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

~ Chapter 21~

A/N: Happy holidays! Was finally able to update! Hope this is worth the wait!

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Several weeks had gone by. Within that time frame, there were a handful of times where Will had interacted with you.

The first occasion took place one morning while you were sitting on the dining room table, waiting as your mother was still getting ready for the day upstairs. According to the clock, it was still several minutes before the usual time in which Grell would finally come down the stairs. With her creative driving skills, you weren't concerned about being late to school. Since you still had some time to kill, you decided that now would be the time to go pour yourself a glass of milk. You stepped down from the chair and walked over to the fridge, opening it. Just as you were about to grab the milk jug, you spotted the wine bottle that you had helped Grell steal before.

You paused, staring at the bottle. Since the bottle had been obtained, you have mostly ignored it, not taking interest in any way. But for some reason this morning, that wine bottle intrigued you. Through the glass, when you looked closely, you could see that there was still a decent amount of liquid inside.

It was then that you remembered that adults enjoyed this liquid. But you never understood what was so exciting about alcohol.

Perhaps you can find out today.

You took out the wine bottle and removed the cork, which came off easily as it had already been opened previously. You brought the tip of the bottle towards your nose, scrunching up your nose and flinching back slightly after you took a whiff. The smell was strange. Nothing like you've ever smelled before. The aroma was fruity and almost like juice with a very bitter twist. Despite the unpleasant scent to your young nostrils, a large part of you wondered if the taste was any different than how it smelled. Something told you that you shouldn't be doing this, but there was still a little bit of time before Grell was going to be downstairs and it was only going to be one sip.

After taking a moment to mentally prepare yourself, you brought the bottle towards your lips using both of your hands. Just as you were about to tilt the bottle upwards to allow the liquid to flow into your mouth, the bottle was abruptly snatched away from your hands. You looked up and discovered that the culprit was Will. You hadn't heard him at all approaching you.

Shocked at his sudden appearance, you looked up at him, who looked right back down at you. Your throat closed up, preventing you from saying a word or making a sound of any kind. Your already small self felt even smaller.

"This isn't for children," Will stated. While you were expecting a scolding or punishment from having been caught doing something you weren't supposed to do, he didn't sound any more stern than he usually did. Holding the bottle with one hand, he held out his hand. That was when you realized that you still had the cork that sealed the bottle. You handed it to him.

"You wouldn't like it, anyway," Will continued as he put the cork back in the bottle. "You can have this when you come of age. I'm sure your mother will be more than happy to share a glass of wine with you then." He set the bottle back where it was before and shut the fridge.

"Now, if you excuse me, I need to get going before I'm late for work. Have a good day at school." Will adjusted his glasses. You watched as he left the room.

The second occasion happened on another morning before your mother took you to school. You were waiting downstairs, as usual, for your mother to finish getting ready for the day. That was when you noticed the door inside of the kitchen.