realises the change she's made in you."
"Change?"
"Yeah. You've started to turn the corner, Jo. You're too good for parasites like Trix. You're my best friend, Jo. But I have to tell you, the way you've been living your life can't go on. If finding Rocky changes who you are, then I'm glad."
"I felt like I was betraying her," said Jo, obviously surprised at the revelation.
"You felt like you were betraying someone who isn't even your lover?"
"Not even a friend yet," said Jo.
"But you'd like her to be your friend."
Jo shook her head in wonderment. "I feel as if I desperately need her to like me, to accept me. And I feel I need to be a different person for her."
"I don't think you need to be anyone but yourself. I like the person you are, I just don't really like the person that needs the Trixes of this world."
"Do you think Rocky would want to know the woman who came home and found Trix here?"
"Probably not. But only you can determine whether that person is gone for good now."
"I want her to be. But what if she's still here?"
"Then you have to control her. You have to push her back down when she wants her way..." She watched her friend contemplate what she was saying. "It's up to you, Jo. Do you think you can change?"
"I have to."
Part 8
It was Monday morning, and for most the beginning of another week. But for Lady Joanna Holbrook-Sutherland it was just another day.
True, weekends were more memorable, but Joanna's days all started very much the same. Rising in the late morning, if not early afternoon. Then, after showering and dressing, she'd most likely leave to meet with one of her myriad of friends for a liquid lunch.
Jo was asleep - hardly surprising as it was only a little after 8am. She and Harry had talked long into the night. Harry had coaxed out of her the events following her return to the house after her last meeting with Rocky. She had tried hard to understand Jo's inability to resist what Trixi had offered. She'd listened to her friend's tense whispered voice as she tended to the scratches across Jo's shoulders.
"She did this to you?" Harry asked as she spread an antiseptic cream across the worst of the marks.
Jo nodded, her face buried in the quilt. "She's very physical, likes it rough." Her breath hissed through her teeth as Harry examined what looked like half-crescent punctures in her shoulder.
"Sorry." Harry reached again for the tube of cream and squeezed some directly onto the wounds, rubbing it in with gentle fingers.
"No, I should be sorry." Jo's voice was barely heard, muffled against the quilt.
Harry's fingers stilled, and rested lightly on Jo's back. "I'm still your friend, Jo. Your best friend. Right?"
Jo turned her head to look up at the blonde who was kneeling on the bed beside her. "I was beginning to wonder, after the other night. I wasn't thinking about you; I didn't realise..."
"Exactly. My fault too. Jealousy is an ugly thing." She rested back on her heels, taking a towel and wiping the cream from her hands. "I was jealous. But I don't want to lose you as a friend."
"Me neither," said Jo, and she reached out, curling her hand around Harry's smaller one.
Harry crept into Jo's room and raised the blind a little, allowing some of the grey light into the room. Jo was asleep, lying on her stomach, the quilt covering her up to her shoulders. When Jo asked Harry to stay the night after their talking had gone on beyond 2am, Harry decided to stay in the guestroom. The look on Jo's face almost changed the blonde's mind. But she kept her resolve, walked up to her friend, placed a kiss on her cheek and left her on her bed.
Which was where she found her the next morning.
She reached over and gently shook the sleeping woman's shoulder, noticing the dark shadows beneath Jo's closed eyes.
"Hey there." Harry smiled as the blue eyes fluttered open.
"Harry?"
"Yeah. You expecting someone else?"
"What time is it?"
"Time I was going - I have to go home first to change. I'll be
"Change?"
"Yeah. You've started to turn the corner, Jo. You're too good for parasites like Trix. You're my best friend, Jo. But I have to tell you, the way you've been living your life can't go on. If finding Rocky changes who you are, then I'm glad."
"I felt like I was betraying her," said Jo, obviously surprised at the revelation.
"You felt like you were betraying someone who isn't even your lover?"
"Not even a friend yet," said Jo.
"But you'd like her to be your friend."
Jo shook her head in wonderment. "I feel as if I desperately need her to like me, to accept me. And I feel I need to be a different person for her."
"I don't think you need to be anyone but yourself. I like the person you are, I just don't really like the person that needs the Trixes of this world."
"Do you think Rocky would want to know the woman who came home and found Trix here?"
"Probably not. But only you can determine whether that person is gone for good now."
"I want her to be. But what if she's still here?"
"Then you have to control her. You have to push her back down when she wants her way..." She watched her friend contemplate what she was saying. "It's up to you, Jo. Do you think you can change?"
"I have to."
Part 8
It was Monday morning, and for most the beginning of another week. But for Lady Joanna Holbrook-Sutherland it was just another day.
True, weekends were more memorable, but Joanna's days all started very much the same. Rising in the late morning, if not early afternoon. Then, after showering and dressing, she'd most likely leave to meet with one of her myriad of friends for a liquid lunch.
Jo was asleep - hardly surprising as it was only a little after 8am. She and Harry had talked long into the night. Harry had coaxed out of her the events following her return to the house after her last meeting with Rocky. She had tried hard to understand Jo's inability to resist what Trixi had offered. She'd listened to her friend's tense whispered voice as she tended to the scratches across Jo's shoulders.
"She did this to you?" Harry asked as she spread an antiseptic cream across the worst of the marks.
Jo nodded, her face buried in the quilt. "She's very physical, likes it rough." Her breath hissed through her teeth as Harry examined what looked like half-crescent punctures in her shoulder.
"Sorry." Harry reached again for the tube of cream and squeezed some directly onto the wounds, rubbing it in with gentle fingers.
"No, I should be sorry." Jo's voice was barely heard, muffled against the quilt.
Harry's fingers stilled, and rested lightly on Jo's back. "I'm still your friend, Jo. Your best friend. Right?"
Jo turned her head to look up at the blonde who was kneeling on the bed beside her. "I was beginning to wonder, after the other night. I wasn't thinking about you; I didn't realise..."
"Exactly. My fault too. Jealousy is an ugly thing." She rested back on her heels, taking a towel and wiping the cream from her hands. "I was jealous. But I don't want to lose you as a friend."
"Me neither," said Jo, and she reached out, curling her hand around Harry's smaller one.
Harry crept into Jo's room and raised the blind a little, allowing some of the grey light into the room. Jo was asleep, lying on her stomach, the quilt covering her up to her shoulders. When Jo asked Harry to stay the night after their talking had gone on beyond 2am, Harry decided to stay in the guestroom. The look on Jo's face almost changed the blonde's mind. But she kept her resolve, walked up to her friend, placed a kiss on her cheek and left her on her bed.
Which was where she found her the next morning.
She reached over and gently shook the sleeping woman's shoulder, noticing the dark shadows beneath Jo's closed eyes.
"Hey there." Harry smiled as the blue eyes fluttered open.
"Harry?"
"Yeah. You expecting someone else?"
"What time is it?"
"Time I was going - I have to go home first to change. I'll be
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