Our Demonic Hearts - The Craven Pact Book 1

Chapter 2 - Halcyon

Ana handed the filled paperwork back to the manager of the grocery store. He took it and smiled at her. "Great. I'll call you in a week or two to let you know if you got the job or not."

She nodded and turned away from him. Grocery shopping seemed easy compared to filling out an application for a job as a minimum wage cashier. Comparing prices for laundry detergent was better than explaining why there was a rather large 6-year gap in her resume, anyways.

She turned the corner into the breakfast aisle and came face to face with Deacon. His eyes widened and his smile brightened, but Ana took one look at his store uniform and brushed past him.

"Not happy to see me?" He followed close behind her, tossing a toilet paper roll from hand to hand.

"If I knew you worked here I wouldn't have a applied for a job. I think seeing you once a week is enough for me." She perused the shelf of cereals as he stood beside her. "What do you need a job for, anyway?"

"Got bored, just like you."

She glanced at him and eyed his wrinkled uniform. "I'm not bored. I needed money, and an excuse to get out of the house. I doubt you're just bored."

He let out a short whistle and backed away a few steps. "Somebody woke up grumpy this morning!"

She grabbed a box of Fanny Pans and walked out of the aisle. Much to her annoyance, Deacon followed behind her. "Leave me alone, Deacon, or I'll tell your boss you're harassing a customer."

"Nah, you wouldn't do that, especially after the nice night we had." He commented as she reached into the freezer and grabbed a carton of milk.

She gave him a small smile before walking past him. "We're in public. Act like it."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, fine. Don't admit it. I'll see you...next Friday?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

—_—

She exited the store and stuffed the groceries into the back seat of her dingy truck. Not hers, no. Her dad's. The faded blue machine could never be hers, just as the house was still his. She was just using them until she died, too.

Just as she was about to hop into her truck, a small old lady approached her, a purse hanging from her arm. Mrs. Montgomery was a friend of her dad's, and one of the few who willingly talked to Ana. Although the senior often annoyed her with church invitations, she always made her feel remembered on holidays.

"Oh, Analiese! I haven't seen you in awhile. How have you been?" Mrs. Montgomery gave her a warm, wrinkled smile, and Ana felt bad for wanting nothing more than to already be done with this conversation.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the truck. "I'm good. Just looking around town for a job. My mother has been nagging me to do something."

The old woman waved a nonchalant hand in the air. "Oh, I'm sure she is just concerned for you. Margaret was always an anxious creature."

She nodded silently and looked away. Both of her parents had grown up in Morganwood, but moved away after college when her mother became pregnant with Ana. Her parent's relationship ended shortly after she was born, and she was raised by her human dad for the first sixteen years of her life. Her dad moved back to Morganwood after he inherited the house, but her mother stayed in Livernville. She didn't have custody, but always visited on holidays and birthdays. Ana felt unwanted by her as a child, until she met her real father for the first time and grew to learn why her mother was so determined to keep her away. She was just fine with her human dad, Alex Kravens, who always smelled like clay dust and oranges, who always had a warm smile on his face, and who supported her no matter what mistake she made. Her demonic father could never be like him. He was a creature. A cold, unfeeling person. A thing.