roommates » jack gilinsky (#wattys2016)

twenty eight

i laugh it off, "maybe."

we converse for a little while about random things. actually a bit too much for strangers who just met. he was surprised by my age and i was surprised by his. he's 27 and christian is 4.

"what do you do for a living?" i blurt, not meaning to sound rude or nosy.

"i manage business in arizona and new york." he replies. "so there's a lot of flying back and forth."

i nod, "do you like what you do?"

"yes, but it's just very stressful. do you have a job while being a student?"

i shake my head, "but i should get one soon to pay off my dads hospital bills."

maybe i'm talking too much and being way too personal.

"nova." someone says and i recognize the voice; my fathers nurse approaches me with hard eyes. "you can come see your dad."

she's probably still mad at me from yesterday's usage of words.

i immediately stand up, hopeful, "is he awake?"

he expression transform into one that displays sympathy and pity. she shakes her head and my heart breaks a little more.

"follow me." she motions.

"okay." i quietly say, then turning to jake. "it was nice to meet you."

i opened up to him more than i've opened up to cara.

the day goes by in a flash and is a complete blur. i stayed by my dad's side until they practically dragged me out of there. he still hasn't woken up and that worries the hell out of me.

even though i couldn't depend on him much, i'd choose him over my bitch of a mother any day.

as i head up to the floor of my hotel room, preparing myself to brace jack, i get an incoming call. confused, i take my cell phone out. no one ever calls me, so i just assumed that it'd be adrian or mark.

but it's neither. sam's name flickers across the screen and my eyebrows pull together as i answer.

"hello?"

"what happened with you and jack?" he questions. "he ranted on and on to me."

"what are you talking about?" i reply, unlocking my hotel room.

when i enter, it looks completely normal. except for the fact that jack's suitcase that once was next to mine is now gone.

i freeze, "that son of a bitch." i curse under my breath.

great. this is the last thing i needed right now.

"so-"

"did he book another hotel room?" i snap.

"no." sam slowly says. "he called me before his flight boarded."

my eyes widen. he left me. he actually left me here alone all because of my idiotic words. i wasn't in the right state of mind when i said those things.

"nova." sam speaks up through the line, capturing my attention.

"he's gone." i whimper.

"he's not gone, nova. he just needs time because you bursted out on him."

i frown, "i don't even know how long i'm going to be in arizona for. he's gone and i want him here with me."

"there's no being able to call him. he's on his plane."

"forget about it."

*

the longest week dragged by and it was the worst. yesterday, they unplugged my father because he supposedly signed a waver saying that if anything ever happened and he was hospitalized for over a week unconscious, they have permission to unplug him.

a bullshit waver was what it was.

how could he have done that without anyone contacting me? when something major like this is signed, i have a right to know about it. i'm confused, angry, and sad.

so now, i'm on my way up to my apartment. a who,e week after not seeing or contacting jack. i need him the most right now. he doesn't even know that my father is dead.

of course, i'll have to fly back to arizona within the next week to have my father cremated. deciphering whether or not i want to tell my mom to tag along because i want her to suffer seeing him.

i haven't cried once and for some odd reason, i can't, but i know that the moment i see jack, i'm going to fall into a heap of tears and cry for days. i unlock our apartment door and something feels off instantly.

i step further into the room and set my things down by the door. i shrug off my cardigan, but my eyes divert up to a moving figure in the kitchen next to me. my heart stops beating and i tilt my head,

trying to register who this blonde female in jack's t-shirt is and why is she in my apartment.

{vote, comment, share}