The Cunning

54

Sam invited Janine down along with Madison shortly after.

"Afternoon, you little crackhead," Janine greeted Madison, who smiled shyly as she walked into the living room.

"I'm not a crackhead," she muttered, embarrassed as the memories of her talking as though her life depended on it invaded her mind. Jase and Sam smirked at each other.

"You will be if you carry on going through gear at the rate you do," Janine replied, picking up Sam's cigarettes and taking one for herself. Madison didn't say anything else, blushing as she curled up in Jase's armchair.

"Leave her be. We all need a little pick me up now and then," Jase said. Janine raised her brows in his direction, then at Madison who quickly looked away. She didn't want Jase to think they had formed some sort of alliance. Not that Jase would care, he was under the impression whatever Madison said to Janine, Janine wouldn't be able to help herself but to relay it to Sam.

Unbeknownst to both Jase and Sam, however, the more Janine hung around with Madison, the more independent-minded she became. Madison's thirst for survival and a chance at life was infectious and whilst Janine wasn't planning on escaping anytime soon, she was no longer entirely satisfied with her lackluster life in the house. She wanted to believe Madison had it in her to get out so there was hope for the rest of them.

There was a knock on the front door. Sam went to answer it, exchanging a few muffled words before he came back into the living room, dropping a roll of notes onto the dining table. A door closed above them. Madison's eyes went to the notes. The math was simple. She shuddered at the normality of the situation and tried not to think too much about it.

"Either of you want a go?" Jase asked, stretching in his chair. He looked over his shoulder at Janine and then Madison, waving the controller about.

"I'll try," she stood up, taking the chair next to him, "what is it?"

"First-person shooter," he replied before proceeding to tell her what the buttons did. They all watched intently as she started playing. "To your left," Jase instructed. She turned to kill the enemy before they killed her, flinching as she did so. The boys laughed,

"It's just a game, what are you jumping for?" Sam chuckled. Madison rolled her shoulders, still trying to manoeuvre her way around the map.

"I've never really played games before," she mumbled, her cheeks tinged pink. She finished at the bottom of the scoreboard. "I don't get why people find this so entertaining," she said, returning to Jase's armchair.

"Keeps us busy," Sam replied, restarting the game.

A short while later, the man Sam had let in showed himself out without exchanging any words. The boys didn't seem bothered by this, but it shifted Madison's mood. She remembered where she was and what the house stood for. She remembered that it wasn't always getting high and playing Xbox, especially not for the other girls.

The inky tendrils of guilt wrapped around her throat. She wasn't supposed to be having fun. She was supposed to be looking for a way out.

"Can I make a drink?" she asked.

"You know where the kitchen is," Jase replied. Janine followed her out, opening the fridge and taking a cold drink from the shelf.

"So... how was Jase with you after the whole Mike situation?" she asked, handing Madison a bottle.

"No different to how he has been. He apologised for Mike hitting me and said that wasn't supposed to happen, but other than that," she frowned, "no change." Janine pursed her lips, staring at the kitchen door. Madison desperately wanted to tell her how Jase had opened up about his childhood, but she was still undecided on how much Janine could be trusted.

"He's lightened up since you've been here. He's never offered me a go on the Xbox before." Madison remained silent. Janine tilted her head, looking back at her younger friend. "I think he's tired, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Madison asked. Janine shrugged, taking a mouthful of her fruit drink.

"When I first got here, he was totally hands-on with everything. You could hear him bark orders from upstairs. If someone stepped out of line, they would know about it. If a girl talked back, one look from Jase, and they'd soon shut up. I don't know if it's just you or if it's been a long time coming, but it's like he can't be bothered anymore. I wouldn't call what he had a passion for the business, but there was effort, you know? Everyone knew he was Top Dog, and you were an idiot if you pissed him off. Right now it's like he's getting old before his time." After the conversation Madison had with Jase it wasn't an unreasonable hypothesis. If anything Janine was right on the money.

"Maybe he's starting to see how messed up all of this is," Madison suggested. Janine scoffed,

"Yeah, a girl can dream. It's probably standard boredom because he's been doing it for so long. Something will happen to kickstart his vicious streak again." Janine pushed off the fridge where she'd been leaning, leaving Madison in the kitchen to mull over her words for a moment. Whatever his reasons for his recent disinterest in his work, if Janine had noticed a change in him, then she wouldn't be the only one.