"Well, before we get into that, maybe you could help me with something else." Angel raised a brow as he sat back down and Husk continued, "You see, I got some delicious blueberry drizzle cheesecake at the bakery today, but I've got nobody to share it with. You wouldn't be interested… would you, Angel?" Angel smiled and laughed, raising his arms and cheered, "Hell yeah! Cake me up, baby."
"Alright," Husk laughed, "I'll be right back." Husk walked out from behind the bar and made his way to the elevators, went up to his room and got the cheesecake out of his minifridge. "Ahh… hello delicious." "Be careful, Husker," a voice crackled, "You wouldn't want to get Angel in trouble with his dietitian, would you?" Husk gnashed his teeth as he turned around and saw Alastor standing behind him. "What the fuck do you want?" Husk growled, slamming the fridge shut, "Haven't you ruined enough of my week already?"
"Hmmm, oh, I don't know." Alastor crooned, "Given I've left you alone for the better part of the last two days… not to mention your little 'romp in the sheets' with Angel the other night." Husk's cheeks blushed as Alastor flashed a smug smile and chuckled. "Oh, relax, Husker. This won't take long." "Ugh… fine." Husk groaned, sitting the cheesecake down on the counter before crossing his arms, leaning up against the counter, and turning to face Alastor. "What do you want?"
Alastor trotted over, leaned up against the counter next to Husk and said, "I want you to talk to Hazel. I understand that she doesn't really see me as family. But," "Are you asking me to tell Hazel she's wrong for feeling the way she feels?" Husk scoffed, "Are you nuts? Do you have any idea how much of her life I was forced to miss because of you and your damn hijinks?"
"It's what you agreed to in our contract." Alastor pointed out. "Yes, I know I did," Husk nodded, "But my daughter didn't. I'm not sure what your goal was in constantly pulling me away from my kid, my business, and my friends. But I'm not the only one you made suffer. All that kid ever wanted was a family and parents who loved her. I might not have been able to find her a new mom but damn it I was trying to be a good dad."
Alastor's face softened a little as Husk grabbed the cheesecake and started walking towards the door, saying, "I fucked up… a lot. I lost so much… so many hands, so many souls. Until it all came down to you, and you damn near cleaned me out. I was desperate. Desperate not to lose everything I had worked so hard to build. Desperate… not to lose my family… or my home. I was willing to take whatever punishment you saw fit for me. But the one you ended up hurting most for my mistakes was an innocent little girl."
"I didn't… that's not," Alastor growled, "I don't know what you're talking about." "Her first big sleepover, getting her wisdom teeth pulled, fucking prom! So many times my daughter needed me to be there for her… I had to call Sugar Cube or one of the guys to cover for me because you had me running some god-forsaken errand or cleaning up one of your bloody messes. From the time she was nine years old, up until you vanished seven years ago, my poor little girl didn't know if she could rely on me for anything… was terrified to ask me for or about anything! Because she was afraid that if she did you'd show up to whisk me away and fuck it all up!"
Husk let out an angry huff, walked over to his door and sighed; he groaned wearily, shaking his head and said, "Look, I can talk to her, but I'm not going to tell Hazel that she's wrong. If you want even so much as a hope at changing her mind about you after all these years, you will have to be the one to talk to her about it." Husk pointed to Alastor and continued, "You are going to have to be the one to explain why you kept me away from her so much during her childhood. You are going to have to be the one who tries to justify it… because I can't. How could I? She's my kid; I love her like my own flesh and blood. Hazel's not a replacement child, she is my child. And nothing you or anyone else says or thinks could ever change that. Nothing."
Husk took a deep breath, wiping a few tears from his eyes as he slowly exhaled and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, Angel's waiting downstairs hoping to share a slice of cheesecake with me. Now, goodbye, goodnight, and get bent." Alastor's eyes widened as Husk walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Husk panted as he rushed to the elevator and made his way back down to the ground floor and swinging by the kitchen to grab a couple of plates and forks. Husk took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and wiping away a few tears before returning to his place behind the bar.
"Whoa, Husk! Are you okay?" Angel asked, "You're shaking. What happened?" Husk sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay, Angel. I just… just," Husk paused, taking a moment to breath and calm down before saying, "I just got a lot on my mind right now, that's all." Husk hummed as he heard his phone started to ring; the song that was playing was Independence Day by Martina McBride. "Is that… country music?" Angel asked. "Hey, it's a good tune." Husk defended. "I just didn't peg you for someone who'd like country," Angel snickered, "I mean, you did say you were a 'Jazz man'."
Husk just sighed and rolled his eyes as he pulled out his phone; a smile stretching across his face as he answered. "Hey, sweetie," Husk said in a cheery tone, "What's going on?" Husk's face fell as he listened to the person on the other side, "Whoa, whoa, Hazel, calm down. What's wrong?" There was another brief pause; Husk's eyes widened and a soft growling noise rose from his chest. "What!? When? Alright, grab the others and head down to the station; I'll be right there."