Left Behind

Chapter 3: Emotinal Rollercoaster.

Hey James, why back so soon?" I asked.

Jim was supposed to be at a signing for another 30 minutes.

"I don't know, got bored honestly." He chuckled as he sat next to me.

"Can i tell you something?" I asked.

"Yeah of course." He said,

"You're such a nice guy Jim. You've really made me feel welcomed." I chucked.

"My pleasure." He said smiling.

It was true. He was my best friend, we got along really fast.

James leaned in and kissed me slowly.

I heard the door open as Joey stood there staring at us.

Joey was the drummer and he was super super
talented. I've never seen a drummer like him.

"I would kiss you as a joke, but if i did that would be gay." Joey said.

"I wouldn't want to make out with you anyway." James laughed.

"Fuck you" Joey laughed, giving James a nice view of his middle finger.

"Joey, you're fucking short." I said.

"Shut the hell up, you are only 3 inches taller than me." He laughed. "The only one who can say that is Jim."

Jim looked at him and rolled his eyes. "You know, it gets tiring having to look down at everybody."

All three of us laugh and we all got extremely close that day.

                                    •••
                     Later That Night

"Joey what the hell!" I laughed as he slapped my ass.

"Ahhh!" Joey said as i pinched his asscheek.

"Goodnight, you fucker." I said to Joey as he walked to his bunk.

"Night bitch." Joey said, flipping me off.

We both chuckled and walked to our bunks.

"Night Jim!" I yelled.

"Night Steph!" He yelled from afar.

                                      •••
TW: Mentions of suicidal thoughts and attempts, drug use and divorce.

I woke up and walked up to get some water when i saw a figure slouched down. I saw multicolored hair and realized it was Corey.

"Are you okay Corey?" I asked concerned.

"No." He said bluntly.

"Talk to me." I said, taking his hand.

"I just.. want drugs. But i can't have them because in trying to get sober." He explained.

"How long have you been sober for?" I asked, lacing my fingers with his.

"Almost a week. I wanted to get sober after my wife and I got a divorce. I felt like i failed her. I'm a shitty husband and a shitty person." He said, clearly ashamed of himself.

"You're not a shitty person. I actually really like you. You have a good personality. And you didn't fail your wife. You just made a mistake. And you're doing your best to fix it. That's really good Corey. When you get sober and find somebody else, you'll figure out what went wrong with your ex-wife and you can learn from the last relationship and apply that to the new relationship." I told him, hoping it would help.

"I'm hurting everyone-" he tried to finish, but he started tearing up.

"Stop talking bad about yourself. Your such a talented person and you have so many amazing things about you. Everyone in this band loves you. Including me. Your such an amazing guy Corey, you really are." I said.

"C-can i tell you something really personal." Corey asked.

"Of course, you can tell me anything. I'll never judge you." I said.

"I-i was.. very fucking close to killing myself last week." He said, choking up. Tears threatening to fall.

As soon as he said that, I forced him into a hug as he cried into my shoulder. I rubbed his back and tried my best to help him. He lifted his head and looked at me, i placed my hands on his cheeks and looked back at him.

"Why Corey." I asked.

"I just... felt like shit. I felt like nobody was there for me. Me and my ex-wife were in the middle of a divorce and i was turning to shit. I was heavy in my drug addiction, I was tired of the pain so i started cutting until i had no room left on my arms. I felt like nobody was there for me, nobody cared. I poured a bunch of pills in my hand but i couldn't bring myself to take them. Then my wife and i divorced and i started getting my shit together. I've only told Jim about it." He explained, drying tears from his face.

"Wow.. I'm so sorry. You are so loved Corey, I don't even think you know how many people love you, how many people would be so heartbroken. I know i would be absolutely devastated." I said.

"They could just replace me with a new singer." He said.

"No, no. You can't be replaced Corey, you can't. Your talent is what makes Slipknot what it is. I can't believe you said that. There is no way somebody could sing better than you. And I'm serious. You deserve literally everything good that you have right now. I love you Corey. I love you so much." I said as he squeezed my hand and closed his eyes hard.

"I-i didn't know. I'm sorry." Corey pleaded.

"It's okay Corey. All you can do is change."

"Thank you Steph." He smiled.

"No problem. If you ever need anything or you have those thoughts again please talk to me. I'm always going to be here." I said.

"I will." Corey smiled.

"Now get some sleep, you got a show tomorrow." I said putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks again." He said.

"No problem Corey." I said and i let go of his hand.