"Call me in sick," I told Ben the morning of December third. "I'm not going to school today. Or tomorrow. You may as well tell them I have mono or something and that I won't be back until January." Ben gave me a confused look.
"That's mildly suspicious," he muttered, leaning against the doorway to my room. "I will, but only if you tell me why." I crossed my arms and turned to stare out the window.
"Women," I stated shortly, only to get a laugh from Ben.
"Elaborate?"
"Woman."
"You didn't like fall in love or something, did you?"
I turned around to stare at Ben, who was looking at me with an incredulous expression. Sighing, I paced back to my bed and then to the window again.
"With my assignment," I said dryly, admitting it both to him and to myself for the first time. "It won't be a problem. I just have to stop seeing her completely. She convinced me to try living again, to start enjoying life now again because I'll be sad later and that I'm missing out on life worrying about the future and all- super philosophical nonsense, mind you- and so I tried it, and forgot not to fall in love with her." I spun around to face Ben, who's expression had become completely blank. "I've been reaping for three hundred and thirteen years, and I'm a Fell Reaper for a damn good reason, and yet I let one of my stupid assignments get under my skin like this and..." I sighed and waited for Ben to respond. I waited for him to tell me that I was an idiot, that they should have waited until I was beyond the development of a twenty-year-old to make me a Reaper, that if I failed at this mission they'd kill me despite my ranking... I waited for him to say anything, but he just stood there staring at me for a long time. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stepped forward and placed a hand on my arm.
"So it seems we're in the same boat," he said softly. My eyes widened as I opened my mouth to speak, but Ben continued on. "Not my assignment, per say, but it seems I have fallen for a woman at my job. I've considered quitting but people would start to wonder..." He trailed off, contemplating something, I imagined, and then pulled out the cell phone given to him by his cover job. "I couldn't imagine her being my assignment, though. I'll call you in sick for as long as you need. When is she set to die?"
"Her kill period... She's set to be killed by me between December tenth and February sixteenth," I told him, my voice almost breaking when I mentioned the part about me having to kill her. Ben's eyes softened.
"Then I'll call you out until the after Christmas break. You can leave Burlington after that anyway, if you choose." I nodded and sat down on my bed. Ben dialed the number to the school, but just before he left, he turned back and said, "I wouldn't tell a soul, you know. I hope you'd do the same for me." And he walked away.
I went back to bed as soon as he left, and didn't leave it until I thought I was going to starve and had to order pizza. The following few days continued like this, with brief breaks from sleeping that included showering, eating, playing PlayStation with Ben, and writing up some things for school, which I eventually quit because I realized that I wasn't planning on going back. It wasn't until the eighth of December that anything eventful happened, and when it did...
I heard a loud knock at the door, and ignored it for the first minute, but finally gave in to answering it when it happened again. I pulled a t-shirt on and walked slowly to the door, not expecting anyone but the landlord when I answered it.
Spoiler alert: It wasn't the landlord.
"Hey, dead man," Karolyn said when I opened the door. The heart that I'd forgotten I had for three hundred years skipped a beat and I froze in my place.
"Karolyn," I forced out. "What are you doing here?" I remembered then that I was supposed to be sick, and faked a cough for good measure.
"Well, you see, I had this friend that I was working with on a project," she began. "Anyways, I walked him home one day and since then he dropped off the face of the planet, and I decided, hey, I think I'll check on him. So alas. I am here."
I nodded slowly and without thinking, opened the door wider and motioned Karolyn inside.
"I've been really sick," I told her as I close the door behind me. "I have some form of mono..."
"You're not sick," Karolyn interjected suddenly, cutting me off. "I... Sorry. That was a bit harsh. But I don't think you're sick. You seem fine, and you were fine, and if you were just sick, then your dad would be picking up your homework. Not to sound accusatory or anything. Ugh. Sorry. I'm just worried about you I guess." She stood in the center of my living room/ kitchen area for a moment, fiddling with a button on her jacket, before awkwardly walking back towards the door. "I shouldn't have just showed up," she apologized. "I'll just..."
"No wait," I said, making a mental note to punch myself later on. I suppose I just figured at that point that I could at least be nice to her since I was going to be killing her in two days. "You can stay for a few minutes. I'm just... Surprised. You surprise me a lot, with what you say and do, so yeah. Want to take a seat?"
She smiled apologetically and sat down at the edge of the couch.
"The TV is new," she noted. "I thought you didn't like moving into places." I laughed, remembering the ordeal with the TV, and sat down a couple feet away from her.
"Ben won it in some raffle thing at a work banquet," I explained. "The other TV needed to go anyway."
"Who's Ben?" Karolyn asked casually.
I blanked.
How did I forget to say "my dad" instead of Ben? I'd never messed up a disguise before, in all of my years as a Reaper, and yet...
"He's my dad," I covered. "Sorry. I call him Ben. Long story."
Karolyn's eyes brightened at the mention of story, but for the first time, she didn't mention anything about me telling her.
"Interesting," was all she said on the matter before changing the subject. "You're a curious one, you know? I'd have liked to get to know you more before you left."
"What do you mean?" I asked, unsure what she meant about me leaving.
"It's obvious, you know. You're not in school, or bothering to pick up any homework even though it's close to the end of the semester. And you're obviously not sick. You're leaving soon, aren't you?"
I swallowed hard, contemplating just what I was going to say. She was right, in a way, about me leaving, but she was so innocently lost for the details of it all. She knew everything and nothing about me and what was happening, and I wished then that I was able just to tell her the truth.
"You're right," I told her finally. "I am leaving."
She nodded, though she looked suddenly sad in contrast to her usually uplifted spirit. When she got up and moved to stand in front of me, I had the sudden urge to reach out and hold her. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt something like that outside of just meaningless lust.
"Well then," she began, reaching out to gently brush my temple with her fingertips. "It's been great knowing you this long, Donovan Gates. And if you find yourself at the winter dance before you leave, promise me one dance?"
I was mesmerized by the soft, warm tone of her voice, and hurt by the sadness in her eyes, and in that moment, all I could do was nod silently and then agree.
"I promise," I told her, knowing that she'd never live to see the dance, and hating every second of it. Karolyn smiled then, her face lightening back up some, and took a step back.
"Then I'll leave you be from now on. But if you're ever in need of a walking partner, you know where to find me." At this, she leaned forward and, to my utter shock, kissed my left cheek just next to my ear, then let herself out before I could react.
My skin caught fire and I realized more than I ever had before that moment that I really was in love with Karolyn. I was from the moment I met her and discovered how sweet, bold, confident, and warm she was. From her interest in history to her love for people, she'd never ceased to to interest me, and just when I thought I knew everything about her, she'd surprise me by walking in the cold rain or showing her debate-loving side. Nothing I'd encountered in my three hundred and thirty years of life had prepared me for what I had to do.
There were two days left before Karolyn's kill period began, and while I usually waited until close to the end of kill periods to actually take my assignment, I knew that if I waited much longer, then I wouldn't be able to complete this particular mission.
When December tenth came around, I was ready to complete my assignment as I ghost traveled through the streets of Burlington towards Karolyn Grace Winter's house.
At least, I hope I'm ready.
---
So for those of you who actually follow this story, sorry I haven't updated! I'm trying to finish my HIT update right now too, as well as getting a new project ready to start up on here. Also, moving across the country can be a little wild...
ANYWHO:
The next chapter will be the last, but FEAR NOT. The next novella will be coming soooon. And the next chapter isn't too cliffhangery either. I just hope ya'll like it?
So... yeah.
Not much else to say there!
Happy Reading!
-Haybails