Claiming What’s His Novel – I heard something from inside the room and froze, holding my breath as I tried to hear better. I pressed my ear to the door but couldn’t make it out. So I forced myself to quietly turn the knob and I pushed the door open. “I bet I’m so much better than her.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere, even before my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the master bedroom of this mansion; I knew who it was. It was Sarah, my best friend. This couldn’t be happening. “Admit it, I feel better on your c-ck than Cora does. Why else would you keep coming back to f-ck me like this, rough and needy.” Boiling rage filled my heart as I stepped into the room and saw Mav’s back. He had Sarah in his arms, pinned between him and the wall with his pants down around his thighs as he thrust into her. Her legs were wrapped around his hips and her blood red nails were clawing at his b-re muscled back while he f-cked her. The second his blue eyes locked on mine I knew I’d never be the same. I turned and walked away. I was never going to be the same again.
I was going to be late. On my very first day, I was going to be late! I stepped away from the wall and the doorman smiled at me and opened the door wide as I walked in. But I couldn’t even breathe. Because the enigma that ruled the multibillion-dollar company and thousands of people inside of this amazing skyscraper, was the boy that had destroyed me three days after high school graduation. “Cora.” He whispered, grimacing at me as I fought to remain standing upright. “Mav?” I walked into the party just after midnight and cursed the whole night in my head. I walked through the living room first and tried to ignore the multiple people f-cking in a giant orgy on a vintage Henry Bogs ornate carpet. I clenched my fists at my sides as I avoided bodies and ignored people who called out to me as I searched for Mav. He wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight and that’s what pissed me off even more than having to actually come here looking for him.
He told me he was staying home, and that he wanted a quiet night alone. And then his mom called me and asked if he was staying at my house or coming home after our movie night tonight and I did what I hated the most, I lied. I told her he was staying with me and then I’d gotten dressed and drove all the way across town to find him at the biggest party going on tonight. We graduated three days ago, and he had been on a bender for about two months straight already, leaving me unsure if he was even going to survive long enough to go off to college with me in the fall. He needed to take a d-mn break from all of this, or he was going to end up like –. I couldn’t even bring myself to say his name in my head; I’d break down and start crying if I did and I had something important to do right now, so I needed to focus. I could not cry. I saw Tim and Josh playing pong in the kitchen with a couple of n-ked girls from school and forced myself to walk in. I hated this rich kid lifestyle, even though I was a rich kid. “Hey Cora kitty. I didn’t think you were coming out tonight.”
Josh, one of Mav’s best friends said to me as he threw a ball across the table and directly into a cup held between a girl’s t-ts. I didn’t recognize her, though if she had clothes on, maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn’t, I tried to distance myself from these people at all costs usually. “I didn’t want to come here tonight, but Marsha called me and was looking for Mav. Is he here?” I asked. Josh looked at me really quick and then over at Tim before letting his eyes fall back on me quickly. Red flag number one. “Uh yeah I think I saw him earlier, he might have left though, I haven’t seen him in a while.” He said, unable to meet my eyes. Red flag two. “Be straight with me Josh. I just want to make sure he gets home safe.” Unease filled my stomach as I looked between Maverick’s friends while they contemplated telling me something. Finally, Tim sighed and looked at me straight, “He went upstairs about a half-hour ago.” He didn’t say anything else, and I guess he didn’t have to. I already knew what he wasn’t saying. “He wasn’t alone was he?” I asked, clenching my teeth together to keep from screaming. He just shook his head no. “Thanks.” I said and turned towards the stairs.
With every step that I took up them, I thought back to our ten-year relationship and all of the good things we’d shared through each of those years. Everyone always called us crazy when they heard we’d been together since we were eight and that we were going to college together and had our whole life planned. But for us, it was easy because it was what we wanted most. We’d been best friends since kindergarten when Maverick pushed JJ Lane off the swing set for tripping me to get to it first at recess. After that, we were two peas in a pod. He was always a big kid, tall and wide and intimidating, with a crazy amount of money and power from his parents which left him untouchable, even at a young age. And he’d taken me into his world and protected me ever since that. He k-ssed me on the cheek on that same swing set two years later and asked me to marry him. He had given me a ring pop and everything. We made it official; and we’d been inseparable since then.
Or at least, we had been until his twin brother was killed by a drunk driver two months ago and his world had imploded right around him. I had felt us drifting apart the last few weeks and deep down I’d known this night was coming. I’d been holding onto him longer when I had him, which had been less and less as his broken heart left him incapable of loving me the same way he used to. He kept me at arm’s length like he was afraid his own pain and rage would rub off on me somehow. My heart ached with each bedroom door that I passed, unable to make myself turn a single knob until I stood outside of the last door in the hallway and felt a tear slide over my cheek. I swiped at it quickly and looked around to make sure no one saw me standing here crying. I didn’t want anyone to witness my destruction. I heard something from inside the room and froze, holding my breath as I tried to hear better. I pressed my ear to the door but couldn’t make it out.
So I forced myself to quietly turn the knob and I pushed the door open. “I bet I’m so much better than her.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere, even before my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the master bedroom of this mansion; I knew who it was. It was Sarah, my best friend. This couldn’t be happening. “Shut up.” Maverick replied, I could tell without even seeing his face that his teeth were clenched while he spoke. “Admit it, I feel better on your c-ck than Cora does. Why else would you keep coming back to f-ck me like this, rough and needy.” Boiling rage filled my heart as I stepped into the room and saw Mav’s back. He had Sarah in his arms, pinned between him and the wall with his pants down around his thighs as he thrust into her. Her legs were wrapped around his hips and her blood red nails were clawing at his b-re muscled back while he f-cked her. “I said shut up, or I’m going to find someone else to f-ck.” He swore.
A part of my heart broke inside of my chest in a way that I’d never experienced before. It felt like a physical part of me broke, even as I stood still and knew I was still intact. Sarah’s eyes opened and her drunk and bleary eyes focused on me over his shoulder and a sinister smile pulled her lips back while my boyfriend of over a decade railed her into the wall. “Come deep inside of me baby. You know how I like it.” She purred into his ear, and he grunted. I watched in horror as he did just that. His hips jerked wildly for a few seconds before he stilled and rested his forehead against the wall while he caught his breath. He stepped back and dropped Sarah to the ground on her own feet, in a cold uncaring way that was so uncharacteristic of him. When he pulled up his shorts and buttoned them, he saw that she still stared past him with that sick smile on her face and he turned to look over his shoulder towards the door. The second his blue eyes locked on mine I knew I’d never be the same.
Seeing the person you love more than your own life, destroy your heart so carelessly, just did something to your soul. The pain was no longer physical, because it ran deeper than that. “Cora.” He whispered, taking a step towards me but I shook my head as more tears fell over my lashes. “Don’t.” I said back to him. The pain on his face resembled the look he’d given to me as we listened to his father tell us that his brother Luke had been killed in that crash. It had destroyed him that night and I recognized his pain now, because I felt that it in my own heart. “Well it’s about time she found out.” Sarah said with a level of sneer I’d only ever seen her aim at her enemies. “Shut the f-ck up.” Mav commanded and stepped towards me again. I turned and slowly walked from the room and towards the stairs, as my world began crumbling around me. I didn’t run, because I knew he’d chase me and it’d make a scene, which was the last thing his family needed right now.
I felt him following me as I left the party, silent but close behind me, like he always did when he was protecting me from drunk losers at raging parties like this one. But I had never expected to need protection from him before. People called out to us as we walked out the front door, but we ignored everyone. I took my keys from my pocket and headed down the sidewalk towards my car. “Please just wait.” He said, putting his hand on my arm. I ripped my arm away from him and the burn his skin left on me as I stopped walking. “Please don’t touch me.” I begged, on the edge of losing it. “I’m so sorry Cora.” His sad eyes tried to get me to look at him, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to remember him like this. “Can I go now?” I asked, bringing my knuckles to my lips to keep from crying out in agony. “Just let me explain. Let me make it better baby. I’m so sorry.
She doesn’t mean anything; it was just a mistake.” “I don’t want to know anything more Mav.” I said, shaking my head and backing up further, “Please just let me go.” “Let me drive you home. I need to be with you right now. Please.” He begged in a gutted voice that finally brought my eyes to his. I shook my head. “You could have been with me earlier Maverick! But you lied and said you wanted to be alone but that was all just a lie of a selfish cheater so he could get what he really wanted, which wasn’t me. I don’t want to know anything else. I don’t want to hear another word about what you’ve done or with who. What I already know is too much, I won’t survive anymore.” His eyes were wild as he frantically tried to reason with me. It was the first time I’d seen any real emotion in his eyes in months, and it destroyed me.
“Okay. Then I won’t talk but let me be near you! Let me drive you home, you’re too upset to drive. I’ll stay with you; I’ll sleep on the floor and then tomorrow maybe we can talk, and I can apologize. I can fix this if you let me. I’ll never even look at anyone else, I don’t even know why I did this. It’s always only been you that I see, I’m sorry I deceived you Cora, you know how f-cked up I am right now! I’m just f-cked!” “I’m done Mav.” I whispered and took another step back. Pain wracked my chest, and I placed my palm flat to my sternum, trying to sooth the ache there. I was so close to losing it all right here, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let anyone see me break. Valentine’s didn’t break in public. “No!” He barked out, stepping towards me, and pulling me into his chest. “No, don’t say that! I’ve been f-cked in the head, and I’m spiraling and I’m sorry.
You deserve so much better than this, I know that. I just didn’t know how to cope, and I f-cked up! Please help me, Cora. I need your help.” “I can’t.” I whispered as I shook my head. “I’ve given myself to you for ten years and in the last two months I’ve watched you destroy yourself and now you’ve destroyed us. And I can’t stick around for anymore, or you’ll destroy me too. I have to walk away while I still can.” “Please baby.” He begged, leaning down and resting his forehead on mine. I pushed him away, smelling her on his skin as a sob ripped from my chest. “I love you Maverick. But I have to find a way to love myself more.” “I love you more than myself Cora! I see that now, please just give me a chance. I did this because I was trying to protect you from me! From this pain! Ten years has to mean something to you, it has to prove to you that I’m worth a second chance.” “Protect me?” I yelled, “I don’t want to ever feel like this ever again Maverick.”
Tears poured down my face freely as I shook my head back and forth, clutching my keys like a lifeline. “And if I stay you’ll do it to me again. I know this wasn’t the first time you’ve done it and I’m sure she’s not the only one you’ve done it with either. I can’t compete with them because you and I are no longer on level ground. I’ve only been with you. You were supposed to be my only.” “I am your only. Please don’t do this.” His voice was a mere whisper as tears fell from his lashes. But I took a step back, and then another. “Not anymore. I used to feel safe in your arms, I used to only be able to fall asleep peacefully when you held me and I ached for you when we were apart, but it was never the same for you. You never needed me like I needed you! You’ve never survived simply because I did, like I do with you every single day.”
My voice was so detached and didn’t sound like me at all as I severed a part of my body off right in the middle of the street and walked away from it. “Get yourself home in one piece. Your mother won’t survive burying another son.” I turned and walked away from him towards my car. I got in and locked the door, forcing myself to pull out onto the street and away from him where he stood on the sidewalk, unmoving as he crumbled. As I pulled away I looked in my rearview mirror and watched him get smaller as I drove out of his life. His shoulders were slumped, and his strong personality was broken there inside of him. Just like my soul. I was never going to be the same again. And either would he.
I was going to be late. On my very first day, I was going to be late! I stepped away from the wall and the doorman smiled at me and opened the door wide as I walked in. But I couldn’t even breathe. Because the enigma that ruled the multibillion-dollar company and thousands of people inside of this amazing skyscraper, was the boy that had destroyed me three days after high school graduation. “Cora.” He whispered, grimacing at me as I fought to remain standing upright. “Mav?”