Empty Bargains ~Jason McCann~

~9.15~

    I woke up quickly when I realized I wasn’t in the air mattress anymore.  I sat bolt upright, my eyes searching the room for any detail or hint as to where I was.  On my right was the fully-windowed wall of Jason’s room, covered in dark curtains that let only a small strip of sunlight in.  On my left was the expanse of the other half of Jason’s room, nearly empty except for the bed I was lying on.  And at the foot of Jason’s bed — was Jason.

    My fists clenched as I realized I hadn’t been having a dream last night.  Jason had carried me to his bed and taken my place on the air mattress.  He was trying to play the moral high ground game again.  It was getting incredibly irritating to be shown up by a guy who’s shot more people than I could ever dream of, especially when he’d taken me hostage and away from my group.

    I ground my teeth, holding back the urge to smother him with a pillow.  He was vulnerable asleep, but trying to suffocate him would definitely wake him up.  Jason was a lot stronger than me, whether I liked to face the fact or not.  And even if I managed to at least knock him out for a while, I would still have five more guys to deal with on my way out.

    Why was Jason trying to screw with me?  I kept asking myself the same question every time he did something like this, but still came up with no answer.  He already had me here; what more could he want?  Why did he want me here in the first place?

    I sighed and threw myself back onto the pillows, trying not to notice how well I fell into the spot Jason had worn into the mattress from sleeping in the same place.  I bit my lip and closed my eyes, brooding over Jason’s actions.

    He thought he was winning — he knew he was.  I couldn’t let him, not if I was going to establish my place in this house as a force to be reckoned with.  I had to do something, and I knew what it was.  My thoughts diverted to other methods, none as effective as the first, but I still scrambled for another option.

    But there wasn’t another option.  I had to beat Jason at his own game — play the nice girl for a while.  It made me feel sick to even think about being kind to Jason, but I was sure it had the same effect on him.  But being kind wasn’t enough, not to beat him.  I had to make him think I was being genuine, but even more than that…  I just didn’t know what.

    I sat up, fought the strong pull to chuck a pillow at him, and climbed out of the bed.  I snagged my duffel on the way to the bathroom and shut the door, double checking that the lock was in place.  After that, I showered quickly and began to pull on a pair of my dark jeans, but stopped with one leg in.

    The clothes Jason had bought me were still sitting next to his bed, untouched.  I winced at the thought of accepting something he’d bought for me, but playing the game meant playing the part — however repulsive.

    I pulled my leg out of my jeans and wrapped the towel I’d used around my body instead.  Slowly, I unlocked the bathroom door and peeked into the room.  Jason was still asleep on the air mattress, at least as far as I could tell.  The four bags were sitting along the wall, almost overflowing with clothes.  I sighed, then quickly padded over to them.  As quietly as I could, I grabbed two in each hand while attempting to hold my towel up, then strode back into the bathroom.  I closed the door with my hip and dropped the bags, then relocked the door.  Drawing in a deep breath, I reached for the nearest heap of clothes.