The Hustler [Alex Gaskarth]

Chapter Twenty-One: The World

      There's nothing harder to resist than an adorable five-year-old with a hopeful pout.

     That is how I ended up in the backseat of Lucy's car, driving to God-Knows-Where for ice cream at seven-thirty that evening. As soon as Lucy had mentioned ice cream, Delilah begged for us to take her out and get some.

     Lucy picked Ben and Jerry's, which should have taken ten minutes to get to, but they were closed for renovations. When I mentioned the Baskin Robbins just around the corner, she shook her head, and told me the only thing that would make her happy was Cherry Garcia. She found directions to another Ben and Jerry's twenty minutes away.

     I whined and told her to just drop me at home- I was getting tired and bored and didn't feel like being in the car anymore- but she refused.

     After Ben and Jerry's, where all three of us came out with massive cones of Phish Food, Lucy insisted on taking a "Sunday Night Drive", like her family had when she was a kid. So we drove into the fading sunset, passing towns and fields and malls I'd never seen before.

     The moment she drove into a parking lot filled with massive tour buses, however, I knew exactly where we were. There was loud music blaring from a hundred different directions, and never the same song from any one of them. Dark figures ran in between the busses, and in the distance, I could see a large group sitting around a campfire in the middle of the park, which explained the scent of beer and woodsmoke that was assaulting my nostrils.

     Lucy parked in front of a large black bus, and got out of the car, with Delilah unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing over the side of the convertible behind her. My best friend looked at me expectantly. "Come on, Air, get out of the car."

     "No. Lucy. What the hell are we doing here!?" I shrieked, unable to control my annoyance. Delilah's mouth dropped into a perfect 'O'- hell is like the ultimate swear word for five-year-olds.

     "Delilah and I are dropping you off, so you can work out your problems with Alex. And you're not allowed to leave until you do."

     "I'm not getting out of this car," I said stubbornly. "So you might as well just give up. I don't want to talk to Alex, and I won't talk to Alex. It's not fair to him. And this isn't fair to me."

     "You're not leaving until you and Alex talk," Lucy repeated. "Now, either come with me, or I'll go get Jack."

     I snorted. "As if Jack can make me do anything I don't want to. He's a freaking beanpole."

     Lucy shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Come on, Li, let's go find Jack."

     The little girl took her half-sister's hand, and with a final dubious look back at me, disappeared into the night.

     Paying no mind to the curious glances from the various band and crew members passing by, I pulled out my BlackBerry, plugged in my earplugs, and blasted the uptempo music through my skull.

      I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have, because twenty minutes later, a tall, thin figure was energetically shaking me awake. My eyes took a moment to adjust, but when they did, I felt another wave of annoyance wash over me.

     "You have go to be kidding me."

     Lucy was back, sans Delilah, and this time, she had back-up. Not only was Jack there to help her forcibly remove me from the car, so was Zack, who had an exponentially greater chance of being able to subdue me.

     "Last chance, 'Lia," Jack said ominously. "Then, Zack here gets to take you out, and I can't guarantee that he won't rip you to shreds."

     I almost laughed at the thought of calm, gentle-mannered Zack Merrick ripping me to shreds, probably apologizing profusely in between each tear. Jack must have sensed my amusement, because he turn and hit Zack's shoulder. "Look mean."

     Zack attempted some form of a snarl, but it ended up looking completely absurd. He let out a small, self-conscious laugh, and I had to giggle, too.

     "Merrick!" Jack snapped. "We are kidnapping this woman. Christ. You wouldn't last ten minutes in Home Alone."

     "Hey, Marv, Harry, can you leave me alone? Billy Joel is about to tell me all I need are looks and a whole lot of money," I snapped.

     "Okay, that's it, Strawberry Shortcake. Zack, get her out!"

     For a buff guy, Zack sure is nimble. Before I knew what was happening, he had me out of the car, thrown over his shoulder, and was carrying me towards the door of the black bus.

     "ZACHARY MERRICK PUT ME DOWN I WILL KILL YOU."

     He laughed quietly, as did Jack and Lucy, who were following briskly behind us. Jack swfitly stepped in front of us and opened the door. With one last sympathetic glance, Zack dumped me off his shoulder onto the stairs leading into the main part of the bus. "Sorry, 'Lia."

     He backed out of the doorway, and Jack slammed the door shut behind him. I sat on the tiny step for a moment, collecting myself, before I stood up, and wandered further onto the bus.

     "Lia?" Alex's voice, drowsy and dull, came out of the darkness.

     I didn't - couldn't respond. He looked terrible, almost as terrible as he had the first time we met.

     "Lia," he croaked, reaching out to touch me, as if to make sure I was real.

     "Alex." I shivered at his touch. It was cool and clammy and disgusting, nothing like the warm, rough caress I'd felt previously.

     I oh-so-slowly sank down in the seat next to him, still letting him fiddle with my fingers. When I looked up, though, his brown-eyed gaze was fixed on me, watching my every move- every breath, every eyelash flutter- taking it all in as if his life depended on it. As I watched, a small tear left the corner of his right eye.

     "'Lia," he repeated again, finally letting go of my hands.

     "Alex. What did you do to yourself?" I said quietly, as I thumbed the tear away from his face.

     "I missed you." The stench of alcohol heavily tainted his usually sweet-smelling breath as he leaned in to kiss me. I moved my head off to the side, so that he only got air.

     "Lex," I said painfully. "I missed you, too. But this isn't healthy, babe. You can't just lock yourself away like this. You can't shut the world out just because I left you."

     His eyes glassed over even more, if that was possible. "But I love you. And you... you left me," he slurred. "I love you, 'Lia."

     I couldn't play the part of scolding girlfriend anymore. I simply didn't the strength or willpower to do it anymore. So I was selfish instead. The world could wait for Alex and I to fix ourselves; I didn't need to do it all right then.

     "I love you too, Alex."

~~~~~~~~~~ The ℋustler ~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

A highly unsatisfactory ending; I apologize.

&& thank-you, all you guys, for reading.

 

 

EDIT: I decided to do a sequel! Click on the external link just below the cover up top to open the page.