The Seven Day Gangster

Chapter 30: Part 1

"You have to hold the bow like this," said Nathan patiently, grabbing my fingers to show me.

"I am," I said with a scowl, determined to get the hold right. I pushed his hands away and straightened my fingers. I placed them back on the bow, my other hand holding the string back.

"Now pull backwards," instructed Nathan. "You want to keep your elbow raised. Yeah, yeah, like that."

I held the bow in place, my eyes watching with careful observation the target in front of me.

"Slowly, slowly," said Nathan quietly, his breathe warm on my cheek, his fingers touching the sides of my waist gently.

After a few seconds, I let the string slip through my fingers, my eyes set directly on the bull's-eye.

With a clean whoosh and a neat flick, the arrow soared through the air, hitting its mark perfectly, the center of the target.

I turned to Nathan, with a huge smile on my face.

But he wasn't there.

I spun around in sudden panic, wondering where he was. "Nathan? Nathan!"

"He's gone."

I looked to my left to see the waiter at my favorite Chinese restaurant staring at me.

"Where?" I asked desperately.

The guy shrugged, disinterested. "He's moved on. Like you should. He has no part in your life."

I opened my mouth to talk, to deny what he was saying. To say how Nathan was a huge part of my life. But I was suddenly disconnected from my body, and I could only watch on in horror as my self agreed with the guy and went back to shooting arrows without a care in the world. A few feet away, Nathan stood in a dark hoodie, turning away from the scene and laughing with another girl who had obscenely large boobs.

He has no part in you life.

He has no part in your life.

The words kept echoing in my head; I could think of nothing else, I could say nothing else. Those words imprinted themselves in my mind.

He's moved on.

I woke with a start, a bead of sweat lining my forehead, breathing hard.

It was still dark outside, the curtains in my room framing the dusky morning.

Pulling on a sweatshirt, I walked across my room to the balcony outside, my bare feet padding quietly against the wooden floor.

It was very early, and the almost deathly silent streets were a clear testament to that. Only a few cars were honking their way down, their lights bleakly visible in the otherwise foggy air.

I took a deep breath and pulled the blanket I had brought with me closer around my shoulders.

It had been two days after my terrible departure from the hidden gang hangout, and I was still reeling from the effects of it all.

I had spent the rest of the evening Sam had dropped me here making up for all the times I had not cried.

And, for the first time in I didn't even know how long, I slept straight through for more than six hours without any sort of disturbance.