The Cunning

76

Janine shrugged. "We all love a bad boy."

Madison looked at her. "He kills people, Janine."

Janine rubbed her lips together. She had said those same words to Madison with as much despair as they had been repeated. She didn't want to be a hypocrite. There was no other way to dress it up, Jase did kill people, and he did it with little to no remorse.

"Yes, and whilst that's bad, a majority of the time he kills bad people, Mads. People that you shouldn't care about because they wouldn't - and don't - care about you." Madison pursed her lips. If it stopped there, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, with a dad like hers, there was a lot of slack on the line between what was right and wrong.

"What about the girls?" she asked. Janine had nothing to say to that. Madison sighed, took another drag and passed the joint back. "I think I might be going insane, you know?" Janine flashed a sympathetic smile.

"That's probably for the best. They're all a bit fucked in the head, so it would do well to be on their level. As I said, match him."

"How do you feel about the stuff Sam does?" Madison asked. Janine waved a hand as if to bat the question out of the air.

"I try not to think about it. He's Jase's best friend, but he isn't Jase. Sometimes it isn't about what's right and wrong, it's straight up survival. I wouldn't be able to do what I do, be who I am in spite of it, if Sam wasn't who he was. And you're not alone with the feelings you're feeling. I'm not oblivious to my own twisted, contradictory kinks. We're in the same boat. You're just in a lot more danger."

Madison shouldn't have laughed, but the alternative was to take it very seriously and if she did that, she might well fall apart. She wasn't just dancing with the devil, she was bracing herself to have sex with him and it made her feel all kinds of wrong.

The worst part was always going to be the lack of repulsion. It was there, but it wasn't enough to really put her off. If she was a good person, if she was the person she thought she was, the very idea of fraternising so intimately with the enemy should have made her nauseous. Yet a heat brewed in the pit of her stomach when she thought of him, she liked when he touched her, marking his territory with every finger brush, chin cup and hair tuck. She reminded herself that there would be plenty of room for repulsion if she had to start working because she couldn't bring herself to commit to seducing him.

"If he's Jase's best friend, why does Jase still make you work?" she asked, rolling onto her side. Janine was blowing smoke in small O's, making a clicking noise at the back of her throat. She tapped ash in the tray and frowned.

"He's got a job to do, doesn't want Sam getting too distracted. Plus, that's like, paying my rent."

"Why isn't he bothered about there being rumours about you two?"

Janine passed the last of the joint back to Madison. "Because I've known this lot for the better half of my life. Sam is lenient, Adam's the angry one. Jase is Top Boy. That position matters to them. When a girl like you comes along and the Top Boy switches up, it's red flags because you look like a weakness. It makes you a target as well if people think he's attached..." she trailed off then snapped her head to Madison, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Madison puffed her cheeks and blew out a lungful of hot air. "I'm so high I don't think I can think, but go on."

"Do you think he's still looking out for you?" Madison's brows furrowed. Looking out for her? He was treating her like a favourite hoodie.

"By telling me that so long as I live under this roof, I belong to him?" she said. Janine rolled her eyes.

"You got the result of Jase being pissed that you outsmarted him for all of a week. You should be dead, Madison. And he still won't let anyone touch you. He let you pick up a gun. I think this is a way of keeping that shelter on you, you know? Because I won't lie, you've done so many things that you should have got a slap for." Madison smiled a little, considering her words. She had a point. The positions had shifted, but the results were the same; Madison wasn't to be touched.

"He wanted to stop people talking. I'm assuming he meant talking about treating me differently. I don't see how any of this does that?" She reached over, stubbing the roach into the ashtray.

"Because you're no longer 'the girl that Jase protected' you're 'Jase's pretty play thing'. He's dehumanised your title, which means no one will think anything of him paying attention to you. As far as they're concerned, you're someone he fucks and he doesn't want other people stirring his porridge. Which is normal behaviour from Jase. And you behaving like this play thing makes everything a lot easier for him. He'll appreciated not having to put in the ground work for it." Madison considered the light Janine had shone on the dynamics of her relationship with Jase before shaking her head.

"I don't think his intentions there are based on my well-being. I think he's making a point. As you said, he likes control, and that's what I've given him. Or what he thinks I've given him. I think you're right about everything except that. He won't continue being an arsehole for the sake of it. It's too much effort and there are clearly other things going on involving the house," she replied. Janine hummed, a little disappointed. Her life had been rough but her inner child preferred to look at things through a fairytale-esque lense.

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before there was a heavy knock on the door. It opened without invitation.

"Madison, come on," Jase said, leaving the door open and continuing down the hallway. Madison climbed over Janine and off the bed.

"Night Mads," Janine said.

"Goodnight," Madison replied. She fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.