"You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello."
…
Leo was about to tuck into his breakfast when there was a knock on the door. He couldn't remember the last time he had a visitor at 7.10am; perhaps the postman was especially efficient today?
Opening the door revealed Jemma, who instantly barged into the living room and sat on the couch with muttering a word. Leo decided not to point out that she was wearing what she wore yesterday as he stared at her in confusion.
"Are you okay? I wasn't expecting you until after school again; Cleo's not even up yet." Leo chuckled. Jemma said nothing in reply, fixated on the floor. As Leo took a few steps closer he saw she'd clearly been crying. This meant he might have to comfort her; he never was very good at that type of situation.
Tentatively, Leo sat down next to Jemma as she sniffed and wiped her eyes again. She looked drained.
"Jemma?"
"…I've been up all night…with Trip." Jemma eventually mustered.
"Oh, lucky you!" Leo chuckled, but for once Jemma didn't laugh with him. Clearly he'd misread what Jemma was getting at.
"Turns out all those times he was 'having friends over' he actually only had one 'friend' over. Raina from the gym." Jemma said bitterly, fresh tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Leo didn't like where this was going.
"For months they've been…you know…in my bed." Jemma said, her head collapsing into her hands as she began to sob. Leo shuffled slightly closer and delicately put an arm round her as she cried into his shoulder.
Think, Leo, think! Comfort her!
"Do you, uh…fancy some toast?"
Jemma looked at him in confusion before crying again.
Yep, still not very good at this.
"…Aren't men just the worst?" Leo chuckled. Jemma stood up.
"Leo, for god's sake…just shut up." Jemma cried, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. Leo sighed as he heard her lock the door.
…
It had been exactly six minutes (Leo had been staring at his watch the whole time) and Jemma had still not stopped crying. Leo was sat against the bathroom door desperately trying to think of something, anything that could comfort her. He knew all too well what it was like for a long-term relationship to end so suddenly and cruelly, so he thought he'd be okay at talking to her about it.
How wrong he'd been.
"…Look, I, uh…I sort of know how you're feeling, and I guess I can't fill you with confidence that it gets better because you know first-hand I'm still getting over it four years later." Leo began.
This is NOT helping.
"Um…but the thing is, you're a much stronger person than I am. You go out; you have friends and things to do. You're more than strong enough to move past this and move on. The fact that he even thought about cheating on you makes him the most idiotic man alive, and he simply doesn't deserve you. You're much better than that, Jemma. You're incredible, and don't let what he did make you think any less of yourself because he is the lesser one. You did nothing wrong." Leo continued.
…Hmm, this is going quite well, I think.
"I guess what I'm saying is that life is like a…like a…"
Come on Leo! Think of SOMETHING!
"…Like a monkey!"
WHAT?!
Jemma had grown silent by this point. Leo whacked himself on the head as he tried to think of what he could possibly say next to make a good analogy out of a monkey.
"…Life is like a monkey because…because…you know, it may appear to be cute and fluffy, but you shouldn't be shocked if it starts throwing faeces at you."
You Scottish imbecile.
"Leo, please stop it!" Jemma shouted from inside the bathroom.
"I was just trying to say that-"
"-Well, please don't! Don't try and comfort me because my boyfriend is a lying, cheating fool because that still has nothing, NOTHING, on your failure of a love life! Now can I PLEASE have some privacy?" Jemma exclaimed. Leo, shocked, took a deep breath and silently stood up.
"Sure." He whispered before returning to the living area.
…
"Daddy, is Jemma in the bathroom?" Cleo asked as she walked out of her room, already dressed for school
"Oh, uh…yeah sweetie. She is." Leo replied.
"She sounds upset."
"She is, honey. She broke up with her boyfriend." Leo explained.
"…Shall I make her a get well soon card?" Cleo asked.
"…Have some breakfast first, okay?" Leo suggested. Cleo nodded as she headed into the kitchen area.
…
Jemma received yet another text from Skye as she wiped more tears away. By this point she had been locked in the bathroom for a good half an hour, and knew Cleo would soon have to leave for school. She was almost too embarrassed to leave now, as she'd have to face what happens next. Would she have to move out? She certainly wasn't going to take Trip back. Never.
Plus, she'd been horrible to Leo, She didn't mean what she said, of course she didn't, but in her anger she'd blindly said cruel things and abused the trust formed with him. Her employer. No, her friend.
She wouldn't be surprised if he fired her the moment she opened the bathroom door.
As she started welling up again, she heard the faint sound of something slide under the door. She looked and saw a bright pink piece of paper folded in half. Picking it up and examining it showed Jemma the words 'GET WELL SOON' written on the front with glitter along with what seemed like hundreds of stickers of hearts, rainbows, butterflies and flowers. She gently opened up the card and read what it said inside.
'To, Jemma
I'm sorry your heart isn't feeling very well. I hope it gets better soon.
Lots of love, Cleo xoxo'
She smiled for the first time in hours.
…
It took another few minutes for Jemma to muster up the courage to open the door and walk out, where she was greeted by Leo smiling softly at her and Cleo running into her arms.
"Are you feeling better now?" Cleo asked.
"Much better, yes. Thank you for the beautiful card." Jemma said, playfully rubbing the top of Cleo's head.
"…Was your boyfriend a bad man?" Cleo asked.
"Cleo…" Leo said.
"No, it's okay." Jemma smiled, kneeling down to Cleo's level.
"Yes he was, sweetie. Very bad." Jemma said.
"Then say goodbye because you don't want a bad man in your life." Cleo stated.
"You're quite right, I don't." Jemma nodded.
"Say goodbye to him, and hello to a new life without the bad people in it. Say no to being sad instead of saying yes. It's the only kind of saying goodbye that isn't sad. I did it to Sally in the year above when she started being mean to me and now it's much better." Cleo said. Leo and Jemma both smiled at her.
"Oddly poignant for a ten year old." Leo commented and Jemma chuckled slightly as her tears started to dry up.
"I don't like seeing you sad, Jemma." Cleo said. Jemma hugged her.
"Then I won't be sad." Jemma stated, looking at Leo for a moment, who smiled at her.
…
Leo quickly dropped Cleo off at school and returned to the apartment, where he found Jemma was cleaning everything.
"Jemma, you're not the maid." He commented.
"I know, I was…I was just keeping busy. I can't contemplate going back there yet." Jemma said.
"Understandable." Leo nodded.
"You know, Cleo really did cheer me up today." Jemma smiled.
"Good. She certainly doesn't get those skills from me. She is right, though, you just have to say goodbye to all the bad things and let the good things have their day. I wish I'd done that instead of clinging to a life I used to live." Leo explained. Jemma nodded.
"Yeah…when do you start work?" Jemma asked.
"I'll go in when I know you're okay. It's my last week; they won't care if I show up or not." Leo said.
"That's very sweet of you, but I'm fine; earn all the money you can." Jemma suggested. Leo smiled and nodded as he grabbed his bag and car keys and headed for the door. Jemma ran up to him and grabbed his hand, stopping him and turning him to face her.
"Leo, um…look, I'm so sorry about what I said earlier, I was just mad and blinded by my emotions and I really didn't mean it." Jemma blurted. Leo covered her hand with his.
"I know, it's okay. You had a point."
"No, I really didn't. You're such a wonderful guy and anyone would be lucky to have you." Jemma stated,
"Well, make sure you keep telling yourself that today, okay?" Leo said. Jemma smiled and nodded.
"My Doctor Who boxsets are in the cupboard over there. Watch some TV, do not do housework! That's for the lady of the house to do…the lady being me." Leo said and Jemma laughed. Leo smiled and opened the door, heading out.
"Leo?"
"Yeah?"
Jemma said nothing more, only walking up to Leo and hugging him.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"I'm sorry your boyfriend turned out to be a prick." Leo said.
"Me too."