Page 1 of His to Hunt

CHAPTER 1

Taryn

I’m annoyed.

Not mildly annoyed. Not the kind of annoyed that a salted caramel coffee can fix or a hot shower can rinse away. I’m frustrated, restless, and irritated by absolutely nothing and everything at the same time.

I can’t point to any one thing that has put me in this mood. That might be the worst part. I’m just irritated by life in general. My life, mostly.

And today is supposed to be a good day. It’s my birthday. I’m waiting on my best friends to arrive. Madison and Shana. We’ve been best friends since Madison and I saved Shana from a bully on the playground in elementary school. Who knew that punching Cassandra Clark in the nose would create a ripple effect that made us friends for life? I wonder what would have happened if I’d punched her a few more times for good measure.

Then again, I don’t believe in stuff like that. Butterfly effects. Ripples. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction across the universe itself. Fate. Destiny. Karma. My grandmother was the one who believed in that kind of nonsense. If any of that is real, then I must have really pissed off the universe.

“Taryn!” a voice calls out from the top of the stairs. “Madison’s here!”

“Thanks, Melinda! You can send her down!” I yell back.

I live in Shana’s basement like I’m some sort of forgotten gremlin. Shana suggested I take her room after she left for college, but I didn’t get a good vibe about it when she mentioned it in front of her parents. I think they were hoping I’d move out after Shana left, not make myself a more permanent resident. But it’s been almost four years, and I’m still here.

I can hear Madison catching up with Shana’s parents before she comes down to the basement. We hug and say all the things people say when they haven’t seen each other in too long.

I tell her how much I’ve missed her. She claims to have missed me even more. Then she tells me how much I’d love Amherst University, especially all the hot guys. It just makes me feel slightly more depressed about how close to rock bottom my life is.

“Let’s have a drink,” I say, filling two shot glasses with cranberry vodka.

“You don’t want to wait on Shana?” Madison asks hesitantly.

“She can catch up when she gets here,” I say, holding up my glass. “It’s my birthday party. If I want to start early, I can.”

“True,” Madison says, raising her glass. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks.” I nod and down my shot, wincing a little when I feel the burn, but the cranberry makes it a little smoother.

Madison downs her shot and smiles, then looks around. “You’ve really fixed this place up since the last time I was here.”

“Not much,” I mutter. “I just covered the water stains with posters and… oh, Frank got me a couch from Goodwill.”

“Better than sitting on the floor,” Madison says, plopping down on the couch. “I see Frank has also moved most of the junk out of here.”

“Yeah, last summer,” I say, glancing at the empty space that used to be filled with furniture, tools, and Shana’s childhood toys. “The basement flooded after Hurricane Lucy. Thankfully, none of my stuff got ruined. Guess it helps that I don’t have much.”

That’s an understatement. I’ve got a bed, some clothes, a few mementos, and a box of stuff I kept when my grandmother died. Oh, and a couch, but I’m not sure if I own that or if he just put it down here for me to use.

“Are you still working at Frank’s diner?” Madison asks.

“I am,” I sigh. “I think that’s why they haven’t asked me to leave yet. He knows he doesn’t pay me enough to afford my own place. Not that he can. The diner barely turns a profit.”

“Good thing Melinda is a lawyer,” Madison laughs. “He can fuck around in the kitchen all day while she brings in the big bucks.”

“And I bring in the scraps,” I mutter under my breath.

“What did you say?” she asks, glancing over at me.

“Another shot?” I smile and reach for the bottle.

“It’s your birthday party.” She shrugs and slides her glass closer.

I’m turning twenty-two today. Birthdays are supposed to be exciting, but I haven’t been excited about one in years. Nothing exciting is happening tonight. I’m just drinking cheap vodka in someone else’s basement.