Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner
X
Johnny
I stormed into Zacky’s house, still tightly clutching the ring box in my hand. Zacky stared up at me from the couch, a beer bottle clutched in his hand.
“What the hell is your problem, dude?”, Zacky asked incredulously, swigging the rest of his beer. I threw the ring box at him, hard, and he opened it. He looked it over. “You proposed? What happened, did she say no?”
“She cheated on me.”, I mumbled.
“She WHAT?”, Zacky exclaimed. “She cheated on you? As in fucked around?”
“YES!”, I howled. “I caught her in bed...our bed, Zack...with another man.”
“Well, maybe it was an accident.”, Zacky supplied.
“An accident?”, I growled, pacing the floor. “How the hell do you sleep with someone on accident?”
“Maybe she was drunk.”
Drunk...Hey, I’ve done it before.
“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forgive her.”, I added quietly.
Zacky shot up off the couch and stood in front of me, blocking my path. “Dude, don’t say that! You love this girl! Are you really telling me you’re going to give up on everything just because she made one little mistake?”
“One little mistake?”, I repeated. “What she did was more than one little fucking mistake. She fucked around on me. You don’t know how much that hurts, Zacky.”
Zacky’s expression instantly hardened. “I don’t know? Really? Have you completely forgotten about Gena? Or are you just an idiot?”
“Zack, I-”, I started, but I was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“What the fuck...?”, Zacky mumbled to himself as he threw open his front door.
Standing in the door were two girls with extremely worried looks on their faces. “Hello.”, one of them said. “Is Johnny here?”
“Why, hello there.”, Zacky said, his usual crooked grin appearing on his face. “Yea, he’s here. But-”
Zacky was silenced as both girls shoved past him. “Are you Johnny?” The blonde one pointed at me. I nodded my head and she continued. “I’m Callie, and this is Emmy. Um, do you know where Hayliee is?”
I felt the sting of fury in my stomach and the burn of tears in my eyes simultaneously at the sound of her name. “No.”, I whispered.
“Well, we haven’t seen her in like, four hours.”, Callie stated. “Right, Emmy?” A pause. “Emmy?”
“Oh.” Emmy turned away from flirting with Zacky to focus on us. “Right. Yea, we haven’t seen her in four hours. We’re getting worried.”
I laughed sarcastically. “Why should I care? She cheated on me, I don’t care about her anymore.”
“You know she’s depressed, right?”, Callie snapped.
“So?”, I scoffed. “Like I said, I don’t care.”
“Harsh.”, I heard Zacky mumble.
“And suicidal.”
That caught my attention. “What?”
“Yea.”, Callie started. “She’s been depressed since we were thirteen, but nobody knew until we were fifteen.”
“What happened when you were fifteen?”, Zacky asked nervously.
“She tried to kill herself.”, Callie continue. “She slit her wrists. We were so scared, because she was so pale. We thought she was going to die.”
“Afterwards, she was in therapy for a long time.”, Emmy jumped in. “When she came back, she seemed happy, so we never talked about it again.”
“A-And you think s-she might try it again?”, I stammered.
“I don’t know, maybe.”, Callie said, unsure. “When she does something wrong, she really beats herself up about it.”
“Plus she’s drunk.”, Zacky added.
“We have to go find her before she does something stupid.”, I shouted.
. . .
Hayliee
I walked drunkenly along the side of the street, slowly straying to the middle of the road. A car honked loudly behind me and I immediately scooted over.
“Stay out of the road, you drunk!”, someone called out the window as the car drove by. I lazily waved them off.
Suddenly, I felt the urge to scream. So, I threw back my head and just screamed at the top of my lungs. “God, Hayliee, you are such an idiot.”, I mumbled. “How could you fuck around on Johnny? He’s the best thing that ever happened to you!”
Oh great. Now I’m talking to myself.
I came up to a building, and an idea popped into my head. I walked inside and took the elevator to the roof. Pushing open the door, I was hit with a gust of cold air. I walked over to the edge and peered over the ledge. A sheer fall, thirty floors below to the pavement.
“If I can’t have Johnny,”, I whispered. “I don’t want to live.”
. . .
Johnny
“Thank you. Thanks so much.” I turned away from the man and rushed back to Emmy, Callie, and Zacky. “That guy said she went into that building.” I pointed at a tall, brick building.
Callie stared up at it. “Damn, that building must be thirty stories high.” She gasped. “Holy shit. You don’t think she’d...jump off, do you?”
“We have to get to the roof!”, I shouted.
“Dude, calm down!”, Zacky exclaimed. “We’ll get to her.”
“Then let’s go!”, I exclaimed. I started heading towards the building, not caring if they were following me or not.
I started trudging up the stairs when I heard Zacky call out, “Dude, let’s take the elevator! It’ll be faster.”
I quickly rushed over and joined them on the elevator. I twitched nervously on the way up. “God, Zack, what if something happens to her? I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.”
“Johnny,”, Zacky started. “We’re here. Go get her.”
. . .
Hayliee
I slumped against the door, shivering from a combination of cold and fear. “Come on, Hayliee. Don’t be scared.”, I told myself. “All you have to do is jump off the top of a thirty story building. Piece of cake.”
Suddenly, I felt the door shake behind me. Someone rattled the handled and slammed against the door. “Hayliee? Hayliee, open the door right now.”
“Go away, Callie.”, I yelled.
Someone tried to push open the door. “Please, Hayliee.”, Emmy pleaded. “Just open the door.”
“No!”, I screamed. “Leave me alone. Let me die. I just want to die!”
The next voice I heard made my heart skip a beat. “Hayliee, baby, please open the door.”, Johnny yelled through the door.
“Johnny? Johnny, baby, I am so sorry.”, I sobbed. “I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s okay, baby.”, he cooed. “Just open the door.” I slowly reached up and unlocked the door. Instantly, the door flew out from behind me and Johnny scooped me into his shaking arms. “Oh God, Hayliee, do you know how scared I was?”, he whispered into my ear. “I-I thought I lost you.”
“I was just upset. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”, I explained. “I felt like I couldn’t live without you.”
“I feel the same way.” Johnny suddenly pulled away from me. “Baby, there’s something I want to ask you. Zacky, do you still have...the thing?”
“Oh, yea.”, Zacky mumbled. He rummaged through his pockets and handed Johnny a small black box.
“Baby, I love you. No matter what happens, I will always love you. Today had taught me something very important. I can’t live without you. More importantly, I don’t want to live without you. I love you, forever and always.” He paused and took a deep breath, kneeling in front of me. “Hayliee Raeann Johnson, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”
“Oh Johnny...yes...yes...yes...a million times yes!” I embraced Johnny tightly. He pulled away, grinning, and kissed me. I tried to tug away, but Johnny dragged me closer, kissing me harder.
Next to us, Zacky coughed, and we jerked apart. “Okay, you two.”, he mumbled. “Let’s save some of that for the honeymoon.” Johnny leaned in to kiss me again, ignoring Zacky. I started to pull away, but realized I didn’t want to. I placed my hands on the back of Johnny’s neck and dragged him closer. “Ugh, I’m going to barf!”, Zacky shouted.
“No one said you had to watch, Zack.”, Johnny replied, his lips grazing mine as he spoke.
“I think it’s sweet.”, Emmy whispered, not taking her eyes off of Zacky.
“Yea, well you don’t have to watch them dry-fuck twenty-four seven.”, Zacky grumbled, not noticing.
Johnny flipped him off and slinked his arms around my waist. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you home and out of that dress.”, he cooed seductively in my ear.
“You are such a perv.”, I whispered.
“Yea, but you love me anyways.”, he pouted. I nodded my head, and Johnny leaned in to kiss me again. “I love you, baby. And I always will.”
I stormed into Zacky’s house, still tightly clutching the ring box in my hand. Zacky stared up at me from the couch, a beer bottle clutched in his hand.
“What the hell is your problem, dude?”, Zacky asked incredulously, swigging the rest of his beer. I threw the ring box at him, hard, and he opened it. He looked it over. “You proposed? What happened, did she say no?”
“She cheated on me.”, I mumbled.
“She WHAT?”, Zacky exclaimed. “She cheated on you? As in fucked around?”
“YES!”, I howled. “I caught her in bed...our bed, Zack...with another man.”
“Well, maybe it was an accident.”, Zacky supplied.
“An accident?”, I growled, pacing the floor. “How the hell do you sleep with someone on accident?”
“Maybe she was drunk.”
Drunk...Hey, I’ve done it before.
“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forgive her.”, I added quietly.
Zacky shot up off the couch and stood in front of me, blocking my path. “Dude, don’t say that! You love this girl! Are you really telling me you’re going to give up on everything just because she made one little mistake?”
“One little mistake?”, I repeated. “What she did was more than one little fucking mistake. She fucked around on me. You don’t know how much that hurts, Zacky.”
Zacky’s expression instantly hardened. “I don’t know? Really? Have you completely forgotten about Gena? Or are you just an idiot?”
“Zack, I-”, I started, but I was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“What the fuck...?”, Zacky mumbled to himself as he threw open his front door.
Standing in the door were two girls with extremely worried looks on their faces. “Hello.”, one of them said. “Is Johnny here?”
“Why, hello there.”, Zacky said, his usual crooked grin appearing on his face. “Yea, he’s here. But-”
Zacky was silenced as both girls shoved past him. “Are you Johnny?” The blonde one pointed at me. I nodded my head and she continued. “I’m Callie, and this is Emmy. Um, do you know where Hayliee is?”
I felt the sting of fury in my stomach and the burn of tears in my eyes simultaneously at the sound of her name. “No.”, I whispered.
“Well, we haven’t seen her in like, four hours.”, Callie stated. “Right, Emmy?” A pause. “Emmy?”
“Oh.” Emmy turned away from flirting with Zacky to focus on us. “Right. Yea, we haven’t seen her in four hours. We’re getting worried.”
I laughed sarcastically. “Why should I care? She cheated on me, I don’t care about her anymore.”
“You know she’s depressed, right?”, Callie snapped.
“So?”, I scoffed. “Like I said, I don’t care.”
“Harsh.”, I heard Zacky mumble.
“And suicidal.”
That caught my attention. “What?”
“Yea.”, Callie started. “She’s been depressed since we were thirteen, but nobody knew until we were fifteen.”
“What happened when you were fifteen?”, Zacky asked nervously.
“She tried to kill herself.”, Callie continue. “She slit her wrists. We were so scared, because she was so pale. We thought she was going to die.”
“Afterwards, she was in therapy for a long time.”, Emmy jumped in. “When she came back, she seemed happy, so we never talked about it again.”
“A-And you think s-she might try it again?”, I stammered.
“I don’t know, maybe.”, Callie said, unsure. “When she does something wrong, she really beats herself up about it.”
“Plus she’s drunk.”, Zacky added.
“We have to go find her before she does something stupid.”, I shouted.
. . .
Hayliee
I walked drunkenly along the side of the street, slowly straying to the middle of the road. A car honked loudly behind me and I immediately scooted over.
“Stay out of the road, you drunk!”, someone called out the window as the car drove by. I lazily waved them off.
Suddenly, I felt the urge to scream. So, I threw back my head and just screamed at the top of my lungs. “God, Hayliee, you are such an idiot.”, I mumbled. “How could you fuck around on Johnny? He’s the best thing that ever happened to you!”
Oh great. Now I’m talking to myself.
I came up to a building, and an idea popped into my head. I walked inside and took the elevator to the roof. Pushing open the door, I was hit with a gust of cold air. I walked over to the edge and peered over the ledge. A sheer fall, thirty floors below to the pavement.
“If I can’t have Johnny,”, I whispered. “I don’t want to live.”
. . .
Johnny
“Thank you. Thanks so much.” I turned away from the man and rushed back to Emmy, Callie, and Zacky. “That guy said she went into that building.” I pointed at a tall, brick building.
Callie stared up at it. “Damn, that building must be thirty stories high.” She gasped. “Holy shit. You don’t think she’d...jump off, do you?”
“We have to get to the roof!”, I shouted.
“Dude, calm down!”, Zacky exclaimed. “We’ll get to her.”
“Then let’s go!”, I exclaimed. I started heading towards the building, not caring if they were following me or not.
I started trudging up the stairs when I heard Zacky call out, “Dude, let’s take the elevator! It’ll be faster.”
I quickly rushed over and joined them on the elevator. I twitched nervously on the way up. “God, Zack, what if something happens to her? I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her.”
“Johnny,”, Zacky started. “We’re here. Go get her.”
. . .
Hayliee
I slumped against the door, shivering from a combination of cold and fear. “Come on, Hayliee. Don’t be scared.”, I told myself. “All you have to do is jump off the top of a thirty story building. Piece of cake.”
Suddenly, I felt the door shake behind me. Someone rattled the handled and slammed against the door. “Hayliee? Hayliee, open the door right now.”
“Go away, Callie.”, I yelled.
Someone tried to push open the door. “Please, Hayliee.”, Emmy pleaded. “Just open the door.”
“No!”, I screamed. “Leave me alone. Let me die. I just want to die!”
The next voice I heard made my heart skip a beat. “Hayliee, baby, please open the door.”, Johnny yelled through the door.
“Johnny? Johnny, baby, I am so sorry.”, I sobbed. “I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s okay, baby.”, he cooed. “Just open the door.” I slowly reached up and unlocked the door. Instantly, the door flew out from behind me and Johnny scooped me into his shaking arms. “Oh God, Hayliee, do you know how scared I was?”, he whispered into my ear. “I-I thought I lost you.”
“I was just upset. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”, I explained. “I felt like I couldn’t live without you.”
“I feel the same way.” Johnny suddenly pulled away from me. “Baby, there’s something I want to ask you. Zacky, do you still have...the thing?”
“Oh, yea.”, Zacky mumbled. He rummaged through his pockets and handed Johnny a small black box.
“Baby, I love you. No matter what happens, I will always love you. Today had taught me something very important. I can’t live without you. More importantly, I don’t want to live without you. I love you, forever and always.” He paused and took a deep breath, kneeling in front of me. “Hayliee Raeann Johnson, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”
“Oh Johnny...yes...yes...yes...a million times yes!” I embraced Johnny tightly. He pulled away, grinning, and kissed me. I tried to tug away, but Johnny dragged me closer, kissing me harder.
Next to us, Zacky coughed, and we jerked apart. “Okay, you two.”, he mumbled. “Let’s save some of that for the honeymoon.” Johnny leaned in to kiss me again, ignoring Zacky. I started to pull away, but realized I didn’t want to. I placed my hands on the back of Johnny’s neck and dragged him closer. “Ugh, I’m going to barf!”, Zacky shouted.
“No one said you had to watch, Zack.”, Johnny replied, his lips grazing mine as he spoke.
“I think it’s sweet.”, Emmy whispered, not taking her eyes off of Zacky.
“Yea, well you don’t have to watch them dry-fuck twenty-four seven.”, Zacky grumbled, not noticing.
Johnny flipped him off and slinked his arms around my waist. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you home and out of that dress.”, he cooed seductively in my ear.
“You are such a perv.”, I whispered.
“Yea, but you love me anyways.”, he pouted. I nodded my head, and Johnny leaned in to kiss me again. “I love you, baby. And I always will.”