When To Fear The Living

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Sweetheart, you came to the right place. Come on in, and let’s get started,” Fey said warmly. Fey took me around the racks asking my opinion on different dresses. It took some time, but eventually Fey smiled. “I think I have your taste down. Go get in the dressing room, strip down, and we’ll bring the dresses to you.” I didn’t argue, I went into the dressing room and waited. Soon the curtain opened, and Jake passed me a dress. Then he eyed me in my underwear.

  “What?” I asked. He frowned.

  “Cotton? Really?” He asked, painfully. I flipped him off as he dropped the curtain. He just laughed. I took the dress he gave me. It was satin and tulle, but black. I stepped into the dress and held the bodice to my chest. I came out into the dressing room area. Jake was waiting. I turned.

  “Zipper please,” I asked sweetly. Jake zipped me up as Fey walked into the dressing room area pulling a rack of black gowns with her.

  “Okay, in front of the mirrors,” Fey ordered. I walked over to the three mirrors and looked at myself. The dress was strapless, the bodice black satin, and the skirt was black tulle.

  It was pretty, but I could already feel it sliding down my chest and said so. Fey nodded.

  “Okay, no strapless,” Fey announced. She gestured for me to go back into the dressing room. She handed me another dress and closed the curtain. It went on like that for an hour. Eventually, we just left the curtain open, I was the only one in the store and Jake wasn’t interested. I was about to give up when Fey lit up. “Oh, I know the perfect dress!” Fey ran off into the back of the store. I hung up the short black and lace dress I had just tried on.

  “We’re going to need to hit a lingerie shop after this,” Jake announced looking pointedly at my bra. “Cause you need satin, sweetness.” I snorted.

  “No, I don’t. Plain and functional works just fine for me,” I countered. He huffed.

  “Not for a formal gown,” He shot back. I rolled my eyes. Jake eyed me. “So, do you have a date for this thing?” He asked.

  “Nope, in fact, I was wondering if you wanted to be my date,” I asked in my sweet voice. He snorted.

  “No, I’m not getting in a tux unless it’s for a certain purple haired guy,” He said, his eyes meeting mine. “But I heard you turned Dylan down pretty hard.”

  I went still. “What are you talking about?”

  “He said he asked you and you shut him down cold,” He told me.

  “Yeah, I shut him down,” I admitted. Jake eyed me.

  “You couldn’t have done it gently?” He asked. “I mean, you broke the guy’s heart-”

  “Wait. What?” I asked confused. “I broke his heart?”

  “Yeah, when you broke up with him,” Jake said. I snorted and shook my head. That was funny.

  “Jake, I didn’t have Dylan’s heart. I didn’t have his anything,” I told him. “He dumped me.” Jake’s brows went sky high.

  “What?” Jake asked, stunned.

  “Yeah, he came down, said some real shitty stuff to me, and dumped me. Then I told him to fuck off,” I explained. Understanding filled his eyes.

  “So, that’s why you don’t want to talk to him or return his calls,” He said, his voice sympathetic.

  “Pretty much.”

  Fey walked through the dressing room doorway and handed me a shapeless black dress on a hanger. “Trust me, put this on. I guarantee you’ll love it,” Fey announced. I took the dress, unzipped it and stepped into it. I pulled it up, then slipped my arms through the straps and waited for Jake to zip me up. Not expecting much I walked over to the mirrors and looked up. Holy shit. It was perfect. Fey and Jake helped me pick out accessories and shoes that would go perfectly with the dress. As I handed over Rory’s credit card, I was starting to get excited about the dance.

  Carrying my bags, we headed back down Main Street towards my Blazer.

  “You’re going to need a thong, Lexie,” Jake warned. I snorted.

  “I do not need a thong,” I countered.

  “In this dress, you do. Your panties will ruin the line of the dress,” Jake insisted. I snorted.

  “I’m not going underwear shopping with you,” I shot back, laughing. I was still snickering when I felt that chill run down my neck like a finger. I stopped laughing and looked straight ahead. Three ghosts were talking as they strolled down the sidewalk of Main Street. One woman and two men in clothes from the 1800’s and they seemed to know each other. Their energy hit my barriers hard enough they vibrated. I put tissues to my nose as Jake kept talking about how I needed a thong to make the dress line work. The ghosts were coming straight at me. My stomach knotted. I stepped behind Jake fast, my barriers shook hard as the three walked by, my stomach rolled badly. I stepped around Jake and ran for the alley just a few feet away. I hurried down the alley and I made it around a big green dumpster where I dropped my bags, fell to my knees, and threw up.

  “Lexie? Shit!” Jake said as he spotted me. I held the tissues to my nose, my other hand braced against the brick wall. Hands were on my back and shoulder. “Okay, get it all out, sweetie.” I was sick again. “There you go.” Footsteps ran towards us. “She just started-”

  “Did she bring a kit?” A husky voice demanded.

  “A what? She brought a black purse,” Jake said, his voice confused. My stomach lurched but noting came up, great dry heaves.

  “Move, Jake.” The husky voice was closer. Hands left me while a wrapper was torn. “Lexie, here,” The voice registered. I held out my hand. The familiar weight of a nausea tablet settled in my hand. I popped it into my mouth and chewed, cherry filled my mouth. I braced my arm against the brick again and kept my eyes closed.

  “What’s going on?” Jake demanded.

  “She’s having a seizure.” The husky voice... shit. It was Dylan. Who else in Dulcet know how to help? I mentally cursed my luck as my stomach started to stop cramping. “She’ll be okay in a bit. She’s just hurting now, and light sensitive,” Dylan explained to Jake. As I felt better, I realized Dylan’s hand was rubbing between my shoulder blades. I knocked his hand away from me but his hand came back to rest on my shoulder. I smacked it away again, harder.

  “Dylan, she’s saying she doesn’t want you touching her,” Jake said, his voice firm.

  “Touch her again, and we’re going to have words.” Dylan sighed. When my head stopped hurting enough that I could open my eyes, I did. I blinked and waited for my eyes to adjust.

  “What are you doing, Dylan?” I asked, my voice rough.

  “Helping. I was looking out the shop window when I saw you run down the ally. It didn’t take much to guess what was happening,” Dylan said, his voice matter-of-fact. I snorted which, of course, hurt my face. I got to my feet, still bracing a hand on the wall.

  “This is exactly what you wanted to avoid, remember?” I pointed out. I pulled my tissues away from my nose, it stopped bleeding. I stepped back from the wall to see him watching me, his face worried. Dylan had a boyish charm that had made my heart raced, well, it did before. His brown hair was more of a mess than usual. His sapphire eyes met mine. “You didn’t want to deal with my seizures,” I reminded him as I stepped back again and threw my tissues into the dumpster.

  “I’ve changed my mind,” Dylan announced. I looked at him and couldn’t quite believe his balls.

  “It doesn’t change the things you said to me,” I countered.

  “Lexie-”

  “Thanks for the assist,” I said before I turned and walked back to my bags. Jake had the dress bag over his shoulder. I picked up the rest and headed out of the alley.

  “Make sure she’s okay to drive, Jake,” Dylan called. I rolled my eyes.

  “Already was,” Jake shot back from behind me. We walked back to my Blazer in silence. Dylan’s words that night kept running through my head. You have a lot of problems, and I can’t take care of you all the time. I huffed. The guys managed just fine, and they didn’t think of me as someone they had to take care of, that jackass. We were loading the bag
s into the back when Jake broke the silence.

  “What did he say to you that night?” Jake asked.

  “Let’s just say, he knew exactly where to hit to cause the most pain possible,” I said. I looked up and met his eyes. “And he knew exactly what he was saying, and how much it would hurt.” Jake’s jaw clenched as he looked down the road at Dylan who was walking back to the store.

  “The asshole.”

  “Pretty much.”

  Chapter 5

  Saturday Night

  I was getting dressed when Ethan called.

  “You ready, Beautiful?” Ethan asked.

  “I’m getting dressed now,” I told him as I pulled my clothes out of the closet and set them on my bed.

  “Ooh. Naked Beautiful,” He teased. I rolled my eyes as I smiled.

  “Not naked.” It wasn’t a lie either I was standing in my room in my underwear.

  “Oh, you just had to ruin it,” Ethan grumbled. I chuckled. “Anyway, we’ll be there in ten.”

  “See ya then,” I said before I hung up. I pulled on dark blue jeans and a gray boyfriend shirt. I just threw my hair back in a ponytail, and put on some mascara. That was all the effort I was willing to go through tonight. I headed downstairs with Hades following.

  Rory was laid out on the couch watching hockey. “Hey Rory, care if I go to Vegabond with the guys?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He looked up and smirked.

  “Be back by ten,” Rory said and then he looked over at Hades and patted his stomach.

  “Come on, Hades.” Hades jumped up on to the couch and walked up onto Rory’s chest to lay down, I bit back a smile. I never told him how big Hades was going to get, and I was sure the guys didn’t either. When Hades is full grown, he’s going to climb on Rory like that and I planned on filming it. I was checking my wallet when there was a car honk outside. “Bye, Rory.” I was out the door and getting into the front seat of the twins’ car. Isaac was in the back seat tapping away on his cell phone. Ethan eyed me.

  “You okay, Beautiful?” Ethan asked. I gave him a smile.

  “Yeah, I’m going low key. I really don’t want to get hit on tonight,” I said as I buckled my seatbelt. The boys chuckled.

  “Well, that’s not going to work,” Ethan said. “You’re too pretty.” I snorted as Ethan pulled onto the road. My heart warmed from the compliment.

  “Damn straight,” I said proudly. They both chuckled.

  As we headed for Dulcet I told them about my barriers holding against the three ghosts earlier. They both cheered. Isaac hugged me from behind the seat. Ethan yelled at him to put his belt back on, Isaac didn’t even argue. The twins talked while I changed the radio to a good rock station.

  “Hey Red,” Isaac called. I turned in my seat to see him.

  “If I can’t find a date in time, do you want to go to Winter Formal with me?” He asked, grinning at me.

  “Sure, why not,” I agreed. Isaac shot his arms into the air and cheered.

  “You’re the best, Red.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said as I smiled at him. We listened to music and gossiped on the way to Dulcet.

  When we arrived, Ethan parked and we headed in. The place was packed. Vegabond was a large warehouse-like bar that let the 16-20 years-old crowd in on Saturday nights. The bar ran along the right side of the building and the dance floor was in the middle, somewhere. Ethan took my hand and led me through the crowd to a table in the back corner. Miles, Asher, Zeke and Riley were already there. Riley and Zeke were both quiet as Miles and Asher made small talk. I slipped into the booth by Asher, Ethan close behind.

  “So, what’s going on?” Ethan asked the table.

  “Ethan, Isaac, you two might want to lay low,” Asher warned the twins. “Your exes are here.” I cringed. Ethan just shrugged before leaning back in the seat.

  “She can bitch all she wants. I don’t care,” Ethan announced, smirking. Isaac nodded in agreement.

  “I was more worried about Ally,” Asher admitted.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, innocently.

  “Ally,” Asher warned. I grinned mischievously.

  “Don’t worry I’m not going to start swinging,” I looked over to a stone face Zeke. “That’s Zeke’s territory.” He shot me a look, I gave him my smart-ass grin. He just glared at me. Okay, time to bring out the big guns. I leaned my elbows on the table and gave him my full attention.

  “What’s wrong, Zeke?” I asked in my serious voice. “Did someone steal your pink bunny rabbit?” I asked seriously. “Was it a little girl? Did a little girl steal your pink bunny rabbit?” I widened my eyes and whispered. “Was it the purple unicorn this time?” He finally snorted and his shoulders relaxed a little. Riley looked at Zeke then back at me. I shot him a smile before looking at Riley. “Jake sends hugs and kisses.” Riley gave me a distracted smile.

  “So... how did shopping go?” Riley asked her voice seeming strained. Okay, that was weird.

  “It was successful,” I declared. She smiled.

  “Tell me about the dress,” Riley asked.

  “Black, sexy, elegant,” I said, keeping it vague. She shot me a look. “I have to surprise Isaac. I’m gonna need that foot rub after a night in heels,” I told her adamantly. She burst out laughing.

  “You have to win the bet first, Red,” Isaac reminded me. I sent him a knowing smile.

  “Hey, when did you guys get here?” I looked up, Ryan and Oliver stood next to Ethan. I smiled.

  “About five minutes ago,” I said.

  “I’m going to go get a drink,” Riley announced. Isaac slid out of the booth to let her out. Zeke clenched his jaw as he got out and followed her into the crowd.

  “And I see a possible date to the dance,” Isaac announced before leaving the table.

  “You guys care if we join you? Everywhere else is packed,” Oliver asked.

  “Sure,” Asher said. Oliver scooted in and Ryan took the outside. Everyone started talking about school, music, video games. It didn’t matter, soon everyone was laughing and I was glad I came out tonight. After a while I got thirsty.

  “Okay, I’m making a drink run,” I announced. Ethan got out of the booth so I could scoot out. “Anyone want anything?” I asked. There were a couple orders.

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Ryan offered as he got to his feet.

  “Actually, Ryan I wanted to talk to you and Oliver about our next show at here,” Ethan announced. Ryan hesitated.

  “Don’t worry, I got it,” I assured him. Ryan gave me an apologetic smile before he sat back down. I made my way through the crowd. I was almost to the bar when I heard a voice that made my temper boil.

  “Oh, it’s the boys’ whore.” Faith’s voice had stopped me in my tracks. I turned to see Ethan’s ex-girlfriend Faith standing there. Faith was hot, there’s no other way to say it. She had the curves that most girls would kill for, her black hair had red streaks running through the pixie cut, her face was pretty, and she was currently glaring at me with amber eyes. I sighed.

  “Really? Whore? That’s all you got?” I asked, sounding disappointed. I sighed. “You need some new material, sweetie.” I went to walk away but was stopped by another voice.

  “Wow, you’ve gotten fat.” Cece’s voice stopped me. I reminded myself to hold onto my temper. I turned back to see Cece had joined Faith. Cece was a cute little thing with white blonde hair, green eyes and a big chip on her shoulder.

  “Nope, I’m actually at a healthy weight,” I said matter-of-factly. “Don’t put your issues on me.”

  “Oh, it’s you,” Trisha said as she stepped up next to the others. Trisha was a beautiful girl with long curly brown hair and sharp eyes. Only that beauty was marred by the bandage over the bridge of her nose and the fading batwing bruising under her eyes. I had a small twinge of satisfaction over that. After all, the bitch had left me for dead.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on your back somewhere?” Trisha snapped. I snorted.
>
  “How’s the nose Trisha?” I asked, sweetly. Trisha flinched. “What? Still bitter about being dumped because you girls were being bitches?” I asked in my sweet voice. I snorted. “You girls ruined your own relationships, not me.” I smiled and started walking away.

  “Say hi to your Dad for me, oh wait-”

  “Be careful of your next words, Trisha,” I growled the warning as I turned. I looked at her with dead eyes. Her face grew white. “No one’s here to stop me this time,” I reminded her. They looked at me with shocked faces. I turned and pushed my way through the crowd, I was fuming. I don’t care who you are, you don’t go after someone’s family, that was just low. I reached the bar and ordered three sodas. I looked around and spotted Eric talking to a group of people further down the bar. I looked back to the wall behind the bar. I didn’t really want to talk to him. I was still waiting for my drinks when my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my back pocket.

  Secret Admirer: You look beautiful tonight.

  I grinned to myself.

  Alexis: You’re at Vegabond tonight?

  Secret Admirer: Isn’t everyone?

  I snorted. He had a point.

  Alexis: Then why don’t you come say hi?

  There were a few beats as I waited for a response.

  Secret Admirer: I thought about it but you’re with your friends.

  Alexis: So?

  As I waited for a response, I looked up to see if the bartender was done. He was heading my way with my drinks. My phone vibrated on the bar as I paid and thanked him.

  Secret Admirer: Some of your friends don’t have the best reputations.

  I scowled at my phone. Really?

  Alexis: Well, if you’re going by reputations, you’re not going to like mine.

  I tucked my phone into my back pocket, picked up my drinks, and headed back through the crowd.