Shorter chapter, I'll upload the next one tomorrow!
Joe stared at his phone, before shaking his head to stop himself from reading her texts. He threw the phone to the ground. All of the light that he'd gained from spending time with Brian had gone out. He was right back to where he'd been before; broken. He could feel his anxiety stirring inside of his chest and terror striking into his heart. How was it that just a second ago he'd been shamelessly flirting with Brian—Zoey completely forgotten?
"Are you—Joe, are you okay?" Brian asked tentatively.
Joe glanced down at him, tears running down his face. Brian had migrated to sitting at the edge of the bed, looking up at him. He looked concerned, but there was something about the look in his eyes that gave Joe the feeling that he was heartbroken too. "Yes," Joe whispered, not really believing himself. He wiped the tears away, shaking his head. "Yes, I'm okay." He repeated, more sternly. He walked back over to Brian. "I'm, I'm sorry about that."
Brian shook his head, still looking up at Joe uneasily. "You, you don't have to be sorry for your phone going off." Brian reassured. He could feel dread filling his stomach. "Was... was it Zoey?"
"Yeah. It was." Joe admitted. He could feel the anxious tears trying forcing their way out, but he fought back. No more. He wasn't going to live like this anymore. "But she doesn't matter right now. I don't care about her." Joe said out loud, not convincing himself. He sat back down on the bed next to Brian, looking at him longingly. "I care about you." Joe told him truthfully. He reached out nervously, grabbing Brian's hands. "I care about you more than anyone."
Brian stared back at Joe, before glancing down at their entwined hands. Was Joe saying what he thought he was saying? He locked eyes with him. His crush of he didn't even know how long was sitting in front of him, holding his hands, and telling him that he cared for him. Brian wanted so badly to believe him. "Joe, I think right now you just need to pause and—"
"I JUST CAN'T LOOK, IT'S KILLING ME, AND TAKING CONTROL—"
"For fucks sake," Joe growled, letting go of Brian's hands. He walked over and picked up his phone, declining the call. When he did, the texts popped up on his screen before he could avert his eyes.
❤️Zoey💋 Now
You're just going to ignore me?
_______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 Now
Missed call
_______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 2m
Pick up. Now.
_______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 2m
Missed call
_______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 10m
Where are you?
_______________________________
❤️Zoey💋 25m
You really can't obey simple orders, can you?
_______________________________
Oh god, dear god, what was she going to do when she found him? He knew that the longer he tried to ignore her, the more livid she was going to be whenever she eventually got to him. Would she hit him again? Would she humiliate him like she'd done tonight? Would she cheat on him? Of course she would; had he not just been trying to make a move on Brian? He was no better than her. If anything, he was worse than her. What she'd been doing with Sam was out of hurt. She didn't have romantic feelings for him.
Joe on the other hand? He... he had feelings for Brian. Real, emotional feelings, that went beyond simply being attracted to him. He brought his hands up to his head, covering his ears to block out everything as the realization settled over him. He hadn't planned it... it had just snuck up on him. Zoey had been right all along. How could she have known before he had?
He wanted to scream. He did deserve everything that she'd done to him. He'd let a few simple issues with her drive his affection towards someone else. How could he have done this? How could he have betrayed her like that? She was right. He was a horrible person.
He looked up at Brian, his heart torn in half. What was he supposed to do? He'd meant what he'd said to Brian. About being done with Zoey, about wanting to move on, about caring for him more than anyone else. He wanted was to take a step forward, and he wanted to do it with him.
He wasn't ready. He wasn't capable of blowing Zoey off. He couldn't look her in the eye and end things. How could he, after realizing the truth? He wasn't ready to leave her.
Or was he? He'd already accepted that they weren't good for each other. On top of that, he now knew that it was his fault. Would setting her free be the right thing to do? Maybe her calling was a blessing. A chance to rip the band aid. He wouldn't even have to do it in person; meaning he wouldn't have to worry about her hurting him again. Tears ran down his face as he tried to focus his mind on the goal at hand; end things. Tell her it was over.
"I JUST CAN'T LOOK, IT'S KILLING ME, AND TAKING CONTROL—"
Joe answered this time, bringing the phone up to his ear. "Yeah?"
"Shut up. Don't 'yeah' me. Where are you?"
A shiver ran up Joe's spine. He needed to stand his ground, or else she'd pull him back under. "Why, why do you need to know?"
"Because we're going to talk. Right now."
"I don't, I don't want to talk to you."
"I don't care what you want. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" She asked, although Joe couldn't help but notice a change in her tone. "Tell, tell me where you are. Now." She was stammering, her usual blatant confidence fading.
"No. I'm not your property." Joe closed his eyes, focusing on keeping his voice steady. He could do this. "I'm, I'm not just going to come running at your beck and call."
Zoey scoffed. "What do you think you're doing right now Joe?"
"I'm, I'm, I..." Joe found his voice quavering. Why had her saying that made his blood run cold?
"Are you going to break up with me? Because if so, just do it, and I'm never going to talk to you again."
Joe opened his mouth, but words failed him. Why did hearing that from her scare him so much? Tears started streaming down his face as the realization of losing her hit him.
Zoey laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You think you're in control here? You're not. You think you've just come to some big realization? You haven't. You don't know shit." Joe tried to speak, but the tears welling up inside of him had caused a lump in his throat. "So you have two options Joe. You can break up with me, like you thought you were going to do during this call." Joe felt paralyzed. How was she so inside of his head? "Do it. And I mean it, I'll never speak to you again." Tears started streaming down his face. Was she going to beat him to the punch? Was she going to cut him off out of spite? "Or, you can tell me where you are. Right now. I know you're not home; did you think that I wasn't going to check your location?" Joe sunk to his knees, bringing a hand to his mouth as he sobbed. He couldn't do this. He had zero hold on the situation; she was the one in control. She always was. "I know that you're at one of your friends house. And I could show up and humiliate you right now. But I have a better idea." Her voice had returned to full force. Joe could practically hear her smiling triumphantly over the line.
He couldn't escape her. There was no ending to this torment.
"You're going to admit to me where you are. Then you're going to get into your car, and drive to my house. And we'll go from there. Believe me baby, we'll go from there."
Joe's sobs were becoming too much to conceal. He needed to let them out. He took a deep breath, trying with everything he had to keep it together. "Zoey, p-please—"
"Don't beg. Trust me, you'll have plenty of opportunity to beg later. Right now? You're going to obey me Joe. You think I'm horrible to you now? Oh honey, just imagine how evil I'll become if you're no longer my boyfriend." Joe began coughing, his sobs bursting out in aggressive waves. "You don't want to push me Joe. We've been playing this game long enough for you to know how it goes. Try to cross me? I'll burn you to the fucking ground."
Brian watched in horror as Joe broke down in front of him. He could hear Zoey screaming at him over the line. How was it that she always knew exactly what to say to crush him and put him back in to his place? How the hell could he compete with her? How was he supposed to help Joe? How on earth was Joe supposed to help himself?
"Do you understand Joe?" When Joe didn't answer, her temper flared up. "Answer me! Stop fucking crying, you brought this in yourself." She scoffed, laughing loud enough that Joe could hear over the line. "You're so pathetic—pull yourself together and answer the simple fucking question. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
"You understand the severity of your actions?"
"Yes."
"So you understand how drastic the consequences will be if you continue to try to defy me?"
"Yes."
"You understand that I'll dedicate myself to making sure that every second of your life is a living hell?"
"Ye-yes."
"Are you going to tell any of your friends what's going on?"
"No."
"Good boy." Zoey laughed sweetly, making Brian's blood boil. "Where are you?"
Joe let out another sob. "I'm at, I'm at N-Nick's house."
"See, was that so hard?" She asked casually, as if she hadn't just been threatening him. "You'll be at my house in ten minutes. Otherwise, I'm coming over there. And trust me, it'll be a lot worse for you if I have to come fetch you."
The line went dead, leaving Joe curled up on Nick's bedroom floor. His entire body shaking in terror as he wept. He'd come to another realization; no one could help him, including himself. She hadn't just lured him into her trap; she'd laid everything out to make sure that he would never find his way out.
Next chapter will be up tomorrow and it is LONG. Please remember to give this chapter a vote😊🤪