Headlock | Joe Jonas

Down the Hall| 2

"Was there a long line for smoothies?"

"Huh? No. Not really. Why?"

My older brother Kevin laughed and showed me his watch. "You were gone for like 30 minutes."

My mind clicked back to my interaction with Lex.
It replayed her slow turn towards me in an even slower motion. Her voice called out angelically. "Lex. Nice to meet you." I could replay that forever.

"Joe?!" I rolled my eyes at Kevin interrupting the movie in my head. "What Kev?! Jeez."

He scoffed and headed out of the room. I should probably explain why we're even here in the first place. My little brother Nick fell off of a dirt bike and cracked some of his ribs. Kevin and I are here with him because we were there when it happened. I probably could've been nicer to Kevin but I can't get Lex out of my head and I don't even know anything about her.
I need fresh air. I grabbed my keys and headed for the elevator.
___
"Honey, can you grab my new set of clothes from your car? I'd like to shower."

"Sure dad." I gave him a quick smile and grabbed my purse, leaving his room promptly. The elevator was slower now than it was when I arrived. I could see the numbers slowly reaching my floor, good thing I wasn't in a hurry.

Ding.

Finally. Good thing there was only one person in the elevator. I could see their white sneakers before the doors were fully open. "Hi, how are you?" I smiled and nodded my head. "I'm alright. How are you?" The man smiled. "I'm alright. Thanks for asking. Just waiting for my sister in law to arrive which won't be for another few hours. My brother fell off a dirt bike and now I am stuck babysitting a grown man." He laughed. You could tell he was the older brother. "My dad fell and broke his leg and my mom couldn't leave Spain so I completely understand being the babysitter." His father-like tone made it easy to tell him my reasonings for being in the hospital. "Well, if you need a break within the next 2-3 hours, my brother is in room 506. You can hang out with us. I'm sure he's tired of talking to me and my other brother anyway." I nodded and stepped out of the elevator once the door slid open. "I'm in 517. Down the hall." The man followed my footsteps as we reached the lobby. He seemed to be heading to the gift shop while I needed to get to my car.  "Oh! What's your name?" I laughed. "I've been here for a few days and haven't spoken to anyone. You're the second person I've introduced myself to today. I'm Lex." He pointed to the gift shop. "This is my stop. I'm Kevin. It was nice to meet you. Sorry to hear about your dad's leg." I shrugged. "Not as bad as falling off a dirt bike." He laughed and nodded. "I'll see you around, Lex."