The Cunning

50

Hot water ran down Jase's body, rinsing the blood from his knuckles. The pink water whirlpooled down the drain, gradually running clear. They were busted from the last pick-up after Oliver. Someone that had required a bit more encouragement to pay their tab. There were already bruises beginning to form. He turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around his waist, letting his body air dry as he shaved before putting on a pair of grey joggers.

Madison was still curled up on the bed, this time on her side. Jase sat on the edge with his back to her, taking his phone from his pocket.

"I've never had this much pain from cramps before," Madison mumbled. Jase chewed the inside of his lip as he messaged Benny to let him know they'd collected all the money.

"We can smoke a joint if you want?" He looked over his shoulder. He'd intended to smoke a joint anyway, to unwind from the day's events. She hummed in thought.

"Will it make me feel better?"

Jase shrugged. "Only one way to find out," he said.

Madison rolled onto her back. "Am I going to get an addiction?" she asked. He chuckled, shaking his head as he took a grinder and his weed from the bedside drawer.

"You're not going to get addicted from the handful of times I've given you stuff."

He pressed two green nuggets onto the spikes of the grinder. Mindlessly, her eyes drifted to his bare upper half. He was sitting with one leg on the bed, a king skin resting on his knee, the other foot on the floor. They were close. The lemon shower gel he used lingered on his skin.

"Give that a couple of twists," he said, handing her the grinder. She did as she was told. There was something about the way Jase did things, ordinary things, that made him attractive. Janine was right, he was good-looking. She imagined it could be very easy for a regular girl to get wrapped up in him simply by the way he carried himself.

Jase flicked his lighter, burning away fibres on the ripped card he used as roach before taking the grinder back and tapping the contents into the paper. That's when she saw his knuckles.

"Who pissed you off?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. She nodded at his hand. "Someone didn't want to pay their tick," he mumbled, running his tongue along the sticky line on the paper and folding it over.

"What does that mean?"

Jase tapped the joint down on the desk before taking his lighter apart, poking the contents down into the paper cone and twisting the end. He lit it before answering, blowing thick clouds of smoke out and swinging his other leg up on the bed, resting back against the headboard with one hand behind his head.

"It's when people get drugs on loan. They still have to pay for them, just at a later date. Sometimes we have people that do their best to avoid paying it." He took another drag.

"What do you do?" Madison asked, adjusting herself so she was sitting cross-legged and facing him. Jase slowly exhaled the smoke through a small gap between his lips. Madison's eyes were wide with curiosity. Usually, he'd take the opportunity to remind her what he was capable of, however, he didn't want to. She didn't need to know about him threatening to cut Oliver in front of his kid.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," he said, looking away. After her reaction to the pub fire, he was aware of what she could stomach him doing and they'd come too far for him to risk that. Some things would not benefit either of them by her knowing. After another lungful, he handed the joint over.

The silence they shared was comfortable. The more time he spent with her, the less it felt like they were walking a tightrope. They'd built up a rapport. Of course, that was what Jase had intended, though, he hadn't foreseen himself enjoying her company. Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone. Madison handed him back the joint.

"Do you enjoy what you do?" she asked. Jase was staring directly ahead. His vision blurred as he let himself zone out, sinking into the high.

"I feel indifferent to it all." Heeding his previous words about not wanting to know answers, Madison didn't question how someone could be so detached from reality. They finished smoking without speaking another word.

"Is there a drink in here?" Madison asked, looking around at all the flat surfaces for a loitering glass of water.

"I'll get one," he replied.

Madison waited, pleasantly stoned. Her vision was softer, bones lighter, the weight of the world temporarily lifted from her shoulders. It was easy to see why Jase smoked so much. He returned with two cold bottles, handing her the fruity drink and keeping the beer for himself.

"How did I get upstairs the first time I smoked?" she asked once he sat back down.

"I carried you."

Madison's head turned to him sharply. Looking unimpressed. "Don't do that."

Jase's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"

"I'm heavy," she mumbled.

He scoffed. "Madison, you're about 5'5 and 130 pounds at most. I can bench more than you." They stared at each other.

"Go on then," she said. Jase laughed, raising his bottle to his lips. She was staring at him, with no hint of a joke on her face.

"What?" he asked, bemused.

Madison shrugged. "Bench me if you think you can," she said. A smile of disbelief stretched across his lips.

"I know I can," he corrected.

"I'm not believing it until I see it." Jase laughed as if it were still a joke, but he stopped again when she didn't join in.

"You're being serious?" He knew he shouldn't encourage the banter between them, that he shouldn't go along with her teasing so enthusiastically but it had been a long day. Laughter was a rare occurrence in the house, for obvious reasons - there was nothing to be happy about. He put his phone down on the nightstand.

"Fine."

*

Do you guys think there's genuine chemistry there or are our two MC's just very good at playing their role?

Also, has your favourite character changed?

Don't forget to drop a vote if you're enjoying the story so far x