Page 18 of Boys Who Hunt
Maybe I was only dreaming.
Maybe the gust of wind pushed the window open.
Or maybe … just maybe … someone was inside my house.
CHAPTER 5
Ivy
A few dayslater
“Table six,”the bartender says, scooting the tray with drinks toward me.
“Got it.” I make my way through the crowd of people dancing to a table on the left of the club where I recognize a girl from university—Sunny Reed, Silas’s cousin, is laughing with her friends, all wearing extravagant, over-the-top outfits covered in glitter. Her long, black-and-green hair falls beautifully over her tattooed skin, and she looks like she sparkles in the club lights.
I place the order in front of the group, and they cheer in unison, grabbing their drinks.
“Happy birthday, Sunny!”
“Can I please take these off?” she grumbles, picking at the hat on her head that’s covered in bright lights.
“Nope!” another girl says, and she takes a picture. “It’s just for your birthday, promise.”
“The last one, yeah,” she adds. “Because I’ll definitely throw myself off the bridge after tonight.”
The rest of the girls holler at her, and she grabs her drink and chugs it down in one go, then hands it back to me. “Another one.”
“Sure,” I say, smiling awkwardly, but the stone-cold look on the face of the girl just won’t budge.
I’ve never seen anyone this pissed off to be a birthday girl.
I shrug and turn around but feel woozy all of a sudden, and I catch myself on one of the booths. My legs have started quaking from the lack of energy, but I have to keep going. No time to slack off. I’ll catch up on sleep during some off hours at the university. I need this goddamn money more.
I pick up the next order at the bar. “Table twenty. In the back.”
“Got it,” I say, swiftly placing everything on a tray before I whisk it away.
Even if the work is tedious, I’m grateful to be able to do this on the side with my studies. It provides just enough money for me to ensure Cora has a warm home and a full belly. Everything else is gravy on top.
And even though this is a RIVERA club, I feel relatively safe here because there’s no way Silas knows any of the people who work here at his mom and dad’s establishments. There’s no way those fuckers would come looking for me here. They’re too busy playing the rich and popular guys to even notice a girl like me.
Besides, what I took from them was peanuts of the wealth they have. I’m sure they’ll have forgotten about that tiny amount of money I stole before the week is over.
Heath
From the boothin the back of the RIVERA club downtown in Crescent Vale City, I watch the server with the flowy dark-brown hair and the downturned smile bring the drinks and food to customers while weaving her way through the crowd. She’s expertly dodging people like she’s done this a million times before, but after every delivery, she takes a moment to catch her breath against some piece of furniture while her knees wobble.
It’s almost like she’s overexerting herself, pushing herself to the limit until she can no longer function. And for what? A few measly dollars?
I wish I understood.
How does a girl who works here have the money to go to such a prestigious university, let alone the time? If she’s studying during the day and working at night, when does she sleep?
I’m intrigued.
Too much to let Max have all the fun.
She moves effortlessly between the people dancing on the floor as she serves the customers like her life quite literally depends on it, wearing a fake red-tinged smile and sweet eyes like she’s skilled at faking it.