Death's Daughter (Black Butler)

Chapter Twenty One: Something's Happened

Since I was all on my lonesome, I took a moment to admire the scenery. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the slowly setting sun caused the sky to become a beautiful shade of orange. Throughout the whole courtyard, bushes of greenery and flowers lay scattered about. Vines twisted up the sides of the building, climbing high over my head. The fluorescent lights from inside shone out into the garden, helping illuminate the outdoor area as it grew darker. My eyes wandered over to the now-open doorway, where my stomach performed backflips when I saw who was standing there.

“Ronald, I said shakily, my body immediately straightening out and tensing up. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up with surprise. How did he even find me here? Had he been looking for me and just knew that I was here, or did he come here looking for some alone time, like I did? Judging by the bouquet of Ericas in his hand and the way he looked at me with his eyes, I got the suspicion that he wasn’t here on accident. I gulped, trying to conceal my fear, in hopes that I could make it less obvious. “W-What’re you doing here?”

“I came to see you. I’ve been trying to find you all night,” he explained as he took a few steps forward. I heard my heart beat in my ears, the noise was probably even louder than the music playing back at the party scene. He was dressed in something a little different than what I typically saw him in, something a bit more casual. Under his unbuttoned vest and loosely knotted tie, he wore a grey dress shirt, the top three buttons unfastened. “What’re you doing out here all on your own?” he asked as he handed me the Ericas.

I took the flowers, gently holding the in my hands. There were several little bundles of them, all tied together nicely with a shimmering blue ribbon. I held them up to my nose, inhaling the sweet scent. I sighed, looking back to Ronald as my cheeks heated up with blush. “They’re beautiful, thank you,” I said, intertwining my fingers to hold the Ericas. My mind wandered off and a new question arose. “Ronald, why did you come here?” I asked, furrowing mu brows together as I sat back down on the bench.

Ronald followed suit and sat down as well, just inches away from me. I reached over with one of his hands and grasped mine, pulling it down so out hands sat between the gap that separated up. His hand was warm, and I could feel little calluses on his fingertips. I looked over to him and he stared right back, a concerned smile on his lips. “I’ve been worried about you, I haven’t seen you once since you left the apartment.”

I sighed, shifting in my seat as Ronald let go of my hand, opting to wrap his arm around my shoulders instead. As much as I didn’t want to, I allowed myself to rest in his arms. It just felt natural. I sat my head right about where his heart was. Much to my surprise, he had a pulse. An actual beating heart. I had always figured that when a person became a reaper that their hearts would go stone cold, like they do when a person dies. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. After stalling with my response for long enough, I decided to pipe up. “Sorry, Lillian’s death really tore me up. I didn’t really want to socialize with anybody after that, I explained as I curled my knees up to my chest.

“I’m sorry to hear about that,” he said, wrapping both of his arms tighter around my body. He pulled me onto his lap, resting his head on my left shoulder so that he could whisper in my ear. “I would have helped out, you know. I wanted to help you reap her soul. I knew that after everything you did for her that you’d go through a lot of emotional trauma afterwards, and I wanted to help you overcome it. But,” he sighed as he shook his head, unintentionally digging his chin into my shoulder, “you shut me out. Brielle Marie, you shut everyone out.”

“Yeah, well, I’m making a bad habit out of that, aren’t I?” I said sarcastically. The last person I’d want help from was him, I knew exactly what went on in that head of his. He’d just take what he wanted from me and then leave. Even still, I longed for his help. My heart was telling me that he would make everything better, but my head kept telling me that he was trouble and nothing else.