The Only Thing I Ever Really Loved (Corey Taylor)

Chapter 22

They always say that the bride is the most gorgeous part of the wedding, but in this case they're all wrong. Corey had his hair cut shorter than I've seen it in years, to the point it was nearly a buzz cut, but he somehow pulled it off perfectly. His black tux was accented with a deep crimson dress shirt underneath and a rose in the front pocket. It was hard to think that just two days ago that he confessed to loving me and now here he is getting married to someone else. That was one thing about Corey that I usually loved, the way when he made up his mind he wasn't going to change it, but this time I hated it. He had decided that staying with Sarah would be the best thing for both of us.

The whole ceremony I gripped my fists in a white knuckle clutch, digging my nails into my hands so I wouldn't cry. All I could think about was how blind I had been this whole time and now I was going to lose him forever. All I could do now is just get through this day and take care of Kasha until Miranda was out of jail afterwards to stay busy. When all that's done I'll figure out how to move on from this, that's all I can do, right?

I only felt like I could breathe after Anthony and Paul took off with Kasha during the reception and I was able to sit down by myself for a moment. I pressed my fingertips into my temples, trying to will my sporadic thoughts to hush. The song that had been playing ended and I snapped my head up at the voice I heard as soon as it was quiet.

"Would you care to dance with me?" Corey asked softly, a wary look lingering in his pale blue eyes.

I don't know why, but I said, "Sure."

He gently took my hand and guided me to where everyone else resided on the dance floor. As fate would have it Seether's cover of Careless Whisper came on, which could basically be considered a slow song.

"Um, maybe the next one..." I murmur beginning to turn away from him, but he is quick to gingerly pull me back to him.

"It's only a dance." He hummed with a light smile before putting his hands on my hips.

I decided not to make a big deal out of it since quite a few of the people we knew were watching us out of the corner of their eyes. I placed my hands around his thick neck and started to follow his lead.

"Having fun?" He asked, seeming to notice the attention we were getting and was attempting to distract me from it.

I simply nodded because I didn't want him to hear the lie in my words.

"No you're not." He whispered giving me that knowing look of his.

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter. This isn't about me."

I was surprised that he fell silent after that and just held me to his chest while we swayed back and forth. As the song came near the end I thought back to what Miranda had said to me about telling him what he has meant to me and I knew right then that I had to, because this would be my last chance. I felt that he deserved to know exactly what he had done for me those four years ago.

"So there's something I think I should tell you."

"Okay." He whispered and then the song was over. I was surprised that he took me aside, out of sight just down the hallway, but he was quick to explain, "Sorry, I'm just tired of being stared at."

"I figured you should know before I don't have another chance to tell you."

"You act like you'll never see me again." He states with a broken laugh; I believe he truly knows that is going to be the case.

"You know I never expected for you to be so important to me when I met you, but you are. If I had never met you I have no idea where I would be today, certainly not with my brother. You helped me keep what little family I had left together and I can never thank you enough for that. You didn't have to help me, deal with my bullshit, or protect me; but you did. You were the only one that made me feel safe and anything close to happy after when I first lost my parents. I knew I could never pay you back the way you deserved it, so I tried to support you and be the best friend I could." I paused to take in a breath and I tried to ignore the look in his eyes intensifying.

So I continued, "That's why I've, as you put it, put up with you for so long. It's because you have done the same for me. You saved me Corey."

After I finished he swiftly glanced around before yanking me into an empty unisex bathroom and pressed me into the wall. He cupped my cheeks in his large hands and looked like he was ready to cry.

"Why can't you ever make anything easy on me? Why can't you see that I'm still trying to protect you by keeping you away from me?" He urged, nearly sounding desperate.

"I'm sorry."

He let out a soft sigh and leaned down to me to tenderly press his lips to mine before breathing, "I never wanted to hurt someone like you."

He hurried out of the bathroom and I began shaking as tears streamed out of my eyes. Why had I chosen to do this to myself? Why did I decide to love somebody like Corey Taylor? I allowed myself a while to let my emotions take there course before I approached the mirror to straighten up my appearance. Thankfully my dark brown hair managed to stay in place through all of that and my hazel eyes only seemed a little blood shot.

As I made my way back into the main area I was glad that no one had appeared to be aware of what had just happened, so I wasted no time finding Kasha with Shawn and Jim. After grabbing the baby girl and saying goodbye to them I left without looking back.  

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Tiny side note, I wrote a tiny piece inspired by the song Iowa, so it would mean a lot if you lovely people gave it a read. It's in my one shots. Thank you in advance :)