Second Chance

Alexander Kingsley was driving his car in silence, as his daughter was sitting in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone, ignoring him. He glanced quietly at his daughter, Ashley, who he had grown incredibly distant from. She was 16 now, but he felt as thought it was only yesterday that a little ten year old would run up to him asking to be picked up.

He smiled lightly at the distant memories, but he knew they wouldn't come back anymore. It had been five years since the incident that ruined his life happened. 

Five years ago, Alexander had finally reached his dream position as a project manager for a large multimedia advertisement company, when everything was stripped from him. 

He was celebrating with his wife and daughter at the time, when he received a call from work. 

"Excuse me, it's my work, I'll be right back."

"Okay sweetie, take your time. Here Ashley, try this salmon."

"Ahhh."

Alexander quietly slipped outside, to answer the call.

"Hello, Director? Is something wrong?" Alexander asked, worried something was already going poorly after only a week of being project manager.

"Good evening Alexander, I'm sorry to bother you so late at night, but I didn't want to put this off any longer." the director's low voice said through the receiver.

"Put what off any long-"

"The board has decided to give the position of Project Manager to someone else. He's younger, graduated from an ivy league school, and has a lot of fresh ideas."

Alexander almost dropped his phone, when he barely caught himself and stumbled with his words.

"I-I-I don't understand. Director, why am I being replaced when you haven't seen what I am capable of as Project Manager? How could he be more qualified than me when I have dedicated 13 years to this company?! This has been my dream position, for my dream company, since I graduated college! I've worked so hard for this and now I'm being replaced?! No! NO! This isn't fair!"

Alexander was drawing the attention of people outside the restaurant, but he didn't care. He was so furious that the company he had been so committed to would toss him aside like this.

"Mr. Kingsley."

Alexander sobered up. Last name. It meant that he no longer was showing him any courtesy.

"You best not forget that this is the decision of the board. You are not in a position to dispute their decision. Failure to comply will be seen as insubordination, and is subject to termination. Pack up your things from your office, and move to a desk on the office floor. You will go back to being an Assistant Project Manager."

With that the director hung up. Leaving Alexander to stand in a daze outside the restaurant. He stood there until his wife came outside with their daughter half an hour later.

After that, things would only get worse for Alexander. The next day he came into work, he packed his things and moved to his old desk. The new project manager came in, and introduced himself. He was a very young 25 year old man, who had no experience in the field, and one other fact about him made Alexander lose his cool.

"He's also the son of the Director! He must have gotten the job through his dad, otherwise how could he replace Alexander."

With that Alexander stood in place, gripping his chair so hard his knuckles were turning white, glaring at the new project manager with hatred.

'Asher Smith! I'll fucking kill you! You and your dog ass father!'

Alexander didn't know when, but he had unknowingly begun to walk towards Asher Smith. At first no one stopped him, but a keen coworker looked at Alexander before coming up to stop him.

"Alex, Alex, Alex, listen you gotta calm down man. I get it. I get it, I really do... But you are going to lose your job like this man, just come with me let's get some fresh air?" Alexander's coworker said, while holding him back. 

The coworker was someone who was friends with Alexander at work, who also started from the bottom and worked his way to his position now, Ryan Michaels. He fully sympathized with Alexander, but he didn't want Alexander to lose his job.

However, unfortunately, Alexander was not in his right mind, as he kept pushing forward. Eventually, he got so sick of Ryan getting in his way, that he shoved Ryan to the side. 

However, Ryan failed to catch himself before he tripped, hitting his head on the side of a desk, leading to a nasty wound across his forehead. People nearby came to help Ryan, while Alexander just continued walking at Asher, without a care for what was going on around him. 

It was due to this that he failed to notice that there were security guards at the sides of the office, who were closing in around him. 

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER! YOU GOT IN THROUGH YOUR DADDY'S CONNECTIONS AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO STAND THERE AND ACT LIKE YOU'RE BETTER THAN US!" Alexander screamed, pointing and moving even faster towards Asher.

At this point Asher and the other members of the board turned to look at Alexander.

But all Alexander saw was the clear disdain on their faces, which enraged him so terribly he lunged at Asher.

However he was swiftly pinned to the ground by security, and had his face shoved into the rough carpeted floor. 

"I'LL KILL YOU YOU RAT BASTARDS! I WILL KILL YOU!"

Alexander was still screaming up until he noticed paramedics coming into the office, followed by police. He watched, confused, as the paramedics made their way behind him. Turning his head, Alexander finally realized what he had done. 

Ryan was being treated, while being loaded onto a stretcher, and the police were taking the statements from the board of directors. They all pointed at Alexander on the floor, and Alexander could see the expressions of his once close coworkers to turn to disgust.

The next few years were like a bad dream Alexander just couldn't wake up from.

Ryan sued Alexander, pressing charges as well, which Ryan won by a landslide. This caused Alexander to lose all his money, and go into debt to pay the lawsuit along with legal fees. Alexander was lucky enough to have avoided jail time, but he still had the assault added to his record.

Because of this Alexander was unable to find work, and he went even further into debt. During this time his wife divorced him, not even bothering to try and take half his stuff since he had nothing. She gained full custody of their daughter, citing that Alexander was dangerous and couldn't control his emotions. 

Alexander was forced to take mandatory anger management courses, and finally managed to win back visiting privileges on the weekends with his daughter.

However his daughter had already changed the way she looked at him.

Today was such day, as Alexander lost the last straw he had when his daughter said this to him before getting out of his car.

"Dad, don't bother trying to spend time with me on the weekends if you don't even have enough money to take me out anywhere... Just... Leave me alone and worry about your fucking debt. Also stop calling me all the time. I'm busy."

With that Ashley slammed his car door and walked inside her mother's house.

Alexander sat in the car in a daze as he thought about how his daughter hated him, and didn't even want to spend time with him.

"What... Have I worked so hard for.. Everything I have put my all into, my work, my family, it all ends in disaster... Why... Should I even try anymore..."

Alexander then drove off, into the night, to a bridge he often used to visit.

Standing on the ledge of the bridge, he looked down at the still water, that he had looked at many times before. This was not the first time Alexander found himself at this bridge, but it was the first time he was here while being 100% sure of what he was going to do.

Life had always been hard for Alexander, but he always found himself moving forwards for his family. Yet now he had nothing. His parents had died over ten years ago, and now his wife left him. His daughter even didn't want to spend time with him, as it was a waste of her time. 

No matter how he tried, Alexander couldn't think of a reason to keep going.

Alexander took a jump off a bridge, down towards the icy cold river beneath, but when he jumped he began to regret jumping.

But it was too late.

As he plummeted towards the water, he was overwhelmed with regret and guilt. Guilty that he would do something so selfish instead of making things right. Leaving his daughter to deal with the death of a parent. These were the thoughts that Alexander thought as he watched the surface of the water fill his vision.

Right as he hits the water, his thoughts seemingly slow down. He felt face hit the surface of the water, which retained it's surface tension, and his bones break upon impact. He felt his neck snap.

One vertebrae.

Two.

Then his vision went black, and he thought death had finally claimed him. But instead he found himself laying on the floor of a dark cave.

[Welcome to the Tower of Wishes!] [Floor 1 will now commence.]

[Activating Gift.]

[Technomancy Gift awakened!]

[Hosts health critical! Performing emergency treatment with materials on hand.] 

Alexander then felt an extreme pain and burning sensation on the back of his neck before he lost consciousness.