Under Pressure.
chapter ten , Muppet's Tee
a/n : season two! Let's get the ball rolling 💃🏾
Also, don't be afraid to comment! You have no idea how much motivation that gives me ❤️
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The kitchen was crowded with the Sharpe family moving around and cooking. "I don't understand—I just don't!"
Emery lets out a heartfelt laugh, "M-Mom!" She cuts the onions. "It's simple, really. I like French Fries, but Mash Potatoes are just..." she shudders. "I don't like them!"
"They're both potatoes!" Amaya states, looking at her big sister. She continues to mix the ground beef with her hands.
"One is absolutely putty—"
"No, not putty—Elijah, tell her!" Amara looks at her husband.
"Yeah, dad, tell me how insane I am over this whole ordeal." Emery looks at her father with her head tilted to one side and her brow arched.
Elijah looks up from cracking the eggs. He raises his brows. "Oh, well, uh...Emerson has always had a texture problem."
"Like peas!" Emerson exclaims. "I hate peas!"
The family stops what they were doing and thinks. "I can understand peas." Amara nods her head.
Elijah shrugs a shoulder, "There's a reason why I never cooked them."
Amaya wrinkles her nose, "Yeah, they're so mushy like—"
"Mashed Potatoes!" Emery holds her hands up.
They all look at Emerson and raise their brows.
"Ohhhhhhh..."
Emerson then falls to her knees dramatically and holds her hands to the ceiling. "Thank you." She softly speaks, glad that her family understands her.
Amaya let's out a laugh which causes of chain of laughter to ring off in the kitchen.
Emery smiles softly and goes back to kneading the dough. The Sharpe family was always built on perfection. And ever since they have all been on good terms they have been putting their perfectionism to good use. They all decided for their Sunday dinners, they would each cook something for dinner. Tonight they were making burgers from scratch.
A knock is heard at the door and Emery's smile lessens. Nerves settle into her stomach and she inhales a deep breath. Emery wipes her hands clean and makes her way through her apartment. She gets to the door and her hands hovers over the doorknob. Emery keeps her eyes on the door and swallows. She has been dreading this day and she hated that.
Emery hated dreading things, especially when it came to someone she cared about.
Emerson opens the door, revealing her estranged boyfriend. "Will, hey."
William presses his lips into a small smile. A silence settles between them and for a moment, William forgot that they were dating. Emery had that same thought too. But neither of them admitted it. He inhales a breath and takes his hands away from behind his back. "Here you go." He holds it out to her.
Emery looks down at the wine bottle and she raises her brows. "Thanks, still cold."
"Yeah, of course it is." William gives her a chaste kiss on the cheek before walking into the apartment. Emery tilts her head to the ceiling with frustration that this was even happening.
William and Emery's relationship never got back to the way that it was after that stupid argument over the toothbrush. William realized that if Emery was going to blow up about a small thing like a toothbrush, then what was going to stop her from blowing up over an actual argument between them. Now, the couple just started having arguments over the smallest things. "Why did you leave the beer out?" Or "Were you even listening to what I said?"
But then a question came up that Emery couldn't even register in her head.
Flashback
"Hey, can we...move this picture somewhere else?"
Emery looks over at William and knits her brows together. "If it's my Anakin Skywalker poster, I've already told you, he will forever and always have a place in my..." she trails off her sentence when she sees William looking at the picture of her and Helena.
Helena had her lips pressed against Emerson's cheek. Emery's eyes were closed but she had such a hearty smile. It would make anyone smile just looking at it. Well, everyone but William.
Emery swallows and she slips her graphic tee on. "Wh-what?" She makes her way over to him. "Why would you—"
"I'm not telling you to destroy it, I'm just saying to move it in the living room." William shrugs.
"But, I already have a picture of Helena in the living room." Emery says.
William lets out a scoff and nods his head, "Yeah, sure, Em. Because that's the point I was trying to make..." he brushes past her.
Emery knits her brows and slightly shakes her head, confused. "Wait—wait, William, just talk to me." She grabs his arm.
William stops and looks at her, "Look, I'm not trying to start anything, but I don't feel comfortable having sex with you in front of that picture."
"Oh..." Emery looks at the picture of her and Helena. "...you've never said anything before, why didn't you say anything before?"
"I'm saying something now..." William wipes his face, like he was getting annoyed. And that causes Emery to scoff, "You don't have to act like that, especially since you wanted to have this conversation."
"I don't want to see your dead wife every time I have sex with you, all right?!"
Emery slightly jumps from the abrupt yelling. Her hands start to get clammy and she looks back at the picture. William places his hands on his hips. "Look, I'm sorry, I already said I didn't want to start anything—"
"I get it, all right?" Emery says, looking back at him. "Do you think I want pictures plastered across this apartment of my dead wife? No, I don't! I want..." she trails off her sentence and exhales a sharp breath. William rolls his eyes and looks at the ground, already knowing what Emery was going to say.
"You want her...that's what you were going to say, right?" William lets out a chuckle.
Emery chews on the inside of her cheek and stays silent. William nods his head, "Well, I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you, Emerson."
Emery knits her brows together, "Wait, no, Will—"
"I'll see you later." He grabs his things and leaves the room.
Present
"So, William!"
William stops cutting the potatoes and looks at Amara.
"We're thinking about going on a trip together as a family. We invited Amaya's partner. Would you care to join us?"
Amaya shifts her eyes over to Emerson, noticing her older sister shift uncomfortably. William inhales a deep breath, "Oh yeah, Emery told me about that."
"We're planning on going to the Bahamas!" Amara answers with her arms out.
"Really?" William looks at Emery. "Em always says how much she likes cold vacation spots better."
"Yeah, well this is with my family." Emery says. "It's a compromise."
William frowns, "I didn't know that was even an option. You compromising."
"You've never asked." Emery's tone was light but you can hear the frustration in it.
Amaya winces and looks back at her cooking section. Amara looks Elijah and he shrugs his shoulders. The mother clears her throat and her warm smile forms on her lips again.
"So, will you two be able to join us?"
"Oh, well, I will. But William won't." Emery says.
A harsh breath escapes William's lips. "So, you're talking for me now?"
Emery looks at William, "Uh, no, of course not." She shakes her head. "But you already told me earlier that you would be busy. So I was just relaying the information."
"Well, I can relay that information to your mother, thanks." William softly says, but you could tell that he was annoyed.
"Well, then tell her, William." Emery motions to her mom.
They both look at Amara and her eyes were slightly wide and her back was straight. She had no idea why they were arguing but she felt uncomfortable.
"Mrs. Sharpe, as much as I would love to come, I've got a case hearing I need to be at during that time."
Emery rolls her eyes and scoffs. She then stuffs her mouth full of grapes to keep her smart remarks down.
"I completely understand that, William."
William softly smiles, he looks at Emery and his smile drops. Emery pulls her brows together at his cold expression towards her. He could at least pretend that they were okay.
Maybe he was just too done with the relationship to pretend anymore...
At least, that's how Emery was starting to feel.
☆
Emery quickly gets out of her car and hurries across the parking lot with her eyes on her phone. Normally, Emery always aware of her surroundings. But with everything going on with William, she couldn't help but be distracted with trying to build her relationship back up. Her eyes were skimming across her text conversation with William.
Her eyes were glued to the text bubbles, waiting for his next words.
"Can you stop being so selfish?"
Emery stops in her tracks. She looks at the sky and closes her eyes. She looks back at the words, thinking she read them wrong.
She didn't.
Emery's eyes widen and she calls William while her steps quickens to the firehouse.
"Emery—"
"Where the hell do you get off telling me that, huh?" Emery scoffs. "Stop being so selfish? I have been thinking about everyone else's feelings for years—"
"You are teetering between self-love and selfish."
Emery opens her mouth, "N-No, I'm—"
"You can't even say that without stuttering." William laughs through the phone.
Emery shakes her head, "Not only are you calling me selfish, but you're calling me selfish because I don't want to go on the family trip—my family trip! Not yours!"
"You were eager to go last night then suddenly im free to go and now you want to bail on your parents?! That sounds pretty selfish to me—"
"Screw you, Willia—"
Emery bumps into someone and she drops her bag and phone.
"Shit!"
Emery looks at the guy, she bumped into. "I'm sorry, I didn't—I wasn't paying attention."
"No, no, I'm a clutz." The man says, he crouches down and picks up Emery's bag and phone. He holds them out to her with a soft smile. "I think they're still on the line."
Emery huffs, "Oh, goodie..." she rolls her eyes playfully, which causes the guy to chuckle. "Thanks." Emery grabs her phone and bag.
"Anytime." He walks into the firehouse and Emery pulls her brows together. He works at her fire station and yet she's never seen him before. Plus, he's hot. Emery places her phone against her ear.
"Hey, Will, I gotta call you back."
"Of course, you do, Em, look I think we should—"
"Talk about it later? What a great idea!" Emery ends the call and jogs after the man.
"Hey, wait up!"
The man turns to the curly-haired girl and smiles. "You following me?"
Emery presses her lips into a smirk, "Yes and no. Yes, I'm following you because I'm curious about you and no, I'm not following you because I work here."
"Oh, no way. Today's my first day." He holds his hand out. "Eddie Diaz."
Emery raises her brows. "Emerson Sharpe. Or you can call me Emery, Em...I don't really have a preference." She shakes Eddie's hand.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Emery. How long you been working here?"
"Oh, three years, about to be four." Emery states as they walking into the locker room. "So, you nervous?"
"No, why? Should I be?" Eddie chuckles in a joking manner. He looks at Emery and looks away, but he notices her serious expression and he snaps his eyes back over to her. "Should I be?" His voice was now nervous.
Emery's serious expression changes into a mischievous smile and she snickers. Eddie lets out a relieved breath, "Funny..."
"Hey, I try." Emery bunches her shoulders. "But, seriously, you have nothing to worry about, except for Probie." She shudders.
"Uh, are you referring to me or...?"
Emery chuckles, "No, I meant, Buck. He was the newest person here before you." She explains.
"Okay, why would I have to worry about him?" Eddie chuckles.
Emery sighs, "Because he's annoying." She answers. "And he's totally going to get jealous of you."
"Why?"
"Because you're hot."
Silence settles into the locker room and Emery's eyes widen. "I-I mean..." she looks at Eddie. He was leaning against the lockers with an amused smile on his lips. Emery points at him, "You are hot." She nods her head. "I just...said that so fast it was kind of embarrassing."
"No, no, it's fine." Eddie chuckles. "I have heard it a lot before."
Emery winces, "I have a mob mentality..." she scratches the side of her nose.
"I mean...basically." Eddie says.
Emery chuckles and leans her head against the lockers. She looks at Eddie for a moment and an idea pops into her head. "Hey, do you work out?"
Eddie deadpans and Emery rolls her eyes. "I mean, with a body like yours..." she curses and lowers her head. "Just...let's go and work out!" She claps her hands and jogs out of the locker room.
Eddie laughs at Emery's attempt to change the subject and he follows her to the gym.
Eddie and Emery were the first two in the A shift to show up, so Emery had a chance to grill Eddie all through the morning as they worked out together. Let's just say she enjoyed having Eddie around a lot more than Buck. Emery rips the boxing gloves off her hands and looks at Eddie, "So, do you get annoyed when people say, "Thank you for your service"?"
Eddie tosses Emery a towel and she catches it. He lets out a soft chuckle, "There's actually an unspoken rule that, that question can never be answered."
"Oh, what?!" Emery exclaims.
Eddie nods his head and laughs. Emery shakes her head and playfully scoffs. "I respect it." She nods her head and takes a sip from her water bottle. Emery walks into the locker room with Eddie by her side. "I can't believe I had you all to myself for an hour. I basically know everything about you!"
"Well, darn, I wanted to come off as the quiet mysterious type." Eddie quips.
Emery laughs, "Well, then this conversation can stay between us." She shrugs. "They ask me if I know anything about you, I'll be like, "Eddie, who?"."
"Well, I will appreciate that."
Emery grabs her shampoo and shower gel. She looks at Eddie and gives him a small nod. "It was nice getting to know you, Eddie." She makes her way to the showers.
"Yeah, nice getting to know you too, Sharpe."
☆
"So, Silver Star, huh?"
Eddie looks at Chimney and gives him a small smile. "Yeah."
"You save a platoon or something?" Chimney asks.
"No, no, nothing like that." Eddie states. "Uh, just convoy."
"Eddie, uh, you heard about the hot firefighter calendar?" Emery speaks through her mic from the driver seat. The Sharpe girl was totally against the gender specificity of the calendar. There has been so many times over the years, she tried to put her photos in the calendar. Of course, they all said no. But, Buck was so obsessed with this Calendar that Emery knew that if she spoke about it to Eddie, the Buckley boy would be jealous of the new competition. And Emery loved a good show.
"Sorry, the what?" Eddie chuckles at the idea.
"It's for charity." Hen says, catching onto Emery's idea.
"And who doesn't love charity?" Emery bunches her shoulders. "I mean, I have tried—so many times to get in that calendar, but for some reason the world just isn't ready to see me in a two-piece while lifting up 250lbs."
Buck raises his brows, "I mean, if you're being so considerate of showing—"
"Oh, bite me." Emery scoffs. "Anyway, you should consider putting pictures in! I dabble in photography so, if any of you need any pictures taken; call me!"
"Oh, well, thanks for the offer, Em." Eddie says.
Emery smiles while Buck pulls his brows together. Eddie doesn't know Emery enough to start calling her 'Em'.
"Emery, I would love to take you up on that offer!" Chimney says. "Please!"
Emery and Bobby laugh from the front seats. "Yeah, Chim, just say a place and time."
"So is your full name, 'Eduardo'?" Buck asks.
"No."
"Stop with the assuming, Buck! It's not charming." Emery rolls her eyes.
Buck ignores the girl. "People ever call you 'Diaz'?"
"Not if they want me to respond." Eddie answers.
Emery shifts her eyes to Bobby and shakes her head. She then chuckles out of disbelief from the way Buck was acting.
"Something's got to give." Buck continues. "We got Cap, Hen, Emery, Chimney, Buck. We can't just call you 'Eddie'."
"Can't tell if he's being serious or not." Eddie says, blinking at the man.
"I like to always operate under the assumption that nothing he says is serious." Chimney voices.
Emery giggles, "And I always operate under the assumption that Buck is an idiot."
Buck rolls his eyes as Emery laughs. Eddie softly chuckles, Buck snaps his eyes over to the new guy and Eddie quickly stops laughing. He looks out the window with a small smile on his lips.
"The air nozzle is embedded in his ass cheek. I shut it off, but I was afraid to move him."
Emery looks across the man, "Hector, can you hear me?"
Hector manages to nod his head. Emery looks at Bobby and gives him a thumbs up. "All right, hang in there, we're going to help you out."
"Let's get him on his side." Bobby pronounces. "Maintain pressure on the wound."
Emery grabs gauze and presses it against his wound. She uses one of her hands to grips one of Hector's legs while Eddie grabs the other. Bobby supports Hector's back.
"On three. One, two, three."
They pick Hector up and he groans as he is laid on his side.
"Easy, easy..."
"It's a hundred pounds per square inch of air pumped through his entire body." Buck reads off the label.
"Breathings shallow, heart's racing." Hen places her stethoscope against the man's chest. "Air's filled his stomach, his chest, even behind his eyelids."
"I'm more concerned about the space around his heart and lungs."
"Okay, Eddie, start a nasal cannula." Bobby orders. "Emery, give Eddie a hand."
Eddie brings his bag over and crouches beside Emery. She glances at Eddie and a small smile graces her lips. "You ready for this?"
Eddie frowns and returns the same smile. "Yeah, let's do this." He exhales.
Chimney was instructed to give Hector morphine. But as soon as Chimney tried to put the needle into Hector, he spoke. "It's like trying to inject a needle into stone."
Emery looks at Chimney and sees the needle not sticking into Hector's skin. "We're not having any luck over here either." She voices. "The pressure's pushing everything out."
"Can't even get air through the nostril."
"Jugular venous distention, tachycardia, hypotension, diminished breath, we're looking at tension pneumothorax." Hen explains.
"The air pressure is collapsing his organs." Bobby pronounces. "We need to get in there and drain the fluid."
"Buck, I need you to get a 14-gauge angiocath. We need to start decompressing the pleural cavity."
Buck grabs the gauge and starts to unbutton Hector's shirt.
"Want me to help—"
"I got it." Buck cuts Eddie off.
"Hang in there, Hector." Emery softly speaks to the unconscious man.
"I'd go lower." Eddie advises. Emery shifts her eyes to Eddie.
Buck looks at Eddie as well, "What? Um, no. Second intercostal space. Midclavicular line."
Emery looks at Buck.
"The chest wall is thinner at the fifth intercostal at the anterior axillary line..."
Emery looks back at Eddie, with an amused smirk.
"...there's a decreased chance of injuring any vital organs. I've treated guys with collapsed lungs in combat."
"He's right, you know?"
Buck snaps his eyes over to Emery. Just when he couldn't get anymore mad, he saw the smirk across Emery's lips. Buck's chest tightens with rage. He looks back at Eddie, and the new firefighter had his hand held out to Buck.
"Please."
Buck reluctantly hands the gauge to Eddie.
"Thank you." Eddie starts to work on Hector.
Emery softly giggles and Buck snaps his eyes over to the girl. Emerson tilts her head and squints her eyes, challenging Buck's glare.
"Can you help me out with the shirt?" Eddie asks.
Just when Emery thought her day couldn't get any better...
Buck pushes Hector's over-shirt to the side. Eddie cuts a hole in Hector's under-shirt and sticks the gauge in Hector's chest. Air releases from the gauge and Hector let out a soft breath.
"That's it, Hector. Breathe, nice and slow." Bobby softly encourages. Emery lets out a sigh of relief, "I'll get the stretcher." She makes her way over to the ambulance. Emery pushes the stretcher to the scene. Chimney and Emery help Hector into the stretcher.
Emery makes her way over to the fire engine and puts her bag into the compartment.
"That was a good call, Eddie," Bobby says to Eddie.
"Thanks, Cap."
Everyone gives Eddie an encouraging compliment. Buck closes the compartment with a slam. He brushes past Eddie, "Yeah. Good call."
Eddie knits his brows together at Buck's curt comment. Emery stands beside Eddie, she pats his shoulder with a sigh. "I told you he'd be threatened."
"Yeah, but why?" Eddie snorts.
"Like I said before, you're hot." Emery looks at Eddie. "He kind of thinks he's the eye candy of the firehouse, but let's be real..." she looks at Eddie. "...I was always the eye candy."
Eddie raises his brows. "Now that I can believe." They both share a soft laugh. Emery looks around, before looking back at Eddie again. "Hey, do you want to get a drink?"
Eddie stops and turns Emery with a smirk. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Oh, no, no..." Emery chuckles nervously. "I am actually currently seeing someone. But..." she tilts her head. "...my sister says I should get out more. Make friends."
Eddie winces, "And you chose me? The guy you just met?" He then raises his brows. "Must be desperate, huh?"
Emery's mouth hangs open but she laughs softly out of disbelief. "Okay, let's calm down. I will have you know Chimney and Hen are very good friends of mine."
"Not Buck?"
Emery shudders, "Definitely not Buck."
Eddie and Emery laugh. They were interrupted by Buck opening the door of the fire engine. "Hey, we need to get on the move—let's go!" He then closes the door, leaving Eddie and Emery.
Emery and Eddie look at each other with their brows raised. The curly-haired girl purses her lips.
"Told you...threatened."
☆
"You have a kid?!"
Emery and Eddie were sitting at a table in the bar. Eddie laughs at Emery's shock. "Uh, yeah, yeah. His name is Christopher." He grabs his phone and looks through his camera roll. Eddie hands his phone to Emery. The girl looks at the phone and a smile appears on her lips. "Oh My God, he is too cute." She gushes. Emery looks at Eddie and his eyes were already on her.
"Yeah, I know. He hates it when I tell him."
Emery lets out a laugh and hands Eddie his phone back. She takes a sip of her piña colada. She watched as Eddie looks at the photo with a smile on her lips. A small smile then forms on Emery's lips. Then her chest tightens thinking about everything she has lost. She pulls her lips away from the straw. Eddie slips his phone back into his pocket and looks at Emery.
"So, you got any family here in L.A.?"
Emery raises her brows, "My parents and sister live in San Diego." She answers. "I go to visit them, they come to visit me. It's nice for the most part."
"That 'for the most part' didn't sound very reassuring." Eddie jokes.
Emery lets out a soft breath through her nose. "I just recently reconnected with my parents and sister again."
Eddie knits his brows together. Emery notices this and raises her brows, "Oh, I got my own place after some major arguing went down between my parents and me." She shakes her head. "And I kind of took it out on my sister."
Emery looks at her drink. She was too guilt-ridden to look at Eddie. "I'm kind of a shitty sister."
Eddie slightly tilts his head, "Well, I don't really know you, but you're trying to change, right?"
Emery lifts her head up and looks at Eddie.
"Are you trying to be a better sister?"
She knits her brows together and a smile ghosts her lips. "Yeah, I am."
Eddie shrugs a shoulder, "Then, that doesn't really make you a shitty sister. Just one that's trying."
Emery raises her brows, "Huh...I never thought about it like that."
She takes another sip from her Piña Colada and smiles softly. "So, can I ask about Christopher's mom? Or are we not there yet?"
Eddie lets out a chuckle, "She's kind of not in the picture anymore."
"Like...in a dead way?"
"Oh, no, like in a broken-up kind of way." Eddie clarifies.
Emery slightly tilts her chin up, "Ohhhhh—okay. Sorry." She looks at the table. "Well, at least she's not dead."
Eddie knits his brows together and clears his throat. Emery spins her straw around in the glass and sighs. "So, are you guys co-parenting?"
"No, she's an absent parent."
"Absentee." Emery nods her head. "Sorry." She then holds up a finger. "On the bright side. Single dads are majorly hot."
Eddie laughs at the curly-haired girl and Emery laughs as well. She then looks at her table with a sigh. Eddie watches as Emery's attitude dims down. "So, do you have any kids?"
Emery's gut twists, "Uh, no, actually." She scratches the side of her nose. "No kids..."
The curly-haired girl felt her walls going back up. And she mentally hit herself over it. She didn't want to be the person everyone knew as a loner. She wanted friends. But the only way she would have a chance at gaining friends is if she opened up to them. So, this was her first step.
"I had a wife though."
Eddie raises his brows and he watches as a sad smile forms on Emery's lips. Emery sighs, "And I mean 'had' as the dead way." she bites the inside of her cheek. Eddie's eyes soften, "Em, I'm so sorry."
A lump forms in her throat and she lets out a breath. "Uh, thanks." she manages a small smile. "It's weird...I haven't even told Bobby and Buck about her."
Eddie pulls his brows together, "Why not?"
"Honestly? I don't know..." She stirs her straw inside her cup. "I've always been so neck deep in my work, so I can distract myself from everything. If I started opening up about my life to people, especially my co-workers...that's just one step closer to being able to move on from Helena."
Emery shakes her head, "I really don't want to say goodbye to her." she feels another lump form in her throat, but she swallows. "But a part of me knows that she would want me to." Emery rubs at her eyes before any tears could form.
"Aw, jeez..." Emery forces out a chuckle. "...look at my unsober thoughts coming out."
Eddie presses his lips into a small smile. "I really don't mind listening to you talk." He shrugs. "Seems like you kind of need it."
Emery's shoulders lower with relief. "It's been 2 years since she's died. Almost 3 and somehow, I'm still not healed."
Eddie holds a pointer finger up. "May I say something?"
"Oh, God, please do." Emery chuckles and scratches the side of her nose.
"I think that there's no deadline on mourning someone you love." Eddie gives her a comforting smile. "Especially the love of your life."
"Helena would want you to be happy. And you should be happy, whenever you're ready for that. No rush."
Emery raises her brows, "Damn, Diaz. Did you ever consider going into counseling?"
Eddie chuckles, "Actually, yeah, I did."
Emery bunches her shoulders, "Of course you did." She giggles. "I'm totally going to tell Buck so he can hate you even more."
After they were done with drinking and catching up, Emery and Eddie made their way outside. Emery looks at her phone, "Did you want to share an Uber?"
"I actually live pretty close to here." Eddie says. "I'm gonna walk this alcohol off."
Emery raises her brows and chuckles. "As much as I love exercise. People might find it a bit weird if I'm giggling while walking down the street."
Emery looks at her shoes. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight. I needed this."
Eddie gives Emery a small nod, "Hey, I'm happy to be your wingman any day."
Emery purses her lips and she smiles.
"Also..."
Emery raises her brows.
"If what you said about your relationship with William is true, then...maybe you should do something that makes you happy." Eddie says. "Like Helena wanted for you."
Emery's chest tightens. She told Eddie about the strain in her relationship (the girl spills everything when she gets to drinking).
Emery nods her head, "Thank you, Dr. Phill. I will take everything you have said tonight to heart." Her eyes shift to the black car and pulled up to them. "That might be my ride."
Eddie smiles, "I'll see you later, Em."
"Yeah, you too. Are you good to walk?" Emery asks.
Eddie nods his head, "I'm good."
Emery slightly opens her mouth. "Have a good night, Dr. Phil."
"And you too, Piña Colada."
☆
After drinks with Eddie, Emery was getting a ride
back to her house. But as the Taxi got closer to her house, she thought about what Eddie had said.
"If what you said about your relationship with William is true, then...maybe you should do something that makes you happy."
Emery thinks about what would make her happy. What would make her happy is if Helena were here with her. But another thing that would make her happy is if she apologized to William right now. The way she brushed him off on the phone was something that made her feel guilty. If anyone had done that to her, she definitely would've been shouting at them.
Emery leans forward in the taxi. "H-Hey, can you take me to the Yosemite Complex?"
The taxi looks at the intoxicated girl through the rear view mirror. "You sure? We're just around the corner from your last destination.
Emery nods her head, "Yeah, I have to go talk to someone. I need to apologize."
"Can't you do that when you get sober?"
Emery looks at the man, "What's your name?"
"Owen."
"Well, Owen. I know I'm not sober right now. But I also know that the thoughts in my head are true. And I need to get them out before I become boring sober Emerson again." Emery explains through hiccups and slurred out words. "So, step on it!"
Owen presses his lips together. "Yeah...I'm not doing that. I'm already going the speed limit."
Emery pouts her lip, "Awww..."
"But, I'll get you to where you need to go."
She then smiles and raises her hands in the air, which causes her to hit the top of the taxi. "Ow!—But, yay, you're the best Owen."
After the taxi slows to a stop in front of the building, Emery gets out of the car after handing Owen money. "Okay, thanks, Owen!" she stumbles over to the stairs of the complex.
"Hey, do you need me to wait for you?" Owen asks.
Emery turns to the Taxi Driver and waves a hand. "If everything goes well, you shouldn't have to wait for me. If you know what I'm sayin'..." she gives Owen a playful wink and laughs. Owen watches as Emery goes up the stairs and winces. "This isn't gonna end well..."
Emery stumbles her way through the halls, quietly practicing what she was going to say to William. She keeps a hand on the wall, to balance herself. Emery felt her feet drag against the carpet of the hall. Even though Emery only knew Eddie for almost a day, his advice hit her hard. It was something that Emery had to do instantly. She couldn't ruin this relationship she had with William.
Emery gets to the door and inhales a deep breath. She lazily raises a hand and knocks on the door. Emery keeps her hands on the doorframe with her head hanging low. The door opens and Emery lifts her head to the shirtless William.
"H-Hi—Hey!" Emery quietly gasps.
William slightly opens his mouth. "Em, what are you...doing here?" He looks back into his apartment.
"I had to talk to you." Emery whispers. "Can we talk?"
William looks back into his apartment. "Yeah...I don't think now is a good—"
"I really think we can work through this." Emery walks into the apartment and William quietly curses.
"Em, hold on—"
"I'm sorry, for not moving the picture." Emery turns back to him and stumbles to the side. William knits his brows together. "Are you drunk, right now?"
Emery sputters, "No!" She stumbles back and holds her arms out to balance herself. "Yes. But I'm serious about this." She holds her hands out to him.
Emery then places her hands together and walks toward her boyfriend. "I like you, William. A lot. And I want this to work. I'm sure if we just t-talk this out...we can—"
"Will?"
Emery stops talking and William closes his eyes. She turns to the blonde woman standing I'm front of William's room door. In his shirt. The muppet tee that William always let her wear. Emery feels like she was forced into a fucked up dream. She closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath. She holds it, hoping to quiet the loud heartbeat in her ears.
Emery opens her eyes and the blonde was still there. The blonde chuckles softly and points at Emery. "Who's she?"
Emery knits her brows together. She then turns to William and he had a look of guilt across his face. "Wh-who? Who—William...?" She then points at the blonde.
"Em—"
Emery looks back at the blonde. "Who are you?"
The blonde arches a brow, "Uh, Stacy."
"Well, Stacy. I'm Emerson Sharpe. William's girlfriend!"
Stacy's mouth slightly open and her eyes widen. "I-I'm sorry?" She then looks at William. "You said you weren't with anyone."
Emery shakes her head and looks back at William. She inhales a shaky breath and tears form in her eyes. Stacy shakes her head and walks back into the room. William looks at Emery, who's breathing was quick.
Emery shakes her head, "Wh-Why...why did you..." she steps away from him until her back hits the wall.
"Em, I'm sorry, please..." he goes to touch her face, but she slaps his hand away.
"No—No." Her tone was strong but you could hear it shake. "You—we were happy, weren't we?"
William doesn answer and Emery pulls her brows together. "William? Weren't we...weren't you happy?" She pushes herself off the wall and walks toward him.
"Em, I'm sorry..."
"Oh, My God." Emery covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh My God, Oh My God..." she turns her back to him and looks at the wall. Emery closes her eyes to try and calm herself down. "What happened? What did I do wrong?"
"Look, you're drunk and I don't think we should have this conversation—"
"You don't get to decide that." Emery turns back to him with her finger pointed at him. "You lost your right to choose the terms of this discussion, the second I found her in here wearing your shirt!"
William slowly nods his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You...didn't share your toothbrush."
Emery's upper lip curls. "Will, I swear on my dead wife. If that is the actual reason why you—"
"You freaked out about it, okay?" William holds his arms out. "And it's not just that. I mean, you nitpick at everything I do. You always have to be right and you're a control freak, Em."
Emery's jaw clenches, but she stays silent.
"It's like, you wanted me to be someone I'm not, all right?" William lets out a bitter chuckle.
Emery's face goes slack. You wanted me to be someone I'm not. That's the same reason why she pushed her parents away. They expected her to be someone else. "And I couldn't do it and last night when you...we're talking about Helena, I knew that you still loved her."
Emery snaps out of her guilt-ridden thoughts and looks back at William. "She's my wife, William. And she's dead. I am always gonna love her."
"Yeah, to the point that you've gotta wear her ring 24/7?" William scoffs. Emery raises her brows. She touches the necklace that had her and Helena's wedding rings around a chain.
"You have got to move on."
Emery snaps her eyes over to William. Her eyes widen, grits her teeth, and tears form in her eyes. "Shut up...shut the fuck up!" She points at him. "You don't get to tell me when it's time to move on! I tell myself when it's time to move on—And I'm not ready!"
William quietly chuckles, "You never were..." he shakes his head. "If I had known this was how we were going to turn out. I would've just swiped left."
Emery lets out a painful breath. She wipes at her eyes before tears could fall. She inhales a breath and chuckles. "I came here for you." Emery scoffs. "Because I thought you were...w-worth it."
William's eyes soften, "I'm sorry—"
"No, no, no. I'm just glad you told the truth." She sniffles. She grabs her bag and sets his key on his table. "You didn't have to sleep with someone else to get your point across, but..."
Emery swallows, "Bye, William." She stumbles toward the door and William grabs onto her arms.
"Em, you're drunk. Just stay—"
Emery laughs, "Stay...stay? I'm not staying." She pushes him aside and opens the door. "I don't even wanna see you ever again."
Emery stumbles out of the loft area. She inhales a a soft breath and exhales a soft cry. "What the fuck...?"
Emery wipes at her mouth and she makes her way out of the apartment. She opens the door to the front and stops, when she sees the taxi still there. Emery raises her brows, "O-Owen?"
Owen gets out of the taxi and makes his way over to Emery. "Are you okay?" He helps her down the stairs.
"Why'd you stay?"
Owen shrugs a shoulder, "I had a feeling something was going to happen. So I waited."
Emery's eyes start to water, "Thank you, Mister Owen. You're so sweet."
Owen opens the passenger door and gently helps Emery in. He buckles Emery's seat.
"I don't usually do stuff like this..." Emery sighs. "I'm sorry."
"You really don't have to apologize to me." Owen says. "You have no idea how many times I've had to do this."
Emery presses her lips into a small smile. Her eyes shift to the woman leaving the apartment. She opens her mouth, "No way..."
Owen turns to the blonde. "Is that—"
"Yeah..."
"Hi!" Stacy walks over to the taxi. "Can I get a ride?"
Owen looks at Emery and she shrugs a shoulder. "She didn't know that he was dating me." Emery waves a hand. "I'm cool with it."
Owen looks at Stacy and nods. The blonde softly smiles and gets in the back seat. The taxi was silent the entire ride to Emery's place.
"So...blonde?" Emery inhales.
Stacy gnaws on her lower lip. "If it makes you feel any better. I'm naturally a brunette."
A lump forms in Emery's throat. "It doesn't."
Stacy's shoulders sag. "I-I'm really sorry." She whispers and looks at her hands.
A tear slips from Emery's eye and she quickly wipes it. "Where'd you guys meet?"
Stacy licks her lower lip. "We met tonight at a bar." She adjusts her dress.
Emery frowns, "What a meet cute."
Stacy slumps her shoulders and sinks into her seat, not saying another word. Emery knew that she and William were having problems. But she didn't know that he thought that she was controlling. He has never once communicated that ever. Emery couldn't really blame him, there were things she didn't communicate with him either.
She really wishes things turned out differently.
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author's note.
Emery about to pull a "I found myself in a shit position" kinda move.
Also, the chaos that Eddie, Buck, and Emery are going to create is going to be ✨chef's kiss✨
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