The Grim Reaper Effect

-S E V E N T E E N-

Chapter Seventeen: Happy Birthday Mom

GRIFFIN'S POV

I woke up full of dread. I knew this day was coming for a while, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. Now that it had arrived, there was no ignoring it now. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I was going to miss school. I didn't have the right mentality to go through an entire day. Dealing with high schoolers and their petty drama took a lot of energy, which was exactly what I didn't have. Mackenzie had Indie and Kira to protect her for the day.

I spent half an hour staring at my ceiling, my mind racing with thoughts. My mind went back to the day, remembering every single detail. The day the door opened and our lives were changed forever. I knew no matter how bad I was, Dad was much worse.

Today was my mom's "birthday".

She died when I was eleven. A man dressed in black showed up at the door. Dad told me to go to my room, but curiosity got the best of me and I hid behind the couch to hear what he had to say. His voice was monotone and plain. There wasn't a drop of emotion in it which made his words sound insincere.

"I regret to inform you that unfortunately, your wife, Grace Ryder, did not survive the surgery. She died-"

That's the last thing I remembered hearing before I ran up to the man, full of anger. I thought he was lying and trying to split our family apart. Reapers don't die because we were never born in the first place. Birth gives you an expiration date and that defeated our purpose. So, for a random man to tell me that my mom had died seemed impossible to me.

"Liar!" I screamed at him.

He frowned at me, "This must be your son. Perhaps you should-"

Anger filled my small figure. He wasn't listening to me. I turned around to my dad. His face was blank. I called his name, but he didn't move. I decided to turn back to the man, still not believing a word he said.

I was a fool.

Though, some part of me knew he wasn't lying. That my mom had died. I just didn't want to believe him. She was too young and full of life. She was a Reaper and shouldn't have died. Above all else, she was my mom. My eleven-year-old mind couldn't imagine a world without her.

"You're lying! My mom isn't dead!" I roared.

The man sighed and kneeled down to my level, "I understand this isn't easy to-"

I was tired of hearing his monotone voice, "Go away!" When he didn't move, I shoved him. He still didn't budge, so I did it again.

After the fifth time, I felt my dad's hands on my shoulders, pulling me back. I looked up at him, expecting him to confirm what I thought knew: mom was coming home soon. I just knew he'd kneel down and tell me everything was going to be okay like he always did. Instead, I was met with a tear streaked face and silence. His face was still blank, but tears were staining his cheeks. The man must've taken the hint because he left. The door shut behind him and I threw myself into my dad's arms, finally facing the truth.

My mom was never coming back.

While I wailed, he was silent, but his shoulders shook. He held onto me tightly like I'd disappear if he let go. We stayed like that for what felt like years. From that day on, it was just dad and me. For a year after that, I spoke to no one but my father. No one else mattered to me but him. And even he didn't speak much. Of course, we both opened up to the world again. He's a member of the council, he had to. Even so, on her birthday, the house always grew quiet.

I finally rolled out of bed, reluctantly starting my day. I caught a glimpse of my reflection and sighed. I looked horrible. It probably had to do with the fact that I hardly slept last night. I couldn't bring myself to relax enough to sleep. Not only because it was my mother's birthday, but because of Mackenzie. She still had marks on her wrists from the day she was attacked.