The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 8- Band Aids

REYNA

The red dress fell comfortably over my skin, as I slip the beige pumps over my feet. I'm meeting to have dinner with my uncle. We had been distant for some of my childhood, until around the age of 11, when he visited us in my hometown. I remember the first time I saw him, and I thought of how much he looked like my father, even though he was much younger than my dad, the two of them looked so alike. I thought they must have been twins, but their age difference said otherwise. They're half-brothers, actually. When I first met him, he smiled and said to me: 'Hey, sweetheart, you must be Reyna. Your father told me a lot about you.' From then on, he became a regular staple in my life, and my families, and when my parents heard about my decision to skip town, they slid Crontill in for the chance I'll find it interesting and move closer to him, so that someone can always be watching me. They don't realize I need to move on from being caught in a web of parental guidance, that I need to break free. I just want to live my own life, but I suppose I can spend one night in Grant's house, having dinner, chatting it up. Too bad he's a police officer.

My phone rings. It's Cassandra. Shit. I had tried to get in contact with her since I turned up at their house for a chat, but they weren't home. I called a few hours ago, nothing. Now, she's calling me and I need an answer about her son. I can't keep pushing it aside. The phone continued to ring before I reach down to take it in my palm.

"Hello, Cassandra." My loud voice tones down when I pick up the call. I could hear Brady in the background somewhere, mumbling to his mother as she didn't realise the call had gone through.

"Reyna, hey. I was meaning to catch up with you, I know we forgot to call you about us leaving town but Brady's been acting a bit...strange lately, so we stopped in with his grandparents to see if they could tell us something, both of them were doctors of the sort. I'm so sorry about yesterday or whenever it was, I've lost my sense of time. Let me know when we're back in town when we can meet to have a chat, Reyna." Her voice is rushed and irritated, and she pauses on every note about Brady. I want to know what happened, I want to know if there's something wrong with him. He scared me.

I can't stand to be in the dark for any longer. "Cassandra, please be honest with me. Is there something wrong with Brady? One night, I saw him on my porch, covered in blood, so I know he's not okay. Just give me something to let me know you're handling the fact that he's obviously not okay. He was covered in blood, for Chri-" She cuts me off before I finish the sentence, angrily breaking the conversation.

"No, Reyna, he will fine. He is taking the medication, and he will be okay. As for your run in with my son, I do apologize about that, but please refrain from skipping to conclusions, because we are working on finding the truth, but he is still fragile."

"He needs to confess to what happened." My voice began to peak. I just want to have justice, that's all that matters right now. I just want to know that the boy who turned up on my doorstep isn't a psycho murderer who wants my blood. I know I'm going too far, but I want to be safe. No matter what.

"He will, one day." Her voice has calmed down, and she has become sincere. "I want to trust him, and I hope you will trust me because it's a tough position in our lives right now. Trust me, Reyna, I will try to patch things up between us, and you too." She speaks with clarity, as if she was smiling through her words, and comforted my worries. "I have to go, thank you for this."

I was about to say thank you, but she had hung up. I had one clue, but it might not have been enough. I want to know more, so maybe when he's back, I'll talk to him myself. For now, as I applied foundation, I was going to my uncle's house for dinner. Let's hope he learned to cook since I last had dinner at his home.