The Cunning

43

Four lines later, Madison understood why Jase was unusually friendly. She was talking, and she was talking fast.

"Drum and bass is kind of cool," she said, nodding along to the warped music. Jase watched her from the corner of his eyes, an amused smile on his face. He'd been letting her ramble to him uninterrupted for the past hour whilst he sent out texts to customers, letting them know they had more stock.

The beat in the song dropped, and so did Madison's jaw, her eyes widening. Jase laughed. "I think I've found my new favourite genre," she said.

"Yeah?" he asked with raised brows, only half interested as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out the baggie that made Madison's eyes light up.

"I don't think I had one before. I never really listened to much music," she carried on.

"No?" Jase responded, opening the bag and taking out the folded square of cardboard. Madison shook her head, not taking into account quite how much she was talking.

"No. I read books quite a lot. I didn't exactly go to parties or anything, so you know, never did drugs and stuff like that. They always kind of scared me."

Jase slid a card from his wallet, chuckling at her breathless chatter. He caught Sam's eye and they shared a smirk over the one-eighty she'd pulled on her ending statement.

"Not so much anymore though, hey?" Jase said.

Madison grinned and shrugged. "Not really. Not here, at least. I feel kind of safe around you." She was too high to notice the second expression he shared with Sam. She was still smiling, bobbing along to the heavy bassline.

"That's good then," Jase said, and he meant it. Not because it was endearing, but because it was what he was aiming for. His attention returned to the small pile of white powder before him. He began separating it into two lines.

"Thank you, by the way, for like-" Jase snapped his head round sharply, unsure of what she was going to say now and tensing as she continued, "sharing your coke. I don't have any money to pay for it but like, thanks." He relaxed into another chuckle. Shaking his head and tapping his card through the powdery mound.

"Baby, I'm a drug dealer. It's fine." She was an adorable fiend; he'd give her that. A little chatty for his liking, but it was better than her being a total drug-induced mess. Madison's stomach fluttered when he'd called her baby. She swallowed dryly. This was not good.

"I know," she pressed on, "but you didn't have to, and I know we're not supposed to be doing drugs or whatever-" he frowned at the measly lines, surprised they'd gone through so much already. Madison was still talking "-so I just figured I'd say thank you." There wasn't enough for two full lines. He tossed the empty baggy into the middle of the table, standing up.

"I'll be back in a second. I'm just going to get another wrap." Madison nodded with a wide smile, unsure if her being intoxicated made Jase more likable or him being intoxicated made him more likable. Either way, she wasn't having a terrible time. She turned to look at Sam and Janine, who were both smirking at her.

"You look like you're having fun," Janine said.

"I'm having a great time," she replied.

Jase returned, a fresh gram in hand. He let Madison go first, holding her hair back so it didn't sweep away the lines he'd carefully crafted. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she thought it would burst through her rib cage after her fifth line. She sat back in the wooden chair, taking a deep breath in a useless attempt to steady her pulse. When it didn't work, she pulled her knees up to her chest. Her jaw was chattering uncontrollably and she wanted to hide it.

"You good?" Jase asked, sealing the packet and tucking it away in his pocket. Madison hummed her confirmation. From the drawn-in brows and thin frown, he wasn't buying it.

He leaned forward, pulling out the corner of her lip with his thumb. The fleshy skin was shredded from her incessant gnawing. The brief contact and following concern felt too intimate for Madison. He was so close she could smell him again, that same smoky, vanilla aroma and something unmistakably Jase.

"You're doing it again," he said, letting his hand fall. Madison mindlessly reached up, brushing the skin where the ghosts of his fingers remained.

"I don't know how to stop," she pouted.

Jase was shaking his head. "Yeah, you can't. Sam," Sam looked up from shoveling another heap under Janine's nose, "you got any gum?" Jase asked. Sam tossed over a tub of gum that had been on the chair next to him. Jase popped it open, holding it out to Madison.

"Is that a bad thing, the chewing?" she asked, feeling as though she was disappointing him by not being able to handle the cocaine. Which would seem ridiculous to her sober self, but with all the substances assaulting her senses, she had this whimpering desire to ensure she wasn't annoying him.

"Nah," he said, clipping the lid back on after she'd taken a piece, "you can't help it, don't worry." His words did little to reassure her now that the drug-induced anxiety had sunk its teeth in.

"Am I being annoying? I feel like I'm talking so much." Jase nodded.

"You are. You'll do that. You're not annoying." From then, she made an effort to keep her talking under control, not enjoying the discomfort the cocaine was now causing. After a few minutes, Janine noticed Madison had suddenly gone quiet.

"Mads, are you okay?" she asked. Madison sank down in her chair, nodding. She hadn't realised how cold she was. She wrapped her arms around her body, locking in the heat. Jase looked down at her.

"You feeling a little uncomfortable?" he asked, all too familiar with the negative feelings cocaine could bring out. She nodded again, and he reached across and gently started playing with her hair. It was a simple action, but comfort was instantaneous. She felt grounded with his fingers running through her waves like snakes in long grass. It was the most human behaviour he had ever portrayed, and everyone present noticed. Janine and Sam were looking at each other with raised brows. Neither said anything in front of Jase. He'd been in a good mood all night, even before the girls came downstairs, but the smiles in Madison's direction hadn't gone amiss. Least of all by Adam, who removed himself from the living room as his anger built up before he couldn't contain it anymore.

*

Madison stared at the empty bottles in front of her. She was resting her head in her arms on the table. Jase was still brushing her hair softly as he spoke to Sam.

"I'm going to get another drink. Does anyone want one?" she asked, standing up. They all accepted the offer. She collected the empty bottles beginning to crowd the table and headed for the kitchen.

It was the early hours of the morning. The crowd had died down, leaving around twenty people in the house. A handful of people were still mingling in the kitchen, none of them paid her any attention as she retrieved the drinks. Until she turned around. A familiar face blocked her way. The bottles left in the fridge clinked against each other but she could barely hear them over the sudden deep beat of her heart.

Mike loomed over Madison, grinning down at her. Instinctively, she took a step back, knocking the fridge. The bottles rattled again, mimicking her panic.

"Hello you," he greeted, his grin widening.