Page 62 of Hunt

I still have no interest in letting the universe, or fate, tell me who I’m meant to be with, but I’ve embraced this strange bond all the same. BecauseIwanted to. I fell in love just like every other human who’s come before me: messily and not without mistakes.

Eventually, Aidan and I migrate to a corner booth and sit quietly with one another while we watch the rest of the people we love laugh and drink. I quietly take his hand, and he turns to face me. He brushes my hair behind my ear and my stomach flutters.

“Hey, you wanna hear something cute?” I ask.

His eyes brighten with intrigue. “Wouldn’t I have to see it to determine its cuteness?”

I drop my forehead on his shoulder and let out an exasperated sigh. “Godamnit, Aidan,” I mumble, then lift my head to look at him again. “Just listen.”

He laughs and gives me his full focus. “Go on, then.”

From the corner of my eye, I watch Simone and Casey smiling and laughing together as they take shots. “Do you remember when things were awkward with Simone?” I ask. “After I made a dick out of myself mentioning her relationship with Casey?”

Aidan nods. “I remember you being upset.” He then leans close and whispers softly against the skin of my cheek. “I remember I helped comfort you.” His hand slides up my thigh and squeezes.

I squirm. “Yes, yes. But I heard something exciting,” I say, a huge smile stretching across my face.”

“What’s that?”

“He asked her out!” I whisper-yell, just loud enough for Aidan to hear. “They went on a real date and everything!”

The skin around his slate gray eyes crinkles. “That’s great. I’m happy for them.”

“From what I hear, they’re going to a movie tomorrow. Wanna spy on them?”

He shakes his head and scoffs. “Not a chance. Give them their space. You’d appreciate the same.”

I know he’s right, but it feels good to share something like this with him. Over the past seven months, he’s become my person—the one I want to tell first when I have good news, and the one I come to for everything else.

He squeezes my thigh again. “Thank you.”

I look up to meet his gaze. “What for?”

“For trusting me. And for letting me share all of this with you,” he says, a smile tugging on his lips as he nods, gesturing to the room around us—the business he revived. “For everything.”

I lean in and kiss his soft lips tenderly. I love this town and I love my friends, but I love these moments more. The ones where it’s just the two of us, in a little bubble we’ve created all our own.

Only, I realize we’re not alone.

I pull back as Aidan stiffens, and we both register something else has slid into the booth beside us.

A young woman with high cheekbones, a heart-shaped face, and brilliant red hair is now sitting just inches from me, her hands crossed in her lap. Her bright blue eyes, wide with fear, stare straight into my soul.

“Can we help you?” Aidan asks wearily.

But I recognize this woman with a visceral sense of deja vu.

Her hands resemble a mirage as they move to rest on the table. With a ghostly voice, she says four words that chill me to the very bone. “You can see me?”

Aidan places a protective hand across my stomach, and he moves to shift in front of me. “Yes. We both see you.”

The details of her face fade in and out of focus as her brows rise on her forehead. “Oh thank god!” she cries. She covers her eyes with her hands and her shoulders shake. “I thought it would never stop.”

“Thoughtwhatwould never stop?” I ask.

The girl drops her hands and stares openly at me. “Are you a witch?”

I shake my head. “What? No. Why would you say that?”

“I need a witch, or else I’ll never figure out how to stay here.”

Aidan and I exchange a look, both of us trying to silently figure out what’s going on. “What’s your name?” Aidan finally asks.

She doesn’t make eye contact as she lowers her chin and says, “My name is Kennedy Chesterfield, and I think I’m dead.”