V
AN: So, I was listening to the new Maroon 5 album, "V", and two songs kind of jumped out at me (other than "Maps" and "Animals", that is). I thought they'd work well together as a "Part 1/Part 2" thing, so this is going to be a short 2-chapter story based on those two songs. Here's part 1.
V part 1- In Your Pocket
Say what you're mad at me for, me for
Yeah why you talk that evil, yeah
That's not the way you show love, show love
No love, no love, no no
Say what you're crying at me for, me for
Try to control your ego, yeah
That's not the way you show love, show love
No love, no love, no no
...
"What the hell are you yelling at me for?" Beca shouted at Chloe, who scoffed.
"Don't you dare play dumb with me, Rebecca Mitchell!" She retorted. "I saw you, okay?! I saw you draping yourself all over that bitch at the club last night!"
"What are you talking about?! Stacie?! Dude, I had a bit too much to drink during my shift, and she was helping me out! Guys and girls were buying me drinks all night, and it's kind of rude to refuse."
"Really?" Chloe asked, not believing Beca. "Then why have you been calling Stacie for hours at a time every day before you go to work, when I'm at the hospital, huh?"
"Because she's my friend, and that's the only time I have available to talk to her! Even when we're at work, she's always bringing people their drinks or helping at the bar. The only time we're even within ten feet of each other is if someone asks her to bring me a drink they bought me, or if I get so many drinks bought for me I end up falling out of my booth, like last night!" Then, a thought occurred to Beca. "Wait, how did you even know that I've been calling her? Have you been spying on me?!"
Chloe set her jaw and looked away.
"Oh my god! What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't look through other peoples' phones!"
"You didn't have a problem with me barging into your shower, back in college." Chloe pointed out. "So why your phone? Huh? You hiding something in there?"
"No!" Beca shouts, enraged. "And for the record, I did have a problem with some girl whose name I didn't even know barging into my shower, nude! It was just a little hard to voice my complaints when your junk was in my face!"
'Cause I got all the things I wanna say
But nothing's coming out
And all the times I came to you
But never ever lied
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
So wait you think that I don't know what this is really all about
It should be really easy
If you have nothing to hide
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
...
They were silent for the longest time, neither of them knowing what to say, both of them stewing in their anger. Beca glared at Chloe in anger, but Chloe refused to look at Beca. No, she couldn't look at Beca. And that's when it hit Beca, why Chloe was suddenly accusing her of cheating. She needed Beca to be bad so she'd feel better about herself, then she could forgive herself.
"I've never lied to you, Chloe." Beca said through gritted teeth, hands clenching into fists. "Never. Not even during that trip to Vegas, when I gambled away over five thousand dollars at Blackjack. Even then, I told you the truth. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would never have done anything to ruin what we had." Chloe noticed Beca was speaking in the past tense, and she panicked.
"Beca, I never said I wanted to break up, just that-"
"Shut up, Chloe." Beca said calmly, and her calmness as she said that startled Chloe into silence. "Like I was saying, I've never once lied to you. Big or little, I've always told you the truth. But what about you?"
"Beca-"
"What about you, Chloe? What's on your phone? Huh?" Beca held her hand out for Chloe's phone, and as she expected, Chloe recoiled away from her. "Come on, hand your phone to me. If you're allowed to look through my phone whenever you want, then yours must be fair game, too."
"But... you just made this big deal about me going through your phone. If... If you take mine, that would make you a hypocrite."
"Then I'm a hypocrite. Give me your phone, Chloe. Unless you're hiding something." Beca growled, her anger growing.
"Beca, I'm sorry I looked through your phone, I should have asked first."
"No, you just shouldn't have done it in the first place, give me your phone!"
"I'm sorry, Beca, please, just, let's forget about all of this. I believe you, you're not cheating, and I'm sorry for thinking you were, I'm just the jealous girlfriend type and-"
"Who is it, Chloe?" Beca asked, putting her hand down.
"What?"
"WHO THE HELL IS IT?!" Beca screamed, causing Chloe to flinch and take a step backward. They were both letting their tears fall like waterfalls now. "HUH?! IS IT AUBREY?! IS IT THAT BITCH SECRETARY AT THE HOSPITAL WHO'S ALWAYS STARING AT YOUR ASS?! OR ARE YOU FUCKING THAT WAITRESS THAT'S ALWAYS FLIRTING WITH YOU, EVEN IF I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU?! TELL ME!"
"I-I-I..."
"COME ON, CHLOE! IF YOU'RE NOT HIDING ANYTHING, THEN WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME THE PHONE?!"
So what you're spying on me for, me for
Tell me what you're looking for, yeah
This shit you're saying is so low, so low
No love, no love, no no
But tell me where do you go, you go
When you say you need time alone, yeah
You really think I don't know, don't know
I know, I know, I know
...
Beca took a deep breath to calm herself down. No matter how angry she got, she didn't like yelling at Chloe. "Tell me, Chloe. Where do you really go when you say you need some alone time? I know you're not really going to the Library. Is it Aubrey's place? That's it, isn't it? You're out there fucking Aubrey when you're not faking it with me. I just don't do it for you anymore, do I?" She choked out. "I'm not stupid, Chloe. I haven't really excited you like I used to in months. Does she do it? Does she get you worked up? Does she make you scream for real?"
"It... It's not Aubrey, Beca." Chloe whispered. "It... It's Tom."
Beca couldn't help herself now. Her voice shot up above what it had been before in volume. "TOM?! THAT ASSHOLE WHO WALKED INTO MY SHOWER RIGHT AFTER YOU?! THE SAME ASSHOLE WHO WAS BEATING YOU BLACK AND BLUE FOR MONTHS BEFORE I GOT YOU TO DUMP HIM?!"
Chloe nodded in shame. "He... He's better now, Beca. He got help. He can control his anger now."
Beca felt like she'd been hit in the stomach. "Is... Is... It that all... all this was?" She asked softly, gesturing between them. "Was I... Was I just keeping you busy until you could run back to him? Was I just your way of dealing with boredom?"
Chloe whimpered. "At... At first... yes..." She admitted, tears coming back with a vengeance. Beca turned to walk away, afraid she'd end up hurting Chloe physically if she kept looking at her, but Chloe grabbed Beca's arm and turned her to face her. "But that changed, Beca! It changed! I fell in love with you for real! Please, just give me another chance! I choose you, Beca! Please, I choose you! Tom doesn't matter to me anymore! It's all about you, I'll prove it!"
"Obviously, he does still matter." Beca whispered, looking down and off to the side so she wouldn't have to look at Chloe. "Obviously, he does still matter to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone off and fucked him when you were supposed to be with me."
"Please, Beca! I choose you!" Chloe sobbed, hugging Beca tightly.
Beca didn't move. She didn't have the strength to push Chloe away. But her words did it for her, anyway. "You don't get a choice anymore. You had a choice every time you went off and slept with your abusive ex-boyfriend. You had a choice then, and you made it. You don't get a choice this time. This time, it's my choice, and I don't choose you."
Chloe slumped to the ground, sobbing, her pleas for Beca's forgiveness incoherent.
'Cause I got all the things I wanna say
But nothing's coming out
And all the times I came to you
But never ever lied
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
So wait you think that I don't know what this is really all about
It should be really easy
If you have nothing to hide
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Yeah
I can't believe you looked me in the eye
And said to me you had nothing to hide
Yeah
Now you're dead to me, this really is goodbye, goodbye
...
Beca stepped back and turned away. "You lied to me, Chloe. That's the worst part. It's bad enough that you did it. But you lied about it. If it was just once... I don't even know how many times it was, but something tells me it wasn't just once. But if it had only happened once, and you'd told me about it, I might believe you actually want me to forgive you. But you lied to me."
"Please... I'm... Sorry..." Chloe said between sobs.
"Sorry you got caught, you mean. This is it, Chloe. This is goodbye. I'm walking out the door now, and I don't ever want to see your face again."
'Cause I got all the things I wanna say
But nothing's coming out
And all the times I came to you
But never ever lied
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
So wait you think that I don't know what this is really all about
It should be really easy
If you have nothing to hide
Show me that phone in your pocket, girl
Show me that phone in your pocket
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
I'll show you mine
Show me that phone in your pocket
...
Chloe watched as Beca walked out the door, closing it calmly behind her. As soon as she heard Beca's car drive away, she curled up in the fetal position on the floor and cried until she passed out, and she knew that Beca wasn't coming back. There had been nothing but utter sincerity in Beca's eyes or voice.
