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Gus slowly put his phone back into his pocket as Layla approached him. She smiled wide, wrapping her arms around him tightly like a serpent strangling their prey. Or maybe Gus just wasn't happy to see her.
"I didn't know you were back." She continued.
"Just got back last night." He nodded. He reached into his other pocket and found a cigarette to light, hoping it would make himself feel less uncomfortable.
"You didn't come home, though." Layla pushed. "Didn't you miss me?"
Gus exhaled smoke. Layla took the cigarette from his fingers and pressed it to her own lips. Before he could even start answering the girls question, he heard a car honk from behind him. He turned and saw Corinna and CJ parked at the curb to pick him up.
Layla groaned. "Her? Still?"
"Still." Gus nodded. "I'm not leaving her, Lay. I love her."
"You love her?" Layla laughed, eyes widening in shock. "You hardly fucking know her!"
HONK HONK
"You love me," Layla suddenly had tears in her eyes as she pointed her index finger to her own chest. "You told me you love me. You got a fucking tattoo of my name! You love me, Gus."
"I don't want you staying at my place no more, Layla." Gus couldn't believe the boldness of his words. He felt as if he was out of his body. "I'm changing the locks tonight so you need to move all your shit out." He took the cigarette back from her boney fingers and stepped it out onto the cement.
Gus heard another honk.
Then a thud.
Then a scream.
He looked up at CJ. She looked panicked; her lips here moving but Gus couldn't focus on the words. He moved his eyes to the left and saw Corinna with one hand holding black hair and the other hand in a fist connecting with the face attached to the black hair.
____________________
Gus blinked slowly to adjust to the bright, florescent light above him. He heard the faint sound of machines beeping next to his head.
Am I in the hospital again?
"God, I need to stop making this a habit." he grumbled, rubbing his face.
"You're awake," The doctor observed as they walked in to check on him. Gus furrowed his brow; the doctor looked familiar to him.
The other man approached Gus and asked him to sit upright in his hospital bed. "You remember why you're here?" He asked as he shined a small flashlight into Gus's eyes to check for signs of a concussion.
"Uh, yeah," The details were coming back to him in that moment. "My ex knocked me out." The doctor clicked off his flashlight and dropped it into the pocket of his scrubs.
"Everything looks good- well, aside from your face," He mumbled as he scribbled onto a clipboard. "Just ice your left eye, take some aspirin. Maybe file a restraining order."
"Cool," Gus nodded.
"CJ's in the waiting room." The doctor pointed to the door with his pen. Gustav looked at the doctor strangely when he referred to her by her name like they knew each other.
Then it hit him.
"You're Jack," Gus realized out loud.
"Dr. Harlow," Jack corrected boredly. "Anyway, you're good to go."
Gus hopped off of the hospital bed and pushed past Jack to find CJ. He felt like an idiot- one of the guys CJ was interested in is a fucking resident doctor, and the other is an unemployed musician who got his ass kicked by his 100lb drug-addicted ex-girlfriend.
"Gus," The blonde jumped out of her seat and ran to him, hugging him tightly. All of Gus's negative thoughts melted away once he had her in his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Can we just get out of here?" Gus grabbed CJ's hand and quickly began walking towards the door.
"Slow down," She laughed. "I was thinking we could stop by Tamara's room again before we go."
"Are you going to tell her...?"
CJ chewed her lip in thought. She knew she should tell her the truth sooner or later; preferably sooner considering her condition.
"I don't know if I'm ready, Gus." CJ shook her head. "And I don't know if she's ready, either."
Gus stopped walking. "Maybe we should wait until you're ready then, Jo." He suggested. "I don't want to see you get sad over it like the last time."
"Fine." CJ nodded. "You have to come sign the papers for the apartment, anyway."
