The door closed behind him and Jo stared at it for a short second before the realization of what it meant sunk in. Furiously, Jo turned to race down the first flight of steps, determined to be gone before the fear of dying won out. Her finger was still bleeding, her loose glove still hanging haphazardly out of her pocket, but none of it mattered. Alfred was done, finished, and, truthfully, so was she.

Which was why when Zelda's voice called out behind her Jo froze and shot a frustrated glare at her friend. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you." She fumed. And it didn't, really. Zelda's only involvement was that she was the one who would marry Alfred. But he could've been marrying anyone and the situation would have remained the same. It was always going to be this way, Alfred had informed her. Be it Zelda, Miss Urquart, or some random hussy on the street, her friendship with Alfred would have never worked.

"I'll be fine. And I've never hated you." She added tensely, not entirely convinced of her own words. "The Leaky isn't far from here." It was closer than home anyway. Fifteen minutes couldn't be that much longer in the snow. Thirty minutes top. She could survive it.