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"Hey, what happened to your finger?"
Nancy's voice was soft and sweet, like dripping honey, and her gaze on Jen's sliced finger was more than gentle. They were walking in the woods, towards Jonathan. Jen stared down at her wrapped up finger. "Um.. nothing. Just a small slip up. It's no big deal."
"You sure?"
Jen nodded gently, the bandaid around her finger felt all too tight now with this new attention. "Yeah. Don't worry." Nancy nodded softly, with a small smile. "Alright then.."
The two were getting closer to Jonathan. Bullets echoed like children wailing at night. Jonathan wasn't making any shots.
"You're supposed to hit the cans, right?" Nancy's voice sounded out through the trees, sweet and teasing. Jen beamed.
Jonathan's eyes fell on both girls. He smiled a little. "No, actually, you see the spaces in between the cans? I'm aiming for those." There was clear sarcasm. Nancy hummed, a smile. "Ah."
The girls put down their bags. Jonathan's gaze zeroing in on Nancy. "You ever shot a gun before?"
Nancy scoffed with a soft laugh. "Have you met my parents?" Jonathan's eyes moved to Jen, "you?" Jen sighed, fingertips picking at her jean overalls. "Nope. My sister shot one of our windows one time when she was fifteen."
Nancy and Jonathan stared at the girl, alarmed. Jen smiled, faintly. "It wasn't a big deal. She was trying to make my mom mad. Missed my head by a foot."
Nancy's lips parted, no words. Jonathan hummed. "Yeah, I haven't shot one since I was ten. My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit."
"A rabbit?"
Jonathan worked on reloading the gun. "Yeah. I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man or something. I cried for a week."
"Jesus." Nancy muttered.
"What? I'm a fan of Thumper." Jen cracked a smile at the boys words, they shared a look. Nancy shook her head gently, with a soft laugh. "I meant your dad."
"Yeah. I guess he and my mother loved each other at some point, but.." The gun gently cocked. "—I wasn't around for that part."
Nancy suddenly looked over at Jen, like she was asking for something with her eyes. Jen wasn't sure. The girl just smiled softly, arms twisting around herself.
Nancy looked back at Jonathan, hand slowly out for the gun. The boy's eyes widened a bit, but he didn't hold off. "Um, yeah." He passed Nancy the firearm. "Just, uh, point and shoot."
The girl took a stance. "I don't think my parents ever loved each other."
