Chapter 24 Damon – Developmental stages
And where the offense is, let the great axe fall.
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
I stretched out on Cordy’s sofa. What had begun as an act of revenge fraud was now the best relationship I’d had in my life.
The fake dating had given us the perfect soft trial.
We fit together well. She was adventurous and extroverted, and I was more serious.
I wasn't an introvert exactly, but Cordy was more extroverted than I was.
We'd had sex for the first time two weeks ago and hadn't slowed down.
We spent a lot of time at my house, wanting to avoid Harrison as much as possible.
Every now and then, we spent the night at Cordy's so Harrison couldn't claim that she'd legally left.
Cordy was becoming frustrated, and I could tell she was tempted to just throw it all in and declare defeat.
I was supportive of whatever she wanted to do.
If this was affecting her negatively, then I'd support her walking away.
I still considered beating him to make him cough up her share, but Juliet said he was the type to press charges.
I had a clean record and no desire to let that asshole wreck it.
It was a standard lazy Thursday night when Harrison came home later than usual. He was still wearing his blue Walmart vest. Cordy and I were lying on the sofa cuddling and watching a hockey game.
Harrison looked pale and pinched. I finally understood what people meant when they said "long face.
" His face literally looked long, like it had elongated with misery.
He didn't say a word, but it was odd for him to just sit there like that.
Usually, we avoided each other. Emma didn't avoid us anymore, but she hadn't been around for the past few days.
“Okay, I'll bite. What is wrong Harrison?” Cordy said in an exasperated tone that implied she was barely tolerating him.
“Emma left me,” he said, sobbing on the last word. “She met someone else.”
“I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not Harrison. You're big on statistics. Do you know how poor the success rate is for relationships that begin from infidelity? You should have run the numbers before fucking another woman.”
“She left me for fucking Stefan,” he choked out.
“Stefan? The guy with the small hands?” I asked, confused.
“No, he said I had small hands. His hands are normal,” Harrison clarified angrily through his tears. “No, I mean, my hands are normal. He just said they weren't, but they are. Fuck all of this!” He stood, throwing his small hands in the air.
“Well, he is only 19. A way more appropriate match for her,” Cordy pointed out sensibly.
“'m not fucking old, Cordelia,” he bellowed. “She'll come back. He's a laborer for fuck's sake.”
Cordelia laughed. “Keep telling yourself that. She's gone. G.O.N.E. The girl saw the light. Teenagers grow out of stages all the time. I read only yesterday that teens are prone to impulsive love but that it burns out quickly. Don’t you remember your teens, Harrison? Gosh, I fell in and out of love all the time when I was that young.”
Harrison huffed.
“Cordelia, I will give you five thousand dollars to be gone from this house by the weekend.”
“No,” she said simply, not shifting her eyes from the game.
“Six thousand,” he countered.
“No.”
“Ten thousand is my final offer,” he spat out.
“No.”
He roared in frustration and left the room. “Your place tonight?” Cordy asked, kissing my neck.
“Yep, the sad sack is kind of spoiling the vibe here. Plus, Nettie misses you.”
“Let's go,” she said, rubbing her nose into my neck.
After nearly an hour of mind-blowing sex, we were resting in our favorite position: me on my back with my arm around a curled-up Cordelia, who was nestled against my side with her head on my chest.
“Still wanna throw in the towel?” I asked.
“Not now. Apparently, negotiations have begun,” she said victoriously.