The Web I Spin for You ~ Richpez & Rosenwalker

Chapter 33

tw for mentions of sexual assault and Zoey being slightly forceful with Joe.

Joe charged into her front door as soon as she opened it, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable. When he'd arrived at her house he'd taken out his phone to text her that he was outside as he'd done in the past, before remembering the last time that he'd come over.

Before she'd tricked him into coming in by playing sad, but she wasn't playing anymore. It was more than clear that Zoey had moved on from the damsel in distress act because she knew that he wasn't going to fall for it anymore. She'd resorted to blackmailing him, and Joe was going to be damned if he let her enjoy it anymore than she already was. She'd already won by getting him to come over—him being too scared to come into her home would just give her even more of a thrill when she inevitably blackmailed him to come inside.

"I'm here. What the fuck do you want?" Joe demanded, striding in without making eye contact with her. "Let me guess; if I don't break up with Brian and take you back, you're going to post those fake photos? I know it's fake—I've seen you edit pictures for your Instagram before."

"Aw baby please, what do you take me for?" Zoey teased, closing the door shut. "Some sort of villain?"

Joe gulped, forcing himself to look at her out of fear of what she'd do to him if he let his guard down. That was exactly what he took her for—she'd more than proven it in her actions. He could see it now, more clearly than he ever had before; she liked hurting him. All of the crying and breakdowns from before had been fake—from day one her goal had been to get him inside so that she could destroy him all over again. "Am I suppose to think something different of a person who has to blackmail me into seeing her? Not even getting into all of the reasons why I don't want to see you."

Zoey laughed softly, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side as she peered up at him. "Damn, aren't you feisty today?" She teased playfully, as if he had been flirting with her rather than yelling at her. "I should get you mad more often—it's hot as hell."

"Stop stalling Zoey." Joe told her firmly, holding her gaze. "What do you want?"

Zoey held their eye contact for a moment longer, before gazing down with a sigh. She dropped her arms down and slumped her shoulders over, her foot tapping anxiously. "Look, I'm sorry about the photo. I'll delete it." Her tone of voice had changed completely, but Joe knew better than to believe it. "That was low, even for me. I just, I, I didn't know how else to get your attention."

Joe scoffed. "You've abused me in just about every way possible—if anything blackmail is a step up for you. I'm surprised you didn't just show up at the mall and beat me into your car."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "How the hell was I supposed to know where you were? Did you forget that you stopped sharing your location with me?" She deflected, ignoring his point entirely. "Look again, I'm sorry for resorting to this. It's just... I had to get you back in here, and I didn't know how else to do it." Joe didn't say anything in response to her, so she continued. "And I'm sorry about the whole thing with Beth," she added, taking Joe aback. "I know my methods were a little unconventional, but when you turned me down beforehand I wasn't sure what else to do to prove to you that you don't really love him."

"I do love him." Joe spat back, ignoring all of the other things she'd said since that were pointless.

"No." Zoey stated simply. "You love me."

Joe scoffed. "And you're basing that insane fantasy off of... what exactly?"

"You not sleeping with Beth." Zoey stated blatantly, as if it were obvious. "You didn't do it because you would never hurt me like that."