The Cost of Living by Emilie Lucadamo

Author:Emilie Lucadamo [Lucadamo, Emilie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBT, paranormal, college, demons, magic, fantasy, ghosts, horror
Publisher: NineStar Press
Published: 2019-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

HIS SECOND CHANCE shows up on his doorstep on a sunny Sunday morning, less than a week after Beck came back to life.

The last thing he’s expecting at nine o’clock is for the chime of a doorbell to ring throughout the house. If he’s being honest, he’s a little annoyed. Most of their friends know that showing up at their house at any time before noon, for any reason, won’t go over well. They’re busy college students. Dragging them out of bed before they must be awake by necessity is as easy as moving mountains. Anyone who dares disturb them runs the risk of facing fire and brimstone for it. (Beck has witnessed Dana’s “running-on-nothing-but-three-hours-of- sleep-and-spite” wrath firsthand. The memory still makes him shudder.)

Beck has no clue why their visitor is apparently ignorant of this fact, but he sure doesn’t enjoy dragging his sorry ass out of bed this early in the morning. His hair is a tangled ginger bird’s nest, his eyes are still crusty with sleep, he’s in his boxers, and he’s got morning breath strong enough to kill a cow. When he opens the door, he squints against the bright light.

The last person he expects to find standing on their doorstep is a petite brunette with a wide smile and a canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

“Good morning, Beck!” Sophie chirps. Her smile widens when she sees the realization dawn on Beck’s face. “Sorry for just dropping by, but I’ve got a few things I thought you might like. You haven’t had breakfast, yet? I would have dropped by earlier, but I figured that was too early. Mind if I come in?”

The onslaught of words is too much for Beck to deal with when he’s barely awake to begin with. He can’t think of anything else to do, so he just opens the door wider, allowing Sophie clear entry into the house. “Yeah,” he mutters. “Sure.”

“Wonderful!” Sophie’s grin is brighter than the early morning sun. She brushes past Beck into the house, leaving the scent of cherries behind her. “Oh, I love your house! Who decorated? It’s beautiful!”

“I… I have no clue.” Beck shuts the door. The force causes him to tilt sideways, and he winds up slumped against the wall. Sophie glides down the hallway into the kitchen, wide eyes taking in her surroundings. All Beck can think is that he seriously needs to put pants on.

“I’m gonna,” he says. “Um. You know.”

Sophie’s settled herself at the kitchen table and is already unloading things from her bag—flour and butter, it looks like. She waves him off, still smiling, like nothing about this is weird at all. Dazed, Beck leaves her to it and stumbles back up the stairs.

He brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and gets dressed in record time; he even adds a tiny spritz of cologne for good measure. (Sophie is Adam’s friend; he can’t have her thinking they all live here like cavemen.) By the time he gets back downstairs, Sophie has James’s nonna’s mixing bowls spread across the table and is peering over them like a scientist.

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