Alive at Sunset (Rituals of the Night Series Book 2) by Kayla Krantz Page B

and collapse. All she wanted to do was yowl in frustration. It was a childish reaction she knew, but it was what she desired to do. It would make her feel better if she could let everyone know how irritated she was.
    In front of her, a mourning dove flitted to the ground slowly. It sat for a moment staring at her as if it was mocking her. She watched it carefully until finally it decided it had had enough of an audience.
    Mourning indeed, Luna thought sadly as she watched the small, brown dove fly away again.
    When Luna finally got to the deepest part of town, she found the city noises weren’t enough to break her from her melancholy thoughts. All she could think of was when she had been there with Lucky yesterday.
    She’d have to go out alone.
    Luna kept walking. Cars honked, people chattered as they walked past her up and down the sidewalks, and yet her mind remained fixed on the absence of her dog. The absence of Lucky from her side throbbed and radiated in her mind. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, something was missing. She would never be able to fix that feeling. She let out a guttural yowl full of frustration and ran the last few blocks to The Burger Shack , trying to tire herself out so that she wouldn’t have as much energy to spend on her aggravation.
    She stopped outside the restaurant to catch her breath and compose herself. She pushed her way inside and was surprised to find that in in the restaurant her thoughts were drowned out by the chaos. Smells berated her, sounds engulfed her, and her eyes darted around the different colors from the uniforms to the posters on the walls. From several places she could hear the excited chatter of toddlers as they wandered around the building. The place was perfectly distracting. Luna smiled in relief and took in a breath as she got in line.
    Luna could easily work there; she would even enjoy it. Even though she had talked down minimum wage jobs when she had been in high school, she knew that that place would be perfect for her. The noises would keep her from thinking too much, like she wanted.
    After the four people in line ahead of her were waited on, Luna finally reached the counter. She glanced absently at the menu though none of the food looked good. She returned her gaze to the cash register to ask for an application. A blonde girl with a long ponytail through the back of her black hat stood there snapping on her gum as she watched Luna expectantly.
    “Can I take your order?” she asked.
    Luna was about to ask for an application when she stopped herself. The more she looked at the girl, the more familiar she looked. She narrowed her eyes as she suddenly remembered who she was.
    “Sarah?” she asked.
    The girl’s face looked unsure. For a minute, Luna wondered if she made a mistake.
    “I’m sorry, do I know you?” the girl that looked like Sarah asked, tilting her head slightly.
    “It’s Luna, from Shawnee High School?” she ventured. “You and your sister gave me a makeover for the school dance in senior year?”
    Sarah’s face flooded with recognition, and Luna felt relieved. “Oh, my God, Luna! I remember you! Wow! It’s been years. How have you been since graduation?”
    Luna looked at her for a minute, relieved that the moment wasn’t as awkward as it could’ve been. Sarah hadn’t technically been Luna’s friend. Her sister hadn’t been either. They had been roped into giving Luna a makeover and after that they had formed a slight bond. Even though they hadn’t been close in high school, they had a huge commonality…Chance. Sarah was Sarah Cross…sister to Susan Cross who had been murdered in cold blood by her arch rival.
    “I’ve been alright. What about you?” Luna replied. She avoided having emotion in her voice. Luna knew that she could avoid having what happened with Amy happen again with Sarah if she was careful.
    “I’ve been so-so,” she replied half-heartedly.
    “Is something wrong?” Luna asked