Nichole's back story... part 2

The interview was over... And Nichole felt safe. She had fielded her parent's questions with ease, pretending she was the innocent 12 year old her parents thought they knew and loved. As she climbed back up the spiral staircase to her room, she paused and looked back down. Her parents had moved on to interviewing the household staff. A momentary flash of panic hit her. What if someone innocent died because she forgot to close the office door? She couldn't let that happen. She ran the rest of the way to her room and slammed the door shut. She always felt better when she wrote things down; it made her feel like the plan was already in action before she had even thought of it. As she scribbled down notes about anything, and everything, she knew about cover-ups (which amounted to very little), she heard two shots ring out downstairs.

***

Nichole sprinted clumsily down the staircase, stopping at the landing. Immediately she saw Farren, the family gardener, standing over her dead parents. They were slumped over the desk they had been sitting at, the desk Nichole had broken into. Farren's eyes flashed to Nichole, and fear seized her. She had always trusted Farren (she had no reason not to), but the Smith and Wesson in his hands led her to believe he had shot her parents. There was a moment of silence, and Nichole realized she couldn't move, even though she desperately wanted to. Finally Farren spoke, speaking in his low and calm voice, "I'm sorry, I had no choice. They were going to kill me, I don't know why". Nichole let out her breath. "Farren, I... I didn't know you knew how to shoot guns". It was a stupid thing to say, she knew, but the sight of her dead parents was almost too much for the 12 year old to handle.

***

Farren led the confused girl outside the office. No one was supposed to see that, especially not his bosses' daughter. Now, what to do with the bodies? What to do with Nichole? He hadn't thought this very well through, though to be fair, he didn't have any time to. He turned to survey the young girl, who stared dumbly back at him. "I'm so sorry. I'm..." He turned from her, because he knew if she started crying, all would be ruined. No one else had heard the shots, but someone would surely hear the young girl wailing; all of the staff had been trained to respond instantly if Nichole had ever wanted anything. While Farren sorted through his thoughts, Nichole suddenly regained her mental faculties. No, it wasn't a tragedy that he shot her parents! She really didn't have any attachment to them, because nannies had raised her from birth. And any danger they might have posed to her was now gone. She turned to Farren, who eyed her, and spoke the words that would forever change her life: "Can you teach me to shoot?"

***

In the months that passed after the accident, Farren and Nichole bonded quickly. This was the first time in her life that she felt a connection to someone. Though she still called him by his first name, she really felt he was her new father. They went out shooting almost everyday, and Nichole was quickly honing her natural talent. She still was able to act, though, and it saved both of their lives once again. In the hours after the incident, Farren had called the police. When they arrived, Nichole, tear-stained, walked them to the office. She made a point of crying hysterically: it seemed natural to her that a young kid would be distraught in a situation like this, and it also distracted the cops. The cops didn't stay long: they had medics take the bodies, and they questioned Farren and Nichole. Neither admitted to anything, claiming that some masked man had run quickly into the house and shot the couple. It wouldn't be hard to believe, because Nichole's parents had many enemies, and the bullets were untraceable. Custody was given to Farren, because Nichole had no living relatives, and it was what she requested. The house, the cars, everything, was now hers. She liquidated her parent's assets (the legal ones, anyways), and prepared herself for the life that awaited her. It would be different, sure, but far more enjoyable. She would never again have to wonder if her life was in jeopardy, and never have to tip-toe around her parents.

***

She held the gun in her hand, and glanced at the target. She liked the weight of the gun in her hand, and she liked that Farren now trusted her to shoot without him breathing over her shoulder. She cocked the gun, took one more glance at the red and white target many feet away, and squeezed the trigger. Of course the bullet hit the bulls-eye, she had known it would. She turned and grinned at Farren, who nodded back at her. She had a good eye and a steady hand, and it was due to this that Farren presented a new challenge to her. She could handle one gun fine, but how about two? Was her left hand as steady as her right? Was her focus strong enough? Farren decided, what the hell, why not? It surely couldn't hurt to find out. And it was in this manner that the two spent the rest of her adolescent life.



Ok sorry, the ending sucks, but I couldn't figure out how else to end it :p