Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Sought Out
Ripley's POV
Early morning sunlight streamed through the blinds. Ripley stirred in the sheets.
The cheap motels she was accustomed to staying in usually had blackout curtains. She was mostly a nocturnal creature now, and the daylight was blinding.
She swiped a hand over her eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. If she was going to make any of the repairs that needed to be done to the house, she would have to maintain some daylight hours.
Stumbling to the bathroom, Ripley started the shower and stripped out of her clothes from the night before.
Ripley checked her phone. A familiar name was on the screen. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
'word on the street is ur in town'
Ripley unlocked the phone and tapped out a response. She always teased Cory about his silly text-speak. Like not typing out the Y and the O in 'your' really saved him that much time.
'and here i thought i was quiet about it'
Send.
She stepped in the shower.
Cory had been her best friend since she was a child. She couldn't really remember a time when he hadn't been a part of her life. They had been neighbors. She would have been lying to herself if she tried to claim she hadn't been thinking about seeing him while she was home.
Somewhere around ninth or tenth grade, Cory had turned from the kid next door to a stunningly handsome man.
As they got older, he had only gotten to be more attractive. He kept his beard trimmed precisely, his hair always styled and in place. He had a far better sense of style than she ever would, always immaculately dressed. Cory had once come to visit her when she was on a hunt in the Pacific Northwest somewhere. Of course, he hadn't known what she was doing there, but she had been thrilled to see him. He had offered to accompany her during her workout, and Ripley was yet to forget the rippling muscles of his shoulders and back, that six pack of abs.
The water steamed up the mirrors as it worked its heat deep into her muscles. She was aching and exhausted from the drive. A hot shower almost always did the trick.
It had been lonely this past year and a half that she had decided to hunt on her own. Hunters were a solitary group; they were a pain to try and partner up with. She liked the solitude, the ability to dictate where and when she went anywhere, and what leads to follow.
Usually.
But she was tired and bruised, and ready for a familiar face.
Ripley checked her phone as she dried off from her shower.
'i wanna see u'
She smiled at Cory's text.
'name the place and time and im there'
She sent the response and studied her reflection in the mirror. Golden brown eyes studied her back, her own reflection taunting her. She'd learned makeup was too much of a luxury to bother with; it was expensive and time consuming.
She missed it sometimes, the moments to herself when she would line her eyes and her lips. Smudging away any imperfections with concealer and foundation.
Ripley ran a brush through her hair and pulled on an old pair of jeans. She searched her closet for a shirt to wear, something reasonable. An old t-shirt with the name of the high school she had attended printed across the front seemed like an okay choice.
'Starbucks in an hour?' Cory had texted her back.
'i'll be there'
Ripley took inventory of her stashes within the house. Holy water, more wolf's bane, belladonna, nightshade, sacks of salt from the Dead Sea, she seemed to be fairly well stocked still. She went out to the truck to check the tackle box she carried with her. Eyeing the dwindling stock, she carried it inside to be replenished.
It only took a few moments. As she worked, she took note of what repairs she would need to do to the house. She made a list to take to the hardware store of the things she would need.
Then, Ripley was in her truck and making her way to Starbucks.
The place was busy, but not packed. It was mid day on a Saturday, so there were a lot of teenage girls bustling in and out.
Cory sat in a chair pushed into a corner, eyes on a newspaper. He was old fashioned like that.
"Hey stranger," Ripley said.
"Took you long enough. I thought you'd been murdered," he chuckled.
Ripley laughed. "They ain't got me yet."
Cory set the paper aside and leaned forward in his seat. "How are things? What's life like these days?"
Ripley leaned forward and started filling him in. Well, filling him in as best she could without all the details about monsters and such.
His blue eyes studied her face, drinking in every word. He was so attentive. He smiled when she made a joke and frowned when she told him of anything unpleasant. That's what she loved about him. That's what she had loved for so long.
Then, it was Cory's turn. He told her about his job doing some accounting for a health insurance company. Cory showed her pictures of the house he had bought for himself, talked about his father's retirement party, filled her in on all the gossip about their former classmates.
They talked almost constantly while Ripley was on the road, but it was different to be back in person again.
As he chattered away, Cory placed a hand absentmindedly on Ripley's arm. His touch was electric, she almost couldn't hear what he was saying over the thrumming in her veins.
Wouldn't it be nice to have this?
Yeah, someday the credit card fraud would catch up to her. Hunters lived fast and died young. In the brief amount of time she had been doing this, she had already run out of fingers and toes to count the names of the dead on. She was living a life best kept in the shadows. She shouldn't drag Cory into this. But she couldn't stop herself from imagining a life where she got out of hunting and lived happily ever after.
Cory moved his hand from Ripley's forearm.
"Listen," he started. "I don't want this to be weird, so if you're not into it, we can just forget this ever happened and move on, but lately I've been thinking a lot about you. I know you're busy all the time, you're always gone, so I can't let this opportunity slip away."
Ripley furrowed her brow, watching him intently.
Cory rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.
It was endearing to see his usual composure evaporate.
Even so, Ripley's heart was pounding. She felt fairly certain she knew where this conversation was going.
"I just have to ask. Would you like to go on a date tomorrow night? Like a date, date?" he asked.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone