lightning - jonah marais

chapter ten

You sat on the deck for what felt like hours, thanks to the alcohol in your system. Emotions were swirling through your brain; a mix of hurt, anger, heartbreak and pure sadness. You sat up straight and swept your hands under your eyes to collect any mascara the tears may have sent dribbling down your cheeks. You inhaled deeply and stood up, going back into the house to look for Daniel. You wanted to go home and lay in bed, sober yourself up and sleep. You bitterly shoved your way through the crowds of people on your search for Daniel. You peered around corners and finally caught a glimpse of him heading into a room with a girl. You bit your lip and groaned, Damnit. You slumped down the wall of the hallway and let your head hit against it. Taking deep breaths seemed to be the only thing keeping you from bursting into tears in that spot. "Y/N!" you heard from the other end of the hall, opening your eyes to see Corbyn. "Oh thank god." you mumbled, standing up shakily. "Woah there, you okay?" he asked, rushing over to support you. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." you said, forcing a soft smile and holding onto his arm. "What's our plan for getting home?" you asked and he looked at you confused, "Home? We've only been here an hour!" You swallowed thickly, "Corbyn, I need to go home." The look on your face was dead serious and Corbyn picked up the hint you were giving him. "Oh, okay. Eben was gonna pick us up, do you want me to call him?" he asked. You nodded frantically and Corbyn pulled out his phone, taking your hand and leading you outside with him.

"Thanks bro, see you in 10." Corbyn said, hanging up the phone. "He was leaving the studio so he should be here shortly." The two of you sat on TJ's front porch, waiting for Eben. "You don't have to wait out here with me if you don't want to." you said, clicking your shoes against the pavement. "I don't want you waiting out here alone." Corbyn insisted and you smiled sadly, whispering a 'thank you.' It went quiet between you both, the tension thick in the air. Corbyn could tell something was wrong, but he had no idea what had happened with you and Jonah. You weren't even sure where Jonah was. "Do you wanna talk about it?' Corbyn asked, keeping his eyes on the streetlamps in front of the house. "Not right now. Maybe tomorrow. Thank you though." you said and Corbyn rubbed your back, "Of course." Eben finally pulled up and you hugged Corbyn goodbye, telling him to tell the guys the same and thank TJ for you. Like Corbyn, Eben asked if everything was okay and you gave him the same kind of response. You slumped in his passenger seat, watching the streets of Los Angeles pass as you drove back to the house. You thanked Eben profusely for the ride and let yourself inside, dropping your keys on the countertop. You sighed. Standing still in the middle of the living room. You picked up a throw pillow and let out a soft scream, extremely frustrated and upset. Slowly, you went up the stairs and changed into pajamas, then took off your makeup and slid under the covers of your bed. Exhaustion was about to take over your body when you remembered: you can't sleep here. After what happened tonight, the last thing you wanted to wake up to was Jonah. You sighed, grabbing a pillow and a spare blanket from the hall closet and making a bed on the couch. You got somewhat comfortable and closed your eyes, letting a few tears escape them as you fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up to a silent house, but you were no longer in the living room. You opened your eyes to a bedroom and quickly sat up, not sure whose room you were in or how you got there. You looked around the room and soon recognized it as Daniel and Corbyn's, the rack of guitars and the cloud lights hanging from the ceiling giving it away. You had the bed to yourself and you saw Corbyn on the floor, sound asleep on a blow-up air mattress. You quietly stepped out of bed and used the bathroom, taking mental note of the amount of hair products surrounding the sink. After using the bathroom you headed downstairs to make some coffee. You stopped dead in your tracks when you saw Daniel and Jonah sitting at the island, talking and eating breakfast. "Morning." Daniel said and Jonah didn't even look up from his plate. "Good morning." you said awkwardly and went straight to the coffee pot, hoping to make this interaction as short as possible. "You fell asleep on the couch last night so I took your spot and brought you up to my room." Daniel said and you scooped some sugar into your cup. "Oh, that's how I got there." you nervously chuckled, "Thanks, Dani. I'm gonna go wake up Corbyn." You hurried back up the stairs and closed the door behind you, letting out a deep sigh. "Good morning to you too." Corbyn said from the floor, startling you. "Shit!" you exclaimed, clutching your chest, "I didn't know you were up." You set your mug down on the nightstand and sat on the bed, scrolling through your phone. "It's about Jonah, isn't it?" Corbyn asked and you scoffed, "What makes you think that?" "Because you took the time to make a bed on the couch." You put your phone down and rolled onto your stomach to see him. "We kissed at TJ's last night. I thought it was a good thing, he said it was a mistake and left me on the deck. That's all." you said in a rushed sentence, not wanting to dwell on it and break into tears in front of the blonde in front of you. He sat up with wide eyes and stared at you. You nodded slowly and grabbed your coffee, waiting for him to say something. "He just, left?" he said in disbelief and you closed your eyes. "Can we not talk about this right now? I have to get ready soon, I have to upload a portfolio and meet with my tutor in like an hour." you said, trying your best not to sound too harsh. Corbyn nodded and you left the room, going to yours to change. You opened the door to Jonah coming out of the bathroom. The two of you stood there on opposite sides of the room not saying a word to each other. The room filled with tension and you shut the door behind you, moving to the dresser. "You can shower first. I'll use Jack and Zach's." Jonah mumbled quietly and stepped out of the room. You grabbed your clothes and locked the bathroom door behind you. You turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower, letting the water hit your bare back. Eventually you ended up sitting on the floor, contemplating how you were going to make this work. The friendship seemed ruined, but you couldn't leave now. That wouldn't be fair to the guys and you needed this college credit. You sat against the cool tile of the shower, letting out small whimpers as you cried it out. You hated the silent treatment.