The Devil's Kings

One

Annabelle climbed into her older white SUV after placing her one shopping bag on the passenger seat. Her eyes darted over to the bag before quickly looking back down at her hands. She shook her head and scoffed at herself, she couldn’t even look at the bag. There were too many emotions and she didn;t have any clue how to make sense of any of them. She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face before starting the ignition of her suv. The whole drive home she felt a mixer of hope and dread. Even though she had no actual proof that her suspicions her correct, she had an overwhelming feeling that her husband, Brandon, would know everything before she did. Annabelle had no idea what would happen if she ended up being right. For now she continued to drive back to the house that she shared with Brandon and his mother and step-father and his younger sister.

When Annabelle pulled her car to the curb it had occupied earlier this morning, there was a small sense of relief that Annabelle felt. No one else was home yet, the driveway clear of the other vehicles. Her small triumph was short lived when she remembered there was a very good chance that her sister-in-law Ashley was home. Ashley was always home, she was a year older than Annabelle’s nineteen, but she didn’t work. She didn’t do anything, ever. Not wanting to alert even Ashley, annabelle quickly grabbed the small and stuffed it in her puse. Making sure to push it as far down as she could. She slid out of the big white SUV, made sure the doors were locked and then walked into the house.

Annabelle walked to the kitchen, clutching her purse to herself and got herself a glass of water. She was starting to think that maybe she was going to be able to put the test away in a safe place until she could take the test when she knew that she was going to be alone. With the glass still covering her mouth, Annabelle smiled to herself. The smile however was short lived. Annabelle could feel tingles along the back of her neck and the tops of her ears. Annabelle placed the glass on the counter and turned around to see Ashley standing behind her, watching her.

‘Hey Ash. Whats up?’ Annabelle hoped her voice sounded normal and to her it did, but she was not always the best liar and this was a stressful moment for her. Ashleys’ shaky eyes watched Annabelle , it was like she was looking for something she could use to create drama in the house.

‘Nothing. Just sitting in my room watching t.v. Where were you?’ Ashley’s voice seemed sweet, but Annabelle had always been uncomfortable around her. She lived for drama and she loved to create it. In Annabelle’s opinion Ashley was spoiled. She believed that her mother-in-law never denied her anything because she was the youngest out of three and she had a health disability. That's why she never worked, it was easier for her to not have a job and to claim disability through the state. It was mostly the eyes, Ashleys’ eye seemed to shake even when she was not moving, it unnerved Annabelle.

‘I went to the store. I was trying to find a closet organizer that would help Brandon and I stay organized in our room. We both have so much stuff.’

‘Oh. Did you find anything?’

‘Nope. Nothing that I liked. I should probably go study before I have to go to work.’ with a tight smile Annabelle walked away from Ashley and into the room she shared with her husband, who was currently asleep on the bed. Annabelle sighed. She should have left the test hidden in the car, she didn’t want to chance him waking up and seeing the test. He was usually a heavy sleeper since he worked nights usually, but she really didn’t want him to know about the test. She set her purse on the floor, behind the bed and grabbed her school books, taking them out to the dining room table to try and study. Annabelle had a feeling she wouldn’t get much studying done. When she left her room and approached the dining area she was thankful to find that Ashley had gone back to her room. Annabelle felt slightly bad for being hopeful that she would remain there until she was done studying.