When Evil Comes to Play

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Lexie?”

  “Huh?”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I focused on the now. “Nothing, um, that talk with Isaac just wiped me out.” I looked back at the house. “And I still have to walk Hades.” I took off my seatbelt.

  “You’re going to walk Hades now?” he asked. “At ten-thirty at night?”

  I shrugged. “He’s been in the house or in the backyard all day. He needs a walk.” I opened the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He shut off the Jeep and took off his seatbelt. “I’m walking with you,” he grumbled.

  “Zeke.” I turned back to find him already getting out of the car.

  “Don’t even start,” he growled. I sighed and got out of the car. Zeke was already heading for the door. He unlocked it before I reached him. Hades ran out between his legs and jumped on me.

  “Hi, baby,” I cooed at the dog as I scratched his ears. He dropped back to all four feet and rushed to Zeke.

  Zeke knelt down and got a lick to the cheek. “Not the face, Hades,” he grumbled. The dog just wagged his tail happily as Zeke put his leash on him. He moved to his feet, closed the door, and handed me the leash.

  We started down the side of the road in comfortable silence. Zeke stayed on the street side. The heat was finally easing up. The crickets were chirping.

  We were two blocks away when I looked up at him. His face was hard, his eyes unfocused on the road.

  “You okay, Tough Guy?” I asked, my voice quiet in the night.

  He looked down at me, his face softening a little. “Just thinking.” His voice was the soft one he used with me once in a while. I loved that voice.

  “About what?” When he didn’t say anything, I took a guess. “You have homework from your doc, right?” Zeke’s shrink often gave him ‘homework’, which was usually him talking to me about something.

  He nodded before turning back to look down the block.

  I looked down at Hades. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

  “Do we have to talk?” His voice was almost a whisper.

  I met his eyes again. They were tired, and quite frankly, so was I. “No,” I said. “Having you around is enough.”

  The corner of his lips twitched.

  We continued walking with Hades on my right and Zeke on my left. It was a nice, relaxing walk in comfortable silence. No issues, no talking, just being together. That long walk gave me peace and helped me feel better.

  I never knew silence could be like that. Reviving. Renewing.

  Isaac

  I rolled over again and punched the pillow into shape. Lexie kept filling my mind; her eyes, her touch, the smell of rosemary. Cursing, I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. The feel of her dancing with me. Yeah, dancing with her wasn’t new, but this… this time it was different. This time she was pressed against me, her skin under my fingertips. This time I wanted to kiss her. I tried to imagine how that would go. Looking down at her emerald eyes, holding her pretty face, and pressing my lips to hers. Only to be slapped and shoved away. I blinked, shook my head and tried again, only she slapped me again and called me a loser this time.

  I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Even in my fantasies I couldn’t kiss her! What did I expect?

  She doesn’t love you.

  The words vibrated in my mind, shredding my heart. No shit. But she said she did…

  That doesn’t mean she’s in love with you. There’s no way. You’re a bug under her shoe. She didn’t even come by the stand - she sent Asher. She can’t stand looking at you.

  I was right. Deep down I knew I was. Lexie was loving; she loved and cared about everyone. That didn’t make me special. Hell, I killed Sophie. As soon as she realized it, she’d be gone. I’m nothing, and I mean nothing to her.

  Unable to lay here anymore, I threw the covers off me and got up. I pulled on my clothes from today. Rosemary drifted off my clothes. My cock hardened against my zipper. God damn it. I shoved my feet into my shoes and left the house. I needed to walk, maybe even run. Anything to get my head to stop.

  Chapter 7

  Sunday

  Ethan

  * * *

  I was going downstairs when the front door opened. Isaac walked in, wearing the same clothes from last night.

  “Hey, where were you?” I asked as I reached the first floor. “We’re going to be late for Miles’.” Isaac’s eyes had heavy bags under them, his hair was a mess, even his face was pale. “Don’t tell me you’re getting sick, ’cause I’ll leave your ass at home.”

  Isaac didn’t even look at me as he passed me and headed up the stairs. What the…?

  “Are you coming to Miles’ house?” I asked. Isaac said nothing as he slammed his bedroom door behind him. My eyebrows went up. That’s a hell no.

  Lexie

  I had just hung up my phone after leaving another message on Serena’s phone. That witch had yet to get back to me. I had questions about what I had seen the other night. And I had already called her twice. The front door opened.

  “Here!” Ethan shouted.

  “Kitchen!” Everyone else shouted back.

  “Fruit is done,” Asher announced as Ethan walked into the kitchen.

  Isaac wasn’t there. Everyone picked up serving dishes and headed into the living room.

  When everyone was sitting with their breakfast and coffee, I finally asked, “Where’s Isaac?”

  Ethan shrugged. “He’s at home. He walked into the house this morning when I was coming downstairs.”

  “He didn’t want to come?” Asher asked. That was strange, there was food here.

  “I guess not.” Ethan took a bite of toast.

  “I thought you two talked last night,” Miles said, turning to me.

  I finished my bite before answering. “We did. I thought we were okay.”

  “Maybe he's getting sick.” Ethan took a drink of his coffee. Probably, it still bothered me that he wasn’t here.

  “That’s weird,” I pointed out.

  Ethan shrugged. “It happens, though it hasn’t for a long time.”

  “Any word from Serena?” Asher asked after finishing his bite.

  I shook my head. “Straight to voicemail. I get being busy, but… I think she’s avoiding me.”

  “Well, from what you’ve told us,” Miles began, pushing his glasses back up his nose, “that is entirely possible.”

  “Great, my only resource is dodging me,” I grumbled. The room grew quiet.

  We were halfway done with breakfast when Asher asked, “So, what are we doing today?”

  “Well,” Miles grabbed our attention, “I still owe Lexie a day of paintball.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Yes!” The guys chuckled.

  “You’ll need to change out of your shorts and into jeans,” Zeke warned before he clenched his jaw. “Please?”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. He shook his head as he went back to his breakfast.

  “Did you just say please?” Ethan asked, his eyes wide and mouth gaping.

  Zeke's eyes were hard as they went to him. “Shut it,” he growled in his deep gravelly voice.

  Ethan shut his mouth and went back to eating.

  “If that’s what we’re doing, then I want to stop by and pick up Isaac,” I told them.

  “He’ll probably be asleep,” Ethan pointed out.

  I smiled. “I can get his ass out of bed. There’s always ice water.” Everyone laughed.

  We finished breakfast quickly. Before leaving, I went to ‘my room’ and found a pair of jeans in the dresser. Luckily, I also had a pair of sneakers here. Did I have any clothes still at home?

  It wasn’t long before I was driving over to the twins’ house while the others headed for the paintball field. I parked and hurried inside. Maria, the twins’ mom, was in the living room reading a book. Maria was beautiful; she had the same amber eyes and black hair as the twins.

  She looked up when I stepped onto the stairs. “Oh,
good,” she said with a smile. “Go get his butt out of bed.”

  I sent her a thumbs up and moved up the stairs quietly. His door was closed. I moved to it and slowly opened it. Isaac’s room was a mess. Clothes were everywhere. With the curtains closed, the room was dim. Isaac’s twin bed was against the left hall wall. He was only wearing boxers that said ‘got bacon’ with strips of bacon all over them. The white sheets of his bed were tangled around his legs. I took a second to enjoy the lines of his back, before I pounced.

  I ran and jumped, landing on his back with my knees on either side of his waist. He grunted. I dropped my upper body onto his back and rested my chin between his shoulder and neck.

  “Get the fuck off,” he growled.

  “Nope,” I said cheerfully. “We’re going to play paintball. Get up!”

  “Lexie...” he grumbled, burying his face in his pillow.

  “Come on, I need help kicking Zeke’s ass.” I moved my face next to his neck.

  “No, I’m not going.”

  “Yes, you are,” I countered. He cursed. I started giving him raspberries on his neck. He managed to twist under me, get his arm around me, and drag me under him. I don’t even know how he did it.

  He lay back down, half on top of me, and glared.

  I simply smiled up at him.

  He shook his head, lowered the rest of his body to mine and nuzzled his face against my neck. “Do you really want to play paintball?” he whispered, his voice warm and rich. My heart picked up, warmth flooded my body. “We could stay here… puedo abrazarte todo lo día.”

  Oh…boy… um… I needed to get him to wake up. Like, now! I lifted my head and gave him another raspberry on his cheek without stopping.

  “Knock it off.” He tried to grumble, but he was holding back a laugh.

  “I’m not gonna stop until you get out of bed.” I pressed my lips against his neck again and continued the raspberries. He started laughing. I kept at it until he was fighting to get away.

  “Okay, okay!” He finally gave in. I dropped my head back to the pillow.

  “Are you gonna get up?” I asked sweetly.

  He was smiling when he said, “Yeah, I’m getting up. Want to get out so I can get dressed?”

  “Want to get your ass off of me?” I countered in a funny voice. He lifted himself up into a plank position. I slid out from under him and headed for the door.

  “Hurry up! I want to kick Zeke’s ass today,” I told him before closing the door behind me. I took a minute to get my body under control. That voice... shit. I'd never heard him use that voice before. I leaned against the wall, my body humming. It took several more deep breaths before I could even push away from the wall. I headed back downstairs to wait.

  “Is he waking up?” Maria asked.

  “Yeah, I didn’t give him an option,” I admitted with a smile.

  She chuckled. “Good. I’m glad at least one of you can get him out of bed.”

  “Well, it’s either get up and go with me, or I annoy the hell out of him until he gets up and goes with me,” I told her. “There’s no real way for him to win.” Maria was laughing when Isaac came downstairs in paint-stained jeans and a green camo shirt.

  “Are we going?” he asked. I got up, said goodbye to Maria, and hurried out the door.

  “Are you going to be grumpy?” I asked as we reached the Blazer.

  He opened the passenger door. “I’m hungry.” That explained it. Isaac got as grumpy as Zeke when he was hungry.

  “I’ll buy you lunch if you cheer up,” I offered. He sent me a small half grin. I pulled out onto the street, wondering why he wasn’t sleeping.

  * * *

  Paintball was fun, there was no denying it. You got to shoot your friends and dodge their hits. It was a blast. A splat hit the tree next to me. I dove for cover, rolled, and came up on my knees behind several metal barrels. The barrels dinged as they were hit with paintballs. Where were they? I peeked around the side and spotted Asher. I ducked back behind cover before peeking out again. I fired at him, only to get hit in the back. What the…? I turned. Isaac, the traitor, had shot me in the back. It was on now.

  “You shit!” I shouted as I shot at him. He took off running, laughing as he went. I chased him, jumping over logs, moving around trees easily. He pulled ahead and dove for cover. I moved behind a large tree and tried to think about how I’d get to him. I was looking around when an idea sparked. Smiling, I let my paintball gun hang from the sling and started climbing the tree as quietly as I could. When I was hidden in the branches and high enough, I could see Isaac. And Zeke. And Miles. Fighting back a giggle, I got into a good spot and brought the gun up. I fired. Bright purple paint hit Isaac’s shoulder. He dropped back behind cover. Zeke and Miles moved up through cover quietly, getting closer to Isaac.

  Smiling, I took aim. I nailed Zeke in the shoulder. He cursed and dropped back behind cover. I was struggling not to laugh as I aimed for Miles. Miles was hunched behind a low log and moving to Zeke’s side. I got him in the side. I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop my giggling.

  “Where the hell is she?” Zeke snapped.

  “She was behind me,” Isaac yelled. I shot him in the back again for good measure. “Damn it, Red!” Now I really started giggling.

  “Anyone see Lexie?” Zeke bellowed.

  “No!” Ethan’s shout came from somewhere below and behind me. I carefully turned in the tree.

  “She was heading this way,” Asher answered. I moved to another branch, being careful not to shake the leaves and give myself away. There. Ethan and Asher were both huddled behind a barrier. The little shits had set a trap for me. I grinned, took aim, and hit Asher on the shoulder.

  “Damn it.” Asher moved and tried to hide more of his body behind the barrier. “Anyone see her?”

  “No!” They answered in unison. I snickered silently.

  “She’s around here somewhere!” Ethan snapped. He began to move. I couldn’t hit him in the back, but… I took aim and fired.

  “Fuck!” Ethan snapped.

  “What?” Miles called.

  “She got my ass!” Ethan rubbed his butt cheek, cursing the entire time. I couldn’t stop myself. I started laughing and couldn’t stop. It didn’t take long for Asher to figure out where I was.

  “She’s in that tree,” Asher announced. I kept laughing. Everyone came out of cover, took off their masks and looked up.

  “Get your ass down from there!” Zeke snapped. I shook my head, still laughing.

  “Lexie, be careful,” Miles warned.

  “She totally cheated,” Ethan pointed out.

  I took off my mask and looked down at him, tears in my eyes. “A-are you butt hurt?” I burst out laughing, holding on to the branch below me. The others chuckled. Ethan’s look promised retaliation.

  “That is cheating, Red,” Isaac chimed in.

  “You were supposed to be on my team!” I reminded him. He chuckled.

  “Ally, can you climb down?” Asher asked with a smile.

  I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I just didn’t want to try while I was still laughing.” I let the gun hang on the sling and started moving down the tree branches. When I was almost down, hands bit into my hips and took me off the tree. The scent of vanilla reached me before Asher put me down.

  I turned and smiled up at them. “So, I guess I win.”

  Asher pointed his gun at my leg and fired. It stung. “There, now no one wins.” I flipped him off. Everyone laughed.

  I eyed everyone’s paint covered clothes. I was definitely the least covered. I had paint here and there, but I still had the least colorful clothes.

  A buzzer was going off. Miles pulled out his phone. “Our time’s up.”

  Everyone grumbled as we headed back. Then I was shot from behind, right on the butt. Twice. I turned. Zeke and Ethan were snickering.

  “Hey! The game’s over.”

  “That’s for cheating,” Ethan countered.

  “And for hiding in t
he tree,” Zeke added.

  “You guys planned to trap me,” I shot over my shoulder.

  “You were hard to hit,” Isaac pointed out.

  “You’d think the hair would make it easier to find her,” Ethan said. I was smiling as we walked into the parking lot. Once we reached Miles’ car, everyone started pulling off gear and putting it into bags. I was putting mine into a bag with the name Lexie on it when my phone rang. I handed the gun to Miles before I answered.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s me.” Jake’s voice was thick.

  “Hey, you okay?” I asked, tucking a stray paint-soaked hair behind my ear. Miles and Asher turned to watch me.

  “Derrick dumped me.” He sniffed.

  “Fuck,” I said. “I’m on my way, hon. Just text me your address.”

  “See you soon.” He hung up.

  I looked up to Asher. “Jake and Derrick broke up.”

  His brows shot up. “Damn. Is he okay?”

  I shook my head as I tucked my phone into my pocket. “I gotta head up to Dulcet.”

  “Let me know if I can do anything,” Asher said.

  “I will.” I turned and kissed Miles on the cheek. “Thanks, Miles.” Then I headed for the Blazer.

  It took me an hour and change to pick up Hades and drive to Jake’s house. I made a quick stop for a full water bottle, tissues, chocolate, and ice cream. It was the only thing I could think of that might help. It’s what I would want if I got my heart broken. Shit. I forgot the cookies. Oh well. I was already at Jake’s house.

  It was a nice cottage with an English rose garden in front next to the white picket fence. It looked like it came right out of a magazine.

  We hurried up to the door and knocked. Jake opened the door looking like shit. He had deep bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his nose was red.

  Heart aching, I stepped inside and hugged him. He held on tight. When he finally let go I held up the grocery bags. “I come bearing junk food.”