He reached over and gently took my hand off my stomach before holding it in his. “That’s not all, is it?”
I fought back tears. “Not ready.”
His hand squeezed mine gently before he lay down beside me on the worn wooden planks. His hand stayed in mine. Even though I was sweating from the heat wave, his shoulder pressing against mine was comforting. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and stay there. But then he’d know for sure something was wrong; right now he only suspected.
“When you’re ready to talk?” he asked carefully.
“I will.” When I was ready. The back door opened.
“Hey! What are you two doing? There’s pizza!” Ethan shouted from the door.
“How did you get here before them?” I asked, turning my head so I could look at him.
Miles grinned. “I called them from the car.”
I smiled over at him. “Go eat. I want to stay out here a bit longer.”
His eyes searched mine. He had his thinking face on, the one that made the small wrinkle between his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed his hand and let him go. He got to his feet then quietly went inside.
I looked up at the fading light again, enjoying the quiet. For a whole three seconds. Ethan towered over me on the dock.
“Beautiful, let’s go,” Ethan told me in his smooth, smoky voice; it rolled over my ears like fog. Ethan was a cutie. His square jaw and straight nose made him good looking. His straight, black, jaw-length hair was back in a ponytail to keep it off his face in this heat. Five silver hoop earrings ran up the lobe of his right ear. His usual black jeans and shirt were now black cargo shorts, a black tank and his black army boots. I grinned up at him. He had to be roasting. Those chocolate eyes met mine and his smile faded. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel like lying here,” I said, turning back to look up at the sky. “It’s a pretty sunset.”
He looked up at the sky and then back down to me. “Yeah, but it’s fucking hot. Want some company?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. Go eat. I’ll be in soon.”
He shrugged. “Alright.” He headed back inside. I closed my eyes and listened to the frogs croaking. It was quiet for a few minutes.
“Red!” Isaac dropped next to me, shaking the planks beneath us. I smiled as he rolled to his side and braced his jaw on his fist. “What’s up?”
Isaac. Isaac was… well, Isaac. As Ethan’s twin, he had the same straight nose and handsome square jaw. Besides sharing the same athletic build, that’s where the similarities ended. Isaac wore bright colors, his hair was a vibrant blue with darker blue streaks. He was going for a Cookie Monster thing.
“Nothing, just enjoying the sunset,” I told him.
He moved to his back and looked up at the sky. “Huh, it is pretty.” He pointed up to a streak of peach and pink light. “That streak is pretty nifty.”
I smiled. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yeah, but Miles said your voice is messed up for good,” he explained. “I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
“I’ll live,” I muttered.
He bumped my shoulder with his. I bumped him back, starting to smile again. “You’re gonna knock me off the dock.”
He moved to his feet and squatted next to me. “Nah.” He reached down, slid his arms under me and lifted me off the planks. Surprised, I squeaked and clung to his shoulders.
“Put me down,” I told him as he straightened and headed towards the house.
“Nope,” he chimed with a smile. “It’s hot, and you’re sulking, so you’re going in with me.”
“I’m not sulking,” I muttered.
“Are too,” he countered. I shot him a glare. He just grinned back at me. Okay, he might have a point. But I think I’m entitled to a little sulk today. There was no point in arguing, we were almost at the house anyway.
The back door opened and Asher walked out. His ocean eyes ran over me, and I mean ocean; he had light blue, dark blue and white flecks in his eyes. They reminded me of a wave crashing. Asher was your classic boy next door, only with model good looks, high cheekbones and a sharp chin. His sandy-blond hair was shorter than this morning. He must have gone to get a trim today. “Are you okay, Ally?” he asked in his rich baritone. His voice was like rich hot chocolate to my ears.
“Yeah, Isaac is being an ass,” I told him.
“Yeah, but we keep him around anyway.” Asher chuckled as he held the door open for Isaac.
Isaac ignored him as he walked in and put me down near the dinner table. “’Cause I’m awesome,” he stated before taking a plate and sitting down.
“Yeah, that, and I’m a sucker,” I shot back. Everyone chuckled as I sat down.
As the night went on, no one seemed to notice that I wasn’t talking as much as usual. At least until Zeke showed up.
He was muttering under his breath as he walked through the great room. I was in the kitchen dishing up ice cream when he went to the sink.
“Hey,” Zeke said in his deep, gravelly voice. Zeke was huge. There was no way to get around it, or him. He was a full foot taller than me; at least he used to be. In the last few months he’d grown a couple of inches and he’d bitched about it the entire time. With his wide shoulders and barrel chest he was hard to miss. A wide, strong jaw and wide cheekbones helped make him even more intimidating. Well, that and the fact he glared at everyone with those sky-blue eyes of his. His black hair wasn’t very long, but it was long enough that you could tell when he’d been running his hands through it. Even though it was roasting, Zeke still wore his black jeans, shirt, boots and wallet chain. I had no idea how he could stand it.
“Hey, want some ice cream?” I asked without turning around.
“Maybe later.” He shut off the water and dried his hands with a paper towel. “How was your doctor appointment?”
I focused on scooping ice cream. “Fine.” My voice had grown raspy. I sighed and took a drink from my now ever-present water bottle.
He turned and faced me then leaned against the counter at my side. “Fine?”
“Yeah.” I finished the bowl I was making. I could feel his stare as I looked over my shoulder towards the others. “Isaac.”
Isaac got up, came into the kitchen and took the ice cream bowl from my hand. “Thanks, Red,” he said sweetly, giving my cheek a raspberry. I rolled my eyes as I began to make my own, while Zeke continued to stand there. He wasn’t pushing, just waiting for me to tell him.
“My voice is permanently damaged,” I muttered as I added cherry ice cream to the chocolate in my bowl. “Now we’re trying to stop more damage.”
He cursed.
“Pretty much,” I muttered as I added Cool Whip.
“What about the other scans?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet.
I looked up and met his blue eyes. Lie or admit I’m not ready to talk? I had already told Miles, so… “I’m not ready to talk about it.”
His brow drew down. His jaw clenched. Usually he would demand that I tell him right away. This was… new. It was several heartbeats before he took a deep breath. “Okay. When you’re ready…”
“I’ll tell you,” I promised. Zeke pushed away from the counter and went to the dinner table with the guys, searching for the remaining pizza.
“How was work?” Rory asked Zeke.
I started looking for the chocolate sprinkles.
* * *
After the guys left, I headed upstairs and took a quick shower. I pulled on a cami and cotton pj bottoms before I pulled out my futon. Hades lay down beside me, his head on my stomach so I’d scratch his ears. My head was running in circles again. The guys had been a great distraction, but now… I picked my phone up off the desk and called Jake.
He answered on the third ring. “Hey, sweetness.”
“Hey, sexy.” I smiled. “How are things?”
“The usual,” he grumbled. “Derrick is still flirting with anything that has tits.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Still?”
“Yeah!” he snapped. “This time it was the chick at the freaking ice cream shop.”
“What happened?” I asked. That didn’t sound like Derrick to me. Whenever I hung out with them, Derrick only had eyes for Jake. Did something change?
“Girls are hitting on him all the time, and he’s looking back,” he grumbled. I had a hard time wrapping my head around that.
“Well, why don’t you bring him down to the farmer’s market on Saturday? I can see what you’re talking about and yell at him,” I suggested.
“Lexie, you brilliant vixen!” he gushed. “You’re on!”
I smiled. Jake could always distract me. “So, tell me, what else is going on?”
Jake started talking about the gossip floating around his school in Dulcet; who was dating whom, who was hooking up, and who had been nailed for cheating. His school was smaller, but it seemed to have more drama than ours. It was like my own soap opera, and Jake knew everyone’s secrets. After an hour of making me laugh, he had to go so he could call Derrick for their nightly goodnight talk. I hung up with a small smile.
As I lay in the dark, waiting to go to sleep, everything came back. I didn’t want to deal with it yet. I tried to push it back again and again. It was too quiet, I needed sound. Sitting on the side of my bed, I opened the middle drawer of my desk and pulled out the sound machine Zeke had bought me months ago. I plugged it in and turned on the heartbeat setting. I lay back down; the sound filled my ears. I had to deal with it, I had to think about it. I knew that. But… tomorrow. I’d deal with it tomorrow. I fell asleep, curled up with Hades, to the sound of a heartbeat filling my room.
Chapter 2
Thursday
I woke up late, but since it was the last day of school it didn’t really matter. Not caring about the time, I stopped at the cemetery on my way to school anyway.
I parked my ’89 Blazer near the Veteran’s section and climbed out. Sweat immediately began running down my face. A large group of souls waited for me. I stopped once my barriers shook.
“Alright. We did thirty yesterday, let’s do thirty today,” I announced.
“Why only thirty?” someone called.
“Because I almost passed out yesterday. Let’s keep the brain damage to a minimum,” I countered. Then I stilled. I had been joking about that for months. Now it wasn’t so funny anymore. As a group, the souls moved forward and made a line. I went to the front.
An elderly woman who had to be in her nineties smiled at me. “Hello, dear. I’m Rosa.” Her eyes ran over me. “You need to eat something, honey. Oh, I wish I could make you some of my spaghetti bolognese. It’d put meat on your bones.”
I smiled at her. She was a sweet old woman. “I’m Lexie, it’s nice to meet you. I had some pizza last night so I need to work that off today.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “You kids these days.” Her need to move on slipped through my barriers. I needed to get started.
“Everyone hold hands,” I announced. “If you let go, the person next to you won’t make it.” I still didn’t know if that was true, but I wasn’t going to take chances. I focused on Rosa’s need to move on. That gold ribbon of will moved out from me and wrapped around her wrist before it serpentined through the line. It grabbed each soul before moving on to the next. Once everyone was attached, I dropped.
I landed in the Veil in a crouch. As I got to my feet I counted the souls. Thirty. Good. As golden doorways formed, I walked through the small, growing woods. The grass was now a rich green. Wildflowers grew everywhere. The old, burnt stumps were gone now, and there were several small saplings around waist high in their place. And of course, Sophie’s apple tree had grown even larger. I placed my hand on the slightly rough bark and smiled. Whenever I saw this tree I missed Sophie. Yeah, she wasn’t my sister, but she had become a friend. For some reason, touching the tree made me feel better.
I patted the trunk and turned back in time to watch Rosa waddle over to her door, where a young man in trousers, suspenders and a white shirt waited with open arms. The closer Rosa walked to the man the younger she grew, her silver hair turning black and her wrinkles fading. I smiled, watching as Rosa jumped into the man’s arms and he spun her around, before the door closed. Who was going to come for me when it was my turn? I shoved the thought away. I was okay. I wasn’t having that many issues. The lesion was only the size of a small gumball. Rory had once told me that Claire, at the end, had a black spot the size of a golf ball, so I really shouldn’t be too worried. I knelt in the grass and smelled the flowers. I had to get to class. I closed my eyes and pulled myself out.
When I opened my eyes I immediately regretted it; knives of pain were being driven through my head. I dropped to my butt in the grass and pulled out my tissues, holding them to my nose as I tried to get my breath back. Okay, I had to admit it; the trips to the Veil were getting worse. The more people I took, the longer it took to recover. Hot liquid ran down my neck on both sides. I used my tissues to wipe away the blood trailing from my ears to my neck. Just that action took all the energy I had. I lay down in the grass, my arms and legs limp. I closed my eyes again and waited. The fact I was this tired just from crossing souls over… it was taking everything I had at times. Now I knew why. I was doing more damage. Fuck. I needed to pull back somehow, but... could I? There were so many souls left to cross.
I couldn’t hide this from the guys forever. They were going to figure out something was up eventually. I watched the sunlight shine through the leaves. I just… I needed some time before I told them.
Feeling stronger, I sat up and rested my arms on my knees. I was tired, worn out. I checked my tissues. They were soaked. I pulled out some more and cleaned up. I needed to get the Veil open, soon. But first, I needed lots of iced coffee.
Chapter 3
It was the end of the day when I started pulling my old books from my locker. Normally I wouldn’t have any books left, but these were the books Serena had sold me, along with a few of my own. Ever since Tara had found out about my ability to see the dead she’d been snooping around. I had even caught her in my bedroom a couple of times.
I wiped the sweat off my face before tucking another book away. The heat had my denim Bermuda shorts and gray V-neck shirt sticking to me. I couldn’t wait to get home and throw on a tank top and shorter shorts.
I reached in and grabbed another book.
“Hey, Red, what’s taking so long?” Isaac called in his rich, honey-like voice. The twins came around the corner and I had to take a breath. There was no getting around it - my friends were hot. As in sexy as hell and not just sweating.
“I’m getting my books,” I reminded him.
“Is Tara still snooping around your room?” Asher asked as he leaned against the locker next to mine. He was trying to beat the heat in cargo shorts, a white tank top and an open, button-down, blue and white plaid shirt. It did good things for his arms.
“Yep, and now she’s graduated to rifling through my drawers,” I grumbled.
“Can you put a lock on your door?” Miles asked as he joined us. Miles was sweating it out wearing blue jeans with his white Star Wars T-shirt.
“I have one, but she keeps getting in,” I answered.
“Then we need to get you a better one,” Ethan suggested.
I stuffed another book into my bag. “I was thinking about it, but I need to ask Rory.”
“Ask him, and I’ll bring one over,” Zeke said in his deep, gravelly voice as he joined the group.
“Okay, I’ll ask tonight,” I muttered as I put another book in my bag.
“What is taking so long?” Zeke demanded before he stepped behind me to look over my head and into my locker. He’d been doing that a lot since January. After my abduction and assault, we learned that Zeke was more likely to trigger a flashback than the others. Since then it’s become his habit to let me know he was behind me. I don’t think he even realized he did it any
more.
“I was stashing a lot of books and research,” I pointed out. My bag was taken off my arm. Before I could say anything, a large hand turned me around. Zeke bent down and I was suddenly over his shoulder, hanging upside down with his thick arm across the back of my thighs.
“You’re going too slow. Isaac, get the rest,” Zeke ordered.
I pushed up off his lower back to watch Isaac all but topple the books into my bag. “Be careful!”
Isaac ignored me as he zipped up the bag and shut the empty locker.
“If he tore any of them I’m coming after you,” I warned Zeke as everyone started down the hallway. “Now, put me down.”
“No way. It’s the last day of school,” Ethan stated. “You took too long emptying your locker. It’s roasting and we’re going swimming.” I started to squirm, trying to get down.
“Okay, but I can walk you know,” I pointed out, laughing.
Zeke slapped his hand down on my butt, making me squeak. “Stop wiggling. If I put you down, you’ll just find something else to stall going swimming.”
My face red, I reached down and smacked him on the ass. My hand stung. Damn glutes of steel. He chuckled at my feeble attempt.
“I’m just worried about your eyesight!” I countered.
“You’re not that pale, Red,” Isaac reassured me. “You’ve gotten some sun in the last month”
I rolled my eyes. Isaac clearly had never known a red head before. “And since summer started I have put sunblock on every four hours. That’s why I’m not a lobster.”
“Lexie, you can wear shorts and a shirt if you’re that worried about it,” Miles reminded me.
“Nope, she has to wear a swimsuit,” Ethan declared.
Everyone walked out of the hall and into the student parking lot. I started to sweat even more. I hoped it dripped all over Zeke.
“Okay! But when you go blind, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I threatened, though it was undermined by my current position over Zeke’s shoulder. The guys started laughing until they reached my Blazer. Zeke carefully put me down on my sandaled feet.
When Evil Comes to Play Page 2