When Evil Comes to Play

by B. L. Brunnemer

  The silence stretched as Miles looked at each of the guys. I took a bite of my turkey sandwich.

  Isaac sighed. “Sorry.”

  “Me too,” Ethan added.

  “The heat is just getting to everyone,” Miles offered.

  “Then go dunk your butts then come back and eat. ’Cause your grumpy asses are killing my good mood,” I told them. Isaac chuckled and got up. Ethan followed. I sent Zeke a look. He cursed and got up to jump in the water.

  I chuckled as they came back. Isaac and Ethan came back with smiles. Zeke came back and squeezed the water out of his shirt over my head.

  “You shit!” I laughed as I wiped the water off the back of my neck. He chuckled as he went back to his spot.

  Lunch was more fun after that. It wasn’t too long before Miles and Asher were taking off their shirts to head into the water. Feeling more awake, I got to my feet then took off my shorts, folded them, and put them by my bag.

  When I stood up Zeke’s face was pained. “Maybe you should keep your shirt on.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “There’s not as much shade here as at your house. You’re going to burn like hell.”

  Uh-huh. I didn’t buy that for a second. “If I start to burn, then I’ll put it back on,” I promised.

  “Fine,” he bit out before he started for the water. I smiled to myself as I pulled off my shirt and dropped it onto my shorts. I did, however, grab my towel and follow behind Zeke. Someone whistled. Oh, great.

  “Hey, it’s Casper!” a girl shouted. I flipped the bird toward the voice. Another whistle had Zeke stopping in his tracks and waiting for me. It was the last whistle of my walk to the water. Guys actually turned away from me when Zeke was next to me.

  When we reached the water, the guys were laughing their asses off.

  “What are you laughing at?” I demanded.

  Asher shook his head. “It’s not you, Ally, it’s all the guys looking away from Zeke’s glare.”

  I looked up at Zeke. Sure enough, he was glaring at some guy I recognized from my Math class. I shook my head, climbed onto a flat rock a few feet over the water, and cannon balled right into the middle of the boys. I came up and smiled at them. Zeke dove in and splashed everyone.

  The guys started jumping into the water from the first level. I simply enjoyed floating and relaxing in the cool water. The guys took turns holding my hand so I didn’t float off. Isaac spun me around in circles until I was laughing and begging him to stop.

  It was an hour later when I was sitting on a rock ledge in the water, watching the guys jump and considering giving it a shot myself, when Eric swam up.

  “Hey, Lexie,” he said with a smile. His shaggy brown hair was slicked back from his face. His skin was tan from the sun. He was a good-looking guy, just not enough to counter his personality.

  “Hey, how’s your summer going?’ I asked with a smile.

  “Not bad,” he said. “How about yours?” He lifted himself out of the water to sit next to me on the ledge. I fought not to tense up. The guys were right in front of me, and it was daylight. Chill out, Lexie. I focused on something else.

  “Going good so far.” I turned away to watch Isaac jump off the second level.

  “Do you have any plans tonight?” he asked casually.

  “Yeah, I’m hanging out with the guys at the farmer’s market,” I told him. He cringed a bit. I fought back a smile. He really didn’t like Zeke.

  “There are some rumors going around.” Eric’s voice caught my attention. I turned back to him. “Are you dating Blackthorn?”

  I wish. I rolled my eyes. I’d love to date Zeke, or Miles, or Asher, or Ethan, or… hell, even Isaac was popping up on my radar lately. I had it bad and didn’t know what to do. “Those aren’t new rumors. They’re old. Why do you ask?”

  “There’s just a rumor going around that Zeke broke up you and that guy from Dulcet” he said.

  I shot him a look. “And where did you hear that?”

  He shrugged. “From several people.”

  I shook my head as I looked back out at the guys. Asher turned our way. I winked at him, letting him know I was fine. “Dylan - that guy from Dulcet - dumped me because he saw me have a seizure and ran like a bitch.” I turned back to him. “Zeke didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “He seems pretty protective of you,” he pointed out.

  “He’s protective of all his friends,” I countered.

  Eric chuckled. “I don’t see him getting pissed about girls whistling at Westfell.”

  I smiled at the image. “Nah, but I’m smaller and cuter than they are.”

  Eric snorted. Asher chuckled. I met Asher’s eyes and shrugged. “Tell me I’m wrong!”

  Asher shook his head. “I agree completely, Ally.”

  I chuckled.

  Eric looked out at Asher, who was about eleven feet from us. “He can hear you?”

  I smiled up at him. “Asher has excellent hearing.”

  Eric’s face turned red. “I’ll… I’ll see ya around.”

  “Later.” I held back my laughter until Eric was out of earshot. Then I couldn’t seem to stop. Eventually I did, when I needed to catch my breath.

  I was relaxing in the water when my coffee wore off. I blinked hard as my energy level dropped. Shit… I was trying to decide if I was going to get out or stay in when Zeke swam over.

  “You’re burning, Lexie,” he told me as he stood up. I looked down at my shoulders. He was right, I was starting to turn pink.

  “Damn it.” I swam to the edge, found my feet, and climbed out of the water. I picked up my towel, wrapped it around my waist as I headed back to our blanket.

  “Oh look, it’s the slut banging my brother,” Jessica’s voice came from the crowd. I turned as I started to squeeze the extra water out of my hair. Jessica was taller than me. She had a pretty face with the same sandy-blond hair as Asher. She was looking amazing in a blue two-piece and gold sandals.

  “Oh, it’s you,” I said, my voice about as lively as I felt. I turned back around and kept walking to our blanket. Jessica followed.

  “When are you going to get it through your thick skull that he is just using you?” Jessica asked snidely.

  I picked up my sunblock and began rubbing it into my shoulders. “You really don’t think much of your brother, do you?”

  Her eyes grew wide, as if I had slapped her. “My brother is amazing,” she snapped.

  I tilted my head to the side. “And I’m trash, right? At least according to you.”

  She huffed and looked down her nose at me. “Yeah, you are.”

  “And you believe I’m banging your brother,” I stated as I changed arms. “So, either your brother is an idiot because I’m so obviously trash and yet he’s banging me, or your brother is awesome and therefore thinks well enough about me to have a relationship with me.” She blinked at me. “It can’t be both, so which is it?”

  Jessica stared at me as she tried to think her way out of the puzzle I set for her. I pulled on my slouchy white boyfriend shirt as I waited for an answer. When she still said nothing, I began to add another layer of sunblock to my face.

  “Which is it, Jess?” Asher’s voice had us both turning. Asher stood at the end of the blanket.

  “She’s using you,” Jess stated.

  He shook his head, his eyes hard. “Jess, I’m sick of this.”

  “I’m trying to protect you,” Jessica insisted.

  “Bullshit,” he stated. “You’ve always loved tearing into anyone I liked. And I’m not allowed to say shit about Jason.”

  She straightened her shoulders. “Jason isn’t using me to get back at you.”

  “Oh, please,” I muttered as I picked up my towel again and began soaking up water from my hair.

  “Jason is an asshole,” Asher told her. I went still. This was new… but he wasn’t done yet. “I don’t like him, but I say nothing, because you do. I
respect your choices when I can. For once, can you just respect mine?”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Jess told him. “She doesn’t care about any of you.”

  “And you do?” he snapped, his voice angry and sharp. I flinched. I’d never heard that voice from Asher before. And from the look on Jessica’s face, she hadn’t either. “I can go days without seeing you, Jess. The guys haven’t heard from you in over a year.” Her face was blank as he continued. “Ally’s my friend. Deal with it.” Jessica huffed and stormed off.

  Asher turned back to me. “I’m sorry about her. The things she says…”

  I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. If she really thinks I’m trying to get back at her for something… Then, I guess, in her twisted way, she is trying to protect you.”

  Asher eyed me. “You alright?”

  I gave him a tired smile. “Yeah, I’m just… I think I’m going to take a quick nap.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “A nap?”

  “Yeah, that workout this morning wiped me out,” I lied.

  “Okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Just… stay out of the sun.”

  I sat down in a nice shady spot and smiled. “Way ahead of ya.” I folded up my towel and lay sideways across the blanket.

  “You need anything, give a shout,” he told me.

  “Don’t worry, I will,” I told him as I folded my hands behind my head and looked at the sky through the leaves. Asher hesitated before heading back to the others. My mind went straight back to the scan results.

  Asher

  That was odd. Ally hasn’t taken a nap in the afternoon since… well, since we got Hades for her. I looked over my shoulder at her stretching out on the blanket in the shade. She has been drinking coffee in the afternoon lately, too. I turned back around and headed for the guys. Maybe one of them knew what was going on.

  I went to the large rock near them and sat down. “Hey, does anyone know why Ally is so tired?”

  Everyone gave me their attention immediately.

  “What do you mean?” Miles asked.

  I gestured towards the blanket. “She’s taking a nap right now.”

  “What?” Ethan asked, not believing it.

  “That’s strange,” Miles admitted.

  “She’s just taking a fucking nap,” Isaac snapped as he swam towards the edge of the water.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  Isaac pulled himself out of the water and snatched his towel from the pile. “I didn’t sleep worth shit last night, so I’m taking a fucking nap too. Or do I fucking have to ask for permission?” Isaac shot over his shoulder as he started to dry his hair. Everyone chuckled as he left.

  Miles continued watching as he walked away. "He's not sleeping again?"

  Ethan sighed. "No, I don't think so."

  "He didn't get wasted at the party,” Zeke pointed out.

  "That's true," Asher added. "Besides, there isn't much we can do if he's not willing to talk."

  "We should try and keep an eye on him,” Miles announced.

  The guys nodded in agreement. Putting it out of my mind, I got to my feet and dove into the water.

  Lexie

  I was running around in circles in my head when a shadow fell over me. I opened my eyes and smiled. Isaac was still dripping wet from the water, his wet hair slicked back off his face.

  “Heard you’re taking a nap,” he said.

  “Yeah,” I muttered.

  He grinned. “Sit up.”

  I didn’t ask why, I just sat up. Isaac sat down behind me and stretched out.

  “Now you can use me as a pillow,” he said as he bent an arm under his head and closed his eyes.

  My heart warmed. “You don’t have to do this you know.”

  He opened one eye. “I didn’t sleep worth shit last night. You’re doing me a favor.” He reached over and tugged on my sleeve a little. “Come on. Nap time.”

  I smiled and put my towel where my neck was going to go before I lay down. My head was resting on his hard, but still comfy, stomach. His hand found mine where it was resting on my upper stomach. His fingers played with mine as I looked up at the sky again.

  “Comfy?”

  “Uh-huh,” he muttered.

  “Why couldn’t you sleep?” I asked, my voice quiet.

  “Bad dreams,” he hedged. “What about you?”

  “Same,” I lied. Warmth slid through me as he continued to stroke my fingers with his.

  “Hell, we could have napped at my house,” he pointed out, his voice growing slurred.

  “Good point.” My own body was starting to relax now. Isaac grew quiet.

  I went back into my own head. Okay, I wasn’t doing as well as I thought. But I wasn’t that bad. I still had time. What the hell was I going to do with it?

  “Isaac?”

  “Hmm?” He was more than half asleep.

  “Hypothetically, if you were dying, what would you want to do?” I asked in a whisper.

  “Crash at your place,” he mumbled, his words barely audible. His fingers tightened on mine making my heart skip. “We’d hang… out… every… day…” He drifted off.

  It was a sweet answer. His fingers stopped playing with mine as he fell asleep. He was right, though. Spending time with the people I loved and making sure they knew they were loved felt right to me. His deep, even breathing helped me relax. I slowly slipped under.

  * * *

  Pins and needles in my hand and up my forearm woke me up. I shifted. There was a grunt. I opened my eyes to find myself lying with my head on someone’s shoulder and my back against their side. I took a deep breath and smelled limes. Smiling, I relaxed against him. The hand on my belly moved a little.

  “You awake?” Isaac whispered.

  “Uh-huh,” I mumbled. The fingers on my stomach started rubbing back and forth slowly.

  “Do you want to wake up?” His face pressed into the back of my hair.

  “I’m debating,” I grumbled.

  He chuckled. “Whatever you want.”

  “How long have you been awake?” I asked as I started to rub the sleep from my eyes.

  “A while,” he muttered as his face moved from my hair.

  “Then why didn’t you get up?” I asked as I tilted my head backward to look up at him.

  He grinned. “You were out cold. I figured you needed the sleep.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Cookie Monster.”

  He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Are you getting up now?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I want to jump off a level.”

  He smiled as he pulled away so I could get up.

  Isaac and I headed back to the others. When we reached the water, I looked up at him. “Want to jump off the first level?” I asked. He grinned.

  “Hell yeah.” Isaac led me up the steps to the first level. “Make sure to jump out so you don’t hit the rocks right below you,” he warned. I winked at him, then ran and jumped. I tucked my knees to my chest and hit the water. I came up laughing. I swam over to the guys, still laughing.

  “Nice splash,” Asher told me as he wiped water off his face.

  “What’s so funny?” Miles asked.

  I stopped long enough to wipe the tears from my eyes. “My ass hit the water first. I’ve got the wedgie from hell.” Miles turned bright red while the others burst out laughing. I was starting to calm down when Isaac jumped in and came up near us.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked. That set us off again, leaving Miles to explain.

  “Um, Lexie has a situation,” Miles hedged.

  Isaac’s eyes snapped to me. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head as I quickly pulled my suit out of my crack.

  “What’d I miss?” Isaac asked again. Everyone but Miles and Zeke started laughing again.

  “I hit ass first and got a wedgie,” I admitted.

  Zeke shook his head at me. “You don’t get to jump anymore unless you’re doing a pencil jump.”

&
nbsp; I saluted him. “Yes, sir. Only the one wedgie for me, sir,” I said in a gruff voice. The guys were still laughing as they got out and headed for the jumping ledges. Except for Ethan. He sat on a small ledge still in the water. I swam over and lifted myself onto the ledge next to him.

  “You’re not jumping?” I asked, watching as the guys climbed the stairs.

  “I can’t,” he muttered. “If you have a healthy spine, you can jump from ten feet with no problem, even twenty. With my back, I can’t even do ten.”

  I wrapped my arm around his and squeezed. He smiled down at me before we went back to watching the guys jumping from the second level.

  After a while, everyone was getting tired. Isaac got out and held his hand down to me. “Want to jump off the second level?”

  I smiled, took his hand, and followed him up the path. We moved to the second level.

  “Okay, Red,” Isaac said as he walked out on to the ledge with me. “You’re going to do a pencil jump or it’ll hurt. Lock your legs together, point your toes and keep your arms straight down at your sides. When you hit, you want to make a point not to take a breath. After you hit, spread your arms and legs to stop you from going too deep. Got it?”

  “Yep.” I looked down at the water. “How much is this going to hurt?”

  “Your feet might sting a bit.” He shrugged.

  I smiled, my heart pounding. “This should be fun.” I jumped, locked my legs straight, and kept my arms at my sides. I hit the water. I cringed. My feet stung as if I had hit cement. I swam to the surface and cursed.

  The guys whooped. I swam toward them, hoping the stinging would stop soon.

  “Enjoy that?” Ethan asked with a smile.

  “Yeah, I just wish it didn’t make my feet sting.” I pulled myself out of the water and onto the ledge.

  “You didn’t point your toes enough,” Miles informed me.

  “Next time I’ll try that,” I said as I looked up to watch Isaac jump.

  My heart dropped.

  Isaac was climbing past the third level. “Guys. Isaac.”

  Everyone turned and looked up.

  “Shit,” Asher bit out before he took off for the path. Zeke was barely a heartbeat behind him.