Chapter 9

• Tower, that name sounded too familiar to be forgotten. It had been his secret shame, something he had done in the past and regretted.***Six years agoNathan sat all by himself, recluse, and with hate. He stroked his bruised hand just to feel something. His mother had bandaged the hurt fists before he was sent to the academy for healing, a subtle term for the mental hospital. He was believed to be suicidal and not in an average sense.Nathan had taken it upon himself to get into fights and visit dark alleys to get hurt or maybe die.It was not working well.
• "Howdy." It was the other patient. The small box could only contain that or less. His roommate was a man in his forties, the golden age. He had a full beard, fairly unkempt, and had grown his hair to achieve the rockstar look. He looked a bit skinny too. Other than those, he was alright.  Nathan ignored the man's friendly gesture of starting a conversation."Why are you here?"The man continued anyways.  Even in the silence, Nathan longed to answer. He was telling a complete stranger after all."Self-harm."The room returned to being deafening silent and if one concentrated well enough, you could hear them breathing."What are you here for?" Nathan asked, slightly surprising himself.If he was going to be here for some time, he best made friends."I'm here for klep- ehm!"Nathan noticed the man's plight and stopped intruding."So they didn't take you to prison?"The man was a bit hurt and almost looked like he would rush and hit Nathan any second soon."It more like a curse. I want to stop but I can't."Nathan briefly took pity on the man. It was his condition. He was reminded of his sister who remained string when Cancer kept Fu*king with her. When her hair fell off, she showed the world. She was strong till the very end and died with a smile on her face. She was his sun and without her light, he was just an empty moon.
• "Sorry!""No need to be!" The man retorted sharply just like his mother would."I one day want to be a CEO so I don't have to steal people's things or money."That would be nice, Nathan thought.All his life, he hadn't made worthwhile life goals. He always had everything within his reach and even if it was under his father's wing, he was satisfied but now, a part of him wanted out."What would you call it? Your company?" Nathan asked now lying down on the rock hard bed and eyes up to the concrete roof."Tower."