Suzie’s House 117: The Real Reason

Drew and Vin ended up turning Joseph O’Connor over to the local police. Shooting Vin wasn’t considered national is scope. While they discussed it with the men in uniform, Miranda stood by the couch where Mike and Mike sat, still cuffed, trapped in their own apartment.

“Biotch,” Mike muttered.

“Cheapskate,” Carl echoed. Neither man tried to look at her directly, but Miranda had no doubts as to whom they were directed.

“Cheapskate!? What do you mean?”

“Can’t even pay your overdue charges. That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? You went after us because we wouldn’t let you slide on your late fees at the video store, right?”

“I went after you because you’re scum. I thought we were friends. We talked about your motorcycle, and your neighbors, and what movies you liked. You knew me. You knew I always paid. And you,” she pointed at Mike “should have remembered when I paid the overdue fees. Five dollars in coins? How could you forget?”

“Five. In coin. It was you?” Carl said. He turned horrified eyes on Mike. “You idiot! How could you rip HER off? You know what a biotch she is!”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“The least you could have done is warn me! I’d have put the money in the till and let her go. This is why the boss called for that audit! Think of all the money we could have been raking in if he hadn’t started looking over our shoulders all the time.”

“Shut up, Carl. Just shut up, already!”

They had done it on purpose. They made her feel like dirt all so they could rip her off along with who knew how many other people? She hadn’t had the nerve to set foot in Four Star Video since the incident, and all along it was their fault.

“You guys suck, you know that?” Miranda glowered at them. “I really thought we were friends. I really did. Right up until you ripped me off with bogus late fees. It wasn’t even the money I minded. It was that you broke my trust. You disrespected me. That hurt, guys. It hurt.”

An officer in a starchy, blue uniform gently shoved her aside to collect the men. Miranda stumbled over to Vin and Drew. Vin put his arms around her.

“Hey, Babe. You look shaken. Anything wrong?”
“No.” Miranda kind of smiled. Actually, she felt pretty good. Mike and Carl were still scum, but now she knew for sure that she wasn’t. She’d been vindicated. As they passed by with their hands cuffed behind them, she felt validated. Her smile got stronger, stretching her cheeks and making the spots behind her ears ache. “Nothing wrong at all.”

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