Page 2 of Hutch (Minnesota Raptors #2)

Daisy

There are at least six cars parked along the street in front of the three story home with bright green shutters and a deep forest green door.

If it weren’t for the cars and the fact that it’s at the end of the col-du-sac where there are two fraternity houses, I’d say it looks promising.

As it is, I have a sinking feeling in my stomach.

But I need a place to stay. And this house is only five minutes from campus. I can walk to class if I have to. Given my finances, that’s a distinct possibility.

This is one of the few homes that actually has a fenced in yard with a pool in the back.

Finally finding a place to park, I get out of my old Honda and walk up to the front porch. The flowerbeds lining the paved stone walkway is a nice touch. They appear well tended to so maybe the people who live here aren’t airheads or party till you die people.

The girl who answers the door looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. Her expression is what my nana would call a sour puss. She’s pretty though. Long golden blonde hair and crystal clear blue eyes. Great figure and enough cleavage to make any guy come to heel.

“Hi. I called and talked to Jenny about the room that’s for rent.”

The girl stands back and waves me in. “I’m Hailey. Go sit in there and I’ll find her.”

Okay, so that’s not the welcome I was hoping for.

She’s obviously one of those girls who doesn’t associate with anyone not up to her standards.

She eyed my faded jeans and unicorns fart rainbows t-shirt like they were committing a crime.

Too bad for her I love my crazy weird t-shirts.

I have two whole suitcases full of them.

The living room has a huge sectional that takes up most of the space.

A massive TV that has to be bigger than any I’ve ever seen is directly across from it.

Light gray curtains adorn the windows and a carpet of the same color looks clean.

That’s a plus. Dirty carpets are a no go for me.

Been there, seen that enough to never want to again.

“Hey!”

I look over when I hear the greeting. Hailey seems to be nowhere in sight. This girl looks friendly enough. Her dark brown hair is done in pigtail braids and brown eyes made for laughing are the welcome I was hoping to get. She seems super bubbly, but I won’t hold that against her.

“Hi, I’m Daisy. You’re Jenny?”

“I am. Come on over and sit down. I was about to give up hope on finding someone to take the room.”

“Why, if you don’t mind my asking? This seems like a great location.”

“Oh, it is. When it’s warm, most of us walk to class, but I’m picky about who I let stay here.

There are six of us now and our boyfriends are all athletes.

We have to be a little cautious about our roommates.

Stalkers, psychos, and all around wannabe baby mama’s are always after an athlete.

Not all of them care if they’re currently taken either. ”

“What makes you think I’m not a wannabe baby mama?”

She grins. “Hutch recommended you.”

“So?”

“He’s never once called up and looked for a place for any girl. That says a lot.”

“He was a nice guy and I appreciated him trying to help me find a place to stay. I’m currently living out of a hotel room.”

She grimaces. “I did that when I first moved here. It wasn’t fun. My dad bought this house when I complained about finding nothing to rent within a budget. All of us here split the utilities and the mortgage payment, which includes internet.”

“Is that rolled into one payment or multiple?”

“One payment. Rent, including utilities, is four hundred a month. First and last month due up front. When you move out, you get the deposit back minus any damages.”

I keep the wince off my face, but it’s still cheaper than anything else I’ve found, especially since it includes utilities. I have enough savings to hack it for a few months if I can’t find a job right away.

“So, what do you want to know about me other than I’m not a wannabe baby mama?”

She grins. “I knew you weren’t. Where are you from? Your accent isn’t one I’ve heard.”

“West Virginia and we’re good as long as no one tries any Deliverance jokes on me.”

“No idea what Deliverance is, but I love the accent.”

“If you don’t know, then I’m not telling you and thanks.”

“What’s your major?”

“Psychology. My mom had some mental health issues so I want to try to major in something where I can help people who struggle.”

“Girl, same. My dad is bipolar and it made me want to know more so I could help him, so we’re in the same major.”

“Cool. Well, I’m not after an athlete for a boyfriend. I have no baby mama designs. All I want to do is finish my last two years. Maybe grad school or medical school after that. Not sure yet.”

“I don’t want to be able to write prescriptions.” Jenny shudders. “I don’t want to deal with the people who don’t want help, only the high they can get.”

“Well, they all want help even if they don’t know it.”

“True, but I’ve seen my dad’s therapist attacked by people who only wanted drugs. It scares me a little.”

Yeah, that would suck to be in that situation, but I’m not going to turn someone away who might truly need help. I don’t plan on writing any kind of pain med, only meds dealing with mental health.

“So, you’re a transfer student and not a freshman?”

I nod. “I did online classes while I worked and took care of my nana until she passed right after Halloween.”

“So why all the way out here instead of somewhere closer to home?”

“It’s not home without her or my brother who’s stationed half a world away in the Navy.

I wanted a fresh start somewhere as far away as I could get and they offered me a full academic scholarship here.

It’s my own fault I didn’t get a dorm since I made my mind up last minute and all the rooms were gone. ”

She makes a face. “They should hold onto a couple of rooms for last minute decisions.”

“They should, but that’s life.”

“So we actually have two rooms left, but neither are great. Sorry.”

“No worries. All I need is a place to store my books and sleep.”

“The rooms each have a queen sized bed, dresser, and desk. They both have their own bathroom so you won’t have to share with the rest of us or fight for counter space. Six girls in one house has a lot of product.”

God’s truth. “I don’t need that much space, honestly.”

“Well, we have the basement room. It has its own entrance, but there are no windows down there at all. The pool table and a couple other games are down there as well. The guys tend to use it a lot and they can get loud. Then there’s the attic.

The room runs the length of the house, but we use it for storage too, so you’d have to fight your way through boxes or find a way to organize the mess.

All the holiday decorations and stuff goes up there. ”

“Attic,” I say without hesitation. “I need to concentrate on my classes and lots of noise isn’t going to help. I’m quiet, so you won’t have to worry about noise from above.”

“You sure? I mean, it’s going to take a lot of work to turn that place into something livable.

Me and Cara had planned on cleaning it out this weekend so we could rent it.

The girl we kicked out after last semester did a lot of damage to her room, more than we could pay for out of her deposit and Dad said it was up to us to pay for the damages.

He fixed everything, but we have to pay him back.

That’s the only reason the attic and basement are available.

We’d never planned to create rooms in either space until Stacey wrecked her room. ”

TMI, but whatever. “I’m sure. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it organized. I just need a quiet place to think and sleep.”

“Cool, it’s yours then. I just need your check for first and last month’s rent.”

After I write it out, she gives me a key and a tour of the house. I can actually park in the back and go through the kitchen door instead of the front. There’s a door in the kitchen that leads down to the basement and up to the attic, so score there.

There are no words to describe the look of “I’m sorry to have to show you this” on her face when she takes me upstairs.

The first thing we come to is a wall of boxes.

Jenny shoves a few of them aside and leads me deeper into the space.

There’s a bed, desk, and dresser shoved against the very back wall. Dust coats the surface of everything.

I can work with this.

All it needs is a good dose of TLC.

And lots and lots of cleaning supplies.

Maybe even a bug bomb or two. Or ten.

“This works. I’ll go check out of the hotel, grab some stuff at the store, and be back.”

“Whatever you put in the fridge make sure to label it or the guys will eat it. I’m not even joking. My boyfriend can clean the fridge out by himself. Put him together with the others and nothing is safe unless it’s clearly marked.”

“Touch this and you’ll lose your left nut kind of message?”

Jenny laughs. “Exactly that. You’re going to fit right in, Daisy. Glad to have you here.”

Now time to get my stuff and try to at least clean out a small corner to sleep in tonight.