The Silent Sorrow (GXG)

8. She has her reasons

I am standing next to Dandy frozen. The sun is shining beautifully while we are in the woods. My mistake was to ask her to show me where she got those bruises. Now, I am the one that is getting blue.

My nerves are so high, that my hands are shaking. The magical word is paintball. She has taken me to play paintball. She is insane. Dandy is now putting the guns together. These two look like real rifles and they must be heavy. No wonder she is so strong.

She watches me as she stands up on her feet. Dandy is studying my cloths that she lent me. Thankfully, they fit perfectly, but it is warm. Well, it is either being warm or scream of pain. Dandy is not wearing much clothes, a thin sweater, and sweatpants, but I guess she is used to it.

Then she bends down to pick up the rifle and hands it over to me. I hold the heavy thing in my hands, and Dandy takes up her own. Showing me how to use it. How to take on and off the safety. Where I can see how much air it is in the tank, and she helps me to fill the beholder with yellow paintballs.

Dandy points on the safety and I push it so it is off. Then she points at a tiny wooden wall, wanting me to shoot at it. I watch Dandy unsure, but she looks at me with a small smile. Okay, I can't say no, when she is smiling at me.

My eyes drift from her and end up on the wall, she wants me to shoot at. I pull the trigger and it makes this weird sound as I see the yellow ball come out and hit the wall with a splash. That was actually fun. I smile to Dandy, who is watching me.

"Can I do it again?" I wonder happily and she nods. I shoot at least five more and the wall has now gotten another color. I turn to Dandy, but I get surprised as she bends down.

"Oh god, I'm sorry." I say after she pushed the gun to the side and put on the safety. I could have shot her right in the stomach.

"I am supposed to set it on when I am done, right?" I ask and she nods as she picks up two masks. She hands over mine and I take it on because we are going to play against two of her cousins. That is making my stomach twist and turn with nervousness.

I have never done this before and I have no idea what to do than to shoot Andrew and Johanna. Both of them looked very confident and excited. They are on the other side of this field. It's filled with trees, wheels that are superimposed over each other for us to hide behind. There are small walls for us to use as cover as well, which we are going to start behind.

Dandy and I take on our masks, but before that, she gives me the sign that she is going to watch me all the time. That I am grateful for, but I don't want her to feel the need to watch over me all the time. I might ruin her time for fun.

We bend down behind a tiny wall and she gives me the thumps up. Waiting for me to do the same to make sure, I am ready. I take a deep breath, but is it a little hard to breathe with this mask on. Then I show her my thumps up, which makes her shoot in the air and not long after the sound of another shot comes to my ears. It means only, game on.

My heart is ready to burst out of my chest, but nothing happens as we just stand here, hiding. Dandy is sometimes looking around the corner, but she does not shoot. It might be, because she does not see anyone or that they are too far away.

I get impatient after a few minutes that I just stand right up and look around the field, but I can't see anything. No movement, but a pull on my sweatshirt makes me fall down on my ass as I hear paintballs hit a tree behind me. I watch Dandy with widened eyes. They could have hit my head.

"Thank you." I smile to Dandy. She just saved me from being hit, a lot as I see all of the orange colors on the tree. How can those have so much paint in them? The paint is streaming and dripping from the tree.

Dandy moves to look only to come fast back again as shots come towards her. She sits down with her back against the wall. At first, I thought she was thinking, but then she stood up quickly and start shooting and the sound of Johanna's screaming voice makes me wince.

Now there is only Andrew left. I start to do the same as Dandy move to the corner to look around, but I jump on my place as I see Andrew coming sprinting on my side. I guess Johanna was just a distraction. I aim at Andrew and pull the trigger, missing countless of times. Before he hides behind some wheels.

I turn around and Dandy is watching me with a tiny smile. She was staring at me instead of helping, but she probably wants me to do it on my own. She points, meaning she wants me to keep on watching him and so I do. There are not movements, and it is completely quiet until Dandy pokes me on the back. I turn to her and she points that she is going to run down on her side so we lock him in. I nod nervously, which she notices as she watches me worried.

"Go." I just say because I think it will all be fine. She looks at me for a short moment before she runs. I keep on watching the spot where Andrew is. Then I hear shooting from Dandy's side, which makes Andrew start firing as well.

Different colors hit here and there, but then Andrew moves around the wheels to my side and I aim at him before shooting. I fire like five shots, but the sixth hit him in the ribs and he falls down on the ground waving his hand as a sign he is shot. I smile to myself as I stand up. Dandy comes towards me, pointing to my gun.

"Oh." I roll my eyes as put the safety on. Then Dandy takes off her mask and I do the same. As she comes closer, I see that she has been hit like three times. On her arm, shoulder and her shin. Which means she was dead before I shot Andrew.

"Did I do well?" I ask and she nods with a light smile as she reaches to take my rifle out of my hand.

We played five rounds before we ended it, and I got shot like four times, but Dandy she is orange. I mean she saved my ass, more like my whole body. From being shot. My knight in shining armor, or shining orange.

Dandy and Andrew are down the road to pick up the cars. While Johanna is showing me how to clean the gun. I have to be honest, this was very fun and I hope this is not the last time. When I was hit the first time, which was my leg I jumped a little and screamed, but the pain didn't last that long. It faded very quickly, but I can feel the bruises on my body.

"Has Dandy always been this quiet?" I wonder as I clean off the orange and yellow color from the paintball gun. Johanna looks at me thoughtfully as she stops cleaning.

"No, not really. She hasn't talked to anyone for months. Not even her parents." She answers, sadly, as she looks back down her own gun.

"Why?" I ask, but she shrugs. Which makes me confused and she notices as she watches me.

"She has her reasons." She tries to smile, but she can't as she sighs in misery. I get the feeling something terrible happened, but I am not going to dig. Dandy can tell me, some way if she ever wants to.

"Dandy can talk, but she doesn't want to." Johanna explains and I turn as I hear the sound of cars. Dandy comes towards me still full of orange color. I smile at her as she stands right in front of me.

"Hey, Dandy?" Andrew starts, taking both of our attention away from each other.

"Can't she come to dinner with us, to your parent's house?" He asks and I meet Dandy's eyes. She seems unsure. Not that she does not want me to come, but if it is okay with me.

"If it is fine with you, I guess?" I say and Dandy nods with her cute little smile.

"Okay." I smile and then we all start cleaning and putting our stuff in the cars, before turning our noses in the direction of Dandy's house.