Goodbye Girl

Emily sat in the living room with a silent Tyler and Jamie. They had lost their home opener to Florida, 4-2, and were beating themselves up. She sighed, leaning against Jamie. He wrapped an arm around her while she rested her head on his chest. She hated seeing them like this.

"Let's order take out and watch a movie or something guys." She whined. "I don't like this."

"Sorry." Tyler replied.

Emily looked at him and frowned. He looked so sad. She looked up at Jamie who gestured for her to go sit with Tyler. She scooted over to him. He didn't even look at her when she was right beside him.

He sat with his elbow resting on the arm of the chair and his hand on his face. His other hand rested on his thigh. He tapped along as he thought of everything he did wrong and everything he needed to do better. Emily grabbed his hand that was in his thigh and squeezed it.

"It's okay, Tyler." She whispered.

Her phone began to ring but her eyes didn't leave him. Jamie leaned forward to check who it was. He saw the number wasn't saved so he left it.

"You're only going to get better from here and there's no need beating yourself up over the first game of the season." She continued.

Tyler looked at her. "I just feel like my performance was shitty."

"Your performance was good! You didn't get a point, so what?" She exclaimed.

"That's what I'm supposed to do." He sighed.

"As your captain," Jamie spoke. Tyler rolled his eyes. "I demand you stop this and order me Chinese food."

Tyler laughed softly. Emily's phone started up again. She just stared at Tyler, blocking it out again. Tyler smiled at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. She was glad he was okay.

"It says 'Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. USA'." Jamie explained the call.

Emily pulled away from Tyler. "I don't really care."

Once they had ordered Chinese food and agreed on a movie. They all settled on the couch. Em had her head in Jamie's lap and laid out the long way with her feet near Tyler. He wasn't as happy as she'd like him to be but he wasn't miserable.

Emily's phone started ringing again. She growled but sat up. She saw that it said 'Pittsburgh' again. She knew it wasn't James because she had his number program. She pushed 'accept' before holding it to her ear.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hi, Emily?" It was a male voice.

"Yeah, who's this?" She cocked a brow.

"It's Paul Martin. Uh, Nealer got injured at the game,"

"What?!" She gasped. "Is he alright?"

Paul chuckled. "Yeah. I'm sitting in his house with him. The team medical team doped him up and he's forcing me to call you."

Emily heard mumbling in the back. There was some shuffling. Heavy breathing came from the other end. She looked at Tyler, who was giving her a questioning expression.

"Em!" James shouted.

"Hey, what's up?" She said, quietly.

"I need you to come take care of me!" He exclaimed.

"Do you actually or are y,"

"No, Emily, I really hurt my arm. I need you." He cut her off. "Please come stay with me for a bit."

She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll fly out tomo,"

"I need you now. It hurts a lot." He cried.

She frowned. "I'll pack some clothes and then go to the airport now then."

"I'll pay for it."

"No, it's okay. Just get some rest and I'll get a key off Paul or something when I get there." She told James.

"I'm paying for it!" He argued. "I love you. You're the best. See you soon."

More shuffling was heard. Jamie and Tyler kept shooting glances from Emily to each other, both confused to no end.

"I live right down the street so I'll just stay here until you get here." Paul explained.

"Okay. I'm going to pack a bag and head to the airport now. I'll try to be there soon." She sighed.

"Hey, no worries. I can handle him for you." Paul laughed, lightly.

"Thank you so much."

The phone call ended. Emily went right to her room. Tyler and Jamie both chased after her. She fought tears as she dragged her suitcase from under her bed. She knew James and she knew something had to really be hurting him if he called her, begging her to come help him.

"What's up, Em?" Jamie asked as she walked to her dresser.

She shook her head, grabbing a bunch of clothes. She dropped them in her suitcase and repeated. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Tyler sighed, walking towards her.

"Emily, wait a minute." He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't!" She screeched.

Her eyes kept locked on his before she broke into tears. Her face burrowed into Tyler's chest and he held onto her.

"James is hurt." She sobbed. "He's beginning me to come help him so I know he's really hurt."

"I'm sure he's fine." Tyler said with a bitter tone.

Emily noticed. "Right," She shoved away from him. "You don't care."

"So he comes crying to you so you run off to help him like he would do the same." He hissed.

"Tyler, please." She whispered.

"No. You're gonna go do all this shit for him and he'll just fuck you over!" Tyler shouted.

"Ty, relax." Jamie warned.

"He's not worth your time." Tyler muttered at Emily.

"Why do you care?!" She screamed.

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt!" He yelled back.

"Then don't fucking worry about me! Do your own thing and leave me alone!" She punched his chest.

"Tyler, just go downstairs." Jamie said in a stern voice.

Tyler did as he was told, not before letting out a sigh and kissing the top of Emily's head. Truth be told, he felt like he had to protect Emily since his sisters weren't around for him to do with them.

Jamie walked over to Emily and held her close. He knew how close her and James were, outside of their relationship, when he met the two and he knew it was still there. She cried in his arms.

"I can't imagine you or James or Tyler getting hurt. It could end your whole career and I know how hard you've all worked." She blubbered. "It breaks my heart."

"You're going to go take care of him and I'll tell everyone that you're dealing with family illness. Everyone at the Centre will understand." Jamie calmed her.

"I love you, Jamie." She sighed, breaking away from the hug. "I'm so glad I still had you when James and Matty left."

"And you'll always have me, Kid." He smiled at her. "Finish packing and I'll drive you to the airport. Pay for you to fly first class."

"Jamie, no."

"Shut up."

Emily stared at him with a stern expression. He returned the look. She sighed, not having the energy to argue. She continued gathering her needed things and then made her way downstairs. She dragged her suitcase along.

Em reached the bottom of the stairs receiving a small smile from Jamie who was waiting at the door for her. Tyler was sitting on the couch. He watched the television before glancing at Emily. His hand was resting on his face. She gave him a small frown and walked towards Jamie.

"Emily, wait," Tyler sighed. He stood up and walked over to her. He pulled her into a hug, she returned the gesture. "Let me know when you land and tell me how it goes."

"I will." She whispered.

Jamie and Emily made their way to the airport. She sat silently the entire drive, staring out the window. Jamie, being a talker, couldn't handle the silence so he turned on his stereo. His mixed CD blared out WuTang Forever by Drake. Knowing Emily liked that song, he looked at her. She had a small grin on her face.

"There it is!" He cheered. She smiled at him. "Emily, you and I both know that he'll be fine."

"I know." She breathed out. "But just hearing him begging me to come help him and knowing he's hurt pushed me over."

"I totally get it, Em." Jamie nodded.

She sat quietly while bobbing her head to the music. "I feel like he's slipping back in, Jamie."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the way he's been lately is like we're together again and I don't know if I'm able to stop that." She rubbed her face.

"What makes you think you can't stop it?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm currently flying out to take care of James at quarter to twelve after he talked to me like I was a piece of shit." She explained.

"That doesn't mean you're letting him back in. You care about him and you're kind. That's all it is." He stated. "You'd do the same for me."

"In a heartbeat." She replied. "Tyler too. You two and James are the most important people in my life."

"See! You're just caring." Jamie smiled.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Tyler's so mad at me."

"Yeah, because he cares about you. He doesn't want to see you back with James." He turned into the airport.

"I just might and then he'd really hate me." She gently laughed.

"Tyler idolizes you. He'd never hate you." Jamie shook his head.

"How does he 'idolize' me?" She used air quotations.

"I can't explain it. You gotta see it with your own eyes, Em." He ruffled her hair as he pulled to a halt.

He climbed out of the car, going to the trunk to grab Emily's suitcase. Emily came over to the trunk and sighed deeply. Jamie looked at her as he slammed the trunk shut. She looked back at him.

"Are you gonna be alright?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm gonna miss you. We haven't been apart for more than like two days since,"

"Like 2011." He chuckled. He pulled her into a hug. "Make sure that fucker gets better I can kick his ass this season."

"Of course." She mumbled into Jamie's chest. "I'll text you or something when I get to his house."

"Call me the second you get off the plane. Then call Tyler or he won't sleep." Jamie explained.

"Okay, see you in a few." She frowned, walking away from Jamie.

"Love ya, Em." He called.

"You too."

Notes