Choices

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: Hopeless Isolation

"I am in misery. The solitude is slowly killing me." - Maroon 5: Misery.

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 I drove away in a brand new, shiny, red Lexus LF-LC. No, it wasn't my Jeep, but I was not complaining. It is a beautiful car that drives without a hitch. Tony was happy with the Lexus; it was deemed "worthy" to be parked in his garage. It is a nicer car than I ever imagined myself driving. I could get used to all the perks that come along with Tony being my father. My grandparents raised me in a modest middle class family, so I am still working on getting used to all of this glamour of the rich and famous. I would be lying to say that I am not enjoying some aspects of it, though.

 My mom did, of course, end up going to London for the week. A foundation that Stark Enterprises supports is hosting a charity auction. It would only be expected that Tony made an appearance, or at second-best, the CEO since he cannot be there. Tony's trip is a bit less exciting; he is going over to Tokyo for a business meeting. While my parents are abroad, I am here in Los Angeles for no particular reason other than it is where I live! Absolutely thrilling!

 It has been two nights that I have been on my own. Most teenagers would be throwing parties or drinking themselves into oblivion just because their parents are away. Call me a good child but I have not done anything extraordinary. The only exciting thing I have done is played my music throughout all of the floors of the Stark Tower, once on the employee level on accident. I have only known my dad for four months and I don't want him to kick me out this soon. Also, if I wanted to throw a party I could call maybe two people. One of the drawbacks of skipping multiple grades was it was hard to keep friends. I think there was something intimidating about a fifteen-year-old senior, even though you think I would be the one intimidated. Alex was pretty much the only friend who remained by my side throughout school.

 The most thrilling outing I have had has been to restock our refrigerator and kitchen cabinets with food to feed me for the week. I basically spend my days looking for any excuse to take my car out for a ride. If we're out of air freshener, I have to head to the store. An hour later, I find that we're out of industrial glue; I have to go to the hardware store. Uh oh, there is no ground marjoram in this tower? I have no idea what marjoram is and what I would cook to need this spice, but I must go get it!

 Tony left me the building's assistant at my service. She is a nice woman; I have met her a few times. There's nothing wrong with her, I just don't feel like I need a personal assistant. I'm not exactly comfortable with commanding someone to do tasks that I'm capable to do myself. Call it extreme independency, but I don't care for other people doing things for me that I can do for myself. I say all that but I have utilized the Chinese delivery restaurant. Their fried rice has become my daily snack.

 That is actually what I'm doing right now: eating fried rice. I'm sitting on the couch in the living room watching a program on astronomy. Going onto my third night alone, I have found myself a bit lonely. I enjoyed being alone the first two nights, but this afternoon I began to crave socializing. I feel so alone in the vast living section of the tower, even though the levels below me are teeming with people. I miss Alex even more. I have gone two months without a friend. I regret not branching out and making more friends in high school that I could spend time with right now, but even if I had, no one could ever replace Alex.

 Spending the nights alone in the workshop have also reminded me just how alone I am. There are times and activities I like to be alone, but working is when I delight in having company. There has been a few times where I've considered calling in the assistant just to talk to me while I work; however, I have not done so, for I don't know her enough to trust her with the knowledge of my suit and it would just be plain weird. I mean, I don't know the woman and she doesn't know me either. I notice myself talking to Lucis more. He cannot really uphold a conversation, however. I just have to ask him random questions for him to reply to. I have finished Reinforcer; that is one thing I can proudly say I have accomplished this week.