When the Dead Have It Easy

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Ally.” Asher got my attention. “I explained to them about you not being able to choose one of us.”

  “You did?” I couldn’t tell if I was irritated or relieved. I decided to go with relieved.

  Asher nodded.

  “He made it clear that you really couldn’t choose.” Isaac handed me a chocolate bar for my s’more pile. I leaned my stick against the fire ring.

  “Okay.” My stomach knotted as I looked at each of them. “And what was everyone’s reaction?”

  “After talking about it, everyone understands why you can’t choose.” Miles took a deep breath. “And we started discussing the options.”

  “All of us dating, or no one.” I nodded, oddly calm about it. The tension around the fire grew.

  “We need to know if we should start considering if we could handle all of us having a relationship with you.” Miles met my eyes. “To do that, we need to know if you are even willing to try that path.”

  “I actually thought about that a lot today while you guys were gone. Even talked to Louis about it. And I realized something that I hadn’t before.” I swallowed hard. “I wasn’t trusting you guys. Not when it came to your relationships with each other. I was terrified of ruining them.”

  “What do you mean you weren’t trusting us?” Ethan asked.

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “I mean… You guys have been friends since you were, like, four. I wasn’t trusting that to hold up because of me. I kind of realized how stupid that was.”

  “It’s not stupid, Red.” Isaac met my gaze.

  “It’s a legitimate concern.” Miles started tapping his thigh. “So, what are you saying?”

  I took a deep breath and was honest. “I’d love for us to try. I know I got us into this mess, and it’s a lot to ask. But I can’t imagine not trying just because it’s different.”

  “Are you’re saying yes?” Miles needed me to clarify.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Then all of us need to really put thought into if we can work on our issues and decide if we can try this type of relationship.” Miles looked at each of the guys. “As you guys know, Louis is here. He’s told me that he’s willing to answer any questions that you may have about how it worked with his family.”

  Almost everyone nodded.

  It wasn’t long before everyone walked off to go to bed. Everyone except Zeke. He was watching the fire without really seeing it. Deciding I should at least try to get some sleep, I got up and started for my tent. Zeke’s hand snagged my wrist as I went by. He tugged me to his side. His arms pulled me down and settled me in his lap with my head against his chest and my legs over the arm of the chair. He pressed his face into my hair and took a deep breath. He said nothing, he just held me. I wrapped one arm around his waist, rested my other hand on his chest and took a deep breath of engine grease and leather. Why did he feel so good? He held me for… I don’t know how long. Eventually, he pressed his lips to my forehead and moved me back on my feet. In silence, he picked up the bucket of water next to the fire and poured it over the wood. The wood smoked and hissed as the flames went out. He headed for his tent without a word. I stood there, my heart aching. Why did this feel like goodbye?

  Chapter 16

  August 21st

  I looked up at the cliff and swallowed hard. Four hundred feet at a 5.9 difficulty. And we weren’t sport climbing today. We were setting our own safety equipment on our way up. Two teams, two routes.

  Isaac wrapped his arm around my shoulder and looked up at the cliff side. “This is going to be fun.”

  I smiled, still a little worried. “If I don’t fuck up.”

  “You’re not belaying, you just need to climb.” Isaac squeezed me. “Did you get enough sleep for this?”

  I nodded as I eyed the cliff. I had done fine on my climb, I could do this. I looked up at him and met his amber eyes. “No stunts today. Please?”

  His smile was warm as he squeezed me again. “No stunts today.”

  “Thanks.” We turned and went back to the guys.

  Asher watched as Isaac dropped his arm from around me. He shot a look at Isaac before going back to transferring his gear onto the sling around his waist. Not today, please? I stepped further away from Isaac. We were about to go up the cliff, I didn’t want the guys being pissed at each other up there.

  Isaac must have noticed because he stepped closer and rested his elbow on my shoulder. “So, two teams. Asher, me, Lexie. Versus Zeke, Miles and Ethan. The first to the top wins?”

  “If that’s what you want to do then go climb somewhere else.” Asher’s voice was sharp as he got to his feet. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

  “I was fucking joking.” Isaac dropped his arm from my shoulder.

  Asher’s eyes were hard as he struggled to control his voice. “Keep joking about climbing safety and Lexie will go on to their team and Ethan on to ours.”

  This was fucking ridiculous. I turned and headed back to the tree where we had been sorting our gear. I started to loosen the buckle at my waist and then began on my leg buckle.

  Miles stepped between them. “Stop.” He looked between the two. “Is this going to be a problem?”

  “Nah, he’s just being a jealous ass,” Isaac muttered.

  I undid the last buckle and stepped out of my harness. I walked back toward them.

  “Neither one of you will touch rock if your heads aren’t clear,” Zeke growled.

  “No. I’m not going.” I threw my harness at Asher.

  He caught it against his chest. “Ally?”

  Everyone turned to me.

  “I’m not going to be the reason one of you do something stupid and get yourself killed.” I turned and headed back toward Miles’ truck.

  “Red!”

  I stopped and turned around. “What?” I pointed at Asher. “You’re pissy because”–I pointed at Isaac– “he had his arm on my shoulder. It’s been happening all week between all of you and frankly, I’m sick of it.” I dropped my hand. “Go climb the fucking cliff. I’ll take one of the trucks back to camp and hang out with Hades.”

  Before I could turn to go to the parking lot, Miles stepped forward. “I propose that a no touching Lexie rule needs to be in effect when we’re all together for now.”

  “Seconded,” Asher sighed.

  “Third.” Isaac shifted on his feet.

  “Passed.” Miles looked at each of them with a stern face.

  I snorted. “Yeah, because your last rule worked so well?” I couldn’t help it. But they made a rule about not dating me and, well… look where we were now.

  The guys looked at each other and chuckled. Just like that, the guys were the guys I knew again.

  “Put it back on.” Asher tossed me my harness. “And the teams are Miles, Isaac and Ally. Zeke and Ethan are with me.”

  “That’s not what you said earlier.” Ethan crossed his arms over his chest.

  “That was before I was a jerk,” Asher rubbed the back of his neck. “Isaac can belay for Miles. Miles and Isaac can take turns being lead while keeping Ally in between them. I can actually belay Zeke and his gian-”

  “Fuck you.” Zeke crossed his arms over his chest.

  “While he can belay for me.” Asher turned to the rest. “And if there’s an accident, Ally should be able to belay both Miles and Isaac if she needs to.”

  Ethan turned to me. “Which means get your harness back on.”

  I smiled, stepped through the waist and slid my leg through the loop.

  “Everyone have their radios?” Miles asked as I started clipping buckles. There were yeahs and yeses.

  “Zeke, Ethan, let’s get climbing.” Asher started toward the cliff. Zeke went to the base and started setting up his belay.

  “I noticed you took your radio off your harness.” Ethan stepped up beside me as Asher started to climb.

  Barely managing to keep a straight face, I looked up at him. “I was mad, that didn’t mean I wasn�
��t going to eavesdrop.”

  He chuckled as he walked away toward the cliff.

  “Are you alright mentally for this?” Miles adjusted his radio on the collar of his old shirt.

  I nodded. “Yeah, just tired of the bickering.”

  “That should stop most of it around you.” Miles started walking toward the route that we were planning to take. Isaac was already there tying the rope to the belay device on his harness. I headed over. Miles tied in, attached another rope and began to climb. I stood back and watched his progress.

  “Sorry, Red.” Isaac gave Miles more slack as he climbed. Miles was a good ten feet up when he pulled a nut off his belt. A nut was basically a wedge of metal attached to a cable that you’d fit into a crack in the rock. Then you’d attach a quick draw and clip your rope in before moving on.

  “More slack, Zeke.” Asher’s voice rang in my ear. I looked across the rock and found him already setting his second and clipping in. Asher was fast.

  “Tension.” Asher’s voice rang in all of our ears.

  “These push buttons are a little annoying.” Ethan’s voice chimed in.

  “Next time I’ll take the time to find voice activated.” Miles was almost out of breath.

  I looked up at him some fifteen feet up and hit my button. “Pay attention to what you’re doing, boys.”

  “She’s right. More slack.” Miles was setting another nut.

  Isaac let out the slack for him.

  “Tension.” Miles started to move on.

  Time went on. Miles and Asher climbed. They set the safety gear and moved on. It wasn’t even an hour later when Miles reached the first belay station.

  “Belay off.” Miles’ voice was out of breath.

  Isaac took Miles’ rope off his belay device “Belayer off.”

  “Belay off.” Asher’s voice crackled in my ear.

  Zeke did the same on the other route. “Belayer off.”

  Miles rope was taken up as he coiled it from the belay station. It didn’t take him too long. “Lexie, tie on to your line.”

  I moved to the rope Miles had trailed behind him. I started tying the line to my harness while Isaac tied a line on the back to trail behind me. On the other route Ethan was doing the same.

  I looked up and touched the button on my ear. “On belay?”

  There were several heartbeats before Miles’ voice chimed in my ear. “Belay on.”

  “Climbing.” I looked up at the wall. Oh boy…

  “Climb.” Miles’ voice crackled in my ear.

  I found my first hold and started climbing. My ear piece crackled in my ear as Ethan and Asher ran through the same routine.

  I ignored Ethan climbing some twenty feet away and focused on every hand hold, every foot hold. Since Miles was belaying from above me, I didn’t have to use the quick draws that Miles had placed. They were there for his safety to get up the cliff. I simply climbed.

  “You’re going fast today.” Asher’s voice was impressed.

  “I’m feeling pretty damn good.” Ethan’s breathing was lighter than mine as if he was only walking quickly.

  “At this rate, you’ll decimate your old record.” Asher clicked on.

  “Don’t get cocky,” Zeke’s growl moved through my ear.

  “You’re doing great, Red.” My earpiece came to life.

  I had to stop to catch my breath. I hit the button. “Miles, how far am I?”

  “Around sixty five feet.”

  “Ally, be careful of your grip,” Asher grunted.

  “I just broke my record.” Ethan breathed heavily into the radio.

  “Show off,” I teased.

  “You know it.” Ethan’s breathing was almost back to normal.

  When I was ready, I started moving again. It was another thirty minutes before I spotted Miles’ leg over the ledge. He stayed put until I could climb up on the ledge and move back. I leaned back against the rock face and caught my breath.

  “Lexie?” Zeke’s voice barked in my ear. “Anyone have eyes on her?”

  I started to untie the trailing rope from my harness as Miles pressed the button on his ear. “She’s here, she’s just catching her breath.”

  “Go, Red!”

  I handed the rope to Miles and made sure I was against the cliff and out of the way.

  Miles ran Isaac’s rope through the belay station and into his belay device on his harness. He sat back down on the edge and hit the button at his ear. “Belay on.”

  “Climbing?” Isaac asked.

  “Climb.” Miles put both hands on Isaac’s rope.

  As I got my breath back I noticed Asher and Zeke on a ledge higher up. Zeke was belaying for Ethan while Asher waved down to me. I smiled and waved back.

  As Isaac climbed, I looked out at the view. It was amazing. The trees below, the mountains out on the horizon. And nothing but blue sky in between.

  “Ethan?” Asher’s voice caught my attention.

  I kept my back to the rock and moved to the left of the wide ledge. Wind blew tendrils of my hair back as I spotted Ethan. He was cleaning up the route on his way but he was further off the right and evaluating his options.

  Ethan reached up and hit his earpiece. “Tension.”

  “You good?” Asher clicked in.

  “Lock it off,” Ethan bit out in our ears.

  “What does that mean?” My heart sank as I turned to Miles.

  “Locked off,” Asher answered.

  Before Miles could answer me, Ethan fell. A girly scream ripped from my throat.

  Ethan’s rope went taut, he swung back further down and hit the wall with his feet. It wasn’t even a minute before he was climbing again and laughter rang in my ear.

  I tapped my earpiece. “I hate you all.”

  The laughter got louder as it bounced off the rock around us.

  “You’re assholes.” I shook my head. “You’re all assholes.”

  “Are you sure you want to date all of us?” Miles couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I’m seriously rethinking it now.” The shitheads…

  * * *

  A couple of hours later, I was halfway up the second section of the cliff. Isaac was the belayer below me to give Miles a break.

  The wind battered at me. My fingertips were getting raw and I was almost out of breath. The holds I found had gotten smaller until I was struggling to find another. There. I stretched a sweaty hand up as far as I could. My right foot slipped. My stomach jumped into my throat as I fell.

  “Shit! Shit!” I screamed in as high a pitch as my voice went. Adrenaline shot through me. Panicking, I scrambled blindly as the rock rushed by. I skidded down the cliff, hit something hard and flipped upside down. I jerked to a stop and swung into the cliff face with my back. I was suddenly looking down over a hundred feet toward the ground. Blood pounded in my ears drowning everything else out as I swung out from the cliff. Gasping, sweat rolled down my face to drop off my nose into the air.

  “Lexie!” My name echoed off the rock. Everyone was shouting in my ear as the sound came back. Alive. I was alive…

  “I’ve got her! I’ve got her!” Isaac shouted over the others. The yelling in my ear quieted as I swung back to the cliff.

  Move, Lexie. You have to get back up there. Instinctively, I reached for the rope and swung my legs to bring me right side up. Heart galloping in my chest, my entire body shook as I came to rest on the cliff face.

  Get on the wall. You have to hold your own weight. Taking deep breaths, I spotted several good holds and reached out a trembling hand. When I could, I took my weight off the rope and on to my still shaky legs. Breathing heavy, cold sweat running down my skin, I pressed my forehead against the rock and just tried to get my shit together.

  “Ally?” Asher called.

  “Fucking answer!” Zeke’s voice was loud.

  “Isaac, do you have her?” Miles demanded.

  “Yeah, she’s on the wall again,” Isaac reported. “Let her catch her breath.”


  My muscles locked as I tried to work through what just happened. I fell. Okay. I fell. It happens. I’m okay. How far did I fall? What the hell did I hit? The back of my left leg throbbed as I clung to the rock. The guys continued to yell.

  “Quiet!” Miles ordered.

  The earpiece finally went silent.

  I took several more deep breaths and let them out slowly.

  “Lexie?” Miles’ voice was the silky smooth one I loved. It helped me loosen my death grip on the stone. “I can see you from here. It looks like you fell maybe eleven feet. Nice catch, Isaac.”

  “Just about shit myself,” Isaac admitted.

  “You’re not alone on that one,” Zeke muttered.

  “Whose fucking idea was it to teach her rock climbing?” Isaac demanded.

  “Mine,” Asher chimed.

  “I hate you.” Ethan’s breath was heavy.

  “Ethan, don’t you dare go off the rope!” Asher’s voice echoed off the rock and in my ear.

  “Then give me some fucking slack!” Ethan snapped.

  “Lexie, Ethan is making his way to you,” Miles said in that voice.

  That’s it. I hit my mic button. “Can you all just shut the fuck up for a minute? I’m just trying to get my shit together.”

  The radio went silent. With the silence I was finally able to get my head together. Yeah, I fell. But that’s what the belayer is for. It worked. Isaac had me covered from below. The nuts and quick draws held. See? I’m okay. When the shaking finally eased up, I hit my mic. “Dangling over a hundred feet in the air, upside down, kind of makes a girl stop and think.”

  “Lexie!” Ethan was below and to the right about fifteen feet away. As I watched, he leapt up and grabbed a ledge I hadn’t even seen four feet above him. Before I could be impressed, he was moving again, scrambling over the rock face.

  “I’m okay.” I tried to get him to stop but he just kept coming. Soon, he was beside me on the rock, pulling on his belay rope.

  “You okay?” he asked, his eyes raking over me.

  “Yeah, I just banged my leg-”