Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Luke’s hand shot out and shoved her hand back toward her. “Don’t you dare give them that crap! Greasy fried human food is horrible for them. They probably have high cholesterol from all the garbage other humans have given them. I’ve got trail mix in my bag. They love peanuts.”
Only when Harper popped the fry into her mouth did Luke return to his digging. He located the half-empty bag of trail mix he’d been nursing between classes. He plucked out some nuts and raisins and tossed them to the ground near the other bench.
The crows didn’t hesitate to jump down and snatch up the new bounty. As soon as it was all gone, the largest of the crows poked at the others, cawing as if he were bossing the other two around.
“Hey! Hey! It’s okay. I’ve got some more.” He grabbed another handful and spread it on the ground, but the largest crow still bullied the others until one flew off, leaving them to eat the seeds and nuts on the ground.
“Guess it’s clear who’s the boss in that clan.” Harper chuckled.
“Murder,” he corrected. He smirked and pointed at the remaining two. “Actually, now it’s an attempted murder. It takes at least three to form a murder.”
Harper groaned. “You’re such a dork.”
“And you wonder why I haven’t tried to talk to Matteo yet.” He grunted and grasped another handful of nuts for the two crows. “No home, two jobs and still broke, and most people on campus have begun calling me the bird weirdo. None of that is a selling point for someone as hot or amazing as Matteo.”
“You’re not a weirdo, and I’ll punch anyone who calls you that. You’re a dork, but you’re a cute, sweet dork. Totally adorkable. Matteo would be lucky to have someone as nice as you to date.”
Nice. Wasn’t that a horrible word? Like he had a nice personality?
Luke was still stewing over how that nasty word likely spelled the end of all his dating hopes when the third crow returned with a piece of paper in its beak. It landed on the armrest closest to him, causing Harper to squeak and slide even farther away from him. The crows on the sidewalk excitedly hopped and cawed at him as if they were urging him to take it. Was this a ‘thank you’ gift for the nuts he’d given them?
Slowly, he reached out and plucked the paper from the crow’s beak. The bird hopped down to the sidewalk and ate up the last of the nuts the others had left him.
“What is it? Oh man, is there any chance these crows know how to get test answer keys? That would be so freaking awesome!” Harper bounced close, appearing to forget about her fear of the crows.
Luke turned it over to find that it was a room rental listing.
Room For Rent!
Just six blocks from Ravenwood University.
Private room for rent with access to kitchen, laundry room, and private bathroom.
All utilities included.
We even have the high-speed Internet!
Only $150 per month
That was insanely cheap and perfectly timed. Maybe a little too perfectly timed. He glanced over the edge of the paper at the crows, who were watching him very closely. So maybe Harper was right that these crows seemed odd.
“Wow! That’s perfect! And so cheap!” Harper cried.
“Yeah, perfect.” Luke tore his gaze from the crows to stare at the listing. “So cheap that I’m sure someone has already rented the room.”
“Maybe, but you’ve got to at least check. With rent this cheap, you might be able to quit one of your jobs.”
“Or get murdered in my sleep by one of my new roommates,” Luke muttered under his breath.
“Are you going to call?”
Luke sighed. The problem was that he was desperate. So desperate that he was willing to risk some crazy roommates yet again. “Yeah, I’ll call.” He forced a smile when he looked at Harper. “Maybe this is a sign that my luck is finally turning around.”
Chapter 2
The Tour
LUKE
Luke stood outside the enormous pea-soup green house with the dark-brown shutters and swallowed hard. He checked the scrap of paper where he’d written the address for the place with the room for rent: 666 Sleepy Hollow Road.
That felt like an omen all on its own.
Still, he glanced at the number on the mailbox, and it matched. This was the right house, but something felt so very wrong. He couldn’t figure out if the vibe was Addams Family or Amityville Horror. He was hoping for the former. The Addams Family might have been a little kooky, but they meant well.
Amityville, not so much.
Not that he had much choice if this building turned out to be haunted by an entire gaggle of poltergeists. Gaggle? Fleet? Flock? What was the collective noun for poltergeists?
Never mind. He was fucking stalling.
He’d talked to someone named Az Jones on the phone yesterday, who’d confirmed that the room was still for rent and that the monthly rent was, in fact, only 150 dollars. They’d set up a time for him to meet with the owner and to see the room. As long as the room sheltered him from the elements and had heat for the coming winter months, he couldn’t pass on this opportunity.