Page 6 of Paradox
I round the cabin quicker than I make most of my poor decisions.
“Get the fuck out!” I yell with the axe ready to swing.
I hear a terrified gasp and a thud before I storm the porch.
“Please don’t hurt me,” a small voice begs from where they fell—one arm held up and covering their face, like they think it's enough to protect them.
“Then get the fuck off my property!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be here.”
“You didn’t think—who the hell?” I push their hand away. “Jintae?”
“H–hi,” his voice trembles and I toss the axe on the ground.
“What in the ever loving fuck are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry,” he says again. “I didn't have anywhere to go.”
“Shut the fuck up.” I pull him to his feet, shove his duffle bag against his chest, and force him back down the stairs. “Now get going back the way you came.”
“I can’t,” he cries, spinning around and stepping towards me. “I already told you, I have nowhere else to go.”
I step even closer so I’m towering over him. “How the fuck do you even know about this place?”
“You talk a lot when you’re drunk.”
“Excuse me?”
“You talk. A lot. When. You’re drunk,” he sasses me like I’m the idiot.
“Don’t talk to me like that, you little prick.”
“It doesn’t matter how I say it. The truth remains the same.”
“I should beat your ass.”
“Do it. See if I care. It’ll be better than what my parents will do.”
Turning to walk away, I tell him, "I’m calling Tek,” but he tries to snatch the phone from my hand. “Get the fuck off me," I scowl and push him away.
Scrambling back to his feet, Jintae lunges at me again but I send his ass back to the ground.
Before trying for a third time, he tosses his backpack aside, and I hold my arm out straight to stop him from getting anywhere near me. Holding him at bay, I pick up his bag, and with a little shove, he stumbles back as I walk to the cabin.
“Give that back!”
“No,” I tell him, unzipping it. “I’m curious to see what exactly you thought would get you through the winter.”
“The winter?”
With a chuckle, I lower my chin and shake my head. “That is exactly why you shouldn’t have come here.”
“I would have been fine. I know where you hide the key, and no one would think to look for me—”
“You’d have been snowed in within a week.”
“I could have handled it.”
