King Hunt (Boys of Brisley 1)

Chapter Four:

Fuck All the Way Off

“I hate you!” a womanyelled in the room above me. When another voice screeched it right back at her and followed it up with a nasty slur, I wondered if I was about to witness a murder.

“I hate you both,” I muttered under my breath. I have got to get out of this hotel!

I was pretty sure there was no way I’d get one of the live-in positions I’d applied for thanks to not having any relevant certifications or experience in home health, so that meant it was time to get off my ass and find myself an apartment.

As always, I was overly picky with my search and limited myself to two favorites and one only-if-I-absolutely-have-to last resort. The rest were completely out of the question... for now. Desperation would kick in soon if none of my top picks panned out, I was sure of it.

My phone rang and interrupted my apartment hunt. Kylie’s name appeared in bold letters with a photo of her making a funny face, and I hastily silenced my Taylor Swift ringtone since I still wasn’t in a place to explain why I left. I wanted to at least have a place to live or a job first, just something to make it sound like I knew what I was doing and didn’t need to be rescued. But avoiding her this long was becoming a full-time job, and my many “I promise I’ll call you soon” texts didn’t seem to be cutting it.

I sent in the application a few moments later and gathered my things to go grab some lunch. I had been so focused on apartment hunting that I hadn’t eaten all morning, and I forgot about food all over again when a blocked number lit up my screen seconds after taking my first bite.

Whether it was a job or an apartment I applied for, it had to be something that would lead me toward a brighter future, so I swiped the little green arrow to the right and took a deep breath. “Hello, Zeppelin Bryce speaking.”

“Oh, is it? This is Kylie Shepherd calling, I was wondering if you were fucking axe murdered and rotting in a ditch somewhere while some creepy dude texted me from your phone.”

Shit!“Hey, Ky. Sorry things are a little crazy right now.” I blushed awkwardly even though she was miles away, then tried to deflect. “How are things over there?”

“Just peachy,” she said sarcastically. “The entire police department has been out looking for you. You can’t just leave like that without saying anything! I tried to show them the texts you sent but they thought you’d been kidnapped.”

“Are you serious? Son of a fuck, Kylie! Why the hell did you call the cops?” I yelled right in the middle of the sub shop, making multiple heads turn my way.

She scoffed. “It wasn’t me, but I appreciate the accusation. It was David; he showed up here looking for you and when I told him you never came home and that you wouldn’t talk to me, he freaked out and called Sergeant Briggs.”

I was speechless. Of all people, he was the last person I expected to give a flying fuck about where I went. Why? Why did he care all of a sudden? And how the hell would his wife feel if she knew?

A lot of emotions flooded my chest in that moment, but the strongest one was anger. “What gives him the right to freak out?”

“I don’t know, Zepp. But I didn’t want to tell you over text because I know how bad your anxiety gets. I was really hoping you’d just talk to me, but I guess you’ve been... busy. Whatever, I’ll tell Briggs I talked to you and put it to rest.”

Her icy, irritated tone made me realize what a shit friend I’d been as of late. “Ky, wait. I’m sorry, okay? I know I’ve been a bad friend, especially with how good you’ve been to me. You took me in when I was at my lowest. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. I should have answered. I know I can tell you anything, I trust you with everything. I just— for the first time I finally feel like I’m an adult. I left my parents’ house to live with a boyfriend, left his house to mooch off my best friend. I needed to finally do it on my own, even if I was going to fail. I just didn’t know how to explain that, and I guess I still don’t. What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry.”

She was silent for a long time, but her voice was softer when she finally spoke again. “I was worried about you. Will you at least tell me where you are? Are you coming back?”

I told her about Brisley and all its glory. I even told her about my weird bar experience, but then hesitated before saying the thing I’d been dreading to tell her. “I don’t know if I’m coming back. I’m apartment and job hunting, and I really like this town, believe it or not. I feel... different here. But... I do miss you.”

“I miss you too. And look, I get it if you need to go on some Eat, Pray, Love soul-searching thing. Just try to keep in touch, yeah? I’d like to come visit sometime. Maybe we could climb a mountain. Or get drunk on the ground and pretend we did.”

I laughed, feeling a million times better. I couldn’t believe I dodged her for so long; she always knew how to make me smile. “I like how both sound. You know how I am when given options.”

“It’s the bisexual in you,” she teased, then, “Zepp, hang on. Someone’s calling.”

The line went dead silent, leaving me to scarf down the rest of my sandwich and clean up afterward. She took so long to come back I thought maybe she forgot about me altogether, but just as I was about to hang up, I heard an irritated sigh. “Everything okay?” I asked. “I managed to eat, clean, and get back to my car in that time.”

“It was David. Again.”

I groaned. “Did you tell him to fuck all the way off?”

“Not exactly.” She paused. “I mean, I did tell him to fuck off, but he made me swear I’d ask you if it was okay to give him your number. I told him like six times that he had a better chance of going skinny dipping with the Queen of England, but he insisted.”

I was sure the face I made at that was unsavory. “Why the hell does he want my number? Know what you can tell him? Tell him I’d rather listen to second graders sing Hallelujah for seventeen straight hours than hear his voice again. I finally feel free of him and he wants to ruin that. Of course he does. Self-centered prick. What the hell did I see in that blue-eyed fuck anyway?”

“Probably his blue eyes and the way he fucked,” she countered. “Will do, though.”

“Thanks. Is he still on hold?”