The Reaper Child: Book II [Child!Reader Protagonist]

~Chapter 17~

The rain was pouring even harder now. The rain drops fell rapidly in large quantities so that the highest setting on the windshield wipers were hardly enough to improve visibility on the driver's end. But even then, Grell's driving remained wild. At the same time, however, she was more careful compared to how she typically drives.

Soon, you and Grell had made it home. Grell still had you wrapped around her overcoat as you walked in the house.

"Alright, give me my coat back!" Grell said when you were both officially inside. She snatched her coat off of you so fast and harshly that you nearly lost your balance. You would have given her an offended glare if she wasn't soaked from head to toe. That was just from her walking from the car to the house. You were a bit wet yourself, but nothing compared to the state your mother was in. The coat had protected you from most of the rain.

Grell hung her coat on the rack by the entrance. "Alright, my dear," she said, pulling her wet hair back in a low ponytail. "There is still some time until your father gets home. How do you feel about relaxing and watching TV until then?"

"Okay!" You replied excitedly.

Your mother smiled. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower and change into dry clothes first. Why don't you go ahead and make yourself comfortable?"

You nodded enthusiastically and ran to the sofa. Grell went upstairs. You hoisted yourself on the sofa, grabbed one of the nearest blankets, and wrapped it around yourself, welcoming the warmth it radiated your body with.

Silence filled the entire house. Still covered with your blanket, you had your legs hanging over the seat of the sofa swinging gently back and forth. You hummed softly but joyously to yourself as you thought back to the exciting day you just had.

It was still raining outside. Both you and your mother made it home just in time. It was already getting darker too.

You sat there listening to the rainy ambience until a booming clap of thunder emerged out of nowhere, shocking you out of your state of harmousness state. A flash of the brightest light you've ever witnessed in your life blinded you of all your surroundings.

A shriek escaped from your throat. You held the soft blanket even tighter around your body, trembling violently. That thunderclap was even louder than the one you heard while you and Grell were still at the park. But that one was mere rumbling.

Petrified that another violent thunder episode was going to follow, you wrapped your blanket as tight as you could with your arms pretending that they were your mothers. Your knuckles were gripping onto the edges of that blanket so hard that your knuckles were turning white.

Not able to deal with this alone, you desperately desired for your mother to come back. Only she could make you feel safe now. You needed her to tell you that everything was okay.

Minutes passed, feeling like hours. What was taking your mother no long and when is she coming back?

Fortunately, you didn't have to wait much longer. Just as your anxiety was getting to its peak, you heard your mother's voice as she was heading downstairs.

"I'm back!" Grell cheerfully announced. Her feminine, flamboyant voice immediately brought you relief. Just hearing her brought you at ease. The trembling of your small body came to a halt, as if it never happened in the first place.

"Are you ready for an evening committed to doing nothing?" She said as she took a seat next to you. She was wearing a pair of black sweatpants with a red sweater and a pair of thick red socks. Her long hair was wet due to having just washed it and was tied back.

"Ready!" You responded, excitedly bouncing slightly in your seat. Grell grinned and turned on the TV. The same reality show you and her watched yesterday was on.

"Another marathon!" Grell beamed. She grabbed a nearby blanket and rested it across her lap. You smiled at your mother's enthusiasm and curled up right next to her as you both relaxed and watched TV.

The rain was ongoing, no signs of thunder occurred. The only sound you could hear at the moment was the TV. But unfortunately, the ambience from the outdoors was not peaceful for long. The sound of rumbling came back, instantly bringing you a sense of uneasiness. You tried to focus on watching TV with your mother, but the fear of the thunder still remained distracted.

Several minutes passed. It was quiet and you were beginning to relax again as some more repetitive but intriguing drama occurred. But another wave of thunder filled the area. You became uneasy all over again, and this time it was worse.

"(Y/N), are you alright?" Grell glanced at you worriedly.

"Yes," you lied.

"Then why are you shaking?" She questioned. You tried everything in your power not to show a sign of fear to Grell by staying quiet. But you didn't realize that you were shaking again.

Not wanting to worry your mother, you replied, "I don't know."

"Hmmm..." Grell didn't seem to believe you. She raised her eyebrow before shifting her attention back to the TV. Not only were you now trying not to show any fear on your face, but you tried to hold still as much as possible. But it got significantly worse when the same deafening thunderclap followed by a flash of lightning happened again. This time, there was no hiding the fear you had within you. Within moments, you shrieked loud and leaped onto your mother's lap. With your face buried tightly in her chest, your small hands gripped her sweater tightly.

Upon that sudden loud thunderclap, your mother had jumped too. "Oh my..." She gasped. "That was just as loud as the one I heard while I was still in the shower! I thought my time had come as I slipped in there. My life had flashed before my eyes... Thank god I caught that metal rail before my body hit the ground! How dreadful would it be if I completely fell in there and hit my head on something..." She laughed. But then when she noticed you on her lap clutching onto her for dear life, she let out a sigh and said, "You know, you're just an awful liar. I knew something was wrong. You've been shaking for quite some time now."

You wanted to protest that you weren't shaking at all and that nothing was wrong, but you couldn't. The only responses you could give were involuntary whimpers.

"(Y/N), are you scared of thunder?" Grell's voice was firm, but still had a blend of gentleness intact.

Knowing that you wouldn't convince your mother otherwise, you surrendered and slowly nodded.

"It doesn't surprise me," your mother said with a soft chuckle. She wrapped her arms around you securely. "But I promise you, darling, you have nothing to be afraid of."

Whether or not those words alone had any effect didn't matter. Because moments later, the power shut down and the whole house went dark.

"Damn..." Grell muttered. "Now we can't watch our show." She pouted. You were now shaking and whimpering more than ever.

"Honey, it's just a power outage. We're safe," your mother tried to reassure you. She hugged you tighter. "You know..." she rested her head on yours. "I used to be scared of thunderstorms too."

"Y-you did?" You shakily said, looking up at your mother.

"Mhmm..." she held onto your shoulders and pulled her outwardly so that you were now at arms length from her torso. "And I discovered a way to help me become less scared of them, and it worked!"

"W-what was it?"

"I just counted up until I heard another clap of thunder." Grell smiled warmly.

Puzzled, you asked, "How does that help anything?"

Grell shrugged. "It just makes it into a game. Thunderstorms become fun this way, and overtime I just wasn't scared of them anymore. When you count, make sure you add 'one thousand' with each number. For instance, start with 'one-one thousand', then 'two-one thousand' and so on. Now go on, try it!"

After a pause, you began the count slowly. "One-one thousand... two-one thousand...three-one thousand..."