"Lisa," he whispered in the blonde's ear, his wish of being able to spill tears returning to the man with the blood-red eyes. As the woman grasped at his brown hair, he dipped his mouth into the crevice of her smooth neck, taking a deep breath as she whimpered beneath him. He loved her scent, and it would be a while until he would be able to smell in her sweet scent again. The man would have to relish the smell now.
Muffed sobs slipped through trembling fingers. His right hand clamped down on her plush lips, spit slobbering itself on his icy fingers as she pleaded for him to loosen his painful grasp on her hair. He paid her no mind; it would soon be over anyway. Yet his grip loosened on her shiny blond locks and his hand moved from her lips to her skinny throat.
"Garrett," the woman— practically a girl— whimpered again, her hands leaving his hair and began pushing pathetically against the stone-hard man. She fought him with what remained of her strength despite knowing how absolutely pointless it was.
"Lisa," he whispered again, pleading almost. He looked down at her, finding her icy blue eyes pouring salty tears. He paused, finding his somber reflection staring back at him. Her lip trembled. The brunette's eyes fluttered shut. He couldn't bear to see himself. He couldn't bear to see her, to see her pretty little neck be crushed as his stone-hard fingers caved in on themselves, pulverizing her bones before she could register the pain. Only once her body began to feel cold and stiff did he open his eyes.
Dull blue orbs stared back at him.
He removed his hand from her once intact throat and lifted it to his face. Her blood began to coagulate on his fingers. Usually, the sight and scent would stir him. But now, seeing the crimson liquid on his digits just seemed to numb him even more.
"It'll be okay," he whispered more to himself than the lifeless woman. "We'll just have to wait a little longer."
"Who are you?" Her voice squeaked out, barely audible to herself. Her lips trembled as she took in the man before her. The most handsome man Heidi had ever seen was standing before her. From his dark brown waves framing his face to his chiseled jaw to even his calculating crimson eyes, everything about him was compiling itself into someone she could dare say was gorgeous. But his beauty was not what stood out to her. At least, not this time. A deep mahogany color soaked into his tattered grey shirt. Splotches of the same crimson color could be seen adorning his trench coat with even some patches scattering his well-worn jeans. A smirk grew on his pale face.
"Like what you see?" His arms opened wide before gesturing to himself.
She frowned, not just at his words but at the harsh winds biting at her red cheeks. Heidi shifted her coat, bundling herself tighter into warmth. She gathered her confidence and this time spoke steadily. "Why show yourself now?"
"Oh?" The brunette merely responded, tilting his head. His smirk never left his face.
"I've always seen you," the woman's brow narrowed in confusion. The man before her was always in the corner of her eyes or somewhere in a crowd, but he had never been so visible to herself now. She could always remember randomly seeing him, even when she was young. Sometimes in an overcrowded mall. Or on a rainy day on campus. But never this close and never this long. "You've never been this close to me before. Why now?"
The man shrugged. "I felt it was time."
Her eyes filled with panic. Could it be? The stories her grandmother told Heidi before her bedtime came barreling towards the blond woman. The stories of the man who followed his victims for their entire lives, of the man who watched over people before snatching them back to the spirit world, of the man who only visited you when it was your time to die.
The Grim Reaper.
She took a step back from him, a movement that he didn't like. Her lips trembled again and her voice went back to its original squeaking. "Am I going to die?"
"No!" The man shouted, startling the blonde and causing her to fall back in her shock. As she tripped backward, she could only gasp as her arms began flailing about her. Just as quickly and suddenly as the man shouted, he appeared next to her, catching her with a single steady hand resting on her back while his other gently cupped her face. She jolted at his inhumanly cold and unexpected touch. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"What are you?" The words passed through her chapped lips before she could think, breathing harder as she realized the man wasn't going to release her.
"Let's just focus on the who for now." He stopped smirking, opting for a sad smile instead. She furrowed her brow at his sadness.
"Then who are you?" The woman caved into him as he helped her straighten herself out, not completely understanding why she gave in to the stranger.
The man held out his hand in a playful manner, grinning even more as the woman hesitantly took his cold hand into her warm palm. She was as beautiful as he remembered, although considering his memory was spectacular, it wasn't that surprising. "I'm Garrett."