Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 26

"You're such a piece of shit," Zoey said, her voice surprisingly calm. "I really should just break up with you. That way you'd be free to be with the queer since you're obviously so in love with him."

"We were just doing a coffee run." Joe said, trying to stay calm. "My buddy Darren asked me to go to Starbucks for him because he's busy writing music right now. I promise you, that's all I'm doing right now."

Zoey was quiet for a long time, before finally speaking up. "I want you to remember something Joe. If we were to ever break up, it would be the end of everything. I'll never speak to you again. You'll be blocked. Zero contact. I'm gone. I'm a ghost." Joe nodded, even though she couldn't see him, tears welling in his eyes. "If I were to pass you at school, I won't even look at you. You'll be completely dead to me. Do you understand?"

Joe gulped, trying to find his voice. "Y-yes."

"Good. So I want you to take some time with that idea—the idea of losing me completely from your life—and reevaluate how important the little homo really is to you. Think about whether or not your little coffee runs with him are worth it." Before Joe could even begin to think of a response, she hung up on him.

"What—no—FUCK!" Joe yelled angrily. He tried to call her back, but it went straight to voicemail. A million horrific thoughts were swirling around in his head. Had she just broken up with him? If not, what was she going to make him do?

What was she going to do to him?

A moment later his phone buzzed, and to his disbelief it was a text from her.

❤️Zoey💋 Now
Call me the second you're done with rehearsal. You're coming straight to my house after, I don't care how late it is. Don't even think about lying, I'll be watching your location.
_____________________________

Joe read over the instructions carefully, mumbling them to himself. He wiped his tear filled eyes. A slight sense of relief swept over him. She wasn't breaking up with him; he just had to go over after.

He was halfway through typing a response when another text flashed on his screen.

❤️Zoey💋 Now
Don't text back, I don't want to talk to you. Just do it.
_____________________________

The relief faded slightly. He hated when he wasn't allowed to talk to her so much. He shook his head. It was his own fault. He was an idiot for thinking that he could get away with keeping Brian as a friend. Even worse, he was a horrible boyfriend for trying to hide something from his girlfriend.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, taking a deep breath before walking back into Starbucks. Joey, Lauren, and Brian had all sat down at a table, none of them having touched their drinks. "Um, do you think it's possible that you could find another ride home tonight Bri? I'm really sorry."

"I can drive him," Lauren said, looking up at Joe with concern. "What just happened?"

Joe sat down at the table, feeling guilty about the fact that he was next to Brian. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

"Joe, you were just outside screaming and crying. We could all see and hear you. You can't expect us to pretend that nothing's wrong." Joey said, passing him his drink, which someone had put a straw in for him.

"Joe you can tell us," Brian said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We're your friends."

Joe sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's just another fight with Zoey. I don't want to get into the details." He wished there was someone he could talk about this too, but none of the current options seemed like they could work; the current situation was about Brian so he was out, anything he told Joey would definitely get back to Brian, and Lauren would just tell him to break up with Zoey for the millionth time.