Playing with Fire

Chapter 15 - Brooks

"You son of a bitch!" Adrianna yelled after falling onto the floor. Her hands cupped her face preventing me from seeing the possible damage onto her. It all had happened so fast that all I remember was the contact from my fist to her face and then her on the floor.

Quickly I ran across the gym and opened the cooler where we stored ice packs. Grabbing one I rushed back over to her and bent down to her level.

"Here move your hands."

"Please don't touch me. I'll do it myself." I understand where she is coming from but I don't think she has ever been punched. Me on the other hand can aid myself in my sleep. She needs my help if she doesn't want to bruise bad.

"Adrianna I know what I'm doing so move."

Still not budging from her position I swiftly pick her up. At first she flinches from my touch, but then calms. Relaxing in my arms she doesn't move. Light, her body is easy to carry and is no effort on me.

When I set her down onto a seat I finally get a good look at her face. Thank god I wasn't going to hard or she would have needed stitches. Swollen a bit, her cheek is red and slightly getting darker. Her nose has also started bleeding and is trickling down her mouth. My eyes trail up to her eyes and that's when I see it. Tears brim from the corners of her orbes. She's holding back from crying and I'm not sure why. Her brown eyes hold a gloss over them and are filled with pain.

"I'm so sorry," I plead, "I hadn't realized you had stopped and that's all my fault." Guilt is starting to build up in me and is slowly eating me up.

Putting the ice pack to her face she leans in and cherishes the freshness. Her nose is scrunched from the pressure and her eyes are closed.

"It's fine," she says softly. "No, it's not that I feel terrible," I exclaimed to her.

With one hand holding onto the pack she uses the other to pat the side of my face. "Seriously your fine, the only thing you should be worried about is marking up my beautiful face. It's the real money maker here and besides you only hurt me physically not mentally, you little bitch."

Shaking my head in amusement we both begin laughing. Neither of us having a clue as to why, but it uplifts the atmosphere.

"Now come on," she adds while standing up, "no need to waste anymore time."

"And what about your face," I ask in concern.

In one word she explains the solution to her problem, "makeup."

When I finally catch up to Adrianna she is standing on the opposite end of the room and is facing the shelves that are lined with weights. Behind them is a mirrored wall. "Open it," she says with an ice pack still on her face.

"Open what," I ask with a stupid look plastered onto my face. I'm trying to play her to see how she knows that it's not just a wall.

"Please, spare me the time. You and I both know that this is a two way mirror." Confidently she walks closer to the wall. "Oh yea, then prove it." Close enough, she uses her pointer finger to touch the glass and looks back at me. "You see if this was a normal mirror there would be a gap between my fingernail and the mirror but there is not. My nail and the mirror are making direct contact."

"Impressive," I say while walking to the pile of weights in the corner of the room. The way she instantly figured out the mirror was both specticular and captivating.

"Also I was here a few minutes before you so I had time to snoop around. In addition to that you traffick drugs so each room has to have at least one hidden thing."

The girl does have a point. When she finishes giving her speal I lift one of the weights. Instantly the wall begins to move, sliding open and revealing a room filled with weapons of all sorts. Adrianna gasps in awe and looks to me in shook. I gesture for to go in and she does just that.

All along the walls guns, kives, and arrows are lined up in order. This isn't the designated weaponry room but it's one of the few hidden ones we have. Adrianna has yet to speak. As she walks beside each of the walls her hand trails along each of the weapons. The left side of the room carries anywhere between handguns, rifles, shotguns, carbines, and snipers. It may seem like a lot, but one can never be to safe. The middle wall holds various forms of bows and arrows. Very few are skilled with this weapon. And finally the right wall has hundreds of different knives. When Adrianna reaches them she stopped in her tracks and feels over a few of them. Caught on some throwing knives that have red tips, she picks up one and feels the grip.

"Throw it," I say encouraging her.

"Can't, I wouldn't know how." I know she is lying. Something about the way she observed the knives over the other weapons was odd. It was as if she pulled by some force to them.

"Just try, I can teach you from there if you would like." Continuing to stare at the sharp object she seems to be contemplating her options. Her hand reaches up to push her hair out of her face. When she finally gives in to herself she picks up a few of the knives and walks towards me.

"Where," she asks while looking around. Still being in the same spot from earlier I lift another weight. Targets drop from the ceiling and are held in place by chains. Her eyes light up but when she's realized I've noticed she turns away.

"Okay just relax," I begin to explain, "Hold the knife in your right hand and keep your left foot forward while the other foot stays back. Bring the blade back behind your head and throw while shifting your weight. It may be complicated at first but just-"

My words are cut off by the sound of the blade hitting the target. Just missing the center, the knife is perfectly in place. Never done this, my ass. You don't just throw knives and immediately are amazing. It takes some people years to do.

Adrianna falters after seeing my shook and says, "Beginners luck?"

"Do it again." She looks back unsure towards the target and gets into stance. Seconds pass of her staring at the knife in her hands. "I shouldn't, what if I miss," she counters to my demand. Putting my hands together I plead, "Pretty please." Tilting her head away she looked back at the target. Effortlessly, she throws the second blade but this time it hits the dead center. When the two objects make contact her eyes enlarge and she gives of a sly sinister smile. It was strange to see her this way, but for some reason it seemed as though she was more relieved than ever. She held so much skill.

"Wow I'm good for a beginner," she comments after seeing me go into shock for a second time.

"Cut the bullshit, where did you learn that," I question.

"Honestly, I've never done this before. The only experience I can say is close to this is all those college dart games I used to play." An innocent look is displayed on her not allowing me to determine if she's lying. But where would she be able to inhabit this skill? Maybe it was just luck? A hidden talent even? Scratching my head I push my hair out of my face due to my inability to brush it this morning. Adrianna plays with the last knife in her hands. Her pointer finger runs along the edges carefully to prevent getting cut. Seeing her with the dangerous object sparks my curiosity.

"Adrianna I trust you enough, why not we play a little game?"

Pausing, Adrianna looks up from the knife and meets her eyes to mine. "I don't know, it depends. What type of game."

"Of course one that encases your new skills." I gesture towards the knives along the walls and her eyes follow.

"And what would I get out of this," she asks.

"The opportunity to nearly kill me." At the finish of my proposal her lips turn up and her face glows with eagerness. The way her face lights up is dangerous, but it's a risk I'm willing to take to get to understand her.