Unfortunately, I barely saw Hannah for the rest of the week; She came in and out, but it wasn't like I wanted to sit her down and have a deep conversation about how her boyfriend sucks while she was rushing to get to work.
Now, the weekend was already here, and she headed off to Drayden's house for the weekend before I even got back from my last class on Friday evening. Part of me wondered if she was avoiding me. Maybe she was embarrassed that Jax and I had witnessed that kind of behavior from her boyfriend; not that it was her fault. But, since I'd moved in, she hasn't been gone this long without at least checking in or trying to make a plan with me.
I stretched out my arms, getting ready to get up for the day. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but Jax told me yesterday he had an idea. I made my way to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and taking a quick shower before returning to my own dorm. I pulled out my phone, seeing that I already had a text from Jax.
Mason: Let me know when you're ready.
I was quick to type a reply.
Skyler: I'm almost ready; what should I wear? I don't know the plan.
Mason: Doesn't really matter but i'd probably go comfy; probably close toed shoes.
I decided on wearing some leggings, a white tank top, and an oversized flannel. I just hoped that it would be okay for whatever we were doing. I wasn't sure why Jax didn't want to tell me, but I went along with it. I liked a surprise sometimes.
I met him in the hallway, taking in the jeans and black t-shirt he was wearing. I loved when he wore his black t-shirt. If possible, it made his arm muscles look even bigger and more defined. We both made our way down, taking the elevator, as it hadn't had any problems since we were stuck the other week.
Jax already had an Uber waiting when we got downstairs, and I waited in anticipation until we finally stopped in front of a large building. It wasn't until I exited the Uber that I realized what this place was.
"Shooting range?" I read the sign, stopping in my tracks.
"Yeah; you said you wanted to learn, remember?"
I nodded. I did remember saying that; though, now that I was here, I was having second thoughts.
"Come on; it's gonna be okay."
"Um... I don't know if I'm ready for this today..."
He grabbed my hand in his, walking us both into the building. "You're okay; I'm going to be with you the entire time."
My mouth was incredibly dry, but I found myself swallowing anyway in a nervous gesture. "Okay."
I zoned out as Jax paid for various target posters, and guns of different sizes. One looked like a hand gun, but the other looked like a bigger rifle; one that sat against your shoulder.
I shuddered at the sight. The men that killed Mr. Solara were holding shotguns, like the one Jax was holding now; like the one he kept in his waistband at all times.
Once paid for, the man at the counter took our guns to the bay we would be shooting at while Jax and I stood outside to put on our headphones and glasses. I could hear faint sounds of bullets on the other side of the door from other people at the range. I tried to calm my breathing.
"This is fine... it's a shooting range; people do this for fun. Nobody is aiming at you..." My subconscious chanted on repeat.
I slid my glasses on, letting Jax place my headphones over my ears and tighten them.
"Ready?" he asked. He sounded muffled through my headphones, but I could read his lips.
I nodded, though I wasn't sure I actually felt ready.
He put on his own glasses and headphones as well before opening up the door to the room. I followed in after him, and though the earmuffs were blocking the full sound from hitting my ears, the gunshot sounds intensified.
I flinched each time somebody shot off a round; which in here, was about every 3 seconds.
BANG... I flinched. BANG, flinch. BANG BANG BANG.
I felt like I could feel the vibrations of each bullet in my own body; like the noise was shaking the floor and moving up through my feet. Still, I willed my feet forward, following Jaxon until we reached our area.
I had been so focused on trying to steady my breathing, that I hadn't even noticed the moisture that filled my eyes. A lone tear escaped and I quickly tried to wipe it away.
"Shit..." Jaxon cussed once he looked at me. "I didn't want to make you upset; I thought you wanted to learn about guns, so I thought going here could be a good idea. Do you want to leave?"
I shook my head. "No; I want to learn, I'm just... freaking out a little bit. I'll be fine in a minute," I panted. My breathing was becoming increasingly shallow.
"Come here," Jax said, reaching down and placing my hand on his warm, muscular chest. "Breathe with me," he instructed, just has he had done before when I had my first panic attack.
I kept my hand on his chest, his palm warming mine as he held my hand in place. I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the way his heart beat steadily against my palm. I closed my eyes, letting the guns fade to the background while I focused on matching Jaxon's breathing with my own.
After a minute or so, I opened my eyes, looking up to find Jax staring down at me. "Better?" He asked.
I nodded. "I'll be fine."
He gave me a smile, dropping my palm and picking up the hand gun. "Okay; let me show you how to load a gun."
I watched as Jax pointed out the various parts of the gun, and how he filled the clip with bullets. When it was set, he slid the clip into place and removed the safety before getting into position. I watched the muscles in his arms flex as he raised the gun and pulled the trigger. I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of hot.
When it was my turn, I was feeling okay about being around a gun but actually holding one in my own hands was another thing entirely. I listened to Jax's instructions, holding the gun in front of me and trying to still my hands as I took aim. However, I was shaking so badly that the gun wasn't staying aimed where I wanted it; and besides, I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger anyway.
"I can't," I said, lowering the gun, "I can't do it. I'm sorry; it's just too soon."
"You can do it," he said. "Just breathe."
I picked up the gun again, holding it out straight in front of me. My body quaked as I tried to hold it still. I was about to give up again when I felt Jax moving to stand behind me.
He raised his arms, wrapping his hands around mine on the gun; my back pressed to his abs and chest. I felt stronger with Jax helping me; he held my arms steady despite my trembling body.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yeah," I said, focusing on Jax and the feel of his large arms around me.
Then, we pulled the trigger together.
I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't think it would feel the way it did. The gun kicked back in my hands, and if not for Jax's strong grip on me, I probably would have dropped it.
"How'd that feel?" He asked. I felt his chest rumble behind me when he spoke.
I let out a breath, "It was okay."
"Good. Do it again," he said, letting his hands fall from mine. I immediately missed the contact.
"Wait!" I said, "Can you do it with me again?"
His lips pulled up into a smirk. "Yeah... sure."
He brought his arms up again, and this time, I didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
"Nice job," Jax praised, "Again."
I shot the hand gun 2 more times with Jax before he let go, and I shot it 2 more times on my own. I was still freaking out, but I was starting to feel better about guns; at the very least, I didn't have a full blown panic attack at the sound of them.
"You're doing great," Jaxon encouraged. "Want to try a different gun?"
I nodded, actually meaning it this time.
I watched as Jax first emptied the handgun, demonstrating how to empty it and put the safety back on. Next, he picked up a much bigger gun, showing me how to load it.
"Honestly, you will probably never come across someone who's shooting at you with a gun like this; most likely, it would be a hand gun," he explained.
"Comforting," I interjected.
"But," he continued, a smile starting to grace his face, "I figured you should be exposed to more than just one type of gun, just incase. And you can relax, it's not going to get to the point where you'd need to use one of these; That's why I'm here."
I nodded, watching as he positioned the gun against his body. "So, you want this part to align with your shoulder like this," he pointed out, "and you're going to close one eye, and use the dot to line it up between the two notches. That's how you aim. You'll know what I'm talking about when you try it. And then you just squeeze the trigger."
I flinched as he shot the gun, hitting the target right in the center. I swore this gun seemed even louder.
"You ready to try?"
"Yeah," I said, walking over to take the gun from him. Jax helped me to position it the correct way, keeping his arms on mine just as he had before.
"Okay, this looks good. Now aim," he said, moving with me as I made micro-adjustments, "and squeeze."
The gun shot off a bullet, and I was not prepared at all for the kickback on this one. It plowed against my shoulder, sending me bumping into Jax's hard body.
It felt like something that would happen in an old cartoon—shooting a gun and getting sent flying backwards; though, this was much less dramatic.
Jax dropped one of his hands down to steady me, snickering under his breath. "That was good."
I huffed, "Well, you could have warned me about the kickback on this one! That kind of hurt my shoulder."
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm so used to shooting guns... I guess I didn't realize this one had that strong of a kickback. You don't need to shoot this one anymore if you don't want to. But lets do a few more on the handgun. I want you to load and shoot a full clip."
I did as Jax instructed, loading the clip with trembling hands. I may have been getting better at this, but I was still anxious. Plus, shooting the gun was loading me with adrenaline, which was making me extra shakey. Still, I did my best not to move as I took aim with my handgun, aiming at a target that was shaped like a human silhouette.
"When you're ready, go ahead and shoot one right after the other until it doesn't shoot anymore."
I took a deep breath before firing off a round, then another, and another, and another until my gun stopped working. I let in a much needed breath, as I had been holding it for most of the shots. I put the safety back on and set the gun down before turning to face Jax.
"Good Job! I'm proud of you," he said, giving me a high-five.
We both took a look at my target then, noticing at the same time where most of my bullet holes were located; right on the silhouettes groin.
"Well damn," Jax breathed, "remind me never to piss you off."
I let out a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "Well... at least I'm consistent."
"That's true. You did good," he said.
I smiled up at him, enjoying his approval. "Can we go get some food now?"
"Yeah," he smiled back at me. "Let's go."
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Yo!
Anyone ever been to a shooting range before? I have. It's actually pretty fun! Hope this was sort of accurate, I've only gone one time.
Thanks for reading, as always :))
-Haley