Chapter 23 #2
“Callum’s dad,” Jo said as she cleared her throat. “He never talked about him. I figured it was just old family stuff. We all have a broken relationship with someone we’re related to, but last night, after what you told me…I get it now. I understand why he clammed up whenever I mentioned his dad.”
Amelia looked down at their joined hands. “What he said to me last night…”
“What did he say, Amelia?” Even though Jo never wanted to cross paths with him again, Callum had never been cruel to her. He’d cheated, yes, but if she found out now that he’d been abusive or raised his voice to Amelia, Jo would be very shocked…and seething.
Amelia shook her head and sighed. “It all started because I wouldn’t give him anything when it came to you.
He’d tried, failed, and I think he was looking for someone to lash out at.
I was the perfect option, given the fact I was already slowly breaking.
When I told him you’d moved on, he asked if that was with me.
” Amelia scoffed. “I don’t know why he thought that, it’s not like he’s seen us together, but when I challenged him…
he turned. Said it was no surprise that Geoff behaved the way he did because I’ll sleep with anyone. ”
Yeah, that would do it. Jo was fucking livid with Callum now.
“I didn’t recognise him,” Amelia continued. “But I did. Because I saw him in my son. His tone. His disgust. That…entitlement. And for a moment, I felt like I was back in that house again, standing in front of a man who could do whatever he wanted without consequence.”
Jo’s body physically ached. “Jesus Christ, Amelia…”
“I told Callum to get out. I told him we were done. He stood there, stunned, like he couldn’t believe I’d finally told him no. And then…then you texted me.”
“I had no idea.” Jo swallowed. “I just needed to see you. I wasn’t thinking about what you could be going through.”
“I’m glad you reached out.” Amelia squeezed Jo’s hand and smiled. “Because if you hadn’t, I think I may have stayed in that place. That dark, depressing place I swore I’d never go back to.”
Jo slid closer on the couch, taking Amelia in her arms. “You’re not alone anymore.”
“I know,” Amelia whispered. “But that’s the scariest part. Because it means I have something to lose again. It’s been so long since I’ve had to worry about something like that.”
Jo regarded her with a small, sad smile. “You’re not going to lose me. Not after everything we’ve come through just to be sitting here.”
Amelia leaned her head against Jo’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I don’t know how to do this relationship thing. Not with all the history that I carry.”
Jo rested her cheek against Amelia’s hair, but not before she left a kiss there. “Then we’ll figure it out together. Day by day.”
Jo chose not to press for any other answers.
She just held onto Amelia as though she would disappear if she dared to let go.
Survival wasn’t always about fighting and fixing.
Sometimes, it was about sitting in the quiet with someone while they remembered how to breathe.
Jo had learned that through losing Callum, and the very woman in her arms had held her together.
Now, it was Jo’s turn to weather the storm with Amelia.
While the flat was quiet, Jo’s head wasn’t.
She leaned against the kitchen counter, her arms folded, her gaze fixed on Amelia, who’d drifted off again on the couch.
Wrapped in a blanket, her hair a mess, and with Jo’s hoodie still hanging from her shoulders.
She looked peaceful, but only in that way people did when their body had finally given up trying to hold everything in.
Jo exhaled slowly and glanced at the time. Almost eleven.
She couldn’t stop replaying what Amelia had said.
She couldn’t get the pain in her voice out of her head, and she couldn’t stop seeing her trembling hands as she’d described her standoff with Callum.
How dare her own son spew the very venom his father once had?
After everything Amelia had done for him, how fucking dare he!
Jo had tried to drift off with Amelia in her arms after breakfast, but her mind constantly raced. And now, she couldn’t sit around doing nothing for another second. Fuck this!
She moved into the living room and crouched beside the couch, brushing a few stray strands of Amelia’s hair from her cheek.
“Mm…” Amelia stirred, blinking slowly as her eyes opened.
Jo smiled. “Sorry to wake you.”
“Did I fall asleep?” Amelia sat up slightly, rubbing at her eyes. “Again?”
“Yeah, but you needed it.” Jo sat down on the edge of the couch. “I need to head out for a little while. Just an hour or so.”
Amelia cleared the sleep from her voice and frowned. “Is everything okay?
“Everything is fine. I promise. I just need to clear my head. Take a walk. Grab a few things since I have nothing in the fridge, and I don’t want you to starve.”
Amelia nodded, though Jo could see the flicker of hesitation behind her eyes. “Should I—”
“I want you to stay here. Don’t go back home, not today. Not until you’ve had a chance to just breathe.”
“Are you sure you want me here?” Amelia lifted Jo’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I can go if you need some space.”
“Of course I want you here.” Jo stood and fixed the blanket back over Amelia.
“I want you to rest. Be in this space. Let the world fall away for a bit. You’ve earned that.
” She leaned down and kissed the top of Amelia’s head.
“There’s tea and coffee in the cupboard, oat milk and ordinary milk in the fridge, and a few bits if you get hungry.
The password for the WIFI is stuck to the fridge door with that ridiculous llama magnet you got me a couple of years ago. ”
Amelia lifted a brow. “You…kept that?”
“Absolutely. Best gift anyone has ever given me.”
Amelia smiled as she relaxed her shoulders. “Thank you. For everything.”
“I’ve got you. Always.”
Jo grabbed her jacket and phone, her hands shaking slightly as she slipped on her trainers. Because the truth was, she wasn’t just going for a walk. She was going to see Callum, and this time, she was the one who had things to say.
She wasn’t going to scream or shout, but she was going to look him in the eye and make sure he understood what he’d done. What he’d said. What he’d carried forward from the man who’d terrorised the woman Jo now loved more deeply than she knew how to admit.
Because Jo hadn’t been there for Amelia once before, and she wouldn’t make that mistake again.