Monsters and Men ~ Rosenwalker & Richpez

Chapter 48

Joe stirred, his entire body feeling incredibly sore. He tried to push away consciousness, but there was a stinging sensation traveling along his back and neck that he was having trouble ignoring. He groaned and rolled over to his side, his arm coming into contact with something soft.

His eyes regrettably popped opened, and he found that he had rolled over and instinctually wrapped his arm around Brian, who was still asleep. He shook his head as the previous evenings events came flooding back to him. The party. Zoey trying to force herself onto him. Sam beating Brian into a bloody pulp. Joe coming to the ultimate realization that Zoey had been behind the attacks on him.

He sat bolt upright as a wave of shock traveled through him. He'd broken up with Zoey. He'd told her they were done. He'd stared her down straight in the eye and called her a monster. He'd lost her.

He slipped his arms around the back of his neck and linked his fingers, pulling his knees up to his chest. 'I didn't lose her. I escaped. Now she can't hurt me or anyone I love anymore.' He brought his hands to his mouth, repeating that thought through his mind one more time. He hadn't lost Zoey. She couldn't hurt him, or anyone that he . . .

He glanced back nervously, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks as he watched Brian continue to sleep. He remembered now; he'd fallen asleep last night with Brian's head on his chest. They'd been holding hands.

Joe reached out nervously, running a hand through his hair gently. The swelling on his face had gone down significantly since last night, but his face was still bruised. Joe's eyes traveled down, his heart stopping at the sight of the bruises wrapping around the younger boys neck.

He stood up abruptly, running a hand through his hair nervously. That was his fault. Everything that had happened to Brian... was because of him. Joe bit his lip as he held down the power button on his phone to turn it back on. Brian would never want to be with him. He'd have to be an idiot to want him after everything that he'd put him through.

The same gut-wrenching feeling that Zoey had always caused began to settle into him as his phone turned on. Just what he needed; another heartbreak. He closed his eyes as he unlocked his phone, shooting his parents a quick text. Was it time? Might as well, with how miserable he was.

❤️Zoey💋

Yesterday 11:48 PM
Fuck you.
You're a pussy and a liar. I'm going to ruuuin ur life.
Also I fucked Sam :)

Today 12:57 AM
Call me.
Now.

Today 2:02 AM
U now what? I tried to b nice. But now you can
Forget itX

Today 3:06 AM
miss me yet??$ orr are u off fucking the fairy?

Today 5:43 AM
Just wanted to apologize for tonight. I was drunk and high and not thinking clearly. I have to admit that I was being an ass and yes, I was being aggressive. Just wanted to apologize, maybe it'll make you feel better.

Today 7:59 AM
Baby. Let's talk.

Joe scoffed. Looks like she'd spent the night partying and trying to upset him. He blew out a sigh of relief as he placed his phone back down; turning it off last night had been a good idea. Maybe he'd need to keep it off for the rest of the day in order to keep his sanity. He could stress about Zoey 'ruining his life' after the show. He looked back over towards Brian, his heart skipping a beat. Fuck her. He needed to just forget about her and move on. Clearly his heart had; would it kill his brain to get into sync with it?

He walked over to the sleeping boy, picking up the now melted ice packs that had scattered throughout the bed as they had slept. He placed them at the edge before turning around and sitting down gently on the bed so as not to wake up Brian. He ran his hair through his hair a few times, it still being slightly knotted from Zoey yanking on it so much. He wished that the top of his head didn't hurt so much.