Callum’s breath faltered. “So…that’s it?”
“That wasitthe day I came home from work to find that you’d kindly packed my bags for me. That wasitwhen you stood there with Thea by your side inourhouse and told me you didn’t love me anymore.”
“But Jo?—”
“I’m seeing someone.” Those words were out of her mouth before she even realised it. Her entire body tensed immediately. She wasn’t seeing anyone, and she suspected she never would be. Because everyone always left or disappointed her in some way. Still, with Amelia, it hadfeltlike something. Something real and something more than she’d ever imagined for herself.
She cast her mind back to Thursday night, Amelia’s eyes as she’d stood in her flat, tears running silently down her cheeks. The way her voice had broken when she saidI love you.
“Oh.” Callum’s voice snapped her back to the moment.
“I’m not interested in going backwards. Not with you.”
“Has Mum put you up to this? She didn’t seem like she wanted to see me when I turned up before.” He sighed. “She said you weren’t interested in seeing me anymore. I didn’t want to believe her.”
“Well, believe her now.”
“Right.” His voice hardened. “Guess I’ll see you around then.”
Jo scoffed. “I’d prefer not to, if it’s all the same.”
The moment she ended the call and the line went dead, Jo dropped the phone onto the windowsill and pressed her forehead against the glass. Her body was tense, her breath shallow, but her mind…her mind was already racing towards someone else.
Amelia.
Why couldn’t she stop wanting her? Why, even after all the lies and secrets, did her heart still reach for her? Maybe because Amelia had seen her for who she was and liked it. Even under false pretences, even cloaked in darkness, Amelia had made her feel alive again.
Beautiful, powerful…someone who mattered.
And now she missed her like hell.
Her phone vibrated on her recently painted windowsill.
Jo quickly picked it up, hoping and praying it was Amelia.
But it wasn’t. It was the one person who was always there for her, even when she didn’t know she needed someone. Ada.
You okay? I’m in the area and wondered if you needed me to come over? I’m only five mins away.
Jo stared at the message, smiling with appreciation for Ada Kilroy.
I’m okay. Just spending the day with myself. Learning to sit in the quiet without falling apart. I’ll talk to you in a few days once things have settled down.
Jo sent the message, then swallowed when she quickly typed out another.
I miss her. I feel lost without her.
Ada started to reply immediately, as though she’d known Jo wasn’t quite finished with what she was saying.
I know you do. Give yourself some time.
Jo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever the outcome of the next few days, she just hoped that everyone would pull through in a way that was best for them.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Amelia stoodat the kitchen counter, her arms folded, half-listening as Callum paced the length of the room. His voice had risen steadily since the moment he’d arrived back from wherever the hell he’d been, angry and wounded, but it wasn’t remorse she was hearing. It was entitlement. It always was.
“I don’t understand what she’s playing at,” he snapped, running a hand through his hair. “She won’t even talk to me, Mum. You must have said something. You must have told her not?—”
