Chapter Text
It’s 3am.
Tim and Lucy are fast asleep. Lucy is on her right side, her right arm under him with her hand on his back. Her head is on his left shoulder, and her left hand is gently placed over his heart. Tim is lying flat on his back, his left arm draped over her back with his hand resting on her waist.
Then, his phone begins ringing. Tim slowly stirs awake, gazing down at Lucy, who is comfortably asleep. She appears to be in deep sleep, as she doesn’t move an inch. Carefully, he moves to pick up the phone without waking her. Although he’s still somewhat asleep, his voice reveals his confusion. “Hello?” he says, his voice is soft but not a whisper. “Bradford,” the voice on the other end replies.
Tim’s eyes widen as he fully awakens. He recognizes that voice—the same voice that had him leave Lucy’s apartment that night and made him shut her out.
He looks back down at Lucy with a concerned and emotional expression. He prays that this isn’t anything like the last time.
Before he continues this conversation, he slowly moves around Lucy to ensure she doesn’t wake up when he finally loses his hold on her. She stirs slightly, then settles back down. He runs his hand down her hair, kisses her forehead, as he sits on the bed before getting up. He heads to the hallway, slowly closing their door slightly as he continues down the hall into the living room. The house remains dark, as the night is still young. He slides the glass door open and closes it behind him. He walks to the edge of the porch, steps down onto the grass, and lowers himself to sit on the porch.
He takes a deep breath before continuing this conversation, never expecting it to return.
“What?” he exclaims coldly, for he had never wanted to hear from this man again, especially not after the events of the last time.
“Well, it’s clear that the Reaper is still here,”the voice says with a small chuckle. Then continues with a chilling tone, “Ray is back.”
Tim stares into oblivion. The mere mention of that name makes him want to destroy his phone.
“And we need to do something about it now.
But this time for good.”
Tim is cold, not just with his emotions but physically.
“No.” Tim says, cold and confident.
“What? What do you mean no?!” the voice on the other end of the line was filled with anger.
“I said no, I’m not doing this shit again.”
“But you know what he—“
“YES, I KNOW.”
Tim’s voice raised for a moment with anger, but he quickly changed his tone.
“I know. But there’s nothing we can do now.
It won’t change the past, so just let it go.”
He says calmly. Thankfully, he isn’t the same guy anymore who reacts very differently than he is now.
“Has the reaper gone soft on me?”
The voice is angry and cold.
Tim thinks, ‘The Reaper’ that’s the name the old him got
the new him hates it. Hates that people think of him as this cold, nasty guy. Because that’s not who he is. Not anymore. He has the woman he loves lying alone in bed right now, and that alone makes him feel like a the old man he was.
“Yes,” Tim says softly. “Yes, I have. Because that’s not who I am anymore.”
“Really?! Tim Bradford. The Reaper has gone soft!? I can’t believe this. You know how terrible this man is—“
“I know. I know how bad Ray is.”
even saying his name pisses him off.
“But I refuse to let that man ruin my life once more. I won’t. My life has transformed since the last time you dragged me into that mess. It spiraled downward when we pushed ourselves to him. I’m finally emerging from that deep abyss, and I’m not going to return to ruin everything again. I’ve built a new life, and I won’t let it slip away. Never. So please leave this be and go live your life without worrying about someone who’s only going to destroy it.”
Tim says everything he wants to say and wants to hang up, but he listens.
Wow, what happened? You got demoted? So what? He ruined the lives of so many people who couldn’t return to their families, and you’re just going to brush that off? What happened to you? What happened to the reap—“
Tim wants to crawl through the phone and strangle this man if he hears that name again.
He cuts him off.
“Stop. Just stop. I am not ‘the reaper’ that was Army Tim, not the present Tim. Yes, I did get demoted the last time, but that’s not the point.”
“Then, what exactly is it? What could Tim Bradford have in his life now that’s so incredibly precious that he can’t even think of doing something to ruin it? Huh?”
Tim’s furious. He glances back at the house behind him through the glass, making sure she’s not up. When he looks, he sees a cold, dark house. He turns back to look out into the backyard.
“It’s none of your concern what’s changed in my life. You need to get your life back on track and ignore that guy. Do it for your own sake.”
He’s silent for a little. “What shit could be in your life? Where’s the anger at? Huh? Your wife turned to drugs and left you. You have nothing. You have your job and that’s it—“
Tim didn’t let him go on.
“Oh my god! Not that it’s any of your business, but this isn’t about Isabel. It never has been. I have a whole person in my life, and the first time I let you pull me away, I lost her. I finally got her back after a lot of hard work. So, I’m not doing this again. Never. Never. So, you can lose this number or get over Ray and everything.”
The other end is silent for a long time. The man is stunned.
“What? Tim Bradford… is what? In love?”
He laughs bitterly.
“Yeah, mhm, okay. Literally impossible.”
“Really? ‘Impossible’? Wow. And yes, so what? You won’t get any more information from me, so this is the end of our conversation. Forget about ‘The Reaper’. He’s dead. He’s been dead for a while now. The only thing left is Tim Bradford. So, goodbye and don’t bother contacting me ever again. I’m done. No more sneaking around and trying to get killed by a guy who will do exactly that. Go on with your life. After I hang up, I’ll block and delete your contact number, so don’t bother reaching out to me ever again.”
Before the man on the other end can respond, Tim hangs up. He had said he would, and now he goes to his contact blocks and deletes it. Tim feels a weight lift off his shoulders.
He exhales a harsh breath and sets his phone down beside him to his right. His face is pressed into his hands for a moment, then he slides his right hand down so his arm rests on his leg. His hand is weightless in the air, while his left hand rests on his face. His index finger is on the left side of his nose, middle finger under his nose, and resting above his lip. His ring finger is under his lip, and his pinky is on his chin. His thumb is on his left side, somewhat on his jaw, and his elbow is on his knee. His head is tilted to the left, staring out at the stars that have formed. He’s trying to calm himself down from the anger that’s been rising from his past.
He doesn’t hear it, but the glass door slides open and then closes slightly. Lucy stands there, staring at him with a sad expression on her face because she can sense his tension. And she knows why.