The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 1- Mistakes

REYNA

The wooden staircase felt slippery under my feet. I was walking towards my brand new home, but as the front door crept up towards me, I couldn't help by turn around and stare back as the taxi drove away. This is it, Reyna, I kept telling myself, but still, somewhere in my mind, it didn't want to believe I was here, leaving the rest of my world behind. I had met the owners of the house, a mother and her teenage son, a few weeks ago when I came here for the visit. They were sweet, and decided it was time for them to move to a smaller house. She told me her husband and her youngest daughter had passed away, the husband that year, the daughter a few years back. The husband, she remarked to me, was a strong man for all of his life, until he died of lung cancer during sleep. I told her about Faith, and she had smiled. She told me to stay strong...for her. The daughter, a little girl with auburn hair and bright hazel eyes, was killed in a freak accident on the way home from her grandparents. Her father was in the car, and so was her brother, but she was the only one who didn't make it. I felt so sorry for them, to lose so much over the course of three years.

I pushed the door open, and noticed the mother and son sitting on the stools against the kitchen island. The boy, busy on his phone, looked up as the door clicked shut, and the two of them turned to see me, smiling. I spoke up, "I didn't know you were going to be here. The bus ride was long." They continued smiling, the mother standing to help me with my bags. I didn't bring much, so I guess furniture shopping is needed someday. That'll be fun.

"Hello, dear, let me take those off your hands. Brady, can you fetch her a drink?" The mother, Cassandra, took the bags from my palms and directed me to take a seat as she carried the luggage towards the staircase, struggling every so often. "What did you bring with you? Bricks?" I laugh, taking a seat on the stool beside the one Brady was sitting on, as he had now moved to take a glass from the cupboards. That's when I noticed hardly any furniture had been moved out.

"Mrs. Artell, what's happening with your furniture?" She moved back to the kitchen, taking her seat on the bar stool, and frowning.

"I'm not taking it with us, dear. Brady and I decided to rent out, and the house we'll be staying in is providing the furniture. This is all yours, Reyna." I smiled, and she noticed, smiling back. "I couldn't have asked for a better new owner than you." Brady reached over the counter and passed me the glass of water. His light brown hair just reached above his eyes, and if I was younger, I would have thought he was attractive, but he's only attractive in the friendly way. I'd never date anyone younger than me. He wore a dark green t-shirt, jeans and black sneakers that were definitely over-worn. He smiled, and moved back to his position on the stool.

"Thank you, Mrs. Artell." She smiled, placing her hand on her son's back.

"Please, call me Cassandra. We're friends, aren't we?"

"I suppose so." I smiled, as the ding of my phone blared in my pocket. "Sorry about that, let me just check this..." I pulled the phone out of my pocket, smiling as I saw the text message was from Faith. She was happy I was leaving, but not that I was leaving without her. I chose this house because I wanted her to come stay with me, but with her condition, she needed to be with her parents, so looks like I forgot all about the after effects again. It's a four-bedroom house, and I'm a single girl, no children, no boyfriend, and hardly any friend. There's only really Faith. I don't even really know what had drawn me towards Crontill. Maybe it was the scenery, maybe it was this house, maybe it was just the distance from home to here, maybe I wanted to be far from home. Start a new.

Faith's message made me smile. To Reyna, I wish the best of luck. Never forget who you are. Never lose hope and FAITH in me. Get it? I laughed, which caused the two to turn to me, expecting to hear what was funny. I turned back to them, beginning to explain what I considered funny. Faith is adorable. She was always my shining star, but I wished she could be here right now, it would have made me smile even more. Being in this town was hard enough, now I couldn't see her any longer.