“Can you get my purse? It’s in that locker.” I pointed around him to where I’d stowed my stuff.
“Sure.” He walked across the room and retrieved my ancient knock-off Gucci. He handed it to me, and I fished out my phone.
“Are you calling someone to get you?” He settled in next to me. The couch sunk down from the extra weight.
“Yeah. My cousin.” I hit Rhett’s name on my contacts list.
“Casey?” Rhett answered after two rings. Five years older than me, Rhett and I didn’t hang out much, but he was being seriously awesome by letting me crash in the spare bedroom (read closet) in his apartment in the Village.
“Any chance you could walk down to Coffee Heaven?”
“Sure…but is there a particular reason why?” He sounded distracted, which probably meant he was buried in his research. A twinge of guilt went through me when I thought about bothering him, but asking Eric to walk me home was out of the question, and we were the only two closing.
“I kind of passed out and hit my head.”
“What?” Shuffling, followed by a door slamming, let me know he was on his way. I worked a few blocks from Rhett’s place, so I knew it wouldn’t be long. “Hold tight. I’ll be right there.”
“I could have walked you home.” Eric stood up, probably getting ready to unlock the front door for Rhett. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but he quickly shut it.
“Rhett doesn’t mind.”
Eric mumbled something incomprehensible before stomping off through the doorway. I didn’t really get him. He was a jerk to me most of the time, but then other times he got almost protective.
Eric returned minutes later with Rhett on his heels.
“You okay, Case?” Rhett kneeled down in front of me. As usual, his brown hair was all rumpled, and it looked like he hadn’t showered yet. It was ten o’clock at night.
“I think so.”
“What happened to her?” He looked at Eric, an unspoken accusation hanging in the air.
“I’m not positive. She went out to toss the trash and when I came out to look for her, she was on the ground.”
“Next time, throw out the trash yourself.” Rhett helped me up. “Casey won’t be coming in to work tomorrow.”
“Hey. I will so. I need the shift.” My savings were dwindling, and that didn’t bode well for going back to school the next semester.
Rhett shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
“I do. Eric, don’t find someone to cover me. I’ll be in.”
“See you tomorrow, Bates.” Eric blatantly ignored my cousin and called me by my last name. No matter how many times I reminded him that I preferred he use my first name, he disregarded the request.
“Night,” I called just before the door closed behind us, leaving us in the brisk night air.
“You’re a glutton for punishment, kid.”
“Who are you calling kid?” I linked my arm with Rhett’s as we walked past Washington Square Park. I was feeling better but was still light headed.
“You’re nineteen. You’re a kid.”
“I don’t feel like one.” Working full time and trying to support myself on only a step above minimum wage had been an eye opening experience, even with the ridiculously cheap rent I owed Rhett.
“Usually you don’t act like one. Rushing to get back to your crap job is acting like a kid.”
“It’s the only job I have, and I need it.” Beggars can’t be choosers in New York when it comes to making money with only a high school diploma and almost no previous work experience. Funny how working at a summer camp doesn’t do much for a resume.
“Or you could pick a less expensive school and not worry so much about financial aid.”
“Says the guy working on his PhD at NYU?”
“Hey, they pay me now.” He opened the exterior door to our building.
“They didn’t when you were an undergrad.”
He let go of me so he could unlock the inner door. You had to tug on the door at the same time you turned the key or it didn’t work. The super was supposed to fix the temperamental lock months before. “True, but my scholarship covered most of it.”
I stood just inside the entryway. “All right, can’t argue with that.”
“Can you make it?” He gestured to the stairs. We lived in a third floor walkup.
“Maybe.” I headed toward the stairs that currently looked like mountains. “It’s worth a try.”
Ten minutes later, I was propped up on the couch with a bottle of water. Rhett worried over me for another few minutes before I made him get back to work. I flipped through the channels, hoping for some random movie. There was absolutely nothing on, so I settled for the local news.
Another animal attack has been reported in Bryant Park. Authorities have not released the names of the victims, but once again citizens are urged to use caution when frequenting outdoor areas after dark.
I’d seen two other news reports just like it that week, although both reported attacks in different parts of the city. I thought of the wolf in the alley. It must have just been my overactive imagination messing with me. I needed sleep, and lots of it. I switched off the TV and closed my eyes. I didn’t even have the energy to move to my room.
Soar is available now!
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* D P G R O U P . O R G *
Table of Contents
Other Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
First a crescent chronicles novella Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Forever a crescent chronicles novella Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
The Royal Wedding
Excerpt: Soar the empire chronicles
First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles Book 4) Page 16
