Page 11 of Reaper

Reaper

I sit on the west side of the woods calling Mabel’s phone over and over again. I’ve never been more pissed off in my life and it’s fucking emasculating that I can’t do anything about it. Mabel isn’t technically mine to protect, but it feels like she is.

Knowing that she’s being lied to and manipulated only makes this whole thing worse. I hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten. I knew Danny was probably being dramatic, but seeing it with my own two eyes was something else. He’s lost it. There’s no doubt in my mind.

I dial her again. This time she answers.

“What do you want? I’m exhausted.”

“I’m here. You coming out?”

“Yeah.” She scoffs as she says, “I’m not going out with you anymore. You’re insane. My father could’ve died today.”

I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’m not going to get anywhere fighting her on this issue. “Put all the stuff with your dad aside, okay? Just for a second.”

Silence ensues.

“You needed to get out today because you wanted a break from the prison you’re living in. I’m here to give you that break. I know right where this bounty is. We’ll ride out there, cuff him, call Viper or Ink, and they’ll come take him away. It’ll be fun.”

I shouldn’t be convincing her to leave, but I didn’t realize how screwed she was when we went for a ride this afternoon. I figured she was lonely and bored. This update changes things.

“I want freedom, but not with you. You’d have left him to die.” She sounds like she’s crying. Maybe I do need to address this.

“Little cat, what happened after I left?”

She sighs. “What? Why? He took his meds and his heart got better.”

“And what did he do?”

“He went back out to work.”

“Right. So, he went back out to do heavy labor after having a major heart issue?”

I can almost hear her eyes roll. “Stop. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not true. He wouldn’t lie to me!”

“Okay.” I pause and think this over carefully. I need to prove to her that he’s lying. “Where did he take the medicine this afternoon?”

“What?”

“Was he in a chair? Was he—”

“He was on the couch. Why does this matter?” Her tone is biting.

“Because I want you to go look under the couch cushions, in the crevices. If that pill isn’t there, you can hang up on me and assume I’m an asshole for life.” I drag in a deep breath. The Danny I know would be too anxious to take a pill that he didn’t need. Though, this version of him has clearly readjusted his priorities, so this is a gamble.

Mabel exhales, but I hear her moving through the house as though she’s going to check.

My chest tightens.

“You’re full of it. You know that, right? He has heart problems. That’s how he got the meds.”

“He had one heart attack. A mild one. Seven years ago. They gave him the meds to use in case of emergency, not because he has an ongoing issue. Are you there yet?”

The stairs creak as she makes her way down. “Almost, but you know this is all bullshit, right?”

I hear the phone settle on something hard and then the fabric rustle.

Silence is filled by more silence.

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