monachopsis.

e i g h t

corbyn closes and locks the apartment door behind himself, his hands shaking as he slides his keys into his pocket. it's nearly eight, and he's heading to the bus stop to catch a bus to jonah's office building. his stomach is in knots, his heart tight in his chest, and he tucks his hands into the pockets of his black skinny jeans in an attempt to cease their trembling as he trudges down the street.

he'd called the restaurant before leaving, to make sure that their dinner reservations were still in place. he'd also checked with jonah's secretary, just in case something had come up and been added to jonah's schedule. everything is going smoothly, and as corbyn slips into the hard plastic seat of the bus, he prays that it keeps going that way.

by a quarter past eight, he's at the office building where jonah works. jonah is a lawyer, and a damn good one considering the high position he holds at the firm he works for. it's something corbyn admires about him, how hard he's worked for what he has.

corbyn pushes open the entrance door and slips in, drawing glances from the few people still working at this hour. he shyly ducks his head, cheeks flushing as he heads for the stairs. jonah's office is on the fourth floor, so he jogs up four flights of stairs—his exercise for the day, he thinks with a slight smile to himself. exiting the stairwell, he approaches jonah's secretary, ms. carter.

"um, hi, i'm looking for jonah?" corbyn says hesitantly, and she smiles at him.

"oh, you must be corbyn. i've seen you in the pictures mr. marais keeps on his desk."

corbyn smiles, a flush of pleasure and love spreading through him. "yeah, that's me. i'm his boyfriend. today's our two year anniversary, so i have a surprise for him."

"well, congratulations, and best of luck concerning your plans for the night," she says kindly. "mr. marais is in his office, down the hall. it's the fourth door on the left."

"thank you," corbyn responds politely, heading down the hall. his heart is pounding, and he imagines jonah's reaction upon seeing him. he pauses at the fourth door on the left, jonah's name on a plague screwed to the door. taking a deep breath, he twists the doorknob and pushes the door open, taking a half step inside

and

exhaling in a sharp breath of surprise and hurt when he sees his boyfriend

tangled in the arms of a woman

thrusting into her from behind with her body bent over his desk.

"oh my god," corbyn whispers, his hand flying to his mouth.

jonah glances up, paling when he sees his boyfriend standing in the doorway. "corbyn—i, you.....what are you doing here?"

"oh my god," corbyn repeats again, drawing in a short, strangled breath before whirling and darting from the room, running down the hall, tears beginning to stream down his face.

"corbyn?" ms. carter says worriedly, rising from her seat, but corbyn ignores her, bolting down the stairs. his chest is heaving, and it feels like he can't breathe, sobs raggedly escaping his mouth. he draws judgmental stares from the same workers as before as he tears out of the building and comes to a stop, staggering to the sidewalk before his legs give out underneath him and he collapses.

"oh my god," he sobs, running his fingers through his hair and digging them into his scalp, hard enough to draw blood. as if on cue, thunder rumbles in the distance, and corbyn feels the wet sprinkling of rain on his flushed skin. he shakily stumbles to his feet again, heading toward the parking lot. pulling his keys out, he unlocks his and jonah's car, sliding into the driver's seat and closing the car door just as a steady downpour begins.

corbyn leans forward, resting his head on the steering wheel. he closes his eyes, tears streaming down his face as he pictures jonah with that woman. his heart shatters at the memory of the two, and his body shakes as he cries, curling his arms around himself. sliding a hand into his pocket, he pulls out his phone, opening his contacts. tapping zach's name, he presses his phone to his ear, praying his best friend will pick up. and he does.

"what do you want, corbyn?"

zach's voice is sharp and annoyed, and corbyn remembers their fight earlier, immediately having to fight back more tears at the thought.

"um," he chokes, "can you come pick me up? i'm at jonah's office building, but i can't drive."

"corbyn, you have your license. you can drive yourself. or ask your precious boyfriend to drive."

"he's cheating on me," corbyn whispers, and there is dead silence on zach's end. "i walked in on them. i can't ask him to drive me. i don't have enough driving experience to drive in this storm, and my vision is all blurry because i've been crying so hard. and—and you know what happened with my parents, i can't do this, it's like deja vu. zach, i need you."

everything is silent, and for a moment, corbyn allows himself to hope that zach will come rescue him. he imagines zach arriving, and holding him, and reassuring him everything will be okay—

"i'm sorry. i warned you. you wouldn't listen."

and zach hangs up.

corbyn stares at his phone in complete and utter shock. his best friend has just abandoned him, when he needs him the most. what has corbyn done to deserve all this?

he lifts his head to gaze out the windshield and see if the rain has let up at all, his heart anxiously skipping a beat when he sees jonah's familiar silhouette heading for the car.

"no, no, no," corbyn panics, locking the car doors. he frantically swipes his sleeve across his face in an attempt to clear his vision, scrambling to insert the key into the ignition. he doesn't want to drive—not like this, not after what happened, not with how the past likes to repeat itself—but he can't bear the thought of facing jonah right now. the image of jonah fucking that woman is still fresh in his mind, and he stifles a sob, the key finally clicking into place.

there's a knock on the car window, then, and jonah is there, standing in the pouring rain, leaning against the window.

"corbyn, we should talk about this," he calls, and corbyn starts the car. "corbyn, baby, please, it wasn't what it looked like, i love you."

corbyn ignores him, shifting into drive and pulling out of the parking lot. he merges onto the street, into the steady stream of traffic, and sniffles, swiping his sleeve across his face again. god, he's a mess.

his phone rings, and he fumbles for it, accepting the call without checking the caller i.d. and pressing it to his ear.

"hey, corbyn!" daniel says cheerfully. "i was wondering if you wanna come over and hang out at my place tomorrow?"

"this isn't a good time," corbyn responds shakily, braking at an intersection.

"oh, sorry! what's up?"

corbyn bites his lip, not wanting to tell daniel. he checks right and left before accelerating across the street, tears filling his eyes again. "nothing, it's nothing."

"oh.....okay. but if you ever need anyone to talk to, i'm here for you."

the pure care and compassion in daniel's voice pushes corbyn over the edge, and he stifles a sob, wiping his face with his sleeve again.

he never sees the truck swerving into his lane to avoid a pedestrian walking their dog in the rain.

"thanks, daniel, i—"

there's the scream of rubber against wet pavement,

a sickening screech of metal on metal.

then everything goes black.