Chapter 31 One Last Normal Moment
I stopped sleeping well the day I realized he would kill me.
I know.. that shouldn’t have been my first wake-up call concerning I watched his men murder someone but something about me always believed that if anything, he wouldn’t hurt me but I guess I’m wrong, he would. In fact, he would do it so easily that I wouldn’t even see it coming.
Today is just another day at the mansion with Carlos. And today, he’s making me watch him shoot for the perfect shot. He picked up a black pistol from the table, checked the magazine, then stepped into the lane and started firing at the human silhouette.
I have no idea why he chose such an activity when there is so much he can do around here.
The sound of gunshots filled the air as he kept shooting as if his life depended on it. When he finally made the right aim, he shot the silhouette about three times with perfect aim.
Then he turned to me and started walking over. As he approached, he held out the gun. "It’s your turn."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I want to see your shooting skills."
"But I don’t know how to shoot," I said quietly
He scoffed "Then come, I’ll teach you." He grabbed my hand and walked me to the place. Standing here he handed the earmuffs to me and said "Put these on, take the gun and shoot right at the silhouette,"
I took the earmuffs and while putting them on, I couldn’t help but ask "Why do you want to teach me? Aren’t you worried I could use it against you?"
He lightly chuckled. "No, I’m not. I’m teaching you so you’ll be able to defend yourself when attacked. There are bad people around here that you need to protect yourself from in case I’m not around."
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or lying, but his expression tells me his serious. "Who are the bad people?"
"You’ll know them when you see them." He replied "Anyways, have you ever shot a gun or you’re new to this?"
"You’ve followed me all my life, so why don’t you take a guess?"
He looked at me, his expression shifting slightly heavier, like he was holding his anger back but instead of reacting, he just said casually, "Stand on the lane."
"What lane?"
He rolled his eyes, half amused, then gently pulled me forward to stand directly in front of the human silhouette. "This is the lane. The first step to shooting is your stance. Get it wrong, and you’ll miss every time."
"Ohh, I didn’t know that."
"Well, now you do," He said, stepping closer.
His hand slid over mine, adjusting my grip on the gun "You need to hold the gun well… loosen up a bit. You’re holding it like it’s going to break."
That made me laugh "Sorry, I didn’t realize it was that fragile."
He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I just hope your aim’s better than your jokes."
"I’m funny you know."
He lightly laugh "It’s one thing to lie to me and it’s other to lie to yourself."
"Whatever, let’s just get this over with."
Carlos stepped beside me, held the sides of my arms, and guided me into position.
"Your feel should be apart. Shoulders relaxed. Don’t fight the gun, let it work with you."
I scoffed "Is that your inspirational speech?"
He smirked. "It’s better than your dry joke."
"You’re really getting on my nerves, you know."
"I don’t care… Now focus!" He commanded.
I exhaled and focused on the target, my hands trembling just slightly.
"Now," He said, his voice low near my ear, "Take a deep breath… and shoot."
I pulled the trigger. The bang was louder than I expected. Even through the earmuffs, the sound was sharp and jarring. My eyes snapped shut the instant it went off.
When I opened my eyes, I blinked in surprise.
A clean shot, just off center.
My jaw dropped. "Wait… I hit it?"
Carlos chuckled. "You hit it but next time, don’t close your eyes when shooting. You’re gonna miss the aim."
"I only closed my eyes because it’s kinda scary."
"Oh come on." He scoffed "It’s not that scary. Even a ten year old can shoot without closing his eyes."
"Name one ten year old that can do this." I challenge
"Me." He said confidently, a smirk appearing on his lips
"You started shooting at ten?" I asked shocked
"At nine but perfected at ten." He said reaching closer to me again "Now let’s do this again okay?"
"No wait, hold on." I quickly said, "You started shooting at nine?" I questioned, he nodded "That’s child abuse!"
"Not if you want to and you’re a mafia man." He explained as if it’s a normal thing "My father used to take me to some shady outdoor range. He said if I was going to survive in this world, I needed more than just good grades."
"And did you?"
"Of course. I learnt how to shoot before learning maths,"
"Wow!" I said fascinated
He smiled. "Yeah, anyway, let’s take another round and then wrap it up for today," He said, stepping closer to me.
I lifted the gun and fired. This time, I didn’t close my eyes.
Honestly, I never thought I could shoot that easily, I’ve always been scared of doing things like this.
"And there you have it," He said. "You can shoot. Although, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to shoot just a real person. You need more practice for that. Maybe tomorrow I can teach you some moves."
"Wait, are you serious?" I asked, shocked.
"Of course. As much as I hate to give you strengths that you could use to leave, I still have to make sure you can protect yourself in case of an emergency."
He sounded serious, but I still wasn’t sure I believed there was any real danger coming for me. But if truly there is, who is it? And why is Carlos doing everything he can to protect me?