The Grim Reaper Effect

-F O R T Y - T H R E E-

"And who are you to Mr. Ryder?"

"I, uh, I'm his client," My voice was quiet, and I spoke sheepishly. Her tall stature was intimidating.

And you just happen to be in a nonofficial relationship with him.

Not. Now.

She raised an eyebrow at me, "So?"

"Is he alright?" I squeaked.

"That information is only available to his family," She rolled her eyes. "It would be in your best interest to get lost. We don't need humans getting themselves involved in our lives."

As she began walking away, my backbone came back to me. I shot out of my seat and was hot on her trail. Her words themselves didn't hurt me. I didn't care what she thought about me. The chances of us seeing each other again were unlikely. My problem was the information she was holding.

"Is he okay or not?"

"I already told you, get lost-"

"I couldn't care less what you think about humans. As a matter of fact, none of us do. We're dying anyway, so what's the point? I also think you're forgetting that without us, you wouldn't exist. You see, those who were born must die. You're just here for support, so I suggest you get your head out of your ass and tell me how my friend is doing!" I snapped.

She looked taken aback, "I can't-"

"Either you tell me, or I'll go see for myself. Your choice," I glared. "If I have to go see for myself, you're gonna wish it were you in that bed instead of him."

She cleared her throat, straightening her back, "He's stable and expected to wake up soon."

I let out a breath of relief.

He's gonna be okay.

"See? How hard was that?" I smiled before walking back to my seat.

Part of me was happy his father was on the council. Other Reapers held them highly. The moment the man in the truck saw that it was Griffin, things became a lot more serious. A bigger part of me hated that. If it were any other Reaper, they wouldn't be so serious about it. They'd still be moving at the same leisurely pace they were going. It wasn't fair to the others. They did the same job.

I knew I shouldn't be worried about that. That I should be happy Griffin was going to be okay. He was stable. Even so, I couldn't help but take everything else into consideration. If Griffin weren't the son of a councilman, who knows where he would be now. He could be on his way to death and they wouldn't care. The concept had my mind spinning.

You have bigger problems.

Yeah, you're right. Griffin might not even want to see me.

What? No. I don't care about that. What's for lunch?

I groaned, recalling the events of this morning. I was so afraid of what would happen that I forgot to eat. All it took was the smell of a sandwich to get me to the cafeteria. People were sitting around talking. Most of them were patients in hospital gowns. None of them seemed to be paying much attention to the food in front of them. It made sense. Hospital food wasn't exactly gourmet.

As I strolled up to the vending machine to find something, I had a great realization: I had no money. I took one last glance at the cafeteria, taking in the mint green walls and mixed smell of medicine and food. I decided I wasn't going to miss it.

I need to see him.

There was a chance he didn't want to see me. I was the reason he was in a hospital bed. He currently had a spotlight on him and it was all because of me. The impact from the car probably knocked some sense into him, which I partly wanted. Seeing what he did made me realize how dangerous it was to be getting involved with him. It hurt him more than it hurt me, which I wasn't willing to put him through.