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

~Chapter 18~

You were only able to make it to "one-five thousand" when there was another thunderclap followed by lightning. You were startled all over again and clung onto your mother tightly for safety.

"Beautiful!" She praised you. "Now try again. Remember: The higher the number, the further the lightning is. See if you can make it past five-one thousand."

"Okay..." you replied softly. After giving yourself a moment to take a deep breath to calm yourself, you sat up and began the count again. "One-one thousand... two one-thousand... three-one thousand..."

"You're doing great, darling," Grell said. Just her talking to you and making light with the situation helped ease your nerves,

"Four-one thousand..." you continued the count. "Five one-thousand... six one-thousand..."

Thunder and lightning struck again. You jumped, but the fear wasn't as severe as it was on your last count. It helped that the thunder wasn't as deafening as before.

"Keep going," your mother said with an encouraging grin. You did. On your next count, you made it to five-one thousand. Then the next: Seven-one thousand. Within the next couple of attempts after that, you were able to make it to ten-one thousand.

"It sounds like you've got the hang of it. Do that in your head whenever you get scared of thunder. Just focus on counting and try to beat your record until the storm ends. Well," she took you off of her lap and set you down next to her. "I'm going to go make us some hot chocolate. That will also help ease your nerves, and there is nothing better than drinking a hot beverage on a rainy day like this." Grell stood and went over to turn on the fireplace before heading towards the kitchen. The flames illuminated and warmed the house.

"Wait..." Grell paused. "The stove is destroyed..." She frowned, but became cheerful again a moment later. "Well that's alright! We have a microwave." She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving you alone in the living room. But luckily from where you were, you could still hear her opening and closing cupboards along with the faucet running as she filled up mugs before popping them into the microwave. That helped so that you didn't feel alone at all. During that time, you practiced the counting technique that Grell just taught you. While you quietly counted to yourself, you had your gaze fixed on the active fireplace, watching as the gentle flames moved up and down like a large candle.

You started to see why this technique helped your mother back when she used to be afraid of thunderstorms. The more you counted, the less afraid you were. And you began to find yourself having fun with this.

It wasn't long before Grell returned with the hot chocolate.

"Here you are, dear," she said. She gave you one of the mugs before she sat down next to and began sipping at hers. You slowly began to drink your hot chocolate. This hot chocolate was nothing other than hot water mixed with the familiar cocoa powder you've definitely had before, it was quite delicious. The sweet chocolatey taste of this drink warmed your soul and brought a smile to your face.

"I told you that hot beverages and rain go well together," Grell told you with her cheshire-like grin before she took another sip.

After you had eventually finished your, you stood from the sofa to go put your mug away in the kitchen, something you've always been taught to do back in your foster life.

"Where are you going, (Y/N)?" Grell asked.

"I'm going to put this away in the sink," you replied.

Grell shook her head. "Oh honey, don't worry about it! Just leave it here at the coffee table. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" This surprised you a little. None of your foster parents back then would have appreciated any child leaving their dirty dishes around, particularly because these foster parents were running a household of many children of various ages. So they needed regulations to prevent homes from looking like hoarder houses.

"Of course. Come just back here and relax." She gestured you over.

"Okay," you said hesitantly. You carefully set down your mug on the coffee table and took a seat next to your mother once more.

Moments like these served as a big reminder that although Grell managed to be the most fiery person you knew, as you have witnessed her in her most temperamental moments, she also managed to be the most lenient and least strict grown-up you knew.

And that was what made her the most interesting, most ideal mother you could have. You felt comfortable and safe around her, more than you could with any other grown-up you've met and ever will meet in your life. She felt like a friend too, the kind of friend that you looked up to and respected.

"Actually," Grell spoke up. "Would you like another cup of hot chocolate, dear?"

Your eyes widened, surprised at the offer. No other adult in your life has offered you a second helping of sweets before, especially in one day within a short amount of time. Those adults always warned you that too much sugar would make you hyperactive. Plus, judging by how dark the sky was that you could see from the couch, it was pretty close to dinnertime. This made you love your new mother more than you already did. There was no way in hell you were turning down this offer.

"Yes please!" You said sweetly.

"I was hoping you would say that," Grell said. She reached over and grabbed your mug that was still resting on the coffee table. "Because so do I!"

"By the way," she added as she began to walk back to the kitchen. "I LOVE your manners." That made you feel proud of yourself.

A few minutes later, your mother returned with the second helping of the hot beverage for both you and her. After you both finished those, you and Grell lounged around silently enjoying each other's presence. Despite what grown-ups have told you in the past about consuming too much sugar, you didn't feel hyperactive at all. If anything, you just felt happy and relaxed. You curled up next to your mother, using her side as a pillow as she hummed joyously while filing her red-painted fingernails.

You must have dozed off at some point, because one moment you could only hear your mother's humming and the fireplace, the next the TV was on again. And you didn't remember your mother turning it on. The lights in the living room were back on too.

"Have a nice nap?" Grell said when she noticed that you were awake.

"Did I fall asleep?" You asked. You didn't remember falling asleep.

"You did!" Grell laughed at you. "You were out like a light. Shortly after you dozed off, all of the lights and TV came back on."

"How long was I asleep for?"

"Quite a while. I would say about a couple hours. You missed out on so much! There was no marathon for what we were watching earlier, so you didn't get the chance to see what went on. But I figured that you needed the rest since it's been a long day."

You frowned, disappointed that sleep had snuck up on you like that. You enjoyed spending time with your new adoptive mother so much that you never wanted to miss any opportunity that involved adventures with her, even if they happened to just involve silly drama-filled reality shows. A small part of you wondered if she ever watched anything else besides those.

It was still raining outside, but not near as hard as before. You haven't heard a single rumble of thunder in ages.

Moments later, you heard the door open. That was when you remembered that it wasn't just you and Grell living in this house. Even if you hadn't just overcome your fear of storms, you would much rather deal with scary thunder than a man like Will in your presence.