Veronica and I had waited for several hours. No word from Jessie as to what had happened, and the lack of response despite texting her incessantly only made me more anxious. I paced around the living room, making occasional groans and growls in frustration. Veronica sat on the mattress, eyeing me calmly. As I passed by her, she gently grabbed my hand, snapping me out of my headspace.

“She’s probably just going there to chew his head off,” Veronica said reassuringly.

“As long as it isn’t literally.”

I sighed quietly as I sat down next to her. I could feel myself stimming, which typically happened any time my anxiety went through the roof. It wasn’t incredibly obvious, but still noticeable, as I repetitively rubbed my fingers against my palm and thumb. It helped shake of the nerves and get me to focus. I could tell Veronica noticed as she leaned forward slightly and looked at my hands. She stared for a moment before gently pushing me off of the mattress.

“We need to shift your focus. C’mon, on your feet.”

I got to my feet, giving her a confused look. She flipped the mattress back into the couch, trying to make the most space she could in our already small living room.

“Told you I need to teach you a few things,” she said nonchalantly as she stood in front of me. “I’m sure Ryan won’t give you anymore shit, but who knows what might come your way.”

Veronica stood in front of me in a casual state. She shrugged her shoulders, waiting for a response. I stammered for a moment before nodding. She smiled as she motioned towards me before crossing her arms. I stared, unsure of what she expected.

“So, what’s the first-”

Veronica’s hand hit the side of my head with lightning speed, smacking me in my left ear. I shouted out as I covered it, recoiling from the impact. There was a light ring as I staggered for a moment. I looked at her, shocked and frustrated. She cocked her eyebrows as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

“First lesson, expect anything in a fight. It doesn’t wait for you to be ready.”

“Yeah, but maybe teach me the warning signs first?” I asked loudly.

“Usually a look.”

Veronica gave me an odd, focused look. It reminded me of the look I saw in Veronica’s eye in the motel and when she was beating Ryan down. It didn’t look nearly as cold, but I could see elements of it in her gaze. I gritted my teeth, trying to shake the feeling off. I nodded. The look didn’t break, which made me all the more uncomfortable. She cocked her eyebrows before returning to her previous expression.

“Got it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I responded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I got-”

Her hand shot forward again, swatting me between the legs with the back of her hand. I gasped out as I keeled over. I took in deep heavy breaths, trying to make the pain subside. Veronica smirked as she clicked her tongue.

“I gave you the look, didn’t I?” she said. “And now you know how to dish it back. That one’s a twofer.”

I tried to talk, but I couldn’t between the gasps of pain. I can’t think of any better way to describe it other than it felt like I took the tire iron to my genitals. Veronica chuckled quietly.

“C’mon, mate, it was a love tap.”

“That was a tap?!” I exclaimed.

I was finally able to get my bearings and stand up straight. The moment I did, I suddenly found Veronica tackling me. I shrieked out, caught completely off guard, before she wrapped herself around. An arm wrapped around my chest and along my neck, locking it in place with her other arm.

“Third lesson: never give them a break!”

I could barely utter anything out. Veronica laughed loudly as I tried to escape, but either because of her strength or how she had me in a hold, I couldn’t break free for the life of me. Our attention shifted to Jessie as she entered. She looked calm, if not puzzled. Her confusion only grew when she saw the two of us entangled on the floor. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t say anything. Veronica looked at Jessie like everything was normal.

“Just giving him some pointers.”

Jessie stared for a couple of moments. She simply nodded before moving towards the kitchen. I could barely get Jess’ name out before Veronica tightened her grip for a second. She then let go, so I could properly breathe. I gasped as I sprawled out on the floor. Veronica crouched over me on the balls of her feet, her arms hanging over her knees. She simply smiled at me before offering me a hand. I let out an exhausted sigh as I grabbed her hand and she yanked me up to my feet while simultaneously getting to hers.

I followed Jessie into the kitchen as she reached into a cupboard past several bottles. She pulled out a bottle of bourbon, something that she wanted to save for a special occasion, and two shot glasses. This paired with her calm look gave me an uneasy feeling. Either the “talk” went really well or terribly wrong.

“How’d it go?” I asked calmly.

“Y’know, we talked for a bit,” Jessie said, putting the classes onto the dining room table and pouring the bourbon. “It was a pretty short one, too. Just wanted to make sure he knew not to cause any more problems.”

“And?” I asked, swallowing nervously.

Jessie smirked and chuckled quietly as she looked over towards Veronica. She motioned for her to come to the table. Veronica gave me a blank look. I simply shrugged my shoulders. Usually I could get a read on Jessie, but this was one of those times where I couldn’t tell what was on her mind. That made me even more nervous.

“Figured a little celebration’s in order,” Jessie finally said, offering a glass to Veronica. “You made our life infinitely easier. I didn’t even need to lift a finger.”

Veronica’s arms lightly opened up as she gave a modest smile. She approached Jessie and took the glass, raising it towards her. Jessie raised the other one before they knocked the glasses together with a light “clink” and downed the shots. Veronica let out a light gasp and a laugh as she looked at the glass and then back at Jessie.

“That’s the good shit!” Veronica exclaimed.

“Little something left over from dad before he and mom passed. He had good taste.”

Veronica’s smile eased slightly, chuckling quietly as she nodded. She lifted the glass towards Jessie. Jessie’s smirk widened as she poured another shot. The moment I saw it, I knew something was up.

“To family,” Veronica said, with a tinge of melancholy. “Cheers, love.”

“To family.”

Another pour and another “cheers.” It lasted for a while. The two kept downing shots, chatting more and more about how fucked life was to them. To anyone else, it looked like last night; the two were bonding over their love and hate of certain things in the world. But as the night went further and further, I could tell Jessie didn’t want to bond. She wanted to understand who she was talking to, gauging her personality and measuring what she was capable of. Veronica, for all her “cool as a cucumber” attitude was still prone to being under the influence.

It started to get dark again. The two were drunkenly joking and laughing with each other. But after losing count of the shots, I finally decided to intervene. I didn’t want something slipping out that shouldn’t have. As Veronica was about to take another shot, I placed my hand on top of the glass, smiling nervously.

“Maybe ease up a bit, huh? We don’t want you two getting a hangover.”

“Come on, mate, was’ a fun in dat?” Veronica laughed drunkenly. “I thin’... yer feelin’ a lil’ left out, yeah?”

Veronica laughed more as she playfully brought the glass to my lips. I couldn’t directly taste it, but I could feel it in the back of my tongue after getting a whiff of the alcohol. It was strong, aromatic, and burned a bit. I coughed as I pushed the glass back gently, politefully declining. Veronica chuckled as her smile widened, pointing a finger at me before taking another swig.

“Look, he’s… he shouldn’ be drinkin’ this,” Jessie said with a slight slur. “He’s a good kid. I mean, is’ kind of a bad influence, he sees us chuggin’ this thing down in a night.”

“Let ‘im celebrate, too!” Veronica responded excitedly. “He’s th’one who doesn’ ‘afta deal with that prick’s shite anymore.”

“It’s okay, I don’t think I should-”

“It’s fine!” Veronica responded even more loudly. “C’mon, just one! Just… one!”

Veronica started light banging the table in a rhythm, as if thinking the beat would encourage me further. I looked nervously between her and Jessie. By now, Jessie’s facade was starting to break. Her smile looked more forced, with a slight twitch in her lip. Veronica looked towards her, but the fun dropped. As drunk as she was, she could see it, too. She curled her hand up and knocked on the table a couple of times before letting out an awkward laugh.

“Yer right, yer right. It’s not my place.”

Jessie nodded, as she looked down at the glass in her hand. By now, the bottle was at least two-thirds empty. It took me a while to realize that Jessie had been drinking far less than Veronica.

“It’s my job to keep him safe,” Jessie said quietly, her speech becoming noticeably clearer. “Not just from other people, but anything anyone does that might get him in trouble. Even if he didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know what happened with Ryan, but I had never seen him more scared in my life. There’s no other way to say it, he’s too stupid to feel fear.

“I’ve made threats that would had me thrown in jail if a cop was nearby. And yet here you are, a nobody from nowhere, smaller than me, smaller than Jack. You somehow put the fear of God in him. He begged me to leave him alone, swearing he didn’t and wouldn’t say anything. A man like that? He’d only be scared if whoever beat his ass was more savage than him.”

There was still a hint of drunkenness, but it was obvious that she was playing it up initially. I can’t think of any better way to describe it than Quint in “Jaws,” having a good time with Brody and Hooper before talking about the Indianapolis. I don’t know if maybe she was doing some acting or if she found more focus, but I knew right off the bat that she suddenly had the upper hand. Veronica, despite her drunken stupor, seemed to follow along perfectly. Jessie leaned in giving Veronica a dark look.

“Were you going to kill him?” Jessie asked point blank.

My eyes widened in a panic. I had hoped Veronica still had some sort of inhibition left, to not let her tongue get the best of her. She was certainly better than I had expected, but far worse than I had hoped. Veronica leaned back in her chair, giving Jessie a blank stare.

“If I thought he was going to do the same to Jack here? You bet your arse I would have.”

The two stared at each other, neither of them backing down. I was panicking on the inside, thinking of any way I could interrupt or distract from the moment. My brain locked up. All I could do was stare, stunned by the social trainwreck that was happening. Eventually, Jessie let out a sharp exhale as she straightened up and clasped her hand together.

“I’m grateful you saved Jack. But I can NOT have someone who could get him pulled into shit like that in this place. This is your last night here. You’re out in the morning. I ever see you near him again, and I’m calling the cops. Understand?”

Veronica continued to give Jessie the same blank stare. She clicked her tongue as she nodded, never breaking eye contact.

“No worries,” she responded nonchalantly. “I’d do the same thing in your shoes.”

“H-Hey, hey, hey, wait a second!” I started, looking between the two. “Look, it was just a case of ‘push comes to shove!’ She’s not trying to start trouble! We can just-!”

Jessie gave me a firm look. I froze in place. I didn’t see that look often, but when I did, it meant business. There was no fighting back because she wouldn’t back down. I gave her a pleading look, but it was futile. She finished her shot and gently put it down before leaving the table. Her footsteps disappeared down the hallway before I could hear her bedroom door shut.

I looked back towards Veronica. She looked back towards me with a resigned smile, as if expecting this. She reached back and grabbed my arm, giving it a firm yet gentle squeeze. All I could do was stare apologetically