Alexander

Forget

If I could, I would go back in time and erase all that happened. No matter how many times I heard the barrel of a gun turn, I tried to convince myself it wasn't real. No one can ever know what happened, and they never will. As long as I keep playing it off, I should be fine.

"Eli!" My mind comes back to reality and I stare my boss in his face. "You okay? I've been calling your name for the past 10 minutes."

"Yeah, Zack. I'm fine." I try to figure out what it was I was suppose to be doing, but my mind feels all messed up.

"Why don't you go home early today. It's fine, Travis and I have it covered." Nodding, I leave the grocery store and head back home- or what's left of it.

As my face floats above the cold water, I can't help, but wonder if this is what my brother felt as his face broke the calmness of the water, only I imagine that he wasn't this calm. I wait until the last minute and pull my face out and gasp. Wiping my face off, I know it's time for a vacation.

After a hot shower, I put on my suit and tie and pack my briefcase. I take the next plane out of here. "You must be a businessman." The lady at the ticket desk smiles.

I smile, "How did you guess?"

"I see a lot of guys come in and out of here wearing a suit and tie and they're only luggage they carry is a briefcase and one suitcase. They're either cheating on their wives, or going on a business trip. Since I don't see a ring on your finger, I'm guessing you're a businessman." I smile again.

"You're very observant Ms.-" I look over at her name tag. "Ms. Ariel."

"Yeah, the only thing I can't figure out is why do you only carry a briefcase?"

"It's a one day business trip, I'll be bake in a couple of hours." She nods, hands me my ticket, and smiles.

"Goodbye Ariel."

"Goodbye....Carter." She checks the system for my name.

On the plane, I get the aisle seat and for that I'm grateful. The guy sitting next to me types on his laptop. He's so into his work that he has no idea who he's sitting next to.

Hardly anyone knows my real name. It's sacred, and a lot of trouble follows behind it. Funny thing is almost everyone knows me, but at the same time they don't. I'm just a figment of their imaginations, they've never seen my face because it's always blocked out, or digitally blurred on magazines, and on the news.

Some say that I don't exist, that someone somewhere just came up with a name and created a story of a fictional character to create a business. Others say that I was once real, but killed and that my business was suppose to die with me, but whoever killed me was so greedy that they stole my business in order to keep the money coming. Any theory you can ever think of, I've heard it. I can assure you, King Towers is very real and I am the man behind it.

"Alexander." I remember seeing her face before they killed her. It was surprisingly calm, it was my face that wasn't so calm. I loved her.

"Madeline." When I spoke her name, it eluded my lips and into the air, disappearing before our very eyes. She was mesmerized by the fear and pain that I showed. It was the first time I showed any real feeling in a long time.

"I love you."

"I love you." That was it after those words they killed her, threw her off the highest building in New York. They killed her because I loved her and I've never allowed anyone to get close to me ever since. I am all that's left of the Kings.

The Texas weather greets me as I step out of the airport. I catch a cab to my house, I need less attention drawn to me, so I didn't call my driver.

I step into my Texas home and just as soon as my foot hits the tile I feel relaxed. Putting my suitcase on the table in the kitchen, I remember the last time I was here:

"Madeline, why don't we just move here? Me and you." She sat at the kitchen table, her short brown hair hugging her face and her grey eyes twinkling. She was fierce and you didn't have to ask her to know it. You could see it in her eyes, in her face.

"We can't run from our problems, Alexander. Quitters run, King's fight." I admired her, I loved her. She was the only girl who knew my real name- well, the only girl that was playing on my team.

Madeline reminded me of girls in the early 1900s. I constantly joked with her about how she could be a showgirl. She would tell me how showgirls only pretended to be dirty and in reality were too prissy to get their hands dirty.

"Alex, get a grip, you're here to forget." Sometimes I wonder why I come here to forget. There's more memories in this house, than there is in my whole entire life.

"Sir? I didn't know you were coming, if I would've known, there would've been a drink for you on the table." Clark comes around the back.

"No, Clark, it's fine. I'm not actually suppose to be here, I'm suppose to be working." He grows concerned.

"Than, why are you? Is something wrong?"

"I just needed a break."

Clark has been taking care of my place here ever since I started King Towers. There's not a reason in my body not to trust him. If he wasn't my butler, he'd be my best friend. Clark was here through everything from when my dad was killed, all the way down to my grandparents, and Madeline.

"May I suggest, a walk on the beach, sir?" I think about it.

"Sure, Clark. That'll be lovely."

"I'll call a cab."

"Thank you." He nods and walks away.