Page 101 of The Other Room

“Jo, we are not a terrible idea. We are the best idea anyone has ever had. I love you, and I know you love me. Please don’t throw that away because you’re scared.”

I reached out again, and she stepped back. But this time I didn’t stop, and I pulled her into my arms.

“Don’t!” She struggled for a moment, but I held her tight.

“I’m not leaving you, Jo. Ever.”

“Go!” She fought harder, but I held on, pressing her body against mine.

“I’m not leaving you, Jo,” I whispered against her hair. “I’m never leaving you.”

Over and over I repeated the phrase, and with each admission, her struggle softened.

“Go,” she tried again, but I knew about the root of her hurt. The fuel for the rage and anger burning inside of her.

Deep down she believed me. I knew Jo... better than anyone. And I’d seen that look in her eyes before. It was the look she had when things were getting serious and her walls went flying up. The look she got just before she launched back to the safety of her life alone. A life where no one had the power to hurt her again. Abandon her.

For all her anger and rage right now, I realized she knew I’d never fall for Nikki again and betray her. But her fear of me leaving her had sent her launching for the emergency exit, desperate to protect herself from being abandoned once again. Desperate to avoid a future I knew wouldn’t come. In her warped version of the future, I left her when she needed me most.

Just like her dad.

But I would never leave Jo. Not ever.

And I wasn’t going to let her fear push me away like it’d done with every other man. Where they’d given up, I would hold strong. I would fight to my dying breath to show her I was the one she could depend on.

Always.

“I’m not leaving you,” I whispered again. “Ever. I love you, Jo. And I need you to accept that.”

Slowly, her body folded against mine, her fight against her fears petering out. I pulled her tighter, pressing my lips to the top of her head as she slid her arms around my waist.

“We’re going to have a long life together, and I need to know that you won’t bail on me because you’re scared. I can’t live without you, Jo. You need to find a way to trust me. Trust in my love for you and that I’m never ever leaving you. In the twenty-eight years we’ve been friends, name one time I’ve let you down. One time I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

I felt her head shake against my chest.

“The answer to that question is never. Not once have I ever abandoned you, and I fully intend to keep up that track record until we’re old and wrinkled and gray. I will be here for you always. Always and forever. And that’s how long I’m going to love you.”

“I’m so scared,” she whispered, and I felt my own tears threatening to spill out.

How could someone ever hurt a girl as wonderful as my Jo. Who could ever leave her?

“When you’re scared, you lean on me, okay? I’ll be brave for the both of us. But I need you to trust me. No matter what. Because I will never ever hurt you. And I will never let you go. Understood?”

She sniffled and nodded, and I squeezed her tighter, then released my grip and leaned back.

Fearful eyes brimmed with tears met mine, and I slid my hand beneath her chin, stroking away a tear with my thumb.

“I love you, Jo. More than anything.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

The power of those four words seeped into my soul, and I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to hers. I tried to kiss away all her insecurities, all her pain, and all her doubts. With each brush of my lips against hers, I tried to mend the cracks in her heart and fill them with my love.

“I love you so much,” I whispered against her mouth. “I’ll love you until the day I die.”

“Don’t hurt me, Matt.” Her breath ghosted my lips as she whispered the words.

“Never,” I whispered back, then deepened our kiss.