The Soul Reaper's Arranged Marriage

Chapter 2

Noah Edwards sat in front of the large brick fireplace in his living room, an almost-empty glass of whisky in his hand. He hadn't moved from the plush, red leather chair since the last time he got up to get a drink. His steely blue gaze staring unfocused at the embers that still glowed above the hearth. He ran a hand through his unkempt, strawberry blond hair before reaching over for the bottle on the coffee table. Tipping the whisky bottle into his glass, he realized it was empty.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back into the chair again, trying to will himself to find the energy to get up and go to the kitchen. He ran a hand down his chin, feeling a rough, uneven stubble.

With a long sigh, Noah pulled himself up from the chair and made his way through the large, empty house toward the kitchen. The house was completely dark, but Noah shuffled slowly through the hallways with ease, having grown up here his entire life.

He reached the kitchen and went straight to the cabinet where his mother had stored the liquor for special occasions. It was difficult to not glance at the kitchen island, which was littered with sympathy cards, long-dead flowers and houseplants, and rotting casserole dishes that Noah hadn't bothered to put away.

Catherine Edwards' funeral had taken place a few weeks earlier, but Noah still felt the same heartache and anguish that he did that day. Given that she was very well-known in the magical community throughout Britain, it had been an endless receiving line of Witches, Wizards, Vampires, and Werewolves that had come to pay their respects to her and offer her son their sympathy. But Noah was unable to thank any of them, and unable to speak without breaking down. He sat in that same chair in front of the fireplace on that day as he did tonight, and every night since, trying to find solace at the bottom of a whisky bottle.

Noah didn't remember his father, who had perished in the Rebellion of Osiris when he was an infant. His face was in many picture frames throughout the house, and his mother always spoke of him as a hero. But Catherine Edwards was the one that emerged as the hero, defeating the evil Osiris in her anguish and grief at the loss of her husband. It was just the two of them growing up here in this big house in the English countryside, and Noah had plenty of happy memories from his childhood, even if it was somewhat lonely.

But now the loneliness was overwhelming. Noah thought he might drown in it, so he chose to drown in whisky instead. He knew his mother would disapprove of her eighteen-year-old son taking up drinking full time, but she wasn't here anymore to reprimand him.

It was a strange feeling when he realized he was now an orphan. He didn't have any other family that he knew of; both sets of grandparents had passed away long ago, and his parents didn't have any siblings.

Noah didn't know how to manage his mother's affairs. Was he supposed to pay any bills? What other things do adults concern themselves with? Was he supposed to drop out of school and get a job?

The questions and uncertainty were too much to bear. Rather than face the crushing anxiety from an unknown future, Noah could only cope with his grief in his liquor.

Noah barely noticed a knock at the front door. Only as it grew louder did it interrupt his thoughts. Whiskey bottle in hand, Noah shuffled his way in the dark into the foyer, where he peeked through the peephole in the cherry wood door.

"Go away, fucker," he moaned.

"That's no way to treat your best friend!" the voice called back through the door. "But seriously, let me in. I haven't heard from you in days."

Noah sighed and slowly opened one of the large double doors to see his friend, Darius Hassan, standing on the stone patio.

The Hassan Family had been very close to the Edwards. Darius was the middle of three children and was the same age as Noah. Naturally, they grew up very close and were the closest of friends to this day. Like the other men in his family, Darius was very tall, almost six inches taller than Noah, and had black cropped hair and a dark brown complexion. His deep brown eyes were soulful, but inviting.

"My mum made these for you," Darius said, handing a cloth-covered basket to Noah as he crossed the large threshold into the house. "They're those shaka shaka balls that she knows you like so much."

Noah grew up enjoying Mrs. Hassan's traditional Nigerian cooking, and his favorite dish by far was always her coconut flake shaka shaka balls that were made with sugar, eggs, and flour. They were still warm in the basket and emitted a gentle, sweet aroma, but Noah didn't have an appetite. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he felt hungry enough to eat anything.

Noah closed the door and turned to face Darius, who was staring back at him with a concerned expression.

"You look like s**t, mate."

"Thanks," Noah responded flatly. He walked back toward the living room, whisky in one hand and the dessert basket in the other. Darius took his wand out of his pocket and waived it in a circle once in the air above his head, sparking the lights around the house to come on.

"This place is a disaster!" Darius exclaimed, now able to see the house. His hand shot up to his nose. "God, what is that smell?"

Noah plopped back down onto his chair in front of the fireplace, pouring himself a fresh glass. "You want a drink?" he called out to Darius, his voice gravely from not having used it much over the past month.

"Let me do a little cleaning first; this house is a pig sty." Darius, who was also familiar with the house, began making his way from room to room, waving his wand every which way. Objects floated in the air and returned to their cupboards, trash lifted itself into the rubbish bin, and dirty dishes made their way to the kitchen sink to wash themselves.

A few minutes later, Darius walked into the living room. "There, that should do it. It already smells better."

Darius took another sniff as he sat in the chair across from Noah. "When was the last time you took a shower?"

Noah shrugged, bringing the glass of whisky to his lips. Darius' eyes landed on the empty bottle of whisky sitting on the coffee table.

"Why don't you put the whisky down and jump in the bath?" Darius suggested gently.

"Did you just come over here to nag?" Noah snapped. Darius' eyes lowered to the ground.

"No, mate, I'm genuinely worried about you. We all are."

Silence fell over the pair. Noah continued to sip on his whisky, looking into the fireplace that had completely burnt out. Darius followed his eyes to the fireplace, lifted his wand again, and a full, roaring fire appeared out of nowhere. Darius turned back to him.

"My dad wanted me to let you know that he reviewed all the documents from your mum's estate. When you're ready, you can meet with him to discuss it, but for now he wanted me to let you know that your mum made sure you were well-taken care of financially. He'll handle all the bills for you until you're ready to start taking that on. So, that means you'll come back to school for our final year, right?"

Noah felt overwhelmed at the mere mention of words like "estate" and "bills" and "finances." It was as if those words triggered his brain to shut down. He didn't understand any of it, and honestly, he didn't want to.

"Why don't you come stay at my house until we go back to school next month?" Darius offered. "You know you're always welcome."

"I don't know if I even want to go back to school," Noah responded, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the chair.

"Why?" Darius asked, sitting forward in his seat, his face incredulous. "It's our last year! You've already put in four years, you can't give up now! Your mum would have wanted you to finish-"

"Don't tell me what my mum would have wanted," Noah growled dangerously.

Darius paused, his gaze held onto the floor. They both knew he had touched on a very sensitive subject, and Darius was clearly thinking through what his next words would be.

"I might not be able to change your mind," Darius began, standing up to make his way to leave. "But you know Cassandra won't let you quit your Wizard schooling."