There Will Be Blood

30. Indiscrezioni del Passato

Maddie's POV

I sat on the edge of Justin's desk and watched his long fingers gently pull the gun apart with mechanical ease. His pink tongue poked out of his mouth as he stared intensely at the smooth metal of the pistol, holding it in his hands like a baby or a precious gem. He pulled the cleaning supplies from his desk drawer and set all the pieces of the gun out on the table, spreading them so that he could see what he was working with.

"You know what? I want to work on the bigger one first." He tapped his chin and put the gun back together.

It was like I wasn't even here.

I loved watching him like this. He was in a mode of pure fascination that I only ever saw once when he played the piano. Justin was the kind of guy who, once he got focused, nothing could derail him. It didn't matter if it was sex or his all-time favorite hobby—guns. I wouldn't dare to even try to disrupt him, but he seemed to like showing me his work and how he could handle firearms.

I—being the teenage slut that I was—found the whole thing extremely erotic and sexual. Thus, here I sat, once again trying not to jump the hell out of my mobster boyfriend while he worked.

"I think this is going to be a good learning experience for you," he said almost giddily and got up from his chair, walking into the open gun vault behind him.

"Have you ever tried categorizing those?" I called to him from my spot on the desk. "I bet it's a mess in there."

"Nope. I've got it all up here." He came back out with a massive gun, tapping his temple with the barrel.

"Right, I forgot that you have some super freaky brain."

"I'm just very particular. I know where everything is and can get it when I need it." He sat back down and started to pull apart the new beast he was holding.

"What's that one?"

"It's an M107 Sniper Rifle," he replied proudly. "One of my favorites."

"Why on earth would you need a sniper rifle?"

"Because, it makes me completely badass and sometimes, killing is best done from afar."

"If I were a normal girl, I would be scared right now."

"If you were a normal girl..." He chuckled under his breath and got to work.

Once again, I felt my body fall into a state of hypnosis as I watched him pull apart the rifle with precise movements. The gun clicked and rattled as the parts came off.

"This is the scope." Justin held up a long tube-looking thing.

"I know what it is." I rolled my eyes. "Freddie likes to hunt."

"I would love to see what he's got."

"No, you wouldn't. The two of you with guns would not be fun."

"I could... go back with you for Christmas."

"Here we go again," I groaned. "I've already told you 'no'. How could you not see how dangerous that is?"

Christmas was two weeks away and on some level, I couldn't wait to go back home. I wanted to see Freddie badly. I hated to admit how much of a daddy's girl I was, but I couldn't help it. I missed him and phone calls weren't cutting it. That being said, it was going to be hard leaving Justin behind, especially on our first Christmas together. He was pushing to come with me, but everyone was telling him to just stay put.

I was trying to convince Justin to travel to the Bahamas with Jeremy, Pattie, and Jaxon over the break. Everyone was separating to do their own thing and Pattie said it was the first time in years that it's all panned out like this. Justin was going to be bored as hell by himself. He was leaning more towards going with his parents, but only if I was solid on my decision to not let him come with me back to Thorp, which I was.