Reaper's Pet

Chapter 1 (Willow )

"Mom?" Willow whispered, cautiously looking through the door of the hospital room. Beside the bed, a woman with dark hair sat in a chair, tears streaming down her cheeks. Willow entered quietly and took a seat next to her mom. With a hesitant touch, Willow began to comfortingly rub her back, her gaze shifting to her little brother in the bed. Peter appeared so fragile, his head swathed in bandages, his small face pale and marked with bruises.

Willow wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes and look at her with those big jade green eyes of his. But they were shut, and probably would never open again.

Just minutes earlier, had Willow been forcibly removed from the room as Peter experienced a seizure, that lasted more than seven minutes. Now, fifteen agonizing minutes later, the seizure had finally subsided, leaving her mother drained and feeble. Tears welled up in Willow's eyes, mingling with the intense hatred that surged within her heart.

He was responsible, her stepfather. He was the one who had beaten him up, leaving him with possible brain damage. Forcing them to put him in an induced coma when they got here, Peter had yet to wake up from. They had been told it could be a matter of time, if he's body didn't give up before that.

Staring at the intricate network of tubes and wires that came out of her twelve-year-old brother, she almost felt numb. The only sounds in the room were the beeping from the machines keeping her brother alive and his raspy breathing.

"Mom, can I get you something?"

Slowly, her mom raised her head, revealing smudged mascara beneath her weary jade green eyes. "Coffee sweetheart, get me some coffee." her mom replied, her voice hoarse, attempting a smile that more closely resembled a grimace. As if she had forgotten how to smile.

Nodding, Willow took one last look at her brother before walking out of the room. Once the door clicked shut, tears welled in her eyes, guilt gnawing at her insides. She made her way down the pristine white hallway toward the coffee machine, letting her emotions flow freely.

Peter had only tried to protect her.

Ten days had passed, but the police were no closer to finding John. Willow struggled to comprehend how, in the year 2022, locating someone could be this challenging. People shouldn't be this hard to find if you where actually looking for them.

She caught a glimpse in a window of her face, the usual soft features now bruised and unrecognizable.

Her bruises were shifting colors, transitioning from angry purples to faded yellows and greens. It was a relief, she supposed, especially for her mother, making it easier for her to look at Willow, due to the guilt of having let the man into their life who had done this. The dark circles under her jade-green and steel-blue eyes seemed darker against her otherwise fair skin. A bruise marred one side of her face, accentuating her high cheekbones, while the cut on her full plump lower lip was showing signs of healing. She flashed herself a weary smile, her tongue sliding over the right front tooth where a tiny piece had been broken off. Luckily so little you didn't notice it if you didn't stare, or at least Willow hoped. Running her fingers through her greasy champagne blonde thick hair, she wished she could take a proper bath. Dressed in a baggy, long-sleeved gray shirt that the hospital had provided, she felt like a mess. The shirt hung on her her petite, slightly curvy frame making her feel even more out of place than she already did. With a sigh, she uneasy twirled a lock of her usually defined wavy shoulder-length hair.

John had a temperament he never showed their mom, only when he was alone with them. Willow had gotten used to his screaming and throwing stuff around, blaming them when their mom realized something was broken and taking the brunt to keep Peter away from him. It had made her try to stay clear of his path when her mom wasn't around as she didn't know how to bring it up to her which she now wished she had. But over the last few days before it all went to Hell, his outburst had been locked on her specially, she couldn't even breathe to loud before he yelled, which she almost got desensitized to. Lately, he had begun grabbing her hand to stop her from leaving as he screamed at her so hard, she more than once wondered if he was trying to break it.