The Setup

Cheater

"I slept with her, okay?!" Jonah slammed onto his breaks as he pulled over to the side of the road, giving whiplash to us both.

My heart sunk at the words that rolled off his tongue so easily. My body washed over with numbness as his statement echoed through my head.

He cheated, of course he did, she was gorgeous, I was nothing.

"I got too intoxicated, she invited me back to her hotel room, it just happened"

Tears flooded my eyes at his sudden confession. Of course this relationship was too good to be true. I was never more than just a girl he picked up at a meeting.

"I loved you" I whispered under my breath, letting my tears flow freely

"Wh-What? You love me?" Jonah looked at me in shock as the word 'love' fell so easily between his lips

"I was trying to figure out how to tell you. I'm sorry, I have to go"

I got out of the car on the side of the freeway. I couldn't bare to look at him, I didn't even want to breathe the same air as him.

I heard Jonah's door open as I started walking the opposite direction of traffic so he couldn't follow me in his car

"Y/n! Let's talk about this, please!" Jonah's voice got quieter as I walked away from the car.

He didn't follow me, he got back into his car and left.

I called Sophia to come get me from the side of the road and to take me back home, to collect my things.

She said Erin left shortly after we did. I never wanted to hear her name again.

When we got back to the house, Jonah wasn't there, so I quickly ran up to our room and started to pack my things.

My body flinched hard as I heard Jonah's voice scream from down stairs, then the door slammed.

I walked out of the room, just so I'd be able to hear him better if he spoke

"Dude, Sophia is gonna beat your ass. Did you really tell Y/n you cheated on her?" Corbyn chuckled

"I did, I had to tell her" Jonah's voice was soft, sounding like he had been crying since I left him

"But did you cheat on her?" Corbyn asked as if he knew I'd be listening in

"Of course not! I'd never do that to her, I love her... Fuck man, she said she loved me after I told her I cheated. My heart broke finally hearing her say those words"

He didn't actually cheat? Why would he tell me he cheated? What was so much worse that he had to use cheating to cover it up?

"Go talk to her man" Corbyn's voice got louder as he must've walked up to the stairs

"I left her on the side of the- What? She's here?" Loud, fast stomps started coming up the stairs so I quickly went back into the room, pretending that I was packing the whole time

"Doll face?" My body relaxed at the nickname

"Hi" I shook my head as my voice squeaked. I tried to stop tears that hadn't given me a break since he said he cheated

"I'm so sorry-"

"What did you actually do last weekend?"

"I told you what happened" His voice came out hesitantly, as if his body was hurting him as he lied

"You didn't cheat, you wouldn't do that to me" My voice shook

"I didn't cheat on you, I promise. I, uh, I was out with Erin, trying to find the other two guys"

"So you told me you cheated?" I kept my back facing him, scared to show my face, scared to show the tears

"They're hunting you down, threatening to kill you. I thought breaking up with you would protect you but I didn't have the heart to breakup with you, so I had to get you to break up with me. I wanted you to see me as a horrible person so you'd stay away, so you'd stay safe" Jonah's voice got closer as his footsteps glided gracefully across the hard wood floor.

"I know I shouldn't have done that, I broke my own heart just as much as I broke yours. I get if you still want to leave, if you still want to leave me, I understand" Jonah carefully wrapped his arms around my waist, gently pressing his chest against my back.

"I'll come back tomorrow, I just want to be alone tonight" I felt Jonah's body tense as I spoke honestly

"Where are you going to go?" He whispered, letting go of the grip he had on me

"I don't know"

"I can set you up in a nice hotel, or I can call one of my friends for you to stay with them. I just want to know where you are, so I know you're safe"

"I'll get a hotel, but I'll pay for it, I have a bit of money still" I forced a smile, trying to make it known that I didn't want Jonah to spend his money on me

"I'll call my buddy, he owns a hotel not too far from here, I'll get you a nice room, okay?" Jonah kissed my cheek before pulling out his phone and he left the room.

I dumped out my bag of clothes, just grabbing some night wear and an outfit to change into the next day.

"Okay, I'll drive you. You'll just have to go to the front desk and tell them my name, they'll give you the room key. You're free to leave whenever you want, just tell the lady at the desk you're leaving, no charge, okay?" Jonah grabbed my bag and my hand before we walked out the door and down the stairs.

"Thank you"

"I know the room number and everything, so if something happens, call me, I'll be there as soon as I can" I nodded that I understood

We got down the stairs, seeing a furious Sophia, with Corbyn in front of her, trying to calm her down.

She locked eyes with us and pushed Corbyn out of her way, stomping her way to us.

"You're dead, Marais! I can't believe you cheated on Y/n! She fucking loves you, you stupid asshole!" Sophia started poking his chest, trying to come off intimidating

Corbyn ran up behind her, whispering something in her ear. Her eyes shot down to our interlocked fingers and her angry expression got replaced with a smile.

"Ah, I knew you'd never do that! I never doubted you Jonah" Sophia shined a guilty smile before patting his shoulder and taking off running

"I'll be back in a bit, just dropping Y/n off" Jonah smiled back at Corbyn. He gave a weird look but nodded, letting it happen.

~

Jonah dropped me off at the hotel entrance, telling me to call him tomorrow when I was ready to go back home. I knew he was worried about leaving me alone, and I had no doubts he'd try calling at least once that night.

I took a long relaxing bath and I ordered room service, so I was waiting for that to arrive.

I laid in bed in Jonah's sweater, taking in his scent as I already missed him, and it had only been a couple of hours.

A knock of the door took me out of my comfy spot on the lonely, large bed.

I skipped to the door, ready for my chicken nuggets and fries but behind the door revealed a short gentleman with curly brown hair.

"Jack?"