Emma stirred in her sleep and pressed closer to the body next to hers, but no smile crept up on her face. Not even in an unconscious state could she bring herself to smile; not after what had happened. She let out a sigh against his chest which caused Jimmy to open his eyes up slowly. He smiled slightly, wrapping his arms a little more securely around her waist. The sun did not penetrate the heavy curtains. It allowed him to sleep more soundly. The room was in almost near total darkness. The only light that shone was that from the alarm clock and the only thing that made a sound was a lonely fan in the corner of the room. He couldn’t sleep without it. There was no central cooling system in the house despite summer days reaching well into the eighties and nineties. The landlord felt it was not needed.

Jimmy closed his eyes again, determined to lay in bed as long as possible with her. He hated the circumstances that resulted her returning, but he was determined not to focus on that, all that mattered was that she was safe. So many nights he wondered where she was and how she was doing. Ever since the day they went their own ways they hadn’t spoken much. She stayed at his place and never stepped foot in his house again. He found himself slowly drifting back to sleep as thoughts continued to mill through his mind.

He was abruptly snapped out of his slumber by the sound of the telephone. He groaned slightly as he reached for it on the night table. The cord tangled itself around his arm. He grunted into the receiver as a greeting. He glanced down at her to make sure she hadn’t woken up and pulled her closer.

“Jimmy?” the voice came through.

Another grunt.

“Wake your ass up, man. We need you.”

Why was it that he was always needed? Couldn’t they manage on their own? Jimmy groaned and rubbed his face, letting his dark hair cover his eyes. He didn’t want to leave her side and certainly didn’t want to wake her up.

“I can’t today, man. I got-“ he opened his eyes and looked down at her. “-stuff to take care of.”

It was best not to mention she was involved. After the blowout they had, Matt and Zacky had treated her like a pariah. There was interference on the other end and another voice seeped through the phone. Immediately, his features hardened and he held her more tightly.

“She’s there, isn’t she?” the voice was low and sharp.

There was not much background noise. He must have gone into another room, away from the rest of them. Jimmy had introduced Brian to the guys only a couple of weeks before with the purpose of him joining the group. They were in the process of re-releasing their debut album. With what had happened, he was now starting to regret that decision.

“None of your fucking business, Brian,” he hissed quietly into the phone.

His statement was only met with laughter. He could picture Brian; the smirk on his face and the shake of his head. He really didn’t give a shit about her. He may have been his best friend, but that didn’t stop him from seeing what a complete ass Brian could be at times. Before he could raise his voice, Jimmy simply placed the receiver back in its cradle after untangling it from his arm. He reached over and unplugged the phone before turning on his side and falling back to sleep, holding her close.

~.~

Brian smiled at the cordless phone as he held it away from his ear. He walked back into the studio with that same grin and sat down on the couch, debating whether or not to go to where Jimmy was staying. The fact that she would call Jimmy after everything that had happened still amazed him. He sprawled his arms on the back of the couch. He crossed his ankles and nodded in Zacky’s direction who was sitting opposite of him. Matt was laying some vocals behind the glass. The soundboard guy was too focused to pay attention to either of them at the moment.

“You mind if I take your car? Gotta visit Jimmy real quick.”

“Not at all, man,” Zacky said with an easy smile as he threw him the keys. “Make sure to steal his booze and bring it back here.”

Brian smiled and caught the keys with ease. He was intent on stealing something, but it certainly wasn’t the alcohol he was after. Not this time. He stepped out of the building and sauntered towards Zacky’s car. He peeled out of the parking lot and headed to Jimmy’s house. If he was lucky, they’d still be asleep.

He cut off the stereo as he pulled into the driveway and sat I the car contemplating his next course of action. Last night was all a blur to him. All he could remember was her being there one second and gone the next. He didn’t make much of it. He figured she had just decided to get out of his car and being the stubborn ass he was he was more than willing to comply. Brian smiled and slammed the door shut. He jogged up the little steps and put the key into the lock, slipping inside. There was not one sound. Both of them must have still been asleep.

He smirked as he crept to the bedroom. The smile was wiped off of his face as he saw them entwined together. Her slender leg was wrapped around him her face was buried in his chest. The thing that most bothered him was the smile on her face. He closed his eyes before forcing them to open again and unclenched one of his fists. He made his way over to her side of the bed and ran a finger up her spine, hoping to get her attention.

Emma furrowed her brow slightly at the sensation and pressed closer to Jimmy, mumbling something under her breath.

“Stop it, Jimmy,” she finally managed to say with a groan.

She refused to open her eyes and tried to get back to sleep when the sensation occurred again. Her body stiffened as an all-too-familiar voice whispered in her ear.

“Nice to see you, too, Em,” he murmured as placed a kiss to her cheek.

She scrambled to get away from him and pushed herself against Jimmy as she turned around so that she was facing Brian. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she felt Jimmy’s grasp tighten around her waist. He glared over her shoulder and resisted the urge to let go of her and beat his face in.

“Get the fuck outta here,” he growled.

Brian smirked and leaned against the closed door, not moving an inch or taking his eyes off hers.

“What are you doing with him, Em?” he asked with a small laugh. “Toyin’ with people’s feelings isn’t very considerate. I should know.”

Emma shot him a hard look and stayed close to Jimmy. After last night, there was no way in hell she would even be speaking to him. He got shit-faced despite all of her protests and turned into the Brian she hated the most: the animal. Time and time again, he would revert to that, but last night had finally opened her eyes. He would never change and she had never loved him. It was all an illusion that slowly but surely fell apart. Jimmy whispered in her ear to get into the shower and she immediately did so.

Jimmy turned to look at Brian as soon as the door was shut and he heard the shower running. He sat up in his bed and threw the covers off of himself, not really caring about the lack of clothes. He was only in his boxers. Brian simply stared at him, not saying one word though one question kept repeating itself in his head.

“Have you fucked her yet?” he asked in a bored tone.

“Like I said Brian, it’s none of your fucking business,” Jimmy countered.

Brian shot him a glare and stood up straight.

“Last time I fuckin’ checked she was mine,” he hissed.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and got up from the bed. He slipped on a pair of jeans and the same white tee from last night before turning to look at Brian.

“She’s no one’s property. And maybe throwing her out of the car into middle of the street would give her the impression that she’s not wanted.”

Brian stood his ground and continued to glare at Jimmy.

“You don’t even know what really fuckin’ happened. We fight all of the time, this time it was no different.

“Just get the fuck outta here, Brian. She doesn’t want to see you.”

Jimmy stepped beside the doorway and held out an arm, hoping to God he wouldn’t have to throw Brian out by the collar. He hated fighting with him, but he couldn’t let him do as he pleased when it came to Emma anymore. A few times during the night, he had woken up to her whimpering as she called out Brian’s name. There was definitely something more going on.

Brian stepped out and made his way to the kitchen. He raided all of the cupboards and fridge, leaving the house completely dry. After all, he had promised Zacky. He stepped in the doorway and stopped.

“You know she doesn’t love you, Jimmy,” he called out, struggling to keep all of the bottles from falling. “Don’t get your hopes up. She doesn’t love anyone.”

Jimmy stayed silent and, a moment later, the front door slammed shut. He hated Brian. He hated him for being right. He walked to the bathroom and lightly knocked on the door.

“Still alive in there?”

She turned off the tap and leaned against a shower wall. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. Brian had yelled the last part loud enough for her to hear. After a moment, she took a deep breath and sighed.

“Yeah, Jimmy, ‘m fine.”

That was first lie of the day. She hated lying to Jimmy, but that was the way they had to be at times. Calling him had been a mistake, but she couldn’t take it back now.

“The guys need me at the studio,” he said as he pressed against the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Okay.”

That was her second lie. She was determined to make it her last. No one wanted her around. She needed to get away from the guys once and for all. How she would manage that, she had no clue.

Notes

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R.I.P. Jimmy. You live on in my heart.