Reaper: Devil's Rose MC #1

Chapter 1: Fiona Grace

Dedication:
To the man who broke down my walls
and opened my heart to love with
such grace that I cannot believe that I
had once lived my life without you.

I didn't know what came over me that night. When Cassius, my father, first told me that I wasn't his biological daughter, I didn't know how to react. It's not like I had my mom, Jayden, or another family member to run to. But I knew that punching him in the face probably wasn't the best reaction. 

For twenty years of my life, he was my dad. I was being lied to, but I thought that was the same man who fell in love with my mom, married her, had me, and they were going to live happily ever after. 

And even when the dream of them being together forever fell apart - my mother falling out of love and cheating, my father divorcing her with good reason- all that was definitely not in the plan. I always had my dad though. My relationship with my mom became rocky after she cheated when I was fifteen, but Cassius was there. 

As his own heart was breaking because he had just lost the love of his life and I was being forced to live with my mother, he was picking mine off the floor. So imagine the day I turned twenty and him realizing that it was time for my whole childhood to be ruined.

I remember being a child with him by my side, teaching me how to pump my legs on a swing. He was so freaking proud of me when I finally did it by myself. The smile on his face - I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it. I thought that I had his blood running through my veins. 

That his kindness and courage were in me, but I am not who I thought I was...he is not who I thought he was. But punching him in the face made me realize why he waited so long. But, I still haven't been able to face him, and having no one else to go, I found myself with James Anderson. 

I wasn't the only girl on the streets that he took in even when they were above age eighteen, and they all seemed happy, so I thought I was safe. I was incredibly wrong. Through some secret and most likely illegal digging through past medical records that he still had in his office, it's clear that he was abused as a kid. 

Drugs and alcohol were and still are his medicine, which isn't uncommon. All that anger built up inside of him, it only makes sense he takes it out on most of us here.

What's worse is that the boys that are here too, are learning directly from his behavior. If those young men don't realize that what James is doing is wrong, I'm sure they are going to turn out like him.

"Fiona Noemi Grace, you're going to get in so much trouble."

"They're only cookies, Beatrice Riley Cooper!"

When I first came to the orphanage-type place but for adults, she had already been here for about a year. I don't know much of her backstory, no one opens up here, but we have known each other for about three months. Before she got adopted by this lovely family, she was much better at avoiding James and his punishments. I can't help but be a bit of a troublemaker. Hence her yelling at me. 

"You're going to get the smackdown."

"Smackdown! It's a ruler to the butt. It's fine."

"You already have two marks!"

"Do you want cookies or not?"

"A twenty-year-old responsible person, you shouldn't be climbing the counter to get cookies."

"As an eighteen-year-old responsible person, you shouldn't worry so much."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"You know what doesn't make sense, the fact that we are legal adults and still have to ask for cookies. We also have to get hit on the butt with a ruler and have marks, as if we were five."

"But we shouldn't be doing this."

"You don't have to be here. Go to your family. They adopted you for a reason, and you should just forget about this place."

"But Fiona."

"I'm still here, Bee. It doesn't seem like I'm going away anytime soon. So just go home, have a nice family dinner, and I'll see you tomorrow. You can boss me around some more then."

"I cannot believe you are my sister!"

"Not biologically. And you have a family that you need to go and live with. You're only eighteen."

"I'm out of here!"

I giggle as I reach higher in the cabinets. Beatrice storms out but turns back around to smack my ass as a goodbye. She comes back to visit about every month and only stays for a couple of hours since I'm sure she has some terrible memories. 

However, I do appreciate her putting them aside to come back and check up on me. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have her visits to look forward to. I have a feeling I would lose a lot of the fiery spirit inside of me. I might have given up, maybe getting out of here. 

I hear the front door of James's house slamming shut and dread fills me as I'm left alone all over again. The oldest girl here is me, the youngest being seventeen, and the boys are mostly just assholes or awkward recluses. 

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that per se, but I don't have many people to hang out with or that want to hang out with me. It might sound conceited, but I am way too good for some of the people that live here. A lot of toxic attitude issues, but I can't say I blame them. It's rough living here.

I hear my name being called by the headmasters, as we must call him.

"Fiona Noemi Grace"

What is it with people using my full name?

I lift my head as Mr. James Anderson comes barging into the pantry to find me sitting at the top of the cabinets, the box of chocolate cookies in my hands. I hold the cookie in my mouth, chewing it slowly, learning all my tricks from Kung Fu Panda. Which I have watched more times than I can count or possibly should. 

His face turns that bright red, angry and purple veins popping out of his sweaty face. But his eyes are fierce as they stare straight into my guilty ones. I hate this look more than any punishment I could get from Mr. Anderson. 

He has known me since I was tossed out of my family - or I tossed myself out really - and was chosen as my force caregiver, but I'm still unsure of how I should react. I want to be the best person I can be for him so I can avoid getting hit with a ruler, but sometimes, I can't help but rebel a bit.

Tears prick at my eyes as he raises his pointer finger at me. He doesn't even have to yell and I'm about to cry. I can be a little sensitive, I'm not going to lie, but I still think anyone would hate the look he's giving me right now. 

My heart pounds haphazardly, almost as if it's about to thrust right out of my chest. I place my foot gently back on the ground, but before I can place the other to gain solid ground, Mr. Anderson yanks me down to the floor. Blood gushes from the small cut on my head as my skull throbs in the dull pain. 

Rarely, he makes me bleed, rare that he even lays a hand on me. It's only used for special occasions, and he usually doesn't have to. I have a feeling that this is a very special occasion. Before a word can come from the headmaster's mouth, the bully of the orphanage, Dillion Bradley (definitely an asshole name that suits him well) throws the pantry door wide open.