Heartless People

TWENTY

It is surely easier to confess a murder over a cup of

coffee than in front of a jury.

~ Friedrich Durrenmatt

LAUREN

"Thats right, you little shit, come closer," she said as she eyed the deer standing a few dozen feet away.

"Relax your arm and breathe," I told her, resting my head right beside hers.

"My arm is relaxed, and you're doing enough breathing for the both of us," she replied like the smartass she was.

Backing away from her, I rolled my eyes. "Well then, go ahead, kill Bambi."

She released the arrow and just like I figured, it went right past the deers head, causing it to run away in fear. She watched it disappear into the forest in silent rage before turning back to me. Handing me the bow and arrows, she pulled out a gun, and I tried not to laugh.

"I could kill it so much better with this!" she yelled, and it was cute, especially since I knew I wasn't the source of her rage.

"Thats not the point." I lifted the bow to the sky, pulling it back and releasing the arrow. It went straight through a birds heart. Camila simply rolled her eyes, pointing to the sky and shot three times.

"Three birds for me, one for you. Whats the point again?" She smiled, looking down at the . . . fuck.

"We just killed Mockingbirds." I frowned, kneeling down to stare at the four birds now half-blown to pieces on the ground.

"Please, tell me you're joking."

Smiling at her once more, I stood and released another arrow into the tree, watching another one of the beautiful birds fall to its death.

"Show off."

"I found the one weapon my wife can't use." I grinned as she glared at me. I think I'll show it off as much as possible.

"I'm a people hunter! Who hunts people with arrows?" she snapped, and I opened my mouth to speak but she glared.

"If you say the Green Arrow I will shoot you in the other thigh," she added, and all I could do was smirk at her.

"All people are animals, love. They freeze when they are afraid. They cry out in pain as they die. A hunter is a hunter, and if you can kill a deer, you can kill a person. It's that simple," I replied. "Plus, I wasn't going to say the Green Arrow, maybe Hawkeye or Katniss Everdeen, but definitely not the Green Arrow."

Her eyes became wide, and she turned away from me, heading back to camp. It wasn't hard catching up to her.

"You are such a child," she said, but I could see the smallest grin on her lips.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, taking her hand and pulling her to me. She looked at her hands and then to me. I knew she was somewhat uncomfortable, but she didn't pull away.

"What? Aren't you going to ask me to go steady first?"

"Maybe if we were in the nineteen fifties."

"Have you ever been on a date?" I asked her, causing us to stop.

"I don't date, and you better not try any of that romantic shit on me either," she said.

"Girls like romantic shit." I smiled. She always made me smile, and I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to hide it from her or the world.

"I'm not girls. I'm Camila."

"We can compromise," I said, leaning against one of the tress.

She crossed her arms and stood straighter. "Or I could shoot you."