Page 43 of Haunted Prey

“It’s hard to say, but you’ll probably hear the birds chirping before you hear us coming through the door.”

Great. “But you have classes in the morning,” I countered.

“No, I don’t.” She laughed when I gave her a confused look. “It’s Friday, babe. You know, the start of the weekend? Like hell I’d take a class on a Saturday.”

“Ah. What about tomorrow?”

She took my hand. “I got an appointment with my physical therapist and have to run some errands for my sister, but we could do lunch or something. How about that?”

“And Saturday night?” Shit, I hope I wasn’t sounding as desperate as I thought I did.

She chewed her lip. “I got that other party, remember?”

I frowned. “No?”

“You know.” Her eyes shifted over to Marcus’s room. “The goth party.”

“I thought you didn’t have anyone to take you,” I argued.

She clicked her tongue as she dropped my hand. “Come on, Eve, did you really think I wouldn’t find someone else to go with me? Do you even know who I am?”

Of course I knew.

“Jamie probably could stop by, you should talk to him,” she said.

I couldn’t expect her to stop her life just because I was having problems with mine. Still, a part of me wished she’d chill for once and stay with me.

I texted Jamie, figuring he’d be working tonight. When Lena and Marcus left for the evening, there was only me and one of Marcus’s roommates, Alex, from Japan. He barely said a hello before going up to their room and shutting the door.

I expected I’d be doing the same, taking the alfredo Lena bought me and settling in. Maybe I would get my thesis done tonight, after all.

I hung around downstairs, surfing online while taking bites of my food, stalling having to make the decision to go upstairs, when the door opened. Jamie entered with a bag over one shoulder and a carrier in the other hand. Soft little mews sounded from it.

My throat tightened as I stood to meet him. “Is that…”

He grinned. “I thought she’d cheer you up.”

I nearly burst into tears as he set the carrier down on the table and I saw my kitty staring back at me. Sammy meowed again and I reached to unlock the latch.

“Hold on,” Jamie said. He put down the bag and took out some of Sammy’s toys. We closed the first-level doors and made sure it was kitty-proof to the best of our ability before I finally opened the door and let her out.

She meowed at me and I couldn’t help but pull her into me and snuggle her. She purred against my chest as I buried my face in her fur. I held her while Jamie made us tea.

When Sammy eventually wiggled out of my hold and jumped off my lap to explore, we sat in the living area, drinking tea and playing with her, watching her chase a feather on a string. This was perfect.

“She’s taken a liking to one of our lounge chairs back home that sits right by the window. She mostly just sleeps there unless she hears a can being opened,” Jamie shared, caressing her tail.

I scratched behind Sammy’s ear as she came up beside me. “I can’t thank you enough for housing her. Maybe some time I can go back to my apartment and…” It was hard to finish the sentence, hard to think of going back to normal even now.

“We’ll get there when we get there,” Jamie said. “She’s more than welcome where she’s at.”

“I hadn’t considered going back there. To my apartment, I mean. I know I need to get it all figured out.”

“It’s still there when you’re ready.” I felt his eyes on me and met his gaze. “I still think you might want to talk to your uncle. I’m guessing he still doesn’t know where you are.”

I shook my head. I’d gotten one call—just one—from Aunt May after my escape, but I hadn’t called her back. And she hadn’t tried again. I suspected their lawyer had advised them not to contact me, to wait until I was either found or reached out to them so they could record every word we said.

I wasn’t in the mood for that kind of bullshit, so I decided to forget it. I didn’t expect their help unless it meant throwing me back into Severfalls.

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