Dalliance - Z.M. (An Exquisites Original Story)

76; Baby Came Home

Chapter 76

"Thinking about her,
she's gone all the time.
I think if you found her,
that even you would know she's mine"

(Raine's POV)

"Plant your feet," Ade's voice guides me as he stands behind me, critiquing my form as I balance the weight of the assault rifle on my shoulder. The beaming Louisiana sun scorches down on us and while the sweat on my forehead seems to notice, Ade stands unfazed. He practices his shot every morning at the same time, rain or shine. Nothing seems to faze him. I yearn to be like him.

"Reposition your neck, Raine. I shouldn't have to keep telling you this."

"Sorry," I mumble, lifting my cheek against the stock to get a better perception. He doesn't let me shoot yet, not until he is certain I have memorized everything I need to the point of perfection.

He makes one lap around me, examining my from head to toe and realigning the things that have shifted out of place. He narrows in my elbow, realigns the barrel, and pats my waist so I am able to relax myself like he has told me to one too many times.

"Stay like that," he orders. "Two minutes. Don't move a hair or your time restarts again."

"Ade," I sigh, wanting to shake my head but knowing better than to around him. "I've already been doing this for an hour. Let me go."

"You have missed training three days straight," he reminds me with a stern authority in his voice. "Your time begins now. Count in your head, at the end I want you to shoot the bullseye and if you don't, we keep trying until you do."

I don't really have the option to disagree with him because he is right, I've been off my game. Things have been so busy from morning to night with the planning and Apollo and the confusing ex-boyfriend in the middle, I have always made an excuse to Ade about our practice. He never said anything about it before today when I came to give him yet another excuse but he didn't allow me to make one. So, here I am.

Two minutes may not seem like a long time to the average person, but when you have a ten pound AK-47 balancing between your shoulder and your strained neck, it suddenly becomes never-ending. I don't move an inch, not even when I hear the sound of my brother making fun of me as he passes me, laughing when he notices how flushed my face is. I feel the urge to point my weapon at him and shoot him in the leg.

"Atta girl, Fosco!" He claps his hands sarcastically. "Look at you, finally doing some work."

"Don't distract her," Ade warns.

"Yeah, don't distract me," I scoff at him while he pats his face dry after just having returned from a run. "I might accidentally lose my aim and knock your head off."

"If you even got the aim for that," he laughs, nodding at the target across from me.

"You keeping count, Raine?" Ade asks.

"78, 79, 80, 81..."

"-63, 92, 55," Kai shouts fatuously over me in an attempt to throw me off. I just pass him a glare before shutting my eyes and allowing the numbers to run through my mind. I hear my brother shouting over me and the pressure of time building up around me but I refuse to lose track, taking this as the experience I need to build my tolerance. As I inch closer and closer to the time, I flash my eyes open and tighten my hands around the grip, taking a deep breath to maintain my composure.

3, 2, 1...

My fingers pull the trigger with a striking ease and the weapon fires, kicking me back but I keep my position. Everyone's eyes follow the bullet as it cuts through the sky before planting a deep whole directly in the middle of the target, hitting the bullseye within seconds.