Married to the Devil

Chapter 1

Being 26 is not all that different from being 25. So I wasn't sure why everyone was making such a big deal out of it. Throwing a party, inviting friends, trying to set me up on blind dates, blah, blah, blah. It didn't really matter that much and if anything just made me feel OLDER than I actually felt.

26. It's also the year that most people who have actually been in relationships long enough wake up and magically decide to get married, all the while muttering about how they bagged the perfect guy or some other similar nonsense.

The truth is, there is no perfect guy. Even the word 'perfect' is subjective, the meaning changing from person to person depending on what they want in their man or at least, what they've settled for.

"How can you NOT want to get married?" My sister, Mia, asked me.

She babbled on and on about meeting, again, her 'perfect guy' and how she would magically just KNOW he was the one for her. I rolled my eyes at her crazy theory. Mia was 14, in the eighth grade, and hadn't experienced enough to know that 'High School Musical' and real life aren't the same thing.

We were at home and it was the day before the party. I hadn't really thought all that much about it since it was pretty much all planned out for me already. Did 26 year olds even have parties anymore? Apparently we did because when Mia phoned my work friends they all just about jumped right on the band wagon with Mia's crazy plans. I knew a few details but not too many to ruin the surprise of it all.

Suddenly Mia turned around and squealed, "Josh!" She jumped off the bar stools in our kitchen and tackled his chest with her arms. Josh laughed and wrapped his own arms around her in a warm hug.

"Hey kiddo!" He said while ruffling her hair.

Mia pulled him over to me and told him all about how tomorrow was going to be a blast.

Josh looked at me before leaning in for a kiss, his ocean blue eyes calm and filled with love. I kissed him back and loved the warmth he left on my lips.

"You okay with all this?" He jerked his thumb at my sister.

I waved off his concern, maybe I didn't like parties or birthdays as much as the next person, but seeing Mia all fired up and so excited like this was just too cute to say no to. I was glad for Josh's concern. He always got how I worked and what I liked and didn't like without me really saying a word. It wasn't too hard to figure him out either.

He wasn't 'perfect' by any means but that's what I liked about him. His faults made him more attractive in my eyes. Perfectly imperfect.

Mia pulled me off the bar stool and pushed me out of the room, claiming that she had some 'very important party planning to do with Josh'. Josh made a helpless face and I laughed. 'Good luck' I mouthed as I left.

I went outside and sat on my porch steps, heavy in thought about tomorrow. My mother and my sister had just about planned the whole party from my clothes, my hair, my nails and everything-

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU SHITTY BASTARD!"

I peered up at the commotion from across the street. I sucked in a breath when I saw the figure before me standing over the over grown lawn. Derek Carter. I watched him run out of the house and his father run after him in drunken strides. His father clutched a beer bottle to his chest, wildly swinging his fists at Derek screaming profanities.

A pit opened up in my stomach. I hadn't seen Derek for a long time. He was different now. How many years had it been since then? Exactly ten years tomorrow? I'd tried to forget.

I watched him duck and swerve his father's fists accurately, knowing where and when they would hit. As I watched him dodge I noticed his new haircut, the new leather jacket over a white tee, and designer shoes.

He'd grown. Much taller now than when I'd remembered him. His sandy brown hair bobbing slightly as he jumped over his father's leg trying to jab at his stomach. He hadn't hit his father yet and I knew he never would.

Derek held something that I was too far way to see.

Minute differences from then and now popped into my head. His stubble across his chin. His defined jawline. The confident way he held himself. His fighting stance had changed from his fights with his father before, they seemed more firm, more sure.

His head turned suddenly and our eyes interlocked. His electric green eyes blazed and stared into my hazel ones. I was frozen, unable to think at that moment in time. My heart fluttered with warmth for that split second, remembering flashbacks of good times. Happier times.

His father swung his fist and it connected with Derek's jaw. Our gaze broke and just like that the flutter disappeared, replaced with a cold emptiness.

Derek fell to the ground, but just as quickly got back to his feet before his father could climb onto him. He turned and bolted down the street, I watched him go before turning away and going back inside.

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" Kate! Kate!"

I groaned.

"Kate wake up! Look outside!"

I groaned again, "Mia no, it's Saturday go back to bed."

The problem with four year old sisters is that when it comes to weekends, they have WAY too much energy in the morning, wake up super early, and want everyone ELSE to wake up too.

Mia climbed up on my bed and bounced up and down causing it to quake. My sleep was wrecked. I looked up at the glowing red numbers of my digital clock.

5:30 AM

Ugh.

I crawled out of bed, and sighed. Mia hugged me before she pulled me to the window. I tried my best to rub the sleep from my eyes.

The California sun had barely even come up. Great. Even the sun was still asleep.

I looked down at my sister who was looking back at me eagerly with glittering gray eyes and a gigantic smile. I brushed the blonde hair out of her face and moved my eyes towards what she was looking at.

A moving truck was parked in the driveway of the house directly across from ours. We had new neighbours.

The movers picked up furniture and packages and put it in the house. The old neighbours were a sweet elderly man and woman who lived with their bratty granddaughter, Evelyn. The house had taken a long time to sell but once it did I was all for it. I'd give anything to not see Evelyn's horrid face everytime I stepped out the door. Her parents were successful business owners who traveled abroad quite a bit, they had also recently won the lottery and decided to take a world tour. I couldn't help but think that they'd rigged it somehow.

It was the start of senior year and Evelyn was left at her grandparents house. Her parents used some of the winnings to buy a newer and much bigger home. I was just grateful that she was gone. Thank the lord.

A car pulled up to the house and a father and what seemed like the son emerged from the car. The sandy brown hair on his head bobbed as he walked up to the house. His father put a hand on his shoulder and seemed to exchange a few brief words with his son before heading inside.

The son was young, about close to my age if not a little bit older. He put his hand in his back pockets and stared up at the house. I watched his actions, not realizing that I was staring. Suddenly, he turned and locked gazes with me. I froze, not knowing what to do. He pulled a hand from his back pocket and raised it up in a wave. The red no sleeve shirt he wore, moved slightly with the action.

I waved back sheepishly, red crawling into my cheeks.

He caught me staring.