Chapter 169: Night Reapers
Chapter 169: Night Reapers
Camilla
Nobody is here, I have been alone for two now, yet there has been no sign of my mother or stepfather nor a call to explain their absence. At first, I was relieved, I am furious and now nervous. I was surprised when no one showed up at the airport for my arrival, but when I walked into a cold and empty house an hour later, I found myself completely and utterly alone.
Their lack of attendance was both a blessing and a curse but it at least allowed me time to become situated and overcome some of my mental barriers without the eyes of others around me. I was especially thankful for it the first time I went into my room when I dropped to my knees and cried until my eyes were swollen and my nose was stuffy. Now that two days have passed, I am able to bear the weight of it without breaking down.
As promised, I have called my men each day, already missing their small comforting gestures, their laughs and simply everything that made them who they were. The thought of simply leaving and going home has crossed my mind a thousand times but if I don't say goodbye within the remaining five days I have here, I won't allow myself the opportunity to do it again.
Just being back is hard enough and I don't think I am willing to go through this for a second time just because my mother couldn't be bothered to show up for the visit she herself instigated. Scrolling through my phone and opening the same app I had just closed for the fourth time in a row, I knew that boredom was eating away at my brain. I was sick of this freezing house and the ugly feeling of it, I needed out.
Standing from the couch I was currently curled up on, also known as the makeshift bed I have created for myself, I grabbed my coat from the coffee table across from me. It wasn't cold outside but it sure as hell wasn't warm either considering it was just seven o'clock in the evening.
Glancing out through the window at the still mostly bright sky, I decided against my warmer shoes in exchange for my much more comfortable runners. All I wanted was a quick walk before I retracted back into my nightmares. Slipping my phone and some money into my pocket before moving out the door.
Like when I left one year ago, the lock was still in shit poor condition, a pathetic false sense of security on the outside of the house. At this point, I honestly couldn't be more unbothered. Pulling the door hard before I finally heard the latch click in place, I didn't spare the handle a second glance before leaving down the gravel driveway that blended into the path.
When I was younger, I remember always kicking at the small stones as I walked, dragging me feet because I liked the sound it made. As a few caught under my shoes now, I couldn't help but think about how unchanged so many things were even after so much time had passed. That familiarity was what guided me as I walked, catching sight of things from signs to houses that brought back memories I had forgotten until now.
I feel like this was the best part of my day so far and while my intentions were to loop back right about now, I couldn't ignore the sight of the small pub entrance out of the corner of my left eyes. I surprised myself as a small grin spread across my face, so many good memories being linked to that place.
The owner was always working there in some way and he took extra diligent care in keeping my teenage self out along with my fake identity cards. It always infuriated me because he couldn't give less of a shit about serving anyone else underage but even once I was bothering twenty years, it was until the start of my birth mother that he started serving me something more than pop and water.
I never pushed him on it after my first failed attempt and in return he never turned me away from using the place as a shelter to get away from life for a while. Our relationship was weird in the sense we rarely exchanged words with each other but he kind of felt like my guardian angel growing up when I needed it most. In fact, he even offered me a job when I was seventeen to bartend, hence where I got the experience prior to working at Gravity.
Now as I am standing right in front of the few happy memories I have here, I couldn't stop myself before my feet were carrying me towards the doors against my better judgment. Honestly, I was a little past caring at this point.
Walking straight into the warm building, the first thing I was met with was the smell of fresh beer and musk, the sound of conversation and sport for the television carrying to my ears. The small dents and holes in the walls that had been there when I left were now filled or covered by something and there were a few new staff members I didn't recognize as well from my time working here.
A lot seemed to have changed but so much of it felt like every bit of the escape I craved growing up.
"Camilla Ranger!" I heard a voice sound from behind me, turning to find one of my old colleagues Jenny heading my way.
"Hey, Jenny." I grin, returning her embrace.
Her hair was still the same as when we last spoke and so was her signature eyeliner drawn across her eyes. I offered a genuine smile as I pulled back from her hug, happy to have run into her.
"How have you been, girl? Is Robin around too?" She asked, her eyes scanning the crowd and I could tell she was secretly hoping my answer would be no.
"We are not together anymore." I shrugged, surprised that the admissions didn't sting even a little bit. It wasn't a bad revelation either.
"I actually have someone new waiting at home in Kumon city." I told her, purposefully leaving out the fact that it was multiple people.
"Oh my goodness, really?" She smiles, leading me over to the bar.
"I am really glad to hear that, we all thought you deserve so much better."
We were in agreement with that for sure, I simply nodded my head in response as she sat me down on a stool, muttering something about how she had some table to get to but she can spare some time for me. She thought I was here to get information about my father and honestly, while I haven't thought about it until now, it was a good idea.
Edet, the owner of this place knows everything and anything there was to know about things around here, likely including where the fuck my mother disappeared to.
"Who do we have here?" I heard his familiar voice curse from beside me as if on cue, my head turning to rove over the man himself.
"I didn't think I would be seeing you around here anytime soon."
"Nice to see you too, Edet." I smiled, swiveling in my chair as he walked to the counter to mix up my usual.
His movements were as fluid and instinctively as I remembered them to be, sliding a glass down wordlessly before pouring himself a shot. I could already hear his words before he opened his mouth just based on his choice of drink.
"Do you need a place to hide because this is the best place you should be? That is the case."
Always getting straight to the point with me. Taking a sip of the combination of gin and tonic, I tilt my head before speaking.
"No, but why would you assume that?"
He poured himself another shot before tossing down that one too, brushing his long graying hair back from his face.
"I heard your have been running around with the night reapers." He said slowly so no one could hear but I was more focused on what he had to say rather than those around us.
"I am sorry, what?" I asked, my brow arching at the name I could tell held power to make someone like Edet seem cautious to even speak.
He looked around again before leaning slightly over the counter, his forearms keeping him propped as he finally looked back to me.
"Your boyfriends?" He said it as though it were a question but he couldn't possibly know about them being in the mafia, could he?
I wasn't lying when I said he knew everything and anything around but I didn't believe that extended to me as well. There are eyes everywhere and I can't believe I haven't been more cautious. How could I have left here on my own when I have been publicly seen with the very men most people fear?
"How do you know about them?" I asked before taking another mouthful of my drink.
How many people know about me and the triplets?
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