Detached

CHAPTER 42

*MEERA'S POINT OF VIEW*

School was good, just like the day before. As promised, Riyansh’s presence kept all of the guys away from me so I didn’t need to worry about anything. Again, we had lunch with what was fast becoming our group of friends. Before the end of lunch, I exchanged numbers with Jiya. I could see the disapproval on Riyansh’s face – probably because of the ‘safety factor’ as he so often called it, but to me it was no big deal. Jiya was actually a genuinely nice girl, I liked her.

Throughout the day, Riyansh kissed me a few times again. Each kiss seemed to spark something deep inside me. It was like some sort of age-old primal instinct that I had no control over. I both liked and hated it at the same time.

Too soon though, we pulled up at the shooting range that Riyansh had found. Nerves were churning in my stomach, and I wrung my shaking hands, chewing furiously on my lip as he cut the engine in the parking lot. I wasn’t sure I could get out of the car. My whole body was stiff, frozen in place as Riyansh climbed out and walked around the car to my side.

This was all because of the dream last night. The dream was the whole reason that I was terrified of guns. During my time with him, I’d seen Smith shoot people, but that was the only time I’d ever had a gun put into my hand. The experience had scarred me deeply.

“You okay?” Riyansh asked, as he opened my door and bent down to see why I hadn’t moved to get out. I shook my head in answer. He reached in, unbuckling my seatbelt before taking both of my hands and squeezing them gently. “I promise it’s fine,” he cooed.

I flicked my eyes up to his face, seeing the concern in his eyes. “I don’t think I can,” I whispered, shaking my head.

Without answering he leant forward and planted a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth, squeezing my hands again. All of my worries seemed to melt away as his warmth and safety washed over me, giving me the confidence to move my heavy legs and let him help me out of the car.

“You can,” he replied, nodding sternly. “But if you don’t want to, then we’ll just go home. It’s your choice.”

I closed my eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths before clasping his hand in a vice-like grip as I nodded in agreement. With him at my side, I could do it, and if I couldn’t, then I’d just ask him if we could leave. “I want to. Just don’t let go.”

“I won’t,” he promised. I gulped, swallowing the squirming terror that was building in my chest as he led me inside.

I pressed into his back as he filled out a couple of forms, signing us in and setting us up a membership so we could go whenever we wanted to. When he was finally done with the paperwork, the guy led us to one of the lanes in the middle. Thankfully, we were the only ones in there, so it was quiet apart from the radio humming old eighties tunes in the background.

I whimpered and turned to Riyansh, watching as he sent off one of the little target sheets the same distance away as I had it last time. When he was satisfied with the sheet, he turned and put my goggles on for me before he covered my ears with the headphones. He smiled and reached behind him, unclenching my hand that I had fisted onto the back of his shirt, holding him tightly.

“You sure you want to do this?” he checked, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb as he straightened my aching fingers for me. I hadn’t even known I was holding him that tightly until then. I nodded weakly, eyeing the door warily as I decided if I should run or not. Before I could make up my mind, he moved behind me, pressing his chest against my back as his arms wrapped around me tightly. “Breathe, Meera,” he instructed. I gulped and sucked in a ragged breath as he picked up the little, black handgun from the box he’d been given. Immediately, I shrank back away from it, trying to melt into his chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder as he held the gun out in front of me. “Take it when you’re ready.”