Page 94 of In The Dark

“You’re alive then?”

Jo grinned. “Good morning to you, too.”

“No text, no update, nonothingfor three whole days, and now you decide to call me like it’s a normal Tuesday? You better have a good story.”

Jo sat up, unable to keep the joy at bay any longer. “I do, actually.”

“Go on…”

“I’ve been with Amelia,” Jo said. “Like…actually been with her.”

Ada let out a sharp breath. “Oh, shit.”

Jo laughed. “And before you ask, it’sexactlywhat you think it is.”

“Jo—”

“No, listen. I asked her to come over the other night. We talked properly about everything, and I get it now. I completely understand why she did what she did and why she hid behind Lia. I’m not saying it was right, but I understand.”

Jo wouldn’t go into detail about Amelia’s personal life, it wasn’t her story to tell, but Ada wouldn’t hold that against her.

There was another pause, but this one felt different. Softer. Then… “And?”

“And I told her I didn’t want to lose her. That I want to be with her.”

“Jesus,” Ada whispered. “You’re serious.”

“Yeah,” Jo murmured. “I’m so fucking serious that I’m grinning like an idiot while staring at the mug she used this morning.”

Ada blew out a breath. “Okay, well…I mean, obviously, I have concerns. Given everything that’s happened recently, but I’ll trust that you know what you’re doing.”

Jo appreciated that. Ada had never been one to linger on something for too long. She was a firm believer in them both being old enough to make their own mistakes. “Everything isn’t as it seems with her, Ada. She’s had a terrible time since… Well, I won’t go into it. It’s not my business to share, you know?”

“No, I get that,” Ada said. “So, what about Callum?”

“He doesn’t know about us, not yet, but he’s furious with us both. Me because I won’t go back to him…and her because she told him what she thinks of him.” That was all Jo would offer when it came to the Callum saga. She couldn’t go into detail without discussing Amelia’s horrific past with her ex-husband. “He said some dreadful things to her, accused her of sleeping with me, and now he’s spat his dummy out.”

“Sounds like typical Callum, sadly.”

Yeah, Ada knew all too well the kind of person Callum was. Still, the way he’d treated Amelia was far worse than anything he’d done to Jo. Cheating on her seemed like very little when she reminded herself of his appalling attitude towards his own mother.

“As far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t exist in my world anymore.” Jo ran a hand through her hair and smiled. “Amelia is my priority, and I’m hers.”

“Fucking finally! You choseyoufor once.”

“I choseher,” Jo corrected gently. “But yeah. That, too.”

A long silence stretched, and then Jo heard Ada sniffle. “God, you deserve this, Jo. You deserve to be loved. Really loved. Not halfway, not hidden away, and not in a dark room. Just…loved.”

Jo blinked against the sudden sting in her eyes. “She makes me feel like I’m allowed to want that.”

“You’ve been through it, babe. I’m just proud of you for finally letting something good in. I hated seeing you so down. That’s not the Jo I know.”

Jo wouldn’t be where she was today without Ada and Amelia combined. They’d both picked her up and helped her along in different ways. “You didn’t let me down once, though. Even when I was crying on the couch, claiming I didn’t want you to be there…you stayed. You never once walked away or turned your back.”

“You’re my best friend. I could never walk away.”

“We’re having dinner tonight. I’m going over. She’s moved a meeting, and some work around that was meant to be tomorrow, so we can spend the day together.” Jo smiled up at the ceiling. “God, I’m so in love with her, Ada.”