Page 14 of Reaper

I’m about to tell them that out loud as well, but Miracle places a finger against my lips right as I’m about to speak. She gives me a look that says ‘we know’ and I smile as I relax even further in my chair.

“Let’s find you that cat,” she tells me with a wink and I chuckle before nodding and looking back down at my phone as I scroll through picture after picture.

I’ve already removed everything of the cunt and cunt licker’s from the house, as they’ve been permanently renamed per Khloe, so the next step is to reclaim my life as my own. As my gaze snags on a small black cat who looks like he could have been the runt of the litter, I know he’ll be my next step.

“Hello, Void,” I say as I start filling out an adoption form.

Chapter 6

Lark

It’sbeentwodayssince my life imploded, and it literally feels like that’s what happened. Mainly, because I was right in that Kelly wouldn’t keep her mouth shut about everything.

I was off yesterday, which was Monday, and I was so glad for the reprieve.

It also gave me time to focus on Void.

I’d gone to the local humane center as soon as they’d opened and then got to love up on him for about an hour as we got used to each other. Unfortunately, they needed a little time to process my application, as well as give him a couple of shots that he was due so I couldn’t take him right then and there. My chest had ached when I had to put him back in his little cage and I damn near cried at hearing his little meows as he tried to reach for me through the bars.

While they did what they needed to do at the shelter, I took the time to go to the local pet store to get supplies for Void and made sure I got the same food that the humane society was using. I’djust finished setting everything up in our house and was in the process of getting rid of the trash when they called me back and said I could pick him up.

I spent the rest of the day with Void as he settled in and explored the house. In an attempt to keep my little bubble secure for a bit longer and to give myself time to process everything, I purposefully ignored any text messages and my social media accounts for most of the day.

But then, my little bubble burst, and it was time to face reality.

And fuck, was it a nightmare of a reality I was being forced into.

Miracle had warned me not to look at Kelly’s social media pages, but I couldn’tnotlook. I needed to know what she was saying about me.

So, I started going through my texts and notifications as I lay in bed, curled up with Void. Even though Miracle had blocked Aiden’s and Kelly’s numbers on my phone, Kelly apparently had gotten a burner phone or something and was still texting me. The lies she was spewing, both in the texts and her online messages, had my stomach rolling, almost to the point where I was afraid I was going to throw up, which seems to be a trend with anything relating to Kelly. Finally, around midnight, I put my phone down and attempted to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much sleep, which is why I’m running around, rushing through my morning routine as quickly as I can so I don’t miss the supply delivery for the supper club. I know I could have asked Ma, Granny, or Pappy to do it, but they don’t need to be lifting such heavy boxes. Especially Granny or Pappy.

Filling a thermos of coffee, I lock up behind me and speed walk down our lane. As I walk, I pull up our security camera app on my phone and flick through them until I get to the ones pointed at our delivery dock. I sigh in relief when I see that the deliverytruck hasn’t shown up yet and I slow my pace a bit. Taking another deep breath, I try to calm my nerves. Thankfully, the truck still hasn’t arrived by the time I get to our delivery dock, so I walk over to one of the picnic tables we keep back here for our employees’ breaks and take a much-needed drink of my coffee.

My phone pings and I reach for it, but then I hesitate.

Do I really want to see more of her shit right now? Another ping has me unlocking my phone on the off chance that it’s someone else trying to get a hold of me.

No such luck.

I groan when I see how many more unread texts and notifications I’ve gotten since clearing out a bunch last night. The sound of a truck approaching has me looking up and then I look back down at my phone. Biting my lip, I put it on silent without opening any of the messages. As I slip my phone back into my pocket, I pray that today’s delivery guy is someone that doesn’t know me.

As soon as he parks, though, I groan silently as I realize I must not have any luck left at all.

It’s our usual delivery guy, Tyler.

Not that there’s anything wrong with Tyler. He’s a nice guy that I’ve known since we were kids, even though he was a few grades above me. While we weren’t close in school, we got to know each other better when he started delivering supplies for the supper club about five years or so ago. Now, I even consider him a friend. Today, however, I was just hoping it was someone who wouldn’t know me and possibly wouldn’t know what happened two days ago.

“Morning, Tyler,” I call out as he gets out of his truck. Turning, I open up the back doors leading into our storerooms and prop them open for him.

“Good morning, Lark.”

I bite my tongue to keep from telling him it’snotin fact a good morning but judging by how he keeps glancing at me as he unloads our supplies, I’m pretty sure he knows what happened. And sure enough, after he drops off the last box, he doesn’t slide his dolly out from underneath the boxes, and instead, he turns toward me as he leans an arm on one of the handles.

“Lark, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but just so you know, anyone that knows you doesn’t believe a single word that is coming out of that woman’s mouth.”

The matter-of-fact way he says that, like he knows one hundred percent sure that what he’s saying is true, has me looking up at him sharply in question and he nods his head.