Dreaming Dead

~Chapter four~

**Grimm's POV**

Ricky had pleaded for me to stay with him for the rest of the night. To get to know him better, was his excuse. I honestly didn't the see the need in hanging
around him though, considering the fact that he wouldn't even tell me why he wasn't afraid to die.

But the human seemed so damn enthusiastic and part of me didn't want to spoil that.

"Hey Grimm." I heard his voice that distracted me from my deep state of thought.

"Hm?"

"Are you really the son of death? Or is that just something you like to say." He asked me.

I shrugged slightly. "I am".

Ricky looked at me with an expression that was half-astonished, half-unsure. "What are you doing here?"

I sigh heavily. "I am next in line to be the Grim reaper. I was conceived only for that reason. Otherwise, there's nothing else I really can do with my life."

"Do you want to be a reaper?"

My chest tightened and my bottom lip itched slightly. "Well... No. No one really wants to. It's out of their control. If you're born into the royalty of death in the
underworld, you are doomed to be a reaper for all eternity until you grow tired of it, and then you have to conceive a child of your own to take your place. It's
a bleak life."

It was true. I wanted to do other things with my life. I had observed the human world with my father in my days of early youth. I had seen happy, smiling faces.
People laughing and loving each other. Even the conflicts seemed real and organic in a way that made them special. I was raised to view the human world as
foolish, and pointless. I would nod and agree when my father would make a disgusted remark, but deep down inside... I wanted to be one of them.

"It must really suck to have all your dreams and goals in life stolen away from you at birth." Ricky said, looking down. "At least everything had been taken away
from me after I had seen it all."

That last sentence caught my attention. "What do you mean?"

Ricky chuckled nervously and looked down again "N-nothing."

I grew slightly irritated and very VERY curious. I turned over to face Ricky and stared into his eyes.

"Ricky, tell me. How long are you willing to hold these truths within you? I long to know what made you this way, and you keep pushing it aside every chance
it comes up. I beg you, Ricky. Tell me. Tell me everything."

Ricky stared at me for a few seconds, and then everything seemed to change from frustrating and awkward to melancholy.

Tears sprung up slowly in the human boy's eyes and danced around over the edges of his eyelashes, preparing to fall at any given moment. One of them did
give in two seconds later and rolled quickly down Ricky's cheek.

"M-my Dad." He choked out. "H-he passed away four years ago... M-my mom r-re-married. T-this guy. He...He tried to hurt me.. H-he was a sick man." Ricky's
face slowly contorted into a look of utter pain and misery as more tears rolled down his cheeks.

"H-he r-raped me.... And m-mom... S-she didn't b-believe m-me... S-said I was l-lying..." His voice cracked more and he was full blown crying at this point. He hiccupped
out a loud sob before continuing, squeezing his moist eyes shut. "S-she kicked me out. Out of my own house. S-she l-left me t-there... A-alone..."

I looked at Ricky, a wave of sympathy washing over me and tugging at my heart. "Ricky... Is this true?"

He nodded, another sob racking through his body. "T-that's why I didn't want you to leave. It's because I have no one left anymore. And it gets so damn lonely
here. Just waiting for the end here, all alone. I thought maybe if you stayed, we could be friends and....a-and..."

He tripped over the last words, crying hard. He choked the words out "...A-and I-I would h-have a reason to live a-again..."

At that moment, some invisible being had swept by and stolen the words clean from my heart. I only stared as I watched the fragile human break down in a fit
of tears, covering his tear streaked face with his hands.

An unfamiliar feeling washed over me and I felt an uncomfortable, itching sensation in my eyes. They were hot. Really hot. Hot like fire.

And then it happened: Two clear, liquid blobs formed in my eyes and blocked my vision. They grew larger until they finally collapsed and trailed down my cold cheeks.

"R-Ricky.." I croaked out, having difficulty speaking at the moment.

"Y-yeah?" He looked up.

I shook my head, trying to get the wet blobs in my eyes to go away. I held out my arms in a gesture I had seen mothers do in front of their crying children
while observing the human world.

I think it was called hugging.

Ricky accepted my gesture and rushed towards my chest, gripping my shirt tight and sobbing loudly and soaking the thin fabric.

All I could do was hold him in my arms as tears of my own streamed down my face and two simple words forced their way out of my mouth.

"I'm s-sorry."