" Jasper asked.

"The older guys who taught me how to fight," I said. My body really hurt. "I've been taking care of them too."

"You're taking care of them?"

"They saved my life a few times, Jasper. I wouldn't have survived prison without them," I said.

"Why not bail them out?" Mrs. Azure asked.

"I'd have to bribe someone on a federal level, so it's not that easy. Two of them are high profile serial killers, after all," I said. "They're good guys though."

"If they're so good, what made them kill?" Jasper challenged.

"Meth," I said. That shut Jasper up, so I turned to Elizabeth. "Where is the video? What's public opinion looking like?"

"They're siding with you viciously and condemning your dad. As the video spreads, your company is gaining traction," Elizabeth said. "I'm keeping an eye on it, taking down anything with fake news on you."

"That's good," I sighed.

"Look at me," Elizabeth said. When I did, her phone shuttered, indicating my picture was taken. When I tried to sit up in outrage, a horrid pain shot up my side, and my head started to throb.

"Fuck! What's that picture for?" I winced. Jasper adjusted me into a more comfortable position and covered my eyes, making the throbbing immediately slow down a bit.

"Your fan club. They're actually way more on top of this than I am. There are so many insiders as well, so they're handling things for you too," I could hear Elizabeth's nails typing away on her phone. "They even found out the real reason you got attacked."

"It's not because he's just had a low IQ?" I asked.

"It could be summed up as such," Elizabeth said. "Titan Ventures offered to fund his new business venture if he got rid of you. I guess this was the only way he could think of."

So that's why I hadn't seen or heard from him in such a long time. I didn't think he'd be able to run another company in his lifetime, but I guess I was wrong.

Was he really planning on killing me so obviously in my restaurant? And the fact I wasn't allowed to get revenge with my own hands didn't really sit well with me. My own mother was behind this assault, which means I've ignored her long enough for her to make a move against me. I knew she hated being ignored, but this was going a bit too far.

"Your phone, Jasper," I held out my good hand.

"Alexander, isn't your face feeling sore? Why don't you just wait a bit before you do any work," Mrs. Azure said. "I don't want you causing any permanent damage to that face."

"Mom, please, it's important. I promise it's not even work," I assured her, calling her mom just to soften Mrs. Azure up a bit.

"Five minutes," she sighed. "Any longer and I'll make you take more time off."

I quickly snatched Jasper's phone and dialed my mother's number right away. It rang for a bit until she finally picked up in a groggy voice.

""Helen Reed speak-""

"You fucking cow! You sent that guy to kill me?!" I snapped at her right away. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

""Oh, well you're still alive, aren't you? And it's not like I asked him to do all that. I just wanted to hit your company,"" she said.

"Why would he even listen to what you have to say?!" I snapped.

""I'm a woman; I can do whatever I please with men like that.""

The bitch! I can't believe her! I don't think I've been this pissed in a while! "I'm going to get you back."

""You should've already taken me out; it just proves how soft you are,"" she giggled through the phone.

How dare she? My anger started rising up uncontrollably.

"You think you're untouchable because you're a woman, but you're not. I've built everything up from scratch after you tried to ruin me, and I'll make sure you pay for this."

""You've always been such a dramatic child,"" she said dismissively. ""Can't even take a little adversity without crying about it.""

"I'm not crying. I'm plotting," I hissed. "And you won't see it coming until it's too late."

""Plot all you want. You're still just a child playing in a world of adults,"" she said before hanging up.

I looked at Jasper's phone in disbelief, ready to throw the device across the room. Jasper, Mrs. Azure, and Elizabeth all looked incredibly concerned about me.

"Alexander, take a breath. You're very red," Mrs. Azure suggested.

"I'm going to kill her," I couldn't help but start to laugh since I didn't know what else to do with my feelings. I've never been this angry before! Why was I so fucking angry now? It's not like this had even been a surprise to me that she was behind my dad attacking me like he did! I mean, it wasn't like she was some saint. "I let her be, and that's where I fucked up. Give me a Tylenol or something; I want to leave this damned hospital now!"

"And go where?" Jasper asked.

"To her house to murder her," I said like it should be obvious.

"Dad said we couldn't do that!" Elizabeth reminded me.

"Since when have you given a fuck? I know I don't," I chuckled. "She almost had me killed! Aren't my calls recorded, Jasper? I can use it against her."

"I never recorded your phone conversations," Jasper admitted. How was this guy doing everything else to invade my privacy but recording calls? That makes no sense at all! What kind of obsessed guy was he!?

"Get the fuck out," I demanded of everyone in the room.

"Sugar-"

"Get the fuck out! All of you! GET OUT!!" I ignored the pain and sat up just so I could knock over the first thing in sight that I could reach. I knew I was being irrational, but I had no idea how to deal with myself!

"Let's let Alexander rest and eat in peace," Mrs. Azure kissed my forehead before heading for the door. "We'll be back in an hour, sweetie. Come, Jasper, we need some help from you in the car."

Reluctantly, Jasper stood up to leave with them but not without sparing me a last concerned glance before exiting my room.

I lay back down in the hospital bed, ignoring the pain, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm my racing thoughts. The anger surged through me, a fiery torrent unlike anything I'd ever felt. My hands shook, clenched into fists, my heart was racing, the urge to smash everything in sight nearly overwhelming.

I felt utterly lost at this point. The rage gnawed at me, each breath fanning the flames. I wanted to scream, to hit something, anything to make her pay for everything. But as the tears streamed down my face, I realized I didn't know how to channel this fury without losing myself.