Heavy Wears The Crown

Twenty-One

"I have made every single mistake, that you could ever possibly make I took and I took and I took what you gave but you never noticed that I was in pain."

------- Alive - Sia -------

Carter

"I'm fired. I'm so fired. I am so fired!" I repeated as I paced back and forth holding my head. "I'm so fired that I probably owe him money." I continued frantically. After another few frantic paces I finally stopped, for the hundredth time, and took my phone out. I gulped. "Okay." I breathed trying to channel whatever strength I had left. I'd tried this a few times already. Calling Ace that is. I just couldn't do it. Couldn't make the call that would cost me the job I never wanted in the first place.

I pressed the green call button. "It's late, maybe I shouldn't-" I started talking myself out just before the phone was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey...you."

The line was quiet for a few moments. "And I can help you with...?"

"You know it's late, maybe we should talk in the morning I'll just-"

He sighed long and heavy. "What did he do this time?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Well, uh, see here's the thing..."

A groan. "How much is this going to cost us?"

"Oh, well, uh...I think it should be covered he sort of just...well..."

"Come on woman just spit it out already I haven't got all night!"

"Nolan got stabbed tonight." I blurted out.

The line was quiet for too long. "Stabbed?"

"A little bit yeah."

"Define a little bit..." He said slowly. "Are we talking stabbing himself, like with a needle, or-"

"More like stabbed in a bar fight."

"Jesus-" He started on a long wind of curses and profanities that rivaled even Nolan's and I waited patiently as soon after the rage set in. The "How did you let this happen?" "Where were you?" "This is exactly what hiring you was supposed to help avoid." And so on.

For a very, very long minutes I listened to Ace rant about my incapability to do my job, my irresponsibility. My unreliability. The unreasonable cost this would impose on him to cover the press, medical expenses, and naturally the waste of money he was putting into my pay check. When the phone conversation finally ended I felt incredibly relieved.

I had made the call. That was the most daunting aspect. The rest was out of my control. I couldn't help what Ace would do when he got here, but my part was past.

"Come sit with me."

I looked back into the room at Nolan.

"Please Red, I'm dying in here."

I rolled my eyes. "I could only be so lucky." I said and came back into his hospital room as I had been pacing the hallway just outside it. I sat on the edge of his bed.

"Wow. No sympathy? None at all? Not even a sorry I got you stabbed blow job?"

I smacked his chest. "I didn't ask you to hit the guys face off a table! That was on your own accord Nolan! A simple hey back off buddy would have sufficiently solved the situation! Trying to kill the guy was a bit much!" His brows raised and he gave me an odd look. "What?" I probed sharply.