I held my hand out to him. “Hand over the spatula and step away from the griddle.”
He handed me the spatula and stepped back, clearly relieved. “Please, take over.”
I turned down the heat on the griddle. “Can you follow the directions on the box for more pancake batter?”
He nodded. “That is one thing I don’t screw up in the kitchen.”
“Batter?”
“And most microwaving.” He picked up the now empty batter mixing bowl and moved to a nearby table. “I just thought it’d be nice for Asher not to have to cook.”
“It was a good idea.” I couldn’t stop smiling as I scraped the remnants of Miles’ attempts off the griddle. Most microwaving? What did that mean? “But now I understand why the guys don’t let you cook.”
He pulled eggs and milk out of the cooler. “Do you want the bacon?”
“Is there more bacon or sausage?” I slid the burnt pieces onto a paper plate then threw it into the trash.
“There’s more sausage.”
“Then sausage it is.” I turned and took the packages as he handed them to me. “The eggs too.”
“That’s a lot of food.” He set the eggs on the table beside the barbecue.
“Asher said his diet needs to be even higher in protein now. And the twins are still eating enough for two each.” I started to open the sausage. “So, I figure we’d make a ton this morning and get an idea of how much.”
“Then we’ll probably need to go to the store again.” Miles set the fresh batter next to me.
I ran a stick of butter over the top of the griddle. It sizzled as I used a ladle to put the batter on the griddle in several places. While those cooked, I pulled out another mixing bowl and started cracking eggs.
“How was he last night?”
I paused. “We talked, and he got some sleep.” I went back to work.
“Thank you, Angel.”
I turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
“Thank you for being there for him, when he wouldn’t let us.” Miles turned away and picked up two mugs.
Needing to change the subject, I turned back to the griddle. “You never did say why you call me that.”
“I thought it was obvious.” Miles began to pour coffee into the mugs.
“Well, I don’t have any wings so…” I smiled as the bubbles finally popped on the pancakes. I flipped all of them.
He finished adding cream and sugar to my coffee and handed it to me. “Because you have one of the biggest hearts I know.”
I went still and simply watched him.
“You’re always considerate of others, and are always willing to help people even if they don’t deserve your help. And if it’s family, it doesn’t matter what it will cost you. Not to you at least.” He shrugged. “That’s amazing to me.”
“You’re the same way.” I went back to cooking while hoping he didn’t notice how much my face was burning.
“You were right.” Miles’ voice grew softer. “I hadn’t truly thought what this plan would mean to me.”
My shoulders grew tense. “I was hoping you would think about it.”
“I have, or at least I thought I had.” He leaned against the table next to me. “The other night, when Ethan went to your tent… I was jealous. I wanted to go in and stay with you, to make sure you were alright.”
I concentrated on putting the done pancakes on a plate and covering them with a towel.
“Until then, I’d never really, truly been jealous of the others.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s when it really hit me.”
I focused on pouring more pancakes as cold dread filled me. He changed his mind. Of course he did, how could anyone ever agree to this?
He reached up and squeezed my arm
I turned to him, fully expecting to have my heart ripped out. “It’s okay, Nemo.” His eyes met mine. “If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand completely.”
His eyes narrowed on mine. “I realized I’m not perfect either. More often than not, jealousy happens because of insecurity or low self-esteem. So, I surmised that I was feeling insecure. I was wondering what Ethan could do for you in a relationship that I can’t.”
“Nemo.” I set the ladle back in the batter. “That’s not the situation at all.”
His eyes met mine. “I know. I stayed up most of the night thinking about it logically. And I believe I figured it out.”
“It’s not a competition-”
“Angel.” His voice was the silky smooth one that I loved, that made all the ragged edges inside me smooth. “Ethan encourages you to be passionate. He encourages your art, he talks about it with you, you talk about his music. Besides the fact he’s a good person, this is what Ethan does for you that I can’t.”
“You encourage me.” How could he think he didn’t? “You gave me professional grade pastels for Valentine’s day. I’d say that’s encouragement.”
He smiled. “But I can’t experience art with you. I never really understood what was so important about it. But the way you talk about it, the way you get excited… I support you and I love your work, but I can’t understand it like he does.”
Was he…? “If you tell me to pick Ethan, I’m going to smack you upside the head with the spatula.”
He chuckled.
“I’m not kidding. I’ve already got Ethan doing that crap for Isaac. I don’t need it from you too.” I’m not choosing. I’ll walk away first.
“No, I’m not saying that.” He shook his head, smiling. “I’m saying I think I can work with this new perspective. It’s not going to be easy, everyone will make mistakes and step on everyone else’s toes but… I think I can accept you dating the others.”
“Are you sure?” He was saying yes? Stunned, I could only look up at him.
He smiled and leaned forward. His lips moved against mine, his hand moving to hold my neck. His thumb settled in front of my ear. I couldn’t think as I parted my lips. He kissed me slowly, deliberately, as if time didn’t matter. Only me and him. Slowly, the kiss grew softer. He pulled back a little, leaving small kisses on the corner of my lip. Then my cheekbone. Followed closely by my forehead.
When he smiled down at me, I couldn’t quite think… or breathe. I needed to breathe, right?
“I’m sure.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight as my eyes filled. Even if none of the others agreed, Miles and Ethan had.
“Angel.” He pulled back and met my eyes again. “Have you really thought about this? Truly imagined what dating all of us would be like?”
My hands dropped from his shoulders as I turned back to cooking pancakes. “I’ve tried to. But some things are bugging me.”
“What are they? I can’t help if I don’t know.”
I chewed on the corner of my bottom lip. “Actually, I think I want to talk to Ethan about this one.”
He smiled. “Alright.”
I went back to cooking while I tried to process his answer. He wanted to try… I thought it would take a miracle to convince one of the guys let alone two. It didn’t seem real.
By the time the others got up, breakfast was almost done. All that was left was the eggs.
Asher came back into the campsite with sweat running down his face. “You didn’t have to make breakfast again, Ally.”
I smiled up at him over my shoulder. “I was salvaging what Miles almost destroyed.”
The others chuckled.
“I think I’ve finally given up on trying to cook,” Miles said from his chair.
The twins clapped with enthusiasm. I laughed as I poured the eggs onto the griddle.
“About time.” Asher started pouring coffee for himself.
Zeke strode into the campsite with a frown already on his face. I moved the eggs around.
“What the hell, Lexie?” Zeke scowled at me as he stopped at the table we were using as a counter. “Lexie, get a hoodie on, you’re fucking… It’s cold out here!”
“Ash?” I reached up and touched his shoulder.
He jerked as if I had shocked him. “Don’t touch me.”
I dropped my hand as he continued to take deep breaths, his body radiating tension. The world was silent as we watched him struggle.
Zeke gestured for me to come toward him. I shook my head. I wasn’t moving. Asher needed some normal today. Not people who were afraid of him.
“Sorry.” Asher’s voice was deeper than usual. “It’s just going to get worse until…”
“Until you shift.” I kept my voice matter of fact as I seasoned the eggs. “Astrid told me. Could you hand me a big plate, please?”
Asher took a couple of heartbeats but eventually grabbed a paper platter.
“Thank you.” I started taking the eggs off the griddle and putting them on the platter. “Now, clean up your mess or no breakfast for you.”
I set the platter down on the makeshift counter, picked up a clean mug and filled it with coffee. When I turned back, he was looking at me with a look of disbelief on his face. I handed him the mug then the paper towels. “Hurry up, I want to see if you can out eat Zeke now.”
The others chuckled as they relaxed.
“I want to see that too.” Isaac got out of his chair and headed toward us.
“I have twenty on Asher winning.” Ethan followed his brother.
While the guys started taking bets, Asher kept looking at me as if he couldn’t believe what he saw. I smiled up at him and winked before going to get my hoodie on.
In the end, Asher barely out ate Zeke by one sausage link. Isaac pulled out his wallet and paid his twin. Ethan gloated. Zeke just shook his head. It was a normal morning.
Isaac
I can’t believe I’m doing this. Sighing, I walked up the shore toward Danielle who was simply sitting in the sand and watching the water. That black shadow was moving over her face again, darker than before. If we were wrong, then I was going to look like a nut case. Oh, fuck it.
I sat down next to Danielle in the sand.
She eyed me. “What do you want?”
“To talk.” I made a point to keep my eyes on the water.
“About what?” She turned back to look at the water.
“Why you’re sitting alone on the shore, sad.” I took a shot.
She looked down at the sand between her toes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s a beautiful day. But instead of swimming or having fun, you’re sitting here being miserable.” I turned back to the water and watched her fidget with her fingers out of the corner of my eye.
“Why the hell would I talk to you about it?” She stared down at her knees.
“Because sometimes it’s easier than telling your friends or family how deep into a hole you’ve gotten.” I took a shot in the dark.
“How could you tell?” she whispered.
“I’ve been there myself.” Holy shit, Lexie and Evie were right.
“It’s just…” She sighed. “Nothing I do is ever enough. If I get straight As, it’s why didn’t you win the student council president election. If I get second place in the four-hundred-meter sprint, it’s why didn’t I get first?” Her eyes grew wide as she slapped her hand over her mouth.
“That’s fucked up.” I shook my head. “Want to talk about it?”
She hesitated for several heartbeats. Eventually, she met my gaze and nodded slowly.
Lexie
I was in the middle of sketching in my chair when Ethan came out of the guys’ tent.
“Where’d they go?” Ethan sat down with his notebook in the chair beside me.
“Jet skis.” I smiled. “They want to keep Asher moving today to keep his mind off tomorrow.”
He opened his notebook as he shook his head.
“What are you working on?” I tried to peek at his notebook.
His cheeks darkened. “Something.”
I perked up. “What kind of something.?”
He sighed and handed me the notebook. It was the rough draft of a poem.
I smiled. “I didn’t know you wrote poetry.”
“Yeah, it’s not something I really advertise.” His cheeks grew even darker.
“I love my book by the way.” I leaned over and kissed him quickly while no one was around. “Thank you.” Hades turned to me and started barking.
“You’re welcome.” Ethan frowned at the dog.
“Hades? What’s wrong?” Why was he barking at me…? A loud horn blew, rattling me down to my bones. My heart dropped. No…
“Lexie?”
“The Veil.” It was all the explanation I had time for. I closed my eyes and dropped. I hit the grass and rolled to my feet. Then I smelled the smoke. Rage coursed through me as I spotted the black billowing cloud. Running, I dropped my barriers and pulled the energy from the Veil. By the time I spotted the intruder, I was ready to kill.
A black robed figure was surrounded by scorched earth and flames. Oh, no, you don’t! I pulled more energy and threw a ball of ice. It hit in the center and spread out to smother the flames. The figure turned toward me with fire in its hand. I hit it with a lightning blast that shot it off its feet and back a good ten feet. I didn’t stop running. As easy as swiping at a fly, I changed the Veil. Rain poured down in torrents, soaking everything. Then I lowered the temperature. The Veil became an instant blizzard.
I skidded to a stop on the ice with a focus I’d never felt before. “You. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I watched the black figure with its hand of fire in the sea of white. I stalked closer, changing my clothing to white camo as I moved, pulling the hood over my hair. “You’ve put the entire world at risk! For what? A little extra energy? A little extra power?” I shook my head as I pulled the weather back. The blizzard faded to almost nothing. The Veil was covered in ice and snow. And silent. As if even it was holding its breath. The cloaked figure turned to me, fire still crawling over its hand. I filled my hand with lightning. “Did you think this place wasn’t protected?”
The figure seemed to be considering its options; it really didn’t have many. I threw another lightning bolt, it managed to dive out of the way in the last second. Only I hadn’t stayed put. I ran toward it, conjuring a sword on the run. So when it dodged, I was already there slicing at it, keeping the figure on the move. It dropped backward to the ground, out of the path of my blade. It somersaulted backward to its knees then threw a ball of fire. I took the hit to my hip before I could shield, it knocked me to my knee. Hissing, I brought my blade up just as its newly conjured blade came down. The clang of metal on metal echoed across the Veil. There was nothing there. No face, only shadows. Whoever this was, was hiding…
I smiled, and it wasn’t my nice one. I pulled energy, changed it and threw it up at the intruder. The wall of force sent it flipping back away from me and the center of the Veil. I strode through the frosted grass and snow, refusing to take my eyes off that black figure.
Another fireball came at me. I threw my shield up in time but I was blasted back off my feet by a wall of force. Pain shot through me as the ground knocked the air out of me. I struggled to get to my feet. A boot came out of nowhere and hit my stomach, I immediately wanted to puke. Instead I tried to roll away. A blade came down toward my face. Instinctively, I brought my blade up and blocked. The black figure’s face was covered except for its eyes. Everything else was shadows. That’s fine, I didn’t need to know who this was to kick its ass. Shoving its blade away, I rolled to my feet and I brought my sword up to face it as my hood fell back.
It hesitated.
“Do you even understand what you’ve done? The repercussions? People are dead because of you!” I went after it. Blades clashed, punches were thrown, kicks dodged. We went after each othe
r. The stench of burnt skin and ozone filled the Veil. Blood splashed across the snow as I caught it along the side. It dropped to the snow, its arm going to its ribs.
Wiping the blood from the corner of my lips, I limped over to the figure as it struggled to its knees. I reached down and grabbed the cloth. Suddenly, the figure shimmered and disappeared. I was left with a handful of nothing. I screamed in frustration. Then groaned from the bruises that seemed to cover me. I closed my eyes and pulled myself out.
I opened my eyes to a body that hated me. Gasping, pain rolled over me. “Fuck!” The coppery taste of blood covered my tongue. Everything hurt.
“Lexie?” Ethan’s worried face came into focus.
“I hate that fucker.” I sat up and bent in half at the aching hell running over me.
“What the fuck happened?” Ethan’s arms wrapped around my back and under my knees. He lifted me out of the chair and against his chest.
I whimpered. “The Veil was attacked again.”
He carried me into my tent and gently set me down in my bed.
I cringed and rolled onto my side. “Shit!”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I remember burns…” I shook my head as I tried to focus.
“Stay put while I get the first aid kit.” Ethan left my tent while I tried to breathe through the pain around my stomach. Fucking hell… The fucker had to hit me in the stomach…
Ethan was back with the first aid kit. He set it down, tore it open and looked up at me.
“Let me get the bleeding to stop.” Ethan poured something that burned over my bicep. I gritted my teeth then cursed. Eventually, the burning eased as the rest of my pain pulled back a little too sharp throbbing aches.
When he was done bandaging my arm, he looked down at me. “You said burns.”
“My hip.” I reached down and shoved the side of my shorts down along with my R2D2 panties until my hip showed. From the left hip bone to the curve of my hip was deep pink and irritated. I stopped moving simply because it hurt so much.
Ethan started cleaning the burn and spread a cooling ointment over it. “Any more?”
When the Dead Have It Easy Page 28