When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Well, because of the distance sometimes Autumn gets interested in someone else,” Ethan explained. “She tells Miles, he says okay we’re not dating.” He shrugged.

  “They have an arrangement, if you're interested in someone else, tell the other person.” Isaac began. “They still talk on the phone, still play games together. She’s just dating someone else.”

  “And Miles goes with that?” I asked not believing it. They both nodded.

  “Oh, it’s not just her,” Isaac said. “He told her what? Six months ago, he was interested in someone else. They broke up. He dated that chick, they broke up and bam he was back with Autumn. No hard feelings, no jealousy problems.”

  “They’re very honest with each other,” Ethan added. Then his brow furrowed. “But, if he was worried about taking her somewhere then he might be trying to change the arrangement they’ve had.”

  “That makes sense,” Isaac admitted. “You know Miles. He’d do something romantic and then talk to her about it.” My head was still spinning about this side of Miles. I never actually wondered what Miles… Lexie stop. Don’t go there. The guys started talking about games to play in the cemetery. It was obvious they were trying to keep me company.

  “Guys, go home. I'm all right.”

  “We can go get our sleeping bags, and we can all crash in the Blazer,” Isaac suggested looking at his brother. Ethan cringed.

  “That would really hurt,” Ethan admitted. I raised an eyebrow. Ethan admitting his back hurt was so rare I think this was the first time I’d ever heard him say anything.

  “Has your back been bothering you, sweetie?” I asked as I reached over and ran my hand over his back. His muscles were tight as a rock. “Ethan! What the fuck?” I moved back behind him, then scooted up to his back with my legs on the outside of his hips.

  “I’m fine; it’s fine. Leave it alone.” Ethan grumbled. I ignored him. I ran my hands over his back lightly, finding all the incredibly tight spots. He kept protesting, but he didn’t move away from me. I started at the top of his back. My hands working out the knots. Ethan groaned and dropped his head forward. He stopped saying he was fine; he stopped talking. He was just making little noises now. Isaac watched, frowning as I worked out several knots on Ethan’s upper back but when I moved lower with the same pressure he hissed. I eased up, going lightly. He groaned again, his head still hanging.

  “Be careful around his spine in the curve of his lower back, that’s where the problem is.” Isaac’s face was drawn as he watched his brother. I started working from the outside in. I’d work the knots out to a point on one side, then go to the other and go to the same point. Then I’d switch. Then I’d repeat. It was when I got right next to his spine in his lower back that I had trouble. I’d switch sides then come back, and it’d be locked up again. So I worked my thumbs up and down the muscle on both sides at the same time. Ethan twitched, jerked, and hissed. I stopped.

  “Did that hurt?” I asked worried about his reaction.

  “No, no, Beautiful it didn’t. There are just a lot of nerves right there.” Ethan explained. “You just hit them, and I’m currently using them right now.” I looked at Isaac over Ethan’s shoulder. I gestured for him to turn around. He understood immediately. He turned and stood directly in front of Ethan.

  “Lean on my back.” Isaac offered. “It’ll take the pressure off, and she can get the last of the knots.

  “It’s fine-”

  “Brother, if you say you're fine one more fucking time I’ll knock you out, and then Red will massage that spot,” Isaac growled at Ethan. I eyed Isaac. I’d never heard Isaac so forceful. It was weird. Ethan sighed and leaned forward, practically getting a piggy back without leaving the gate. I went back to work. Ethan still jumped, but it was mostly when I found another knot. There were so many in the area along his spine that I couldn’t believe he could stand it. It took a while, but I finished the last one. I ran my hands over his back again, just checking to be sure. I didn’t like how tight his back had felt. When I stopped touching him, I was still worried about him. Ethan sighed then slowly sat up.

  “Oh, mother…” Ethan stretched his arms and his shoulders. Ethan got off the gate and very slowly stretched his lower back. Isaac caught my eye. He mouthed thank you. I winked at him, then went back to watching Ethan.

  “Better?” I asked hoping, I couldn’t have made it worse, right? Ethan stood back up slowly and came back to me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead before resting his cheek on the top of my head.

  “You have the most incredible hands in the world,” Ethan said enthusiastically. I snorted and hugged him back.

  “Just glad I could help, Snoopy.” He snickered.

  “Call me Snoopy all you want Lexie. I don’t give a shit.” He mumbled to me, squeezing me tight.

  “Well, if you need I can give you back massages during the week, so your back doesn’t get that tight.” I offered, I really didn’t want Ethan in that much pain. Ethan squeezed me again.

  “Normally, I have a massage therapist every week or so, but she’s out of town till after the new year. I'm all yours Beautiful!” I snickered. He pulled back and gave me a big kiss on my cheek. “You are the best, seriously.” I winked at him as Isaac chuckled.

  “Now go home and do whatever it is you do to baby your back,” I ordered. He smiled down at me.

  “Alright. We’re going.” Ethan grumbled and let go of me to head towards the car. Isaac swooped in and gave me a tight hug.

  “Thank you, Lexie, he’s been a grumpy bitch all week at home.” I snickered. Isaac kissed my other cheek then ran to the car since Ethan had started it and was threatening to leave without him. I waved as they took off. They passed Zeke’s Jeep on the way in. I snorted. That figured. The sweet little shits were trying to keep me company. Zeke pulled up, parked and got out. He handed me a greasy bag that Hades was immediately interested in.

  “I ate shitty today, your turn,” Zeke explained as he dropped onto the gate next to me. I snickered and opened the bag. I pulled out a small cheeseburger for Hades and took the bun off for him. He went to town. Zeke smirked as he watched him. “That dog is going to be big.” I pulled out my burger.

  “Wasn’t that the point?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” He admitted without a sign of remorse. “So, the twins came out huh?” I shot him a look.

  “Like you didn’t know that already,” I said accusingly. He gave me a half grin. Yeah, he knew. “You’re a shit.” He snickered.

  “Your point?” He countered. I snorted.

  “Ethan's back was so tight it was like a rock,” I said changing the subject. Zeke frowned. “Gave him a back massage and managed to get the knots out.” He lifted an eyebrow. “His massage therapist is apparently out of town.” He nodded.

  “Thought he was walking funny.” He looked back to me. “So, you’re giving massages now?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said before I took another bite of my burger.

  “Hell, if my shoulder gets any worse I might have to ask.” He grumbled. I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Don’t you have a girlfriend to do that?” I reminded him.

  “Yeah, but…” He trailed off, his gaze going out to the cemetery.

  “Are you having trouble with her touching your back?” I asked eating a fry. He looked down at me surprised. Then his eyes narrowed on me.

  “Who told you about that one?” He asked grumpily. I finished eating my bite before answering.

  “Asher, the morning after Vegabond,” I answered. “He explained about triggers, so I asked what other triggers you might have so I could avoid them.” He seemed to relax.

  “That’s how you knew to come to me at my side when I was at the door on movie night.” He exhaled. “Wondering about that has been bugging the shit out of me.” I snorted as I took another bite of my burger. “Yeah, I’m having trouble with her touching my back.” He groused as if he hated to admit it. I finished my bite.

 
“But you think you’ll be okay with me touching your back?” I asked gently. “Even though I’m on probation?” He sighed deeply.

  “I might not trust you a lot right now, but I know you.” His voice was quiet as he looked over the tombstones. “I’ll work my way back to trusting you, Lexie. It’s just, gonna take some time.”

  “I know,” I grumbled. “In a month.” He snorted. I looked over to see him smirking.

  “A month isn’t that bad. Isaac got three, remember?” I eyed him.

  “Was taking your Jeep really that bad?” I asked curious now. His eyes met mine.

  “You know that big dent in the passenger side door?” My mouth dropped open.

  “No,” I said my voice full of disbelief. Zeke nodded.

  “I busted my ass to buy that thing, and fix the engine. A month after I got it running right, Isaac took it, and somehow managed to do that.” I was speechless. He smirked at me. “He is still working off what it’s going to cost to fix it for Sylvie.”

  “How?”

  “Sylvie’s big into her flowers, garden, and yard in the spring and summer. Hell, she sells veggies at the farmer's market every Saturday. Isaac’s her designated bitch until he’s helped us save enough money to fix it.” He explained. “He should be done this summer around July.” I eyed him.

  “So, on the scale of trust-breaking, who’s was worse? Mine or Isaac’s?”

  “Isaac’s.” He answered instantly. A tightness I wasn’t even aware of eased in my chest. His warm eyes ran over my face. “You didn’t do it on purpose. You had no idea I would take it like this.” He looked out over the darkening graveyard. “Isaac knew how hard I worked, how many late nights I put into that Jeep. He knew I’d be pissed off at him. And he did it anyway.”

  “And after three months?” I asked hopeful. He grinned at me, eyes running over my face.

  “I trust him again. That one took some time, but I trust him again.” He said simply. I took a deep breath and let it out. We were going to be okay.

  “So, you want a back massage?” I asked, changing the subject. His grin disappeared, he went back to looking at the cemetery.

  “Not today. It’s not bad enough yet that I’m willing to deal with those memories.” His voice was his quiet, soft one that I didn’t hear that often.

  “When you are, give me a call.” I offered. Then I had a thought. “You know you could use a heating pad, or two, cause your giant, on your back.” he snorted. “Always works for me.”

  “I’ll give that a try.” He sighed. “Now only if Riley would back off.” I raised an eyebrow. His face was blank. “I need some advice from a girl,” he grumbled.

  “Hit me,” I said before I took another bite of my burger.

  “I’m having some issues with Riley.” He admitted. “She’s nice and all, but she wants answers to questions I don’t want to talk about.”

  “Family questions?” I took a guess.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then just tell her that.” He frowned at me. “Tell her that you aren’t ready to talk about that with her.” His brow drew down.

  “Think that will work?”

  “If not, she’s an insensitive ass. And you know she isn’t.” I pointed out. Hades came to the end of the gate and tried to get into Zeke’s lap. “I think he loves you.” He grinned as he picked up Hades.

  “He’s a good dog,” Zeke said bringing the puppy up to his chest. I watched as my puppy licked scary Zeke’s nose. Zeke chuckled as he started petting him. “Our training today was a bust, though.”

  “Are you sure it was training and not playing?” I asked smirking at him. Zeke suddenly found the cemetery fascinating. I burst out laughing. “Zeke, you can play with him anytime. Just let me know you want a play date.” I snickered. He groaned.

  “Did you just say play date?” He asked me not quite believing that I said that. I smiled.

  “Is he really going to get as big as you said?” I was thinking about my bed and how small it was already. He nodded.

  “Yeah, he should.” He raised a brow at me. “Do you have room for a bigger bed?” I groaned.

  “Not really, but I can sacrifice most of my floor space for no nightmare sleeping,” I said before eating a fry. His eyes narrowed on me.

  “How small is your room?” He asked. I looked around for a comparison. I couldn’t find one. I hopped off the gate and walked out the width about eight feet.

  “That wide.” Then I walked the length about nine feet. “That long,” I said around the food in my mouth. I hopped back onto the tailgate.

  “That is not that big.” He pointed out. I snorted.

  “Only room I’ve had since my Mother lost the house, Zeke,” I grumbled right back. He went still. I pulled out a fry and fed it to Hades.

  “Where did you sleep?” His gravelly voice was softer again. He flipped Hades on his back in his arms and rubbed his belly. Hades’ eyes closed in bliss.

  “There was a way to turn the dining booth into a bed.” I shrugged before reaching over to feed Hades a fry. Zeke stopped rubbing his belly long enough to let him eat it.

  “Could have been worse, right?” He offered. Zeke gave me his lip twitching smile. I nodded and threw my wrapper into the bag.

  “That’s what I think, but I mentioned it to Dylan and Riley, then I got that look.” I cringed remembering. Zeke nodded understandingly.

  “The pitying look?”

  “Yeah, I hate that fucking look,” I grumbled.

  “I know what you mean. Anytime someone learns my parents are dead I get that fucking look.” He grumbled before he shook his head frowning at the gravel. “Fucking hate it.”

  “Yeah, it’s like. ‘I don’t know you; I’m a not a child, and I don’t want your fucking pity. So, shove it up your ass.’” I said in my sweet voice. He burst out laughing; I saw a smile with teeth. Those were rare from Zeke.

  “That describes it perfectly.” He said. I chuckled. It wasn’t long after that he was going to meet Riley. But he insisted I climb back in the truck so he could close me in. I did what he asked because there was no reason to fight him on it. After he left, I watched a couple of movies on my phone and snuggled back down to sleep.

  A hard bang woke me up. I opened my eyes to see my breath in the air. What the fuck? The back gate opened. Asher was standing there frowning with snow falling behind him. His ocean eyes ran over me.

  “You're not even wearing your coat, Ally.” Asher snapped as he reached across me for it. “Haven’t you been paying attention to the weather?” I was still trying to wake up.

  “Hmm? What?” I mumbled. Why was he pissed off? Asher unzipped my bag, took Hades and gave me my coat.

  “It’s going to go below zero tonight. You're not staying here.” His voice told me not to argue, and it was fucking freezing. I pulled my coat on as he tucked Hades into his jacket and held him.

  “Well, I can’t fuckin’ go home,” I grumbled half asleep still pulling on my coat. Apparently, I wasn’t moving fast enough for him. He reached out and jerked my coat up onto my shoulder. That woke me up a bit more.

  “You’re coming home with me, now get in my truck.” I eyed him. I’d never crashed at Asher’s house before. I was straightening my coat as I tried to come up with an argument. But with how frozen my face already felt I wasn’t going to argue. Still rather asleep I nodded. Asher pulled Hades out of his coat and handed me the big ball, I took him, slipped him inside my coat and closed it. Asher grabbed the bags in the truck and shut the back. The cold was finally waking me up. Snow was falling everywhere, and there were occasional flashes of lightning. What the hell? Asher grabbed my arm and got me moving towards the truck. When I was walking, he let go. It was really coming down. I climbed into the warm truck, shutting the door behind me.

  “Why is there lightning while it’s snowing?” I asked completely weirded out. Asher buckled up and started driving us out of the cemetery.

  “It’s a big storm; it came in around eight.” He said.
“It’s supposed to get to around -10 degrees tonight.”

  “That I get.” I tried again. “I mean the lighting and snow, totally fucking creepy.” He grinned.

  “This from the girl who sees the dead.” He teased.

  “Yeah, somethings should just not happen together,” I grumbled. He chuckled. “Wait, I could have driven the truck.”

  “Zeke says not tonight.” He replied. I eyed him.

  “Did Zeke send you out?” He gave me a half grin.

  “No, I was already on my way here when he called.” He said. “I told him I was almost there then he barked at me about not letting you drive.” I looked out the windshield. It was getting hard to see the road.

  “I’m not bitching.” I agreed. I heard him chuckle. I shifted Hades who was still in my jacket.

  “You're not arguing? Are you feeling okay?” He asked smirking. I snorted.

  “I’m stubborn, not stupid.” I countered. He chuckled again. Asher pulled up to his house and parked. “Your sister still isn’t home, right?”

  “She’s still at the spa.” He shut off the truck. That’s all I needed to hear. I grabbed a bag and was out of the truck fast. I almost slipped on the sidewalk, but Asher grabbed me around the waist and practically lifted me off my feet. “Ally girl, you need a pair of winter boots.” He grumbled as he steadied me.

  “They have winter boots?” I growled. He snickered as he held onto my arm until I was up the steps and on the porch. He unlocked the door and pushed me inside with his hand on my back. The house was nice and toasty. I put Hades down and took off my coat.

  “What time is it anyway?” I put my jacket on the banister.

  “Around 10:30.” He said as he picked up Hades. “Go ahead and head on up, I’ll take Hades out real quick.”

  “And… where am I heading?” I asked not sure. Am I sleeping in his dad’s room or Jessica's? Both were kind of gross.

  “You can take my room, and I’ll sleep in Dad’s. Just let me grab something to sleep in first.” Asher called over his shoulder on his way to the kitchen. That worked for me. By now everyone knew my issue with sleeping in someone’s bed that I didn’t know. It creeped me the fuck out.