Us | A Stardew Valley FanFiction

Chapter 13 - Fall 16

The man that stood in front of me was the ghost of Josh, not the Josh I knew. The Josh I loved. This Josh...he was a monster. A secretive, unfaithful, dishonest, manipulative monster.

"You're fucking Emily," I said flatly, my eyes glued to the ground. "That's what this is about. That's why you've been here before; why you hid that letter; why you are here now, for God's sake. That's why you're here now. Not for this redemption bullshit."

"Redemption?" Emily whispered, her once kind eyes being overtaken by a massacre of emotion. "Josh, what is she talking about?"

"What is she talking about?" Sam said, his voice now raised as he motioned sloppily to Emily. "You better tell us what is really going on here, dick bag. Now."

I'd never seen Sam like this before, and I never wanted to see him like this again. The same hopelessness that I felt all of those months ago, that I felt at the fortune teller, that I felt seeing Josh with Haley's parents...it flooded my brain; the good part of me drowned in it. I didn't know if I could even listen to Josh's half hearted explanation. I'd heard what I needed to hear.

"You know, nobody has ever been promoted in seventeen days," he whispered. You could cut through the tension in the office with a knife. "Nobody. Ever."

Silence surrounded us, his presence alone sparking an uneasiness in the space.

"Unless you made a deal with the devil," he muttered, burying his face in his hands.

"...Or the CEOs of Joja."

I could hear Emily gasp; Haley's wide, doe eyes turned quickly to look at me.

"What I said, Sade, it was true," he said, his voice muffled. "I campaigned for a Joja Mart here, so we could move, not knowing that it was their hometown. God, in theory, it seemed like the perfect bargain. We already had a house lined up, and they would be viewed as hometown heroes. They agreed to promote me quickly, but not too quickly, and then appoint me to open a store of my own."

"But it came at a price, Sade. The CEOs of Joja Corporation don't need to be hometown heroes; I learned this the hard way. I didn't have a choice."

"What are you talking about?" I choked out, a film of tears threatening to fall at any second. Don't let him see you cry.

"If I wanted the store, I had to pursue their daughter."

Emily's sobs could no longer be stifled—her eyes quickly growing red and puffy. She didn't know. 

"They agreed to hire you for five years, Sade," he said defeatedly. "They agreed to hire you for five years, and during that time, I would periodically visit the Valley, for...for Emily."

"I thought I could get out of it," he whimpered. "I thought I would want to get out of it. But then...then, the five years were up. And I still loved you. But I loved her, too."

I felt my heart drop and shatter into a million shards, fragments of me scattered across the floor of Josh's secret life. Intertwined with mine was Emily's, and for a brief moment, pieces of us were unidentifiable from one another—fused together by what we'd unknowingly done to each other.

"Go to hell," Sam screeched, pushing in front of Haley and I and lunging towards Josh. Before he could register the sudden movement, his face was met with Sam's knuckles—the impact immediately knocking him off balance. A fire ignited in his eyes, a scarlet hue quickly spreading across his cheeks.

"So that's how you want to handle this?" Josh hissed, his fist now colliding with Sam's nose.

"Oh, fuck no," Alex yelled as Sam crashed backwards into the group. Practically shoving Sam into Haley and I's arms, Alex ran towards Josh, tackling him to the ground in one swift motion.

For a few moments, I watched the two roll around, blood beginning to pour from Josh's nostrils—Alex left unscathed. The shouts of Haley and Sam were masked by the ringing in my ears, my thoughts consumed with the past.

I locked eyes with Emily, disappointment written all over her features. I couldn't tell if she felt sorry or not; I couldn't tell if I even cared. I opened up to her at Alex and Sam's birthday party. I told her about Josh—about what he did. She knew. She knew, and she didn't say anything.

"Fuck you, Josh," Alex spat finally, removing himself from above Josh and using his t-shirt to dry his forehead. "And fuck you too, Emily."

"Sadie—" Emily pleaded. "Please, I can explain."

"Shut the fuck up!" Haley screamed. "You knew about this, and you chose to stay with him. You watched Sadie cope with this by herself, knowing you were the reason she had to endure that pain, and you chose to stay with him. You grew to love her, we all grew to love her, and you abandoned her trust. My trust. All of our trust. You hurt Sadie, you hurt me." Haley said through gritted teeth, grabbing my hand.

"And me," Sam agreed, grabbing my other hand.

"And me," Alex whispered, towering over Emily's already tall figure.

"Now," he said even more quietly, leaning down to meet Josh's eyes. "Get the hell out of here. And I'd better not see you again."

"Yeah, okay, pretty boy," Josh snarled, the blood from his nose now dripping onto his teeth as he hoisted himself off of the tiled floor. "Welcome to the real world—you have no power here. Business will continue as usual—as long as this store is around, you can't get rid of me."

Josh cleared his throat and spit red liquid into the trash can as he sauntered away. "Bye ladies," he smirked as he disappeared through the door.

"Don't worry, Sade," Alex whispered into my ear once Josh's footsteps were finally inaudible. "I will take care of this."