Twisted Hate

3

Forty-five minutes and dozens of questions later, the cops

finally let us go.

Beanie had been taken into custody, and Jules and I

walked in silence toward the metro station on the next

street. Most people would freak out after being the victim of

a mugging attempt, but she acted like she'd just finished

grocery shopping.

I was less serene. Not only had I wasted an hour being

grilled by the police, but I'd also missed the rest of the game.

"Tell me why every time I run into trouble, you're

involved,

" I said through gritted teeth as the metro came

into view.

"It's not my fault you chose to walk down that street and

you chose to stay for a merry interlude instead of going on

your way,

" Jules retorted. "I had it handled."

I snorted, my shoes pounding a furious rhythm on the

steps. I could've taken the escalator, but I needed to work off

my aggravation. Jules must've felt the same way, because

she was right there next to me, pissing me off.

"Merry interlude? Who talks like that? And there was

nothing merry about it, I promise." I reached the turnstiles

and yanked out my wallet. "Too bad the police didn't take

you into custody too. You're a menace to society."

"According to who? You?" She looked me over with

disdain.

"Yes." I gave her a cold smile. "Me and every person

who's had the misfortune of running into you."

It was a horrible thing to say, but between the letters, a

long shift at the hospital, and my general existential crisis, I

wasn't feeling particularly charitable.

"God, you. Are,

" Jules slammed her metro card on the

reader with unnecessary force,

"The. Worst."

I passed through the turnstile behind her. "No, that

would be your sense of self-preservation. It's common sense

to give muggers what they want." The more I thought about

it, the more her actions baffled and infuriated me. "What if

you couldn't disarm him? What if he had another weapon

you didn't know about? You could've fucking died!"

Jules's face flushed. "Stop yelling at me. You're not my

father."

"I'm not yelling!"

We stopped beneath the schedule board announcing the

arrival of the next train in eight minutes. The station was