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IN THE SMALL TOWN of Coal Creek, West Virginia, lived a young Reagan Montgomery. Reagan had lived in Coal Creek her entire life. Reagan's mother, Claire, had moved there right after she married Reagan's father at the good ol' age of eighteen. When she was two, Reagan's father had gone missing, and for years they searched, but nobody has ever found him.
On this particular morning, it was cold. Reagan was outside running around with her frumpy dog, Rebel. Rebel was a golden retriever, and one of Reagan's only friends. She wasn't the type to talk to new people. Reagan had the same friends she had since she had started school, and the two of them moved away. Now, she was all by herself.
Her mother was inside making breakfast for Reagan, before they left for church. Reagan glanced inside every now and again, looking at her mother. A few weeks before, a young boy--around Reagan's age--had moved to town to live with his grandmother. She hadn't really cared about the new boy. He was in her class and all, but she didn't talk to him.
She heard her mother call her name as she heard the plate clattering onto the table. Reagan grabbed her dog's leash as she ran inside. She unleashed her dog once she got inside and ran into the kitchen. Her mother had made her favorite. Bacon and eggs. She made it every Sunday before they left for church.
"Have you made any new friends yet?" Her mother asked in her motherly voice. Her mother didn't have a thick accent from where they lived, but not to thick for her not to be able to understand it. The young girl shook her head as she began scarfing down her breakfast.
"Mama, do we have to go to church today?" She asked, looking up at her mother. Her mother chuckled lightly and got up from the chair across from her. "Darlin', you ask that every Sunday. Yes, we have to go to church, but I promise that when we get home, I'll make your favorite lunch."
Reagan sighed and continued to eat her breakfast. "Did you meet Mrs. Russell's boy?" Her mother asked her again as she grabbed the empty plate from in front of her daughter. Reagan shook her head and wiped her face. "You should meet him, Reagan. He seems very nice. You can meet him today, alright?"
Reagan rolled her eyes and ran to her room. She took off the clothes she was wearing to go outside and put on her church clothes. Reagan went out into the living room and waited for her mother to finish in the kitchen. Once she was finished, her mother grabbed both of their coats and led Reagan out to the car.
The ride to the church wasn't long, almost twenty minutes. Reagan hummed along to the music that played in the car. The church that they went to was small, it would only fit maybe fifty people. Reagan hopped out of the car and ran inside, hearing the faint chatter of her mother talking to her friends behind her.
Reagan stood at the door way, waiting for her mother. Claire was walking up with three people, two young kids around her age. Reagan knew the older woman, and the young girl, but the boy...well he was one she didn't know.
"Reagan, darlin', you know Mrs. Russell and Lenora, right?" Her mother questioned as she walked up. Reagan nodded as she waved to Mrs. Russell and the young girl. Mrs. Russell patted the boy on the shoulder and pushed him closer to the girl.
Reagan waved reluctantly to the boy and he waved back. "I'm Reagan." She told him after he waved back. "I'm Arvin." The boy mumbled.
Reagan glanced up at her mother who was laughing lightly and shaking her head. She led the two kids in and they all sat together.
They were best friends at first. They did everything together, but as the two got older, they drifted apart. Each year farther.
Now, at the age of seventeen, the two barely spoke to each other. Reagan didn't mind that, and neither did the boy. Her mother on the other hand...well, that's not the story we're here to tell.
