The Hustler [Alex Gaskarth]

Chapter Five: The Apology

The next morning, I was awoken by the shrill sound of my phone ringing its proverbial head off. My head hurt, not from a hangover, obviously, but from the nightmares I'd had about the previous night. Or rather, early that morning.

I vowed a slow and painful death to whatever idiot was calling me, even though it was already three PM on a Wednesday. Another perk of my lifestyle: As long as I got my designs finished on time, it didn't matter when I went to bed or woke up. For all my clients knew, I could be some kind of nocternal freak who spent her days sleeping and plotting bank robberies.

I checked the display for the caller's name, swiped my finger across the screen, and yawned hugely before answering.

"What do you want, Jack?"

"Did I wake you up?" He chuckled. "Don't you have a job?"

"It can wait while I'm sleeping. What's up?" I sat up and got slowly out of bed, pulling open my blackout curtains to reveal a very sunny view of the Baltimore Harbourfront.

"Alex just woke up."

"Good! How's he doing?"

"Not bad," Jack responded. "He's got a minor concussion and a bit of a hangover,but otherwise, as ugly as ever."

"Great. I was a little worried."

There was a small awkward silence, before Jack cleared his throat. "'Lia?"

"Yeah."

"He's uh, he's asking for you."

"Alex?" As if it would be anyone else.

"Yeah."

I waited for him to say something else, contemplating my options. Showing up at that hospital would mean that I was going to do the job. Not showing up meant giving up on Alex, and I'd never given up on anything in my life.

It took me a few moments to realize that Jack was still waiting for my answer.

"I'll be there," I said finally. "Just give me a couple of hours, and I'll meet you at the front enterance."

"I'll see you then." I could almost hear the smile in Jack's voice when I hung up.

After the twenty-minute drive from my condo to the hospital near Alex's, parking at the hospital was sort of like the ultimate test of seeing how many different cuss words I could call other people. It turned out, there was an infinite number of combinations, more than enough to keep me driving around the parking garage. I finally ended up parking at the top and taking an elevator down to the ground level again.

Jack was standing awkwardly near the front entrance, absorbed in a conversation with a woman I assumed was his mother.

"Jack?" I said quietly.

He spun around and smiled. "Hey, 'Lia. This is Nadine. She's Alex's nurse."

Apparently, she wasn't his mother. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"You too, dear. Alex has been talking all about you, though not much of it has made any sense, I'm afraid. Forgive my asking, but are you his girlfriend?"

I blushed, and Jack casually slung his arm around while he chuckled. "Not yet," he winked at Nadine, who smiled knowingly back at me.

"Well, Alex is very lucky to have such a beautiful girl in his life."

I blushed again and smiled. "Thank-you. Sorry if I'm coming off rude, but can I steal Jack away, Nadine? I really want to see Alex."

"Of course, of course!" She smiled, clapping her hands together. I'll be back up to see him in a moment as well."