Espera | R. Grayson ✔

[35]

Drake Corporate's building was empty except for the guards on duty when Tim reached there. He was able to get inside without being questioned by the guards since he often showed up late at night to work or to get any of his files from his office.

However, he had not showed up there out of routine that night.

First, he went to his office and left an envelope at the desk where someone was likely to find it. He had posted another such envelope already to Richard's address and knew the recipient would get it after the weekend. 

It was really important to him for that second envelope to be delivered though he hoped it wouldn't reach Richard too soon.

He needed time before that, at least one night for him to finally get rid of what had been weighing down on him since years.

And if somehow Richard found out about what Tim was going to do, he would do all in his power to stop him. But Tim had decided there was no use to keep delaying it.

He had almost started to believe that things were finally on track and he was recovering but after all that had happened in the joint meeting with Wayne Enterprises and Vikander Associates, he felt more and more convinced that he had been wrong to keep his hopes up.

He shouldn't have taken on such a huge responsibility and he definitely shouldn't have overestimated himself.

No matter how hard he had tried, he would still be a kid in the eyes of his competitors who would forever see him as amateur and wrongly entitled. The same point had been made very clear to him in that meeting with two of Gotham's most famous companies and he couldn't brush that off.

Combined with everything else that was burdening him already, there seemed only one exit that he could take.

Tim had come up to the rooftop and as expected the place wasn't occupied by anyone other than him. The cool night air caressed his skin as he closed the door behind him, stepping out in the open.

He walked towards the railings, looking down at the city spread out underneath with all its lights twinkling like far away stars below. It was a scene he was seeing for the first time, with himself so high above that everything else felt small in comparison.

Yet what use had that height been to him?

It could not bring his parents back, it could not make him any better than just a fourteen year old who had dared to tackle the family's business and on whom the Gotham press loved to churn out articles regarding his mental health and his ability to be able to run Drake Corporate.

All the nonsense by the press was worth avoiding, he knew that very well. But seeing them gathering evidences to back up their claims and degrade him further were taking a toll on him.

He was doing his best to run Drake Corporate but still things were spiraling out of control too often for his tolerance.

It was getting too much to bear. Such that even though his parents were no longer around to dictate his life as earlier, still he felt trapped in the chains of the life he had chosen.

Devoid of happiness and freedom with only a string of expectations lined up to achieve and once any expectation couldn't be achieved, it would result in people pointing fingers at him and questioning his credibility.

In the race to fulfill expectations, he had neglected himself entirely. He had the burden of being the perfect son, the boy genius as well as the youngest CEO of the city yet he tried to keep it hidden from the surface.

But that night, it seemed as if his self control had evaporated and he wasn't capable of bearing it anymore. And since he couldn't fail in the eyes of people who looked up to him, he had yet again chosen his own demise.

After an entire week of thinking and overthinking, he had reached a conclusion that Richard would be appalled to hear of if he confided in him. He had come to the conclusion that he couldn't put up with his own life anymore, hence he chose to end it. 

An end where there would be no pain, no worries, no expectations.

Just eternal sleep.

He placed his feet at the edge of the railings, taking a deep breath and soaked in the feeling of being alive inside him for the last time.

And when he was certain that he had absorbed enough, he simply let go.

The wind brushed past him roughly, inviting him to the realms of death. His eyes watered so he squeezed them shut knowing that the crash would happen any moment.

Then there would be silence instead of the blood pounding in his ears, and the sickening cracks of bones breaking would be drowned in the clamor of the city.

And just as he had expected, his frail body collided with the hard ground and red swirled in his eyes. Pain shot up his veins and every other sound seemed distant as his eyes refused to open. Then shortly after there was a numbing darkness that took hold of him as his body began to shut down.

He let out a final shaky breath and his heart came to a fatal stop. The last face that had materialized in his memory was that of Richard and the last thought he had was a hope that he would forgive him.

The man had truly and sincerely cared for him and perhaps he was the only one to do so. Tim hadn't wanted to disappoint him and he knew that the elder would feel thoroughly devastated to find out what had happened to him.

And that was why he had written him a letter, explaining everything that he had as a reason to just stop with his life. Everything that he couldn't tell Richard in person earlier due to hesitation and the fear of losing him. 

All those words that would remain unspoken as he would be unable to meet him in person ever again. But that letter would reach him by the time he would be mourning his death and perhaps it would be of a slight consolation to know that it wasn't Richard's fault that he chose to quit.

Some people just couldn't be saved.

***