Chapter 13: It's Not Rape If You Don't Like It
"So, uh, Jules, what exactly did you have planned for us back at the house?" I asked her as we were driving home. She laughed. "Honestly, I was going to make brownies and then make some ice cream Sundays, and you have The Hangover on DVD, so we were going to watch that. I just wanted to tease you." I let out a short laugh.
"Well, the teasing part worked," I told her, watching her as she gazed out the window to watch the sun sink lower and lower across the Las Vegas mountains. She smiled. "I know. I could tell by the damage done to my shirt." I laughed as she brushed her hair over her shoulder, reaching forward to mess with the radio.
"I'll buy you a new one," I said, hitting the gas. I wanted to go home and make some freaking brownies!!! I was hungry.
"Jason?" Julia asked me a minute later, during down the song that had been playing. "Hmm?" "Why do you guys want to bring down the precinct?" she asked me. I swallowed hard. "We all have different reasons," I said softly, focusing on the black top that was glowing orange from the setting sun.
"Brian's brother was a cop, and he never got along with his brother. His reasons for bringing them down are his brother, obviously, and then his parents pretty much left him to dry because he wanted to do something besides be a cop. It really tore him up, and he's getting revenge.
"Alex's reasons are that he thinks that cops can't be trusted. He's had this whole paranoia thing since I was in third grade, when this cop raped one of the girls in my class on Parent Show and Tell Day. Apparently that guy had been going around to a whole bunch of his kids' activities and touching kids.
Alex flipped when he found out the perv tried to get me into the broom closet to find the stick he'd lost in there." I made my voice go all high and squeaky as Julia looked horrified.
"He tried to touch you?" "Yeah. Said I was the best looking little boy in the entire third grade, and that I would be really helpful if I helped him find his stuff. Yeah, right. I had been living with a criminal for how long then? Did he honestly think I was that stupid?" "So-so you didn't..." "No. I told him to shove it and was immediately sent to the principal's office for inappropriate language. Psh. I basically lived in there anyway."
She still looked horrified and a little grossed out, and I leaned over to rub her thigh. "It's no biggie. Perv didn't lay a finger on me."
"So, then, what are your reasons for bringing down the cops?" she asked me softly.
I felt my face harden and I glared out the window, gripping the steering wheel tight enough that my knuckles turned white.
"My reason? They let the drunk that killed my parents walk. What did he get? A freaking fine, 1000 dollars for the lives of two people and the scars of their kids. His defense lawyer said nothing but crap about how his client was recovering from a medically induced smoke of medical marijuana, and was not in any way shape or form responsible for his actions.
Yeah, that guy was higher than the sky, but did the cops decide to pull his medical records and see if it was medical marijuana? Which it wasn't. No. They'd rather let a murderer and a drunk, and a piece of nothing but scum be able to walk the streets as a free man. No punishment, no justice, just two kids shoved out into the world with no help from the government and the pain of watching their parents die in front of them." I sighed angrily through my nose and twisted my hands around the steering wheel.
Julia sat there for a second, looking stunned. "I- I'm so sorry, Jason," she whispered after a second, a tear slipping down her cheek as I pulled into the driveway. I leaned over and hugged her. "No reason to be sorry, baby," I said, holding her tight and greedily inhaling the scent of strawberries that clung to her. "Not your fault."
"That doesn't mean I can't be sorry. What did you do to deserve that?" I laughed. "I've done a lot of bad things," I told her, my voice darkening slightly. "Some of them you don't even want to hear about. Like the time I kidnapped a beautiful, dark haired girl named Julia and forced her to make brownies with me and watch The Hangover."
Julia squealed as I kicked my door open and tugged her out of the truck, throwing her easily over my shoulder. Her hands pounded against my back as I trudged up to the house. "Help! Help! Please, someone help me!!! Rape!" "It's not rape if you like it," I said, slapping her butt. She giggled and kept hitting me.
"Noooooooo," she cried as I carried her into the kitchen and plopped her onto the counter. "Please, no! I'm begging!" "You were begging earlier, too," I said, pulling the brownie mix out of the plastic bag. "Now are you going to sit there and complain about me kidnapping you, or are you going to help me make these?" "Ummm. I'm going to watch you attempt to cook. I haven't had a good laugh in a while."
She gave me a cheesy smile as I rolled my eyes. "If I catch the house on fire, I blame you."
