Psycho Love

23

The four of us hop out of Caden's black GT and walk towards an old, rundown looking warehouse and I can feel my chest tighten as memories start to come rushing into my mind. My fingers start to ache as I rub the pendant between them, desperately trying to calm myself down. You are strong. I am safe. I am not afraid. He can't hurt me anymore. Breathe Ember. Just breathe. I stop just short of the entrance to the warehouse and take a deep breath steadying myself. I thought that we were going to a normal shooting range, like the ones I have gone to in the past, but this hits too close to home. My trance is broken when I feel a warm hand rest on the small of my back, pressing my hidden gun into my spine and causing me to jump. Caden. Not HIM. Caden.

"You ok there, princess?" His dirty blonde eyebrows are furrowed in concern.

I look back at the warehouse and try to speak but my voice feels stuck in my throat, and the only words that escape are, "Bad memories." He nods as if he can read my thoughts and memories, understanding exactly what I am going through in this moment and just stands with me, waiting for me to make the first move toward the now open doors.

"You guys coming or what?" Trinity calls to us.

"Yeah, just give us a moment." Caden responds. Trey looks back at us and his mouth curls up into a smile, it isn't a kind, friendly smile, or one that is meant to reassure me that everything is ok but one that makes my toes curl and sends shivers down my spine. It only lasts for a split-second so part of me thinks that I made it up but that feeling remains even after Trey has followed Trinity inside. I continue to stand there frozen, using all my will power to fight the memories that wish so badly to resurface. I can't let HIM hold me back anymore, I need to get stronger to defeat HIM, and this will help me do that. I am not alone anymore.

"I'm just not a fan of warehouses but I'm fine. Let's do this." I say forcing a smile and pushing myself forward with Caden following closely behind. As we walk through the large doors, I expect it to be dark and dingy, with graffiti on the walls and trash littering the floor but the place is immaculate - as immaculate as a warehouse can be. The concrete floors have been polished so that the bright lights reflect off it. The walls are not covered in graffiti but in used targets, showing off their accomplishments, similar to how a child sticks its ugly artwork on the fridge for everyone to see. By the front door there is a tablet with earplugs, I chose to take some while Caden just walks past them. The noise is so loud, that I am surprised I didn't hear it outside - unless they have somehow soundproofed the walls. There are over 15 shooting stations, but only 5 are being used at the moment. Caden ushers me over to where Trey and Trinity are choosing their weapon. Trinity reaches for one with the tag 'Colt .22 LR Rail Gun Pistol' while Trey's hand hovers over the 'Bull Armory SAS II Air 9mm Pistol'. They are both beautiful weapons, but the one that Trey is about to grab reminds me of one that I've seen before, it's almost identical to one that I used to escape HIM. Instead of grabbing that one, Trey reaches over to a sleek steel revolver with the tag 'Smith & Wesson M686 .357cal Revolver'. He looks back at me, giving me a sheepish smile, "This looks more my speed, eh."

"Yeah, that's a good choice for a newbie like you." Trinity pipes up. She already has her gun in hand and is heading over to one of the empty stations.

"This is..." my voice trails off, as I take in my surroundings again.
"Not what you expected?" Caden's offers with a smile. I shake my head no in response. "This is the Black Wolves private shooting range. The walls are soundproofed so as not to cause a problem with the police being called all of the time. We make sure the outside stays rundown so that no one suspects there is anything in here worth stealing."
Makes sense. They wouldn't want to draw any attention to themselves.
"If you don't want any unwanted attention, I would suggest leaving the mustang at home." I tease, giving Caden a coy smile. Trey scoffs from beside me, dragging my attention away from Caden and back to him. He has a Beretta 92FS 9mm in his hand and gestures for me to take it, "This is just like your one, yeah?"

"Yeah, but I actually brought my own. Thanks though." I reach behind and pull my gun from the waistband of my jeans, giving Trey a wink while trying to keep the memories at bay as my tormenter voice floats through my mind.

'You should see your face! You really thought I would put real bullets in the gun? This is priceless.'

I shake my head, hoping to clear it of the sound. "Let's shoot something." I am already on the move to the station right next to Trinity and I can feel the boys following suit behind me. I flip the gun over in my hands, as if admiring it but I actually start to check the barrel to make sure that no one has tampered with it. I know it's almost impossible, seeing as it is always with me, but better safe than sorry. I quickly disassemble the pistol and lay all of the pieces in front of me. After giving each piece a quick inspection, a feeling of relief washes over me and I reassemble the gun. Once I am finished, I look up at the target in front of me and shift my feet so that they are shoulder width apart, holding the gun in my right hand, while stabilising it with my left I focus on the front sight of the pistol and place the middle of my index fingertip over the trigger. I take a deep breath and exhale, pausing halfway through and pull the trigger twice.

Both bullets hit their mark. In the centre of the target, almost in the exact same spot. I let out the rest of the breath I had been holding on to and smile smugly as the target starts to come closer. I look around and see that Caden, Trinity and Trey are all staring at me, shocked. "What?" I don't get why they are so surprised.

"You never told me you could shoot like that. That was amazing." Caden's praise makes my cheeks go hot and I look down, staring at my combat boots.

"You are pretty fucking great, just not as good as me." Trinity taunts me.

"Wanna bet?" I shoot back. She gives me an evil smirk and runs her finger along the side of her gun.

"You're on bitch."

After 15 minutes, my arms are aching and my ears are ringing. We have gone through so many targets that I've actually lost count, and trinity looks like she is only just getting started. She inserts another magazine into her pistol and give me a wink, "giving up already?"
I raise my arms and dramatically bow to her,
"You are the queen of the shooting range! How could I ever believe that I could beat you?" I laugh. "How about we take a break?"
"Come on, Em! Just one more? Pleeeaaaasssseeee!!!" She begs as if she is a kid and I can't help the belly laugh that erupts out of my mouth. "FINE! One more and then we have a break!" I agree. Trinity gives me a big tooth grin before CD back to the targets in front of us. Her smile drops instantly as she looks forward.
"What the fuck is that?" She exclaims. My head whips around and my eyes go wide as I spot what she is talking about. The world around me goes dark and all I can see is the image in front of me. The target that was there only moments ago is now replaced with a picture of me. It captures the exact moment I got the scar on my inner thigh. I stare at my face which is frozen, mid scream as an unknown person shoved a knife into my thigh. The only part of the person visible is their gloved hands and the knife but I would know those gloves anywhere. My arms are tied behind my back and there is blood covering my tattered clothes.
The image comes closer and closer toward me. I vaguely feel someone pull my arm but my feet won't move. I'm glued to this spot, watching my screaming face inch toward me. Words that are written on the bottom of the photo catch my attention;
'I told you I'd never give up on us, Babydoll.'