Sweet Revenge

Sarah woke up the next morning, dazed, disorientated and confused as hell as to how Bilbo had gotten into her room, when she was positive that she had shut the door when she went to bed. Bilbo was lying on his front beside her, his nose level with her shoulder, his big brown eyes meeting hers when she looked at him, and she didn’t even try to hide the smile that took a hold of her lips when his tail started wagging, shortly followed by him standing up on all fours, his face hovering over hers, and his wet tongue finding her cheek, nose, eyes, and every other part his tongue could reach. She giggled, pushing him away with a gentle shove, which didn’t stop him for a second. She gave a harder push, which again, didn’t work. He was a big dog, and if she didn’t know he was such a sweetheart, she would probably be a bit more wary of a dog that was stronger than her. She sat up, putting all her strength into moving him off the bed. He gave a little sneeze of displeasure, and then jumped off the bed. Her feet quickly found the floor, and with a glance at the alarm clock on the bedside locker, she saw it was a little after six. She groaned, her back muscles tightening, before she stretched her arms up, a sigh of exertion exhaling deep from her lungs. She then stretched her legs out, wiggling her toes. Bilbo took the opportunity to lick her feet, making Sarah squeak in alarm and stand up sharply. Bilbo almost looked apologetic, but he wasn’t too cut up about it when he turned his back on her and trotted to the door, a silent command for Sarah to let him out so he could get fed.

Sarah’s eyes narrowed in confusion. The door was shut, something she highly doubted Bilbo could have done. She swallowed, putting two and two together with a sinking realisation that Gerard must have come into her room at some point during the night, when she was asleep and defenceless. Shit. Was he watching her sleep? Did she do something embarrassing in her sleep, like scream or shout? Cold sweat broke out over her pale skin, her temperature going down a few degrees with discomfort and unease. She wished there was a key for the door, or a lock, or something that would ensure that nobody could come in when she was asleep. She didn’t like the idea that Gerard had such easy access to her when she wasn’t awake and able to control the situation. She didn’t think he would hurt her, but she knew trusting him to the point of not being prepared for him to prove otherwise was foolish. She took a deep breath, getting a grip of herself and pushing the paranoia to the back of her mind. She took determined steps to open the door, sighing when Bilbo darted out like a bullet from a gun and raced downstairs, full of canine excitement for what the day was going to bring. She traced his path down the stairs at a much slower pace.

She wasn’t surprised to see a dressed Gerard in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal in his hands, and a cup of streaming hot liquid (she guessed coffee) on the table in front of him. His looked up for all of two seconds before he gave her a disinterested once over and went back to his cereal. He didn’t utter a word, give a grunt of acknowledgment or any kind of friendly greeting.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” she mocked cheerfully.

He still didn’t say anything. Bilbo was sitting to Gerard’s right, sitting on his hind legs and staring at the man with a beseeching look. Gerard ignored him, and Sarah rolled her eyes.

“Should I feed Bilbo?”

This got Gerard’s attention. He looked up, glared at her with all his might that would have scared any normal, sane person. Sarah almost shrank back a bit, and would have, if she wasn’t so determined to not show any fear.

“I’ll feed him when I’m finished eating. He’s hardly starved, Sarah, in spite of what you think.”

She didn’t waver from his gaze, as much as she wanted to. He stared her down for what felt like an hour, before he picked up his spoon of Fruit Loops, and took a vicious bite. Sarah made herself busy with filling up a bowl of the multi-coloured breakfast goodness for herself, taking deep breaths to calm down, and push the lingering apprehension away. She didn’t take a seat at the table – she had no desire to get any closer to Gerard. She leaned against the breakfast bar, munching on her modest bowl, and sipping on a small cup of caffeine that would hopefully get rid of the remaining tiredness that seemed permanently attached to the marrow of her bones. It never left – it was a combination of lousy sleeping abilities and being a parent. Her eyes were tracing the pattern of the wooden floor, counting how many panels of wood covered the floor, when Gerard’s chair was pushed back with an obnoxiously loud screech. Her eyes immediately sought the origin of the disturbance, and she held back a smile when she saw Gerard stand up, then pat the top of Bilbo’s head with affection and grab his cereal bowl. She tried not to scowl when he left the bowl and spoon in the sink, not even rinsing the ceramic and metal, before he pulled out a tin of dog food for Bilbo. Bilbo ran to his bowl, his tail wagging with what Sarah imagined was delirious anticipation. Gerard picked up the bowl, resting it on the counter, while he spooned the jellied meat into the bowl. Bilbo followed, not letting his bowl out of his sight. He stood up on his hind legs, his paws on the counter, and his nose poked at the bowl, moving it a fraction of a centimetre. Surprisingly, Gerard didn’t reproach the dog. The second Gerard put the bowl back on the floor, Bilbo attacked it ferociously. Sarah watched, fascinated with just how fast the canine was gulping down the large serving. She wasn’t aware that her jaw had dropped, stunned by Bilbo’s appetite.

“So, there’s not much to do around here, but there’s a lake about a mile down the dirt road.”

Gerard didn’t know what it was that made him say it. Scratch that, he knew exactly why he'd said it. Since the previous night, he’d been unable to get the image of Sarah out of his mind. Waking up in the morning, hard as a rock, didn’t help either. He was wound up tightly, pissed off at the universe, and he just wanted to get Sarah as far away from him as possible.

“Thanks.Maybe I’ll go down later.”

Gerard knew it would be suspicious if he pushed it further, so instead he waited for Bilbo to finish wolfing down his food, and led him outside. He watched Bilbo running around the on the grass, going round and round in circles, running so fast, he was almost a blur to Gerard. Gerard made a little game of trying to keep his eyes trained on Bilbo as the four legged beast flew around the garden at a speed that was dizzying to watch. Gerard found his mind drifting away from the task, his subconscious bringing the imprinted image of Sarah’s body to the forefront of his mind, again. It hadn’t been enough to dream of her when he wasn’t in control of his mind, and what fantasies it indulged in; now, his brain was trying to force the thoughts of her, prodding and poking to the point of near distraction. He couldn’t even focus on Bilbo – he was still thinking about her, in the tight tank top and blue shorts. He knew it was nothing more than pent up sexual frustration; it couldn’t be more than that. Yes, she was pretty, but really, she had nothing more going for her than that. If he had gotten laid within the past two weeks, it wouldn’t even be an issue. No, he had made himself a hermit since the news of Mikey’s escape, and now he bitterly regretted it. If he had known Sarah was going to come charging into his life, he would have acted differently.

“Uh, Gerard?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, held in a sigh and waited for Sarah to say whatever it was she had come outside to say. He didn’t turn to look her at – he wouldn’t, as long as she was still in the tank top and shorts.

“I was just wondering…should we do some training or something? Maybe you can show me how to use one of your guns?”

That got Gerard’s attention. His head turned sharply, looking at her over his shoulder.

“I really don’t think that’s necessary. We’re safe out here, and I really don’t wanna waste the ammo. Just relax.Enjoy the lake.”

“If you think we’re so safe, you wouldn’t have brought your guns.”

He chuckled, thinking it was almost cute that she thought she outwitted him.

“I’m a cop, sugar. I carry my gun everywhere. It’s a force of habit, not an indication of impending danger.”

She sighed, clearly a little frustrated.

“I’d just feel better if I had an idea of how to use one.”

“Then use a shooting range when you get back home.”

There was a pause in conversation. Sarah had a contemplative look on her face, her head tilted to the right a little in interest.

“I can’t believe you wanna miss the opportunity to tell me how shit I am at shooting. I thought that would be right up your alley.”

Gerard stared at her, taking in the twisted, derisive smirk that touched her lips. He thought about it – everybody screws up the first time they pick up a gun. They underestimate the impact from when the bullet is fired; they don’t realise just how loud the sound is; they certainly don’t realise just how heavy the gun is, and how your arm aches if you aim for too long. Balance and co-ordination aren’t taken into account. All in all, it can make for some entertainment to see a rookie land on their ass.

“Fine. Go take a shower, and get dressed. Meet me back here when you’re done.”

With that, Sarah was dismissed. She held in a smile of triumph, afraid that Gerard might change his temperamental mind, if she looked too smug about actually getting him to do something somewhat nice. She took a quick shower, and tied her damp hair into a ponytail to dry naturally to savetime. The past few days had felt surreal, and she was eager to feel the weight of a gun in her hands, to make it seem real. She needed to know what she was capable of, what she could handle, and how much stamina she needed to pull her plan off. She grimaced at her lack of clean, suitable clothing. She reminded herself to ask Gerard to take her into town, so she could have more than two changes of clothes. She bounded down the stairs with near excitement, adrenaline starting to kick in at the thought of actually holding a gun in her hands. Would it feel powerful to wield such a weapon? Would it make her heart race from the adrenaline overload? Would she be able to pull the trigger, even if it wasn’t aimed at a living person? She really hoped that she wouldn’t screw up, not in front of Gerard. She was more than a little sure that he wouldn’t let her forget it if she did.

Gerard was still outside when she came back, only now he had a gun in his hands, a pistol of some kind, and he was checking the magazine of bullets with a keen eye. There was a tin perched on top of two cardboard boxes set up, which looked unsteady. If a gust of wind were to blow, the boxes would topple down.

“Took your time,” Gerard didn’t even look up from the gun when he spoke.

“Not all of us have your lack of attention to hygiene. You really need to take a shower, by the way.”

Gerard glared at her, flushing a little with either embarrassment or anger, or maybe a bit of both. Sarah didn’t care, either way – she was just glad she had gotten to him. She then remembered that he was doing her favour, and if she wanted him to drive her anywhere, or let her use his car, commentary on his personal hygiene was not the way to go about it.

“Right,” he decided to ignore her jibe, “have you ever held a gun before?”

Sarah shook her head, feeling a little embarrassed. She didn’t know why, but it made her feel a little naïve and out of her depths, now that she was right in front of Gerard, who was so at ease with his weapon, no fear at all to be seen in his eyes. He twirled the gun with a flip of a finger, so that the grip of the gun was now facing her. He proffered the gun, his face a picture of calm, while Sarah suddenly felt a thrill of anxiety pulse through her.

“We don’t have to do this-“ he started, but Sarah took the gun from him with shaking hands, and he stopped.

“First of all, you’re holding it all wrong.” He corrected her grip, his long fingers barely touching her.

“Okay, better. Now, aim at the tin, and shoot.”

“Like, now?”

“No, next week,” he replied dryly.

He called Bilbo, who had been sniffing around the boxes with interest, to his side with a loud bellow. Sarah waited until Bilbo was safely by Gerard’s legs. The gun was heavier than she'd anticipated, so she used her two hands to grip the gun and take aim. Her arms were shaking a little, and she forced a deep breath into her lungs before she pulled the trigger. The force of it made her stagger, and if Gerard hadn’t caught her, she would have fallen on her ass. The bullet went wide, veering to the right of the tin. Her eyes were ringing, her pulse was racing, and a thin sheen of sweat was quickly coating her skin in shock.

“That sucked,” Gerard remarked dryly, before tracking the bullet on the grass. It went wider off the mark than Sarah'd thought, and she felt disappointed in herself.

“First thing you did wrong, was your stance. You didn’t have the right centre of gravity to handle the impact when firing. Your aim was way off. You need to aim a little more to the left of your target. Also, I should point out that you never even checked the safety before you fired.”

Sarah sighed.

“You loved every word of that, didn’t you?”

Gerard smiled. An actual smile tugged his lips, stunning Sarah. He was actually almost cute when he smiled, and Sarah blushed at the thought.

“Better believe it, sugar. Okay, we’ll try it again. Maybe this time, you won’t suck so much.”

Notes

Sorry for the wait guys! It wasn't deliberate!

Remember, thoughts and feedback is awesome and make me feel loved!

Lyra xxx