Revenge

Well fuck

Joe's POV:

Arriving home almost two hours after the expected time is what made Cody's concern skyrocket. They were still up when I had unlocked the door to our apartment and stepped in. They gave me the full run down: bitching that I should've called if I was going to be so late! And that I worried them sick and they couldn't sleep!

And that's when I bluntly reminded the person that a) I'm an adult, they're not my parent and b) it's not like Cody sleeps much anyways.

That seemed to shut Cody up at least momentarily. Eventually, they just scoffed, called me a bitch and disappeared into their bedroom. Leaving me to sit in the kitchen alone.

It was at this time that I fully evaluated my situation. Jason's a raper - which shouldn't be so surprising considering it's Jason, but still. On top of that, my co-worker, whom I find deadly attractive, is a member of Fsociety - an entire group of hackers. Who would've thought? I mean, Elliot seems smart enough to commit to hacktivism, but he doesn't strike me as - never mind. I'd rather not.

And Darlene? She played a great role in Elliot's life. I'm not jumping to conclusions, but in obviousness, Darlene was some sort of relation to Elliot. She had the same large eyes, same small frame, same resting bitch face - I'd be surprised if she wasn't his sister or something. And no way was she his girlfriend - that just wouldn't make sense. Elliot kissed me?

But do I know so for sure? I don't even know who made the first move.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes, shedding off my jacket and tossing it onto the couch. It's nearing 2 am and no way am I going to sleep properly after the night I've had. So, I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, filled it with Wheat Chex cereal and dumped a grand amount of sugar on top. This is the usual breakfast (or lunch or dinner) for me. Cereal. It's easy.

I sat on the couch, eating the cereal in silence. The Telly stayed off because a) I'm sick of the world news and b) can't find the remote.

"Fuck." I suddenly curse, surprising myself.

I put the bowl into the sink and hurried down the hall. Slamming my hand flush against the white wooden door.

"What?" An annoyed British accent grunted from the opposing side of the door.

"Cody...can we just talk." I said - pleaded - quietly.

I was entirely way to scared to speak in a regular voice. And Cody must've recognized my terror because once they opened the door, their brows scrunched together. "What's wrong?" They questioned.

"I'm-"

Fuck. Why am I finding it so hard to tell them of my little problem regarding weed and my rapist boyfriend.

If there's one thing Cody wants me to know, it's that they'll never judge me about life choices. Like when they found out I began smoking when I was fifteen. They told me that they obviously didn't care and that they had no room to judge. And that the kind of friendship Cody and I had upheld for these many years and I appreciate their support.

"What is it Joe?" They pulled me into their room and shut the door behind me. Cody took a stance in front of their door, crossing their arms over their chest. "Did something happen?"

I knew that if I wanted to tell Cody that I'd just have to be completely out with it.

"Cody I smoke marijuana - quite often." I admitted.

"Yeah. Go on."

My head shot up and I locked eyes with them. "You know?"

"You reek of it every time you come home, Dude." Cody rolled their eyes. "I'm not a complete idiot. I see it in your purse."

I gave them a lighthearted chuckle and sat on the edge of their messy bed. Suddenly feeling better.

"But that's not what I wanted to tell you." I said. "My drug dealer - I've been sleeping with him."

Cody snorted, "sounds like a sitcom. Go on."

"Well...a friend of my told me he's a rapist. That he's raped like 8 women and I don't know what to do about it. I don't know if I should confront Jason or just stop seeing him all together. But if I stop then he'll just find another woman to take advantage of and I don't want that to happen-"

"Shit, J, breathe."

I hadn't realized that I had been speaking so fast and that suddenly my breathing had become shallow pants. The tears streaming from my eyes were just as surprising as the breathing. I'm so worried that I hadn't even realized I was crying.

But Cody did. And though they looked concerned, they didn't do anything but tell me to calm down.

A few months after Cody and I meeting, they had told me that - due to a certain event in their past - touching them is possibly the worst fucking thing you could do to them. I feel the exact same way, which is why I wasn't upset when they kept their distance.

Plus, Cody has no fucking clue how to comfort someone.

I wiped my eyes and stared at them.

"Are you sure he's a rapist? Who told this?"

"A friend of mine." I lied straight through my teeth.

"And how do they know for sure?"

Good question.

"I know what I need to do." I stated

~~~~
In the dingy apartment building, I stood in front of his door, trying to catch my breath - which had once again became shallow pants. I feel like I'm gonna vomit.

I inhaled deeply and knocked onto the yellowing wooden door of his apartment.

Moments later, the door swung open and the man with messy dark hair and bright eyes stared at me with an annoyed face. He looked at with confusion - probably because it's now 3 am and here I am slamming on his door still in my dress from dinner and smeared makeup.

"Joe?" He questioned.

I breathed out a short breath, looking him in the eyes.

"Elliot."