Reaper

3

When I woke up I just wanted to fall back to sleep. But I forced myself to get up and put on black workout pants and a black T-shirt. I braided my hair, put on my combat boots, and grabbed my black jacket. Yes, I'm going all black today. If I have to be a Reaper I might as well look like one. When I got downstairs Bree, Raziel, and Mom were at the table but Thiago wasn't. I frowned. "Mom, where's Thiago?" I asked cautiously.

Mom looked up. "He hasn't come down from his room yet." She glanced at the time. "Could you go get him? The bus will be here in fifteen minutes."

I nodded and went back upstairs. I knocked on his door and got no answer. "Thiago?" I said opening the door then gasped. Thiago was lying on the floor, bleeding, from a huge gash in his stomach. I rushed over. "Thiago!" I held my breath as I felt for a pulse. There. It was faint but it was there. I went into his bathroom and put steady pressure on his wound. "Mom!" I yelled while pulling out my phone to call nine-one-one.

She came in with Raziel and Bree. Raziel took one look at the situation and smoothly blocked Bree from getting into the room. Mom knelt beside us. "What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know. I found him like this." The towel was already soaked with his blood. 

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" A voice in my ear said.

"My little brother has a huge gash in his stomach. He's bleeding badly and his pulse is faint. We're at Twenty-three, Norm Road," I said in a rush.

"An ambulance is on its way. Where are you in the house?"

"Upstairs, second door on the right."

"Okay. They'll be there soon."

"Thank you." I hung up. Let's just hope their 'soon' is quick enough to save my little brother. I kept the pressure on his wound but the blood wasn't slowing down. "Thiago, please don't leave us," I whispered desperately. "We need you here, little bro." Mom wasn't doing anything. She was just crying. I, myself, was fighting back the tears. I heard the siren and Raziel picked Bree up and went to get them. When the medics rushed into the room, I backed up to give them space.

A hand touched my shoulder. "Nichole, you should go get cleaned up," Raziel said gently.

I looked at him. "Why are you being nice all of a sudden? You don't like being human."

His mouth twitched. "When you said you wanted to kill your dad, I realized you weren't as delicate as I had thought."

I glared. "Delicate?" 

He shrugged. "It's just what you seemed like to me when we first met."

"Uh-huh." I glanced around. "Uh, where's Bree?"

"In her room. I told her that her brother was hurt and she had to stay back so the doctors could do their thing."

I nodded and went to her room. She was staring at the wall and crying. I went over and hugged her. "Shh, Bree," I soothed. "Thiago will be okay." I hope.

She looked at me. "Really?" She sniffled.

"Yes."

Mom came in and took Bree from my arms. "I'm going to follow the ambulance with Bree. Are you coming?"

I shook my head. "Do you want me to call the school and tell them Thiago was injured and won't be able to go to school for a while?"

"No, I did it already. But thank you." She hugged me and left.

I looked at Raziel. "Do you know who did that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking me? You'd be able to sense if it was a demon."

I blinked. "You don't mean my Dad..." 

"I'm not sure. But he seems to be the only one who could have done it since the window wasn't broken and we didn't hear anything." He paused. "And your Dad did rush off this morning."

Rage flooded through me. "He's a dead man," I growled.

Raziel shook his head. "You can't. Your job is to deal with demons."

"He is one!"

He sighed. "He's a demon of a different sort. You can't kill him or you'd be going against what God says."

"Well, he's not doing anything about my dad. My brother could die and he's probably just sitting up there and smirking about it!"

Raziel's eyes flashed. "Don't talk about him like that. He cares about everyone."

"Does he? Then why the hell hasn't he done anything?" I yelled.

Raziel studied me for a minute. "Everyone gets karma a different way. Your father will get what's coming to him. Trust me."

I clenched my jaw and turned on my heel. "Whatever." I stalked out of the house. Trust him? Hell, I just met him! I know he's an angel but he still needs to earn my fucking trust. When I had walked a good distance I stopped and looked at the sky as guilt flooded through me. I shouldn't have said those things about God. Or at least I shouldn't have said them in front of Raziel. Since he's an angel he's loyal to God. I sighed when I sensed him near me. "Okay, I'm sorry for what I said," I told him without looking at him.

"You were angry. People say things they don't mean when they're angry," Raziel said quietly.

I nodded in agreement. "I used to think he wasn't even real but now that two angels appeared in front of me, it's not a big leap to say he does exist."

"Nichole, God does exist but he can't interfere with what's going on down here."

I glanced at him. "Yeah. He's probably really busy up there."

"He is. Millions of people pray to him a day and he tries to help them as much as he can in little ways." He looked at me. "Your Dad will be punished for what he has been doing. You just have to be a little patient."

I looked at the ground. "Patience is a little hard right now, Raziel."

"I know." He paused and I watched out of the corner of my eye as he tilted his head to the side as if listening to something. Then nodded once. "Your brother isn't going to die."

My head snapped up and I blinked at him. "How do you know that?"

He smiled. "I'm an angel. God can talk to me when he wants to."

My eyes widened. "He told you my brother is going to live?"

"Yes."

I threw myself at him and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" I said over and over.

He had frozen when I hugged him but then he relaxed and hugged me back. "You're welcome."

"There you are," a voice I recognized all too well said.

I turned. "Hello, Osvaldo."

He frowned. "I believe you mean 'Father'."

"I meant what I said. I will never call you father again after what you did, you bastard," I snarled. Raziel grabbed my arm to stop me from attacking him.

He glared. "Watch your tongue. He had it coming to him."

I lunged but Raziel switched his grip from my arm to around my waist, holding me back. "Nichole, don't," he hissed in my ear. "Remember what we just talked about."

"I can't wait forever," I hissed back. "I want him to hurt."

"I won't let you."

I struggled against him but he was freakishly strong. I knew I wasn't going to get free and maybe later, I'll thank him for this. But right now, I just hate him. "Fine," I snapped. "Let me go."

"If I do, are you going to attack him?"

"No, I'm going to walk away." He let go and I ran all the way back home and slammed my door shut. Then screamed into a pillow. That didn't calm me down but it did make me be able to think more clearly. Okay, I need to get a job so my Mom can divorce that guy. Then we'll be fine. Then another thought crept in. How am I going to do that? I'm a Reaper. I have to kill demons. Can I juggle a job and that? I flopped backward and stared at the ceiling. Do I have a choice?