❝ You don't ❞

↓
( phone call )

BILL
JULIE

"Emery?"

"Try again."

"Nina?"

"Seriously?"

"Kidding! Why do you have
Emery's phone?

"He's in the shower. I'm
calling because I don't want
Em to know what we
talked about. I have a question
for you."

"And that is?"

"You said you were over Emery.
How the hell do you get over
someone that quickly? I mean,
you stopped talking to him
once you realized you liked
him, but you're all fine and
dandy in three months? I've
had painful crushes, I know that's
not how it works. So tell me, and
tell me honestly, how?"

"You don't."

"I have to go. Don't tell
Emery anything, please.
He's happy with Cam and
I don't want to ruin that!"

"I won't tell him. Cross my
heart. Talk to you later."

"Thanks. Talk to you later."

↓
( real life )

Julie heard the water turn off so she quickly swiped out of the phone app and started scrolling through Emery's Instagram. There was the sound of footsteps heading into the living room where Julie was. Emery came out, wrapped in a towel, drops of water still dotting his torso.

"Hey, Jules," he greeted nonchalantly, grabbing a sweatshirt he'd left hanging over the back of the sofa, "Don't Insta stalk people on my account, please! Remember that one time you accidentally liked my ex's picture?"

Julie shrugged, continuing to scroll through his phone. He trusted her so much. She was the only one that actually knew his password (it was his dog's birthday, by the way). "It didn't even matter! Not like you were interested in her anyway. . ."

"Shut up," Emery scoffed, but the smile on his face showed that he wasn't actually upset, "Anything important?"

"Um," Julie scrolled down to check the notifications. She saw one name and she gasped, almost dropping the phone. "Em, Em, your mom called! Mom Number One!"

"Shit, really? One sec," he ran into his bedroom, presumably to throw on clothes. He returned moments later in jeans and the sweatshirt he'd grabbed. "I haven't talked to her. . ."

"Since you moved out!"

"That was ten years ago, why is she calling me now? She wanted nothing to do with me!" Emery's voice rising in anger, "It was because of her that I almost lived on the streets! God, if your parents hadn't saved my ass. . . I don't even wanna think about it. Why is she calling me?"

Julie sighed. She knew this was gonna hurt him, but he needed some kind of closure. "Only one way to find out?"

Emery considered it for a moment before snatching the phone out of his best friend's hand. He pressed redial before he could stop himself. "Hello?" he said harshly as soon as the phone was picked up.

"Emery?" a weary voice that was most definitely not his mother's answered the phone.

"Yes?"

"This is your aunt, Cassandra. I-I'm calling about your mother," he vaguely remembered an Aunt named Cassie, but the last time he had seen his mom's side of the family was when he was sixteen. "I-I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but after about a six month battle with breast cancer, your mom passed away late last night."

Emery could've dropped the phone. He could've watched it shatter on his hardwood floors and that could be the end of it. Instead, he swallowed the lump in his throat and responded, "Why did no one tell me she was sick?"

"We couldn't get a hold of you," she sighed, her voice breaking, "And when we found a way, your father told us that it was best not to bother you."

"Well, he, he was right. D-don't call this number again." He hung up the phone without another word. Julie didn't say anything, she just got up from the couch and pulled Emery into a hug. He didn't even realize he was crying until he saw the tear stains on her shirt. He didn't know if they were happy or sad tears. "She's gone, Julie, she's really gone."

( note! )

the rest of emery's backstory will be explained later down the line!! y'all can thank jontys bc she was the one who told me to give em a sad backstory!!