“I know, but—”
“Everything will be okay. We will be okay.”
“But where will you live? What will you do?” She shrugs, the darkness in her eyes making my heart ache in a whole new way.
“I’ll figure it out.”
A soft knock sounds on the door, and it opens a beat after Mum calls out for whoever it is to enter.
I can’t help but smile as I take in the relief in Toby’s eyes when he steps into the room and sees me here.
“Hey, you hungry?” My gaze drops to the tray in his hand, and my stomach groans at the sight of the piles of pastry.
“Starving,” I say, pulling my aching body up the bed a little so I can rest back against the headboard. My eyes catch on my bare legs that are poking out from the hem of one of Toby’s shirts.
“What’s wrong, Jodie?” Gianna asks, placing coffees down for each of us. “Are you in pain?”
“N-no,” I lie, because the reality is that every inch of my body aches like a bitch. “I’m just… how didn’t I break anything?” I ask, astounded that I made it out of that house with only a few cuts and scrapes. “He… he threw me down the stairs.”
“Here,” Gianna says, passing me two little white pills and a glass of water. “I can see it in your eyes, sweetheart.”
“Thanks,” I whisper, taking them from her and eagerly swallowing them down.
“You were very lucky, from what your mum has said.”
“Lucky? I’m not sure that’s how I’d describe it.”
“Give it a week or so and the evidence of the past few days will have faded. Hopefully, that will help you be able to process it all and find a way to move forward.” She looks away from me to Mum. “Do you need anything, Joanne?”
Mum takes my hand in hers. “No, I have everything I need right here.”
“The pastry, you mean?” I joke, making a genuine smile spread across her lips.
“What can’t a pain au chocolat fix?” she asks, plucking one from the tray that Toby’s lowered to the bed between us.
I watch her in amusement as she takes a bite and groans in delight. Maybe she’s right. Maybe everything will be okay and this really is just a total fresh start for us.
I eat until I’m pretty sure I’m going to explode, and when I glance over at Mum, I find that she’s barely able to keep her eyes open.
“We should let you sleep,” I say to her after nodding at Toby to clear up the tray.
She immediately sinks down in the bed and pulls the covers up around her.
“I love you, Jojo. And I’m so proud of you,” she murmurs before her eyes completely close and her breathing evens out.
“I love you too, Mum,” I say before Toby wraps his arm around my shoulder and guides me out of the room, letting me use my own slightly wobbly legs this time.
“There’s someone waiting for you down in the living room,” he tells me, steering me in that direction.
“Jodie,” Bri breathes, throwing her mug in excitement and launching herself at me.
“You fucking bitch,” Nico barks, his lap now covered in what I assume is burning coffee.
Toby snorts a laugh beside me as I’m rugby tackled by my best friend.
“Fuck, Jodie. Do you have any idea how terrifying that was?”
“I’m okay, Bri. The guys saved me.”