check-yesjulietâ:
She turned on her heel to level her brother with a look. âNo, itâs really not. Youâve seen my place. What makes you think this is anywhere near how a human is supposed to live?â Since heâd spent the last few years in prison, Jules was going to let that slide. Maybe Mason was just used to the sparse nature found in his cell. Well, no more. Not for her brother. Not as long as she could afford to help him. Even if they didnât share the same style, there was no way he was going to look like he lived in a half-way house. âJust let me help. If youâre worried about the money, donât be.â She didnât particularly want to go into detail as to where her money came from but there was no doubt in her mind that he already knew exactly where it did.Â
Her lips pursed as she made herself comfortable on the couch next to the man who raised her. Even though he was her brother, he was the closest thing to a father besides the one who used to beat her. Jules tucked her feet under herself and threw a look at him. âYou act like I said your baby was ugly. You canât deny this place is a mess.â And then her heart dropped as soon as she heard him say the words. It was one thing for him to know and another altogether for him to bring it up. âY-yeah.â Shit. She hated that old stutter that made itself known whenever she let her nerves get the better of her. âMason, please donât look at me like that. I make good money. We really donât have to talk about this.âÂ
âWhoa, hey. Itâs a pretty big step up from my digs a few months ago. That was inhumane, this isnât.â Mason knew it came from a good place but he wasnât loving the attitude here. His place was fine and when he started working full time again heâd be able to upgrade. He rolled his eyes. âJesus, Jules, Iâm fine. You donât have to help.â He already knew where that money was coming from, as they were about to discuss, so he didnât really want to profit off that. It would feel too weird.Â
Mason exhaled smoke with a huff, vaguely amused at her persistence on this topic. âAll right, so itâs not spic and span or whatever. Not like Iâve been here long.â It wasnât exactly a total mess, either, but apparently she had high standards now. But then it was on to serious business which she clearly didnât want to talk about, given the way her expression fell and that stutter came back. He felt a pang about that but they still needed to have this conversation no matter how hard it might be for both of them. âWe really do have to talk about it, actually. Makinâ good money is no excuse. Iâm not gonna have my baby sister workinâ in that kinda business. You did what you had to do while I was inside, I get it, though I kinda wish the Costellos took better care of you than that. Either way, Iâm out now, thereâs no need for it. Iâll talk to Cassandra and she can move you to somethinâ else.â He was trying, very valiantly, to keep a hold of his temper but his tone was still pretty firm. If she put up much more resistance about it he might snap and that was never good for anyone.Â












