If I Can't Have you

(22) Look after her

"Ada, please," Jemima sighs, knocking on the woman's door, "you can't lock yourself away forever. It's not healthy, yourself and the baby need fresh air."

"Don't ignore me, Ada. I know you're in there," Jemima continues, "I have food, and I'm alone."

"You promise?" Ada's voice whispers from the other side of the door.

"Yes, it's just me out here." Jemima states.

There was silence for a moment before she heard the unchaining of the door, and Ada barely opens it, looking around before pulling it wider so Jemima could enter.

"Fucking hell, Ada," Jemima says, taking in the woman's frail frame.

"Is Tommy still asking about me?"

"Always, won't leave me alone about you, but I've told him nothing." Jemima replies.

"Thank you."

"Ada, I've got more loyalties to you than I ever will him." Jemima tells her.

"How many times have you slept together? You and Tommy? I know it was more than that one night. I overheard your conversation at the wedding." Ada says.

Jemima sighs, "a lot more than I care to admit."

"Really?" Ada replies, "I thought it'd be another drunken night."

"I wish that's all it had been," Jemima shrugs.

"So what happened?" Ada asks.

"I'll tell you, if you promise that you're going to eat whatever I bring to your doorstep each day," Jemima negotiates.

"Deal," Ada nods, taking a bread roll from the basket, breaking a piece off and eating it.

"He called it off, said people were getting too close to finding out - which he is probably correct about." Jemima says, "Logan came round one morning when Tommy had stayed the night, I'm surprised he hasn't ran his mouth yet."

"The other afternoon, we accidentally left his waistcoat on my kitchen floor, Max come home, found it and left it outside my door with a note, that's when he called it off," Jemima tells her, "at the wedding, I'm not really sure what happened, I think he was jealous, but with him you never know."

"You keep saying he called it off? Was it not mutual? Do you actually like my brother?"

"Gods no, he is a complete and utter arse." Jemima scoffs, "he made the decision though, I would've been more than happy to continue."

"So how long has your 'arrangement' been occurring for?" Ada asks intrigued.

"A couple nights after I split with Logan," Jemima says, and Ada's eyes go wide, "that was almost three months ago!"

Ada looks at her inquisitively, "I heard Graces name mentioned, what does she have to do anything?"

"Thomas and I made a deal that we wouldn't sleep with anyone else whilst we were sleeping together." Jemima explains, "he says he technically didn't break the deal because they didn't sleep together, but something happened, and he wasn't even going to tell me."

"How'd you find out?"

"A comment Billy Kimber made," Jemima sighs.

"Fucking hell, he's a prick," Ada says, "and Polly tried to tell me he was becoming more bearable."

-

"Morrigan," Tommy says, stopping her in the kitchen.

"Thomas," Jemima responds her tone clipped.