“You have no idea what I deserve,” she says, looking at me under her lashes.
“Soren!” Jason yells my name. I go over to him, as he clearly doesn’t want to discuss this in front of her.
“Yeah?”
“She’s fucking with us,” Jason says. “There’s nothing wrong with that ankle.”
“Yes. She is.”
“You’re not going to call her out on it?”
“No,” I say. “We spent most of the first day spanking her ass, and what did that achieve? She defied us, tried to bribe us, now she’s trying to cheat us. It’s like the stages of grief, except it’s her coming to terms with not getting her own way.”
“Except she is getting her own way,” Jason points out. “She’s getting out of the hike, and she thinks we’re stupid. I don’t like playing games.”
“She’s pretending to not be able to move very far or very fast. She’s basically put herself into a mandatory meditation. At least, that’s how I intend to play it.”
Jason smirks. “Good idea.”
We have lunch, and she eats without complaint. I’m guessing she feels guilty for trying to pull one over on us. Or maybe she just got hungry enough to stop whining. It’s like Jason says, keep things simple.
“Alright, now we’ll spend the rest of the afternoon meditating,” I announce. “That’s something we can do without moving, so your ankle won’t be a problem.”
“An entire afternoon meditating?” Her eyes go wide. “I can’t survive that.”
“Of course you can,” Jason says. He’s tagging in, and after yesterday’s meltdown when I tried to spank her deserving little ass, maybe that’s a good thing. The two of us make a great team, not quite good cop/bad cop, but something of the kind.
Aslin
“I don’t want to sit around not thinking,” I say. “I think I should lie back, keep my ankle elevated, and just take it easy.”
“I think you should keep your ankle elevated and do as I tell you,” he says. I’m not going to get out of this if I keep my pretense up. They’re going to assume that I can’t do anything except meditate, and that’s my worst fucking nightmare. I think I’d rather hike than sit still. I’d do almost anything rather than sit still.
“Okay, fine. I lied. My ankle doesn’t hurt.”
“I know your ankle doesn’t hurt. Something else is going to hurt very soon, though.” Jason is glowering down at me like a vengeful forest spirit.
“More of your caning and punishment?”
“Probably. But I think there’s something else to take from you. Something you promised not to bring when you filled out your application. I know you planned to ignore that from the outset, but it matters to me.”
“What is it, then?”
Jason walks over to my things and picks up the little case I keep for emergencies. The case with the flasks and the shaker. The case I keep to take the edge off when the world gets too sharp. He carries it down to the dock, and I know what he’s going to do with it. He’s going to sink my drink.
“No! Not that!” I chase after him, limping for a few steps out of habit of pretending to be injured, before running properly. It doesn’t matter. He’s already by the water, unzipping my case, taking my flask out and uncapping it.
“You’re not drinking again as long as you’re here. You don’t need it, and you definitely don’t deserve it. Remember this next time you decide to pull something.”
“You can use your belt,” I plead. “You can use whatever you like. I won’t even try to stop you. Just don’t throw my booze away. You have no idea how much that matters.”
“I can, and will, use whatever I want on you. I’m also tossing the booze. You need to learn your lesson. This might finally help you do that.”
He throws it away. He fucking throws it away. Sploosh! It goes into the river with a surprisingly resonant sound. It hits me right in the gut.
“NO!”
I throw myself after the flask. I can get it before it sinks to the bottom, I know I can. I’m not letting Jason come between me and my alcohol friends.
Jason
I guess we’re not done yet. I guess we’re just getting started.
Aslin surfaces with the flask in her hand. I watch, annoyed, as she pulls the stopper out with her teeth, spits it into the river, and proceeds to drink as much as possible. She’s paddling with one arm, kicking to stay afloat, and pouring alcohol down her throat as fast as she can.
She’s making a point. Not the point she thinks she’s making, either. All I’m taking from this is that Aslin will kill herself just to defy me. She’s more than a brat. I don’t know if there actually is a word for what she is.
Not stupid, at least. The current is carrying her away, but because she’s not fighting it, and sheer luck, it takes her to a bank about half a mile away. Only problem? It’s the other bank. And that means she just stranded herself unless she wants to take another swim.