Dear Jason,
I don't like doing this, but I have to ask for your help. I want to bring down the precinct, attack the cops, but it's something I can't do on my own. As much as I hate saying it, I need your expertise in explosives. I don't know how to work a bomb, even though I could very easily educate myself. I just don't want to do the work. I'm asking for your help, not a friendship, not any sort of relationship. I still find you an arrogant earwig; do not be tempted to think otherwise.
Alex and I were lovers, you saw that. He was the only person to ever evoke any sort of emotion from me, and the passionate love we made was only an example of that. I want to get back at the people that took him from me, and the only way to do that is to work together. I don't want to, but I have no choice. Please consider it, not only for my revenge, but for yours, too.
Danielle.
I stared at the words in front of me, my mouth hanging wide open. Passionate love we made? Gag me. So miss stick-shoved-up-her-butt-sideways was asking me for help? Never thought I'd see the day.
"Jase?" Julia poked her head around my door, knocking twice. "Hmm?" I looked up and shoved the letter under my pillow. She threw a cardboard box at me, smiling. "Look what I found in the back pocket of your skinny jeans." I picked up the box and felt a huge smile spread across my lips. That's what I did with my condoms.
"We could put these to use, if you want," I said, wagging the box. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Jase, you're supposed to be packing to go live with your grandpa." "That doesn't mean I can't enjoy some good intercourse with my girl," I said, standing and pulling my white v-neck over my head, reaching for the button to my grey skinny jeans. "No!" Julia said, giggling, her face flushing an adorable red. "Put your clothes on." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "Make me." "Get dressed or I won't have sex with you." "That's abusive. It's like depriving a baby of breast milk." "Nice analogy." "I thought so." "You're a dork." "A sexy dork." "Shut up." "Make me." She stuck her tongue out at me and walked out of my room, mumbling about a Pepsi Max.
Half an hour I had two duffle bags and a mini suitcase packed, my old flat-pilled Yankees hat turned backwards on my head as I sat on the front porch, waiting for the rumble of my grandpa's truck. Julia sat down next to me after a minute, Pepsi Max in hand. I chuckled as she took a swig out of it, spilling two Advil into her palm. "Am I that bad?" I joked, lifting my hat up to shake my hair out of my eyes. "When you're packing....yes." I snorted and rolled my eyes as she dropped one pill onto the back of her tongue and took a swig of pop, squeezing her eyes shut before swallowing. She repeated the process with the other one.
I stared at her. "What?" "That was the weirdest way to take a pill, and I've seen Alex try to swallow pills. He literally used to put the pill in the cap of whatever he was drinking, fill it with fluid, and down it while lying on the couch. But you take the cake for weird pill-taker." She stuck her tongue out at me. "I'm not good at swallowing things if I can feel it in my mouth." "You had no problem with my cum," I said, staring down the dirt driveway. She smacked my arm. "You're cum isn't a solid and pill shaped." "Hope not." She groaned and let her head fall onto my shoulder.
"I'm sorry," I said softly, gently stroking her hair. "You have a headache. I shouldn't be bugging you." I softly pressed my lips against her temple like I could soothe her pain with one tender kiss. "No, it's okay. I'm just being a wimp." I hummed out some incoherent words and kept running my fingers through those long brown locks. She sighed and snuggled into me, lacing her thin fingers though mine.
My grandpa pulled up a minute later, the smile disappearing off his weathered face when he saw I saw cuddling with a girl. He opened the door and walked up to me, his blue eyes glancing from me to Julia. "Jason, son," he said warmly, pulling me into a tight hug. "Hey, gramps," I said, hugging him back. "You all set?" he asked, picking up my duffles. I nodded and turned to give Julia a kiss.
"Sext me later, kay?" She rolled her eyes and quickly pressed her lips against mine. "Babe, I'm going to be sleeping later, kay?" I chuckled and pulled her in for another kiss. "You need to rest," I told her, brushing my fingertips against her soft cheek. "You act like I'm pregnant." "For all I know you could be." She giggled. "Well, if I start carrying around a huge jug of Sunny D, you know what's going on." I rolled my eyes and took a step back after kissing her forehead. "I still can't believe you made me watch Juno," I mumbled, shoving my hands into my pockets.
She gave me a cute smile and waved as she stood to take the Advil back inside. I wasn't kidding when I told her to rest. She looked horrible; dark purple shadows ringing under her exhausted brown eyes, her body moving stiffly like it hadn't had a good massage in months. One of these times when she cracked her elbows I was waiting for an old screech, like rusted metal, to erupt from her joints.
My grandpa smiled at me as I climbed in the truck, making a face at the oldies music coming from his ancient radio. "So, Jason, who's she?" "Julia," I said, staring out the window as we started down the dirt Las Vegas road. "My girl." "Hmm. Never thought you'd be the kind of kid to settle down so fast." I shrugged. "She caught me." He chuckled. "Same thing happened with me and your grandma." I rested the side of my head against the window as I watched Alex and my old house get smaller and smaller in the review mirror, my stomach knotting with the realization that I wasn't going to be living there anymore. I'd worked out a deal with Aunt Margret; she'd pay for the rent of the house until I turned eighteen and could live there on my own. Once I moved in, I'd pay her back. Easy as pie and I got the house I'd grown up in.
...
"Jason, son, we're here." "Hmm?" I blinked several times and unstuck my cheek from the truck window, shifting my stiff body on the leather seat. "We're here," my grandpa repeated softly, shaking my shoulder slightly to wake me up. "I'm up," I grunted, attempting to sit up. "I'm up." He chuckled and popped his door open and took my mini suitcase in, leaving me with the duffles. I moaned when I picked them up and staggered to the front door, almost falling over more than once into the bushes.
My grandpa led me up the stairs to the old bedroom I used to stay in when I came to visit him and grandma, except instead of Lion King wall paper it was decked out in white walls, a blue checkered comforter, and white carpet. Can I put boring in a bottle? Yes, Jason, you can. Your room.
"Well, I wanted to make it a bit more grown up for you," he said, scratching the back of his neck as I started at the room. "You-you like blue, right?" "That was Alex," I mumbled, dumping my stuff onto the floor and reaching for the hem of my shirt. "Oh, right. You like red." I shrugged and yanked my shirt off, throwing it on top of my bag. "I'm tired," I mumbled, shaking out of my jeans and crawling into bed. "Night." "Goodnight, Jason." He shut the door, throwing the room into darkness.
