Page 13 of The Reaper
“I know. I trust you.” She smiled and walked away, closing the door behind her.
I waited until I heard her footsteps on the stairs, then I slumped down on the sofa and took deep, ragged breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.
My cousin thought I had no idea who the soldiers of Brinton Manor were, because I played the part of the dutiful daughter to a T. I didn’t stay out late or run with the wrong crowd. I was well-versed in keeping my father happy.
She thought I didn’t know who Devon Brady was because the only boys I’d ever socialised with were the ones in the church youth group that my dad ran. But I wasn’t an idiot.
I knew exactly who Devon Brady was.
The Reaper.
A vigilante.
A man who would do anything for his friends and everything for his beloved town.
I’d watched him for a long time. Always in the shadows and always from afar. But today was the first time I’d ever stood in front of him, and right now, I had mixed feelings about it because it’d been the best and worst experience of my life. Best, because I’d got to talk to him. Look into his eyes. Be near him. But worst, because he’d walked away. He probably wouldn’t even remember my name. But I’d remember his. I always would. His name was engraved on my heart, scorched into my soul. Devon meant defender. It suited him perfectly. In the bible, Devon appears in Revelations 4:4 and means judgement. No better name for a reaper like him.
Some might call what I felt an infatuation. An obsession even. But I knew what it was. I loved Devon Brady. I could never admit to it out loud, but I did. I had felt this way for a long time. And that was a secret I couldn’t tell anyone. Ever.
Mine was a love born in the shadows.
Even he didn’t know about it, but it still existed.
As real as the air that I breathed, the water that quenched my thirst, the food that kept me alive, he was like a life force to me. Hidden, yet all around me. Everywhere. Secret, and yet, it made me want to scream. A wonderland in my mind that made living my real life feel like I was forever in a daze.
Until today, I was content with keeping things as they were. I was happy to preserve the status quo. But now, I felt all out of sorts. After standing so close to him, breathing him in, would watching him from afar ever be enough?
I had a feeling it wouldn’t.
I had a feeling that this was the start of a whole new chapter.
ChapterSix
LEAH MAY
Iwent up to my bedroom, grabbed my guitar, and sat on the floor with my legs crossed, ready to play. Of all the instruments I played, the guitar was the one that seemed to work best at quietening the voices in my head. But as I strummed the chords for the version ofCrazythat I’d been composing, I could still hear them.
Why do you let her speak to you like that?
You need to show her you’re not the doormat she thinks you are.
And him? You should’ve made him stay.
He needs to know who you are, know that you won’t be ignored anymore. Make him notice you.
I hummed along with the tune I was playing, trying to drown it all out.
Kindness is weakness.
They think you’re a pushover.
You need to show them who you really are.
Why do you always act like a weak little girl?
If you want him, show him you’re his equal.
Round and round the voices went, arguing, belittling me, making me want to grab my head in my hands and scream for them to shut the hell up. I knew what I was doing. I was doing things my way. The gentle approach. Subtle. Hell, did I really know what I was doing?
