The Cunning

69

The wardrobe doors were open. Madison stared at the clothes. There was no middle ground. She either wore a skin-tight dress or covered up entirely. She would rather the latter but couldn't see it going down well with Jase and a dress was out of the question, too many wandering hands and no guarantee that Jase meant what he said. As much as she despised doing what he told her, until she figured out her next move it wouldn't be wise to piss him off too much.

A few minutes later, she was in the hallway.

"What's up?" Janine asked hesitantly, caution written all over her face when she answered the door. Madison stepped into the room.

"I need to raid your wardrobe," she said, already opening the doors and sliding coat hangers back and forth.

"You're not allowed in here unless Jase says," Janine whispered, though she was closing her door. Madison pulled out a black t-shirt dress having mistaken it for a regular shirt, looking over her shoulder.

"As you said, there's only so much they can do." Janine was quick to pick up on Madison's energy, the anger from Jase pinning her down had yet to subside. The last time Janine had seen her, she'd been crying, ready to quit. This didn't feel like Madison quitting.

"What's happened?" Janine asked, lowering herself onto the bed. Madison relayed the last few encounters with Jase. She was sitting at the dresser table by the time she finished, twisting her hair up in two space buns.

"He said you're 'his to play with'?" Janine repeated.

Madison nodded, chewing the inside of her cheeks as hard as she could without drawing blood. She wanted to hurt him, to rain down on him the pain of a thousand needles. To humiliate, violate and torture him the way he, and the others, had done to so many girls before her. Previously, there had been a small space that had allowed for a pinch of compassion where Jase was concerned, a mild understanding of his behaviour. Now there was nothing but pure contempt for the man.

"And when you tried to kill him, he just laughed?" Madison nodded again. Janine closed her eyes, shaking her head. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I don't know, but if he thinks he's made enough threats to get his point across then he's got another thing coming." The girls looked at each other. Janine tilted her head. There was no use telling Madison not to make things worse for herself, to sit down and shut up, or that Jase wasn't only making threats. Janine knew that now. Madison was willing to die for her freedom and as a fellow woman, who had grown a set of balls since Madison entered the scene, Janine couldn't sit by and watch her get herself killed. She had already turned a blind eye on too many other lives.

"You can work with this," she said after a moment's contemplation.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked. Janine pulled a black lace vest out of the wardrobe.

"I have an idea, but it's fucking crazy," she replied.

"Try me." Janine hesitated, stepping over the shoes strewn across the floor and laying the vest on the bed.

"The other night, when that guy was touching you up, Jase looked pissed. And if he's called you his, as in his to play with, that sounds possessive. You can work with possessive, Mads, you can work with his ego." Madison's nose wrinkled at the implications.

"I hate that. I'm not his fucking pet."

Janine rubbed her lips together, bobbing her head slowly. "No, but perhaps being his pet wouldn't be such a bad thing..." she trailed off. Madison cocked a brow in question and was met with rolled eyes. "Look at what you know. You've gotten closer to Jase than anyone. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, that's the problem. He let that happen. Right now, he's just mad because he let that happen, and everyone saw. But if he really hated you, if he really wanted to teach you a lesson, he wouldn't waste so much time on you personally. He'd be whoring you out to every Tom, Dick and Harry." She opened a drawer, pulling out a pair of fishnet tights and tossing them on the bed next to the vest.

"And you don't think he plans to as soon as he gets bored of me?" Madison asked.

Janine smiled now, "So don't let him get bored of you." She turned, delving into the trench of clothes at the bottom of her wardrobe. "Even at the showing, he wouldn't let anyone touch you. Not for long at least." Madison watched as Janine hurled clothes over her shoulders, colourful fabrics floating down to the floor. "He literally called you his. He's clearly still possessive, but he's presenting it under the guise of ownership rather than some sort of mutual respect-" she pulled out a pair of light wash ripped jeans, chucking them on the bed, "-or whatever was going on as to why he was treating you differently." The statement was open-ended, a silent invite for Madison to reveal all. She didn't and Janine didn't push, satisfied that her current involvement was probably enough to risk her life as it was without knowing all the ins and outs. "Regardless, and toxic or not, possession is a form of attachment."

"I don't want to be his plaything," Madison reiterated defiantly. Janine stood up, putting her hands on her hips as she chewed her lip, looking for the last piece of the outfit.

"You can either be his plaything, or everyone else's," she said it with such frankness, Madison flinched. Janine sighed, pinging a plaid black and white button-up off the hanger. "You and I both know which is the lesser of two evils."

A heaviness settled over the girls. What Janine was suggesting wasn't as easy as she made it sound, something they were both mindful of. The risks were higher this time. Jase's patience was wearing thin and the shielding she had before had been dismantled, leaving her naked to the predators that regularly frequented their parties and showings.

"If I do this and it doesn't work, he could kill anyone here because of me. I don't want what happened to Annabelle to happen to anyone else," she said. Her palms grew moist at the mention of Annabelle. Now the indignation had muted itself, there was room for logic in her over-stimulated brain. Logic that told her it was selfish to persevere at the risk of others. Logic that told her she was out-manned, out-gunned and unprepared. Logic that hushed the volatile voice inside ensuring she had all the knowledge necessary to out-manoeuvre them. Self-doubt began to envelop her, pulling and tugging her under the current of second-guessing and low self-esteem. Uncertainty was a luxury she could not afford.

Janine saw she was losing Madison to the hailstorm of conflicting emotions thundering through her. She crouched down, taking Madison's hands in her own, ignoring the cold clamminess of them.

"Eggs have already been cracked, Mads. You may as well make your omelette otherwise it was all for nothing." It was this that sparked Madison's ignition once more. If she called it a day now, Annabelle died for nothing. Collateral damage was bound to happen and if she didn't at least try, they would all die for nothing, anyway.
She met Janine's eyes.

"Where do we start?"

Janine smiled slowly, the tingling of forming a plan to aid in Madison's escape was just enough to keep the nauseating anxiety at bay. It was rather exciting, all of this scheming. It was like having life breathed back into her, even if only for a short while.

"He likes you angry. If he isn't beating the shit out of you when you talk back, keep doing that. Keep him on the line. Anything to keep his attention because Jase doesn't share. He doesn't share his workload; he doesn't share his spot as Top Boy; he sure as shit won't share his pretty little toy." She pointed to the clothes. "Get dressed."

Madison did as she was told. Janine had pulled a militant attitude from nowhere and the pep talk was dissolving Madison's stubbornness. She knotted the sleeves of the button up around her waist, turning to the full-length mirror. Janine stood behind her, holding a pair of heeled ankle boots.

"So essentially, the plan is I give myself to him, like some sort of peace offering?" Madison asked.

"Babe, you have something no girl in this house has ever had; Jase's attention. Use it wisely. You're going to have to play his game anyway so play it on your terms," Janine said. She dropped the boots on the floor, picked up a black velvet choker from the desk and reached around Madison's neck to clasp it. "If it's entertainment he wants, give him a show."