Okay this is my new story, "Fourth Dimension" Note that it is an AU to what happened when Emily was younger, though there will be something's that remain the same. Enjoy.
Fourth Dimension
One
Emily
I set the food down on the table in front of the men, they're all looking at me as I take their cups for refills. Hooters isn't exactly the place you want to work if you get uncomfortable with men staring at your boobs. It's a good thing I don't because I'd sure be out of work if I did.
"Now that one will get a nice tip." One of the men mutters as I walk away. I pretend not to hear as I walk into the back to fill up the cups.
"Hey Gina." I smile as I pass a coworker, she's just arrived and is hanging up her coat.
"Evening Emily." Gina smiles. "How are the boys?"
"Oh they're good Johnny's bartending here at nights now." I answer. "Matthew's getting a little better, he's not getting sick at night anymore."
"That's good, you almost done?" She smiles pulling her long blonde hair out of her face and into a pony tail.
"Yeah just finishing up with my last table." I motion to the drinks I'm refilling and placing on the tray. Gina smiles and picks up her own tray as I head out the door with the drinks. I set them down in front of the men and handed them their check. As she walked back into the kitchens and into the locker room to get her coat she heard someone call her name.
"Emily." The voice said. She turned and smiled.
"Johnny, aren't you supposed to be at home with Matthew?" She asked pulling her jacket on over her crop top.
"My shift starts in ten minutes, he's in the car okay?" He says.
Over the last two months Johnny and I have shared an apartment with our friend Matthew. Matthew is trying to get clean and its not exactly easy to let him at home alone, there are just too many chances of him sneaking out of the house for drugs. I smile and kiss John as I slide my jeans over the short shorts.
"Okay, have a good evening, I'll see you around ten?" I ask.
"Yeah you'll see me around ten." He smiles kissing me again, I smile at him and go out to the car. Matthew is sitting in the passenger seat of the old car John and I used. He looks up when I get into the car.
"Had a good day Emmy?" Matthew asks smiling gently
"Yeah, just about as good as it gets." I smile, pulling out of the parking space. "Had a good afternoon?"
"As good as it can get with John." His lips are pressed together tightly, he's not happy about something.
"What happened?" I frown.
"Nothing he was John, I don't like him." He shrugged.
"Why not?" I ask though I know its futile he doesn't like John because five years ago John got me pregnant, abandoned me and I had an abortion.
"You know why." He whispers.
"That was five years ago." I say.
"Yeah well if he hadn't been such an ass we could've avoided this all together but the guy doesn't know how to use a condom properly." Matthew grumbles, I choose to ignore it and we ride in silence until we arrive at the apartment.
When we arrive I find that John has left a chicken salad in the fridge for me. I smile and sit down next to Matthew, he turns on the evening news but I can tell something is bothering him. I sigh and make him look at me. "What's up?"
"You're sleeping with him again." Its not a question.
"So?" I say.
"So he's still an ass and what if you get pregnant again Emmy?" He frowns. "I couldn't stand to see you hurting as much as you did last time, but you're in no position for a baby."
I want to tell him off. I want to yell at him for assuming he knows what kind of position I'm in when he doesn't even know what kind of position he's in. I can't though, I can't because he's right what if I do get pregnant again? I can't handle another abortion and I'm not in any position to raise a baby.
"W-we'll just be careful." I manage.
He rolls his eyes. "Since when have John and 'careful' ever gone together?" Again if he wasn't right I would hit him, but he is right, he's right and I can't help it. "Never mind I'm going to take a shower." He stands up and walks off down the hall.
I stay sitting in silence, the news droning in my ear. It hurt, the things he said but he was right, since when have John and careful gone together, and when has John known the difference between putting the condom on the banana and putting it on his penis? He doesn't care either way. I make a mental note to buy more condoms the next time I'm out.
Sighing I pick up my phycology book and immerse myself into the facts. I don't realize how long I've been reading until I hear Matthew rummaging in the kitchen. I stand up and go into where he's pulling out pots and pans, hosting myself up on the counter I say. "What are making?'
He looks up at me, a flat expression. "Spaghetti, its all we have…" He gestures to the empty cupboards and I sigh.
"I'm going to call Johnny and tell him to pick up some food on his way home okay?" I smile at him, he can't help it and he smiles back.
"Okay." He smiles going back to cooking I walk over to the phone and dial the Hooters where he's bartending.
"Hello?" Gina's voice answers.
"Hey Gina can I speak to Johnny please?" I ask, I hear her call his name and a few seconds later the phone changes hands.
"Yeah Emmy?" He asks.
"I need you to pick up some groceries on the way home okay?" I bite my lip and twirl the phone cord around my fingers.
"Sure anything specific?" He asks.
"Yeah, condoms." I mutter quietly in a vain attempt to keep my request from Matthew, I can tell he's heard it though simply by the body language which goes from simply cooking to forcing himself to cook and not listen.
"We have those…" I can hear his face flush a bit.
"Yeah I know but just grab some more okay?" I mutter, no longer hiding my flushed face from Matthew he knows whats going on and I know he won't tease me about it, he'll leave it alone he doesn't want to know anyway.
"Sure Em." John says. "Is that all?"
"Um…" I glance at Matthew who shrugs. "No, that's it. Thank you see you in… two hours?"
"If I'm going shopping it'll be two and a half okay?" He grinned, "Love you Em." There was a click and he hung up. I turned around and walked back into the kitchen, still blushing a bit.
"Well since I'm not waiting to eat for two hours we'll have to eat just buttered noodles if that's okay." He asks.
"Its fine." I whisper looking at them, I don't usually eat this meal. This meal was the one Matthew made me in a dingy hotel in Florence after I had the abortion. It was all we could afford at the time, I remember the feeling of the blood running down my legs as I walked, the feeling of having the heaviest period ever over the following days.
"Um Em?" Matthew mutters.
"Yeah?" I ask, a little frightened that I could literally feel the blood from the abortion running down my legs.
"You um… you might want to go change..." He blushes.
"Why?" I ask, unable to speak the words aloud he points and I look between my legs, no wonder I can feel the blood I just got my period. "Oh, I'm going to clean up, I'll be right back okay?"
"Yeah I'll keep your noodles warm." He smiles and turns the oven on low, setting the bowl in the oven. I walk back to the bathroom and pull my clothes off and toss them into the hamper making a note to do the laundry. I know if John does it he'll tease me about it and I'm not in any mood to be teased by John Cooley.
As I wash my hair there's a light tap on the door. "Yeah?" I call out.
"Hey Em, do you want me to do the laundry?" Matthew's voice calls.
"Sure that'd be great, will um, will everything be clean by the time John gets home?" I ask reaching out to unlock the door.
"Well it won't be dry but it shouldn't be stained." I can almost hear his face flush. He's a sweetheart for doing this, he knows how John will react just as well as I do and it makes him angry, but instead of punching him he does the laundry before John can find it.
"Okay, thanks Matthew." I grin to myself wanting to peek outside the shower to show him I'm smiling but that will only make him uncomfortable. I hear him take the laundry and leave. I reach back out and lock the door again.
When I finish with my shower I put a pad in my panties and slide into my pajama's. I walk out to the couch and find a folded blanket sitting on one arm and a hot water bottle on the coffee table. I smile to my self pull the blanket over me and settle the hot water bottle over my lower abdomen. I flick on the TV and start mindlessly watching Full House. Matthew sits next to me and hands me my noodles. He smiles a bit at me.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing you're just look so… relaxed." He smiles. "I haven't seen you just curled up on the couch in your pajama's in a long time. You're always getting home from work, going to work, going to class, studying. You never relax."
"I don't have time." I whisper.
"You could, Em its been almost two months okay? You can take a shower when you want, you can take a nap if you so desire I'm not going to leave and if I did where would I go?" Matthew whispers taking my hand.
"To get Drugs." I squeeze his hand, the look in his eyes hurts, but I know I'm right.
"Em, I-I…" He doesn't finish what ever he's going to say instead he pulls me close to him and hugs me tightly, kissing my damp hair. "I am so sorry. I'm going to get better this time, I promise you that."
I can't say anything both because the way he's hugging me makes it hard to speak and because I've heard this twice before and I don't know if I can believe him this time. I hug him back and stay there, just enjoying the moment, he's clean for the time being, and I'm here home relaxing for a while. I start to doze as the credits start to roll.
A couple of hours later I wake to Matthew rubbing my back gently until I wake. "hm?" I yawn.
"Em, I've got to go to bed and to do that I need you to sit up. Okay?" He whispers I nod and get off of him. "You gonna lock me in?"
"You know I have to." I whisper, I hate doing it but I have to if I don't he might try to sneak out. He gets up and walks back to his room. It's the master bedroom, John and I decided to put him here because we can lock him in and he can still use the bathroom at night if he needs to.
"Night Emmy." He whispers kissing my cheek and entering his room. I lock the door and walk back down the hall. I check the time and notice Johnny should be home any minute. I start a pot of tea and heat up whats left over from dinner. Fifteen minutes later the door opens and Johnny opens the door, setting down half a dozen grocery bags.
"Em I'm – oh hey." He smiles upon noticing me. "You gonna tell me what the condoms are for?"
"Well you're a guy I would hope you know what their for." I smirk.
"Well okay I know what they're for but we have some in the nightstand why do we need more?" He asks, taking the bowl of noodles from my hand.
"Just in case." I say kissing him.
He kisses me again and wraps his hands around my waist. "Hm, well that sounds good to me."
"Ah ah ah," I whisper. "Not this week." I frown kissing him again.
"Oh the red menace?" He asks.
"Would you quit calling it that?" I laugh lightly. "Call it what it is, the menstrual cycle or my period."
"The Red Menace is what it is to me. You're all over my ass for everything and I can't get laid." He smirked.
"If you did everything I asked I wouldn't be all over your ass for a week." I grin taking some of the groceries and starting to put them away. "Eat your dinner and get in the shower you smell like cigarette smoke."
"It's not my fault I work in a bar that allows smoking." He chuckles walking to the shower. I roll my eyes and finish putting the groceries away. I set up the coffee so all I have to do is press the button to start it when I wake up.
Then I go back to bed and wait for Johnny to get in next to me. I can hear him check if Matthew's door is locked before he crawls into bed with me. He's wearing only boxer shorts and his chest is still damp. I feel his arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me close to him.
"I hardly see you anymore Emmy." He whispers.
"I know, I'm sorry but between school and work I'm pretty busy." I murmur turning towards him in the dark.
"I understand that but we need to work in time together if you want to be more then friend with benefits." He runs his thumb over my cheek.
"I know that and we will work in that time but first we need to get Matthew to a point where he can be allowed out of the house or alone without the risk of buying drugs." I smile. "He does want to work, he's been trying to get me to let him apply to that book store down the street."
"Why not Hooters? We can watch him then." John jokes.
"Its not his style but its only been two months since he's been clean he needs more time." I sigh.
"How much longer? If he thinks he's ready we should let him." John argues.
"No we shouldn't John because if we do that and he's not ready we're right back at square one aren't we?" I huff.
"Okay, okay you make a point Em but we can't keep going like this forever, how about if he's still clean by the first of January we let him apply." He sighs.
"Alright we have to let him try something at some point." I kiss him. "Night Johnny."
"Night Emmy." Is the last thing I hear before I fall asleep in his arms.
