She smiles, shaking her head. "No, he’s not. You being here throws him off and probably overwhelms him a little, but he’s not angry."
"Why does it throw him off that I’m here?"
Before she can answer, the loud slam of a door echoes through the building. Shortly after, heavy footsteps sound on the stairs before Cole appears, stops, and looks at me blankly.
"Speak of the devil." Jules jumps up and claps her hands. "Cole, we have a mission!"
Confused, I look back and forth between them. Jules grins broadly, while Cole’s expression hardens and a muscle in his jaw begins to twitch.
"Do we?" he asks after a few moments, though he doesn’t take his eyes off me.
"Absolutely! We need to go shopping."
NINE
COLE
"Shopping," I repeat dryly, forcing myself to take my gaze off Sophie.
"Yes. She needs something to wear, and we have to pick out a new hair color," Jules explains as I look at her.
Even though I know I don’t stand a chance of getting out of this, I still try to dodge her plan, motioning to Sophie. "But shedoeshave something to wear."
Jules rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "Quit acting like some caveman and take us. It’ll be fun!"
I shake my head decisively. "She can’t go out. Someone might recognize her."
Julestsksimpatiently and waves me off. "She can wear a beanie."
"It’s still summer."
"So what?"
It’s pointless. I lose the staring contest against her. As usual. It’s impossible for me to deny Jules a wish, especially when she looks at me with those puppy eyes of hers. Still, I try one last time to get out of this.
"She can’t stay here. How’s that supposed to work, huh?" While speaking, I go to the couch and sit down to light acigarette. As I do so, I avoid looking at Sophie. I can’t bear to see tears in her eyes again. The ones I saw there earlier were enough for me, which really pisses me off, by the way.
Jules follows me and literally puffs herself up in front of me. "What are you going to do? Just kick her out?" The words are only a quiet hiss so Sophie won’t hear them, but I don’t miss how serious Jules is.
Instead of answering, I just shrug and take another drag from my cigarette.
"Are you serious?" She looks at me with a mix of bewilderment and anger. "You really can’t pull that off, Cole. And you know that. So stop being such a dickhead and help me help her."
Sighing, I let my head fall back and close my eyes.
As much as I love Jules, at this moment I’d like to rip her head off. She knows exactly why I don’t want to have any-fucking-one around me anymore. I’m not the right one to take a girl by the hand who has been stranded in this world. Yet she forces me to do it.
Opening my eyes again, I sit up straight to take one last drag from my cigarette. Then I stub it out and stand, forcing Jules to step back. When I look at Sophie, I immediately regret it. She’s slumped in the chair, looking like a heap of misery.
"Fuck… What am I doing here anyway?" I mutter to myself before raising my voice. "All right. You can stay. At least for now."
Jules claps her hands in excitement while I suppress an eye roll.
"Until you know what you want to do and where you want to go. Got it?"
Sophie simply nods.
"But I’ll tell you right now: If the fucking cops show up here, I’m out."
