When To Fear The Living

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Lexie.” Dylan’s voice came from behind me. I gritted my teeth before turning around. Dylan was standing there with that small smile on his face.

  “Hey,” I said in a polite tone, though this trip to the bar was killing my good mood.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” Dylan said, his voice sounding uncertain, I sighed. Be polite Lexie and walk away. When I opened my mouth to tell him no, he started talking. “I know I hurt you and I’m sorry about what said that night, it was stupid, and mean, I never even felt that way. I was just exhausted and overwhelmed from everything going on.” I went to say something but he kept talking right over me. “I miss you.” He kept talking and I tuned him out, I took a deep breath for control, and looked around the crowd. Ethan was headed my way. I needed Dylan to stop, now. I turned back to him and interrupted.

  “Dylan, I’m having a good time with my friends. I really don’t want to do an autopsy on our relationship,” I pointed out. He was speechless for a few seconds.

  “We’re not dead Lexie, if you give us a chance-”

  “Hey Dylan,” Ethan said as he joined us with a strained smile. “How are you doing?” Dylan hesitated before answering.

  “I’m alright.” Dylan’s eyes went back to me. “We were just having a private conversation-”

  “Yeah, sorry. But I need to some help from Beautiful. There’s a blonde not getting the hint that I’m not interested. I need Lexie to drive home the point.” Ethan took my arm and pulled me to his side away from Dylan. “Sorry about that.” Ethan didn’t sound sincere at all as he put his arm around me and walked me away from Dylan.

  “You’re my hero for the day,” I told him earnestly. He chuckled. My phone vibrated in my pocket.

  “Why didn’t you just tell him off?” He asked taking one of the drinks I was carrying.

  “I tried to but he started talking again,” I admitted. He burst out laughing. He was still laughing when we reached the table. Zeke was in Ethan’s old spot, his shoulders rigid and jaw clenched. Riley wasn’t with him. I kept my questions to myself as I handed out drinks. I sat down next to Ethan and pulled out my phone.

  Secret Admirer: You’re different.

  I snorted.

  Alexis: Not by much. TTYL

  Dealing with the girls and Dylan just took away any energy I had. I was tired and ready to go home. I gave Ethan my drink.

  “Is anyone ready to go home?” I asked, hopefully.

  “I can give you a ride,” Ryan offered from inside the booth. Zeke got to his feet and picked up his jacket.

  “Come on Lexie, I’ll take you home,” Zeke said, already moving towards the crowd. I grabbed my coat, thanked Ryan, and said goodbye to everyone before I followed. When I caught up to Zeke, I snagged his belt so I didn’t lose him without even thinking about it. His hand reached back and took mine as we made our way through the crowd. Instead of heading to the front, Zeke took me to the side patio door. We walked out and slipped on our jackets on our way to his black ’97 Jeep Cherokee. He was quiet as we pulled out of the lot and got onto the highway. We were silent most of the drive.

  “What happened? You seemed okay earlier,” He asked, his voice quiet. I sighed.

  “On my way to get drinks, I ran into the three bitches of the North.” I looked over to him. “They insulted me by the way.”

  He shook his head. “Anyone else mess with you today?”

  “Ran into Dylan twice today,” I grumbled. Zeke looked over at me before looking back at the road.

  “How’d that go?” He asked his voice deeper than usual.

  “As you’d expect, Ethan got me out of there before I started yelling at him,” I admitted. He cursed.

  “Lexie, if you want us to deal with him, we will,” Zeke offered. “I’ll make it real clear to him to leave you alone.”

  “I can handle Dylan,” I assured him. “Besides if it came to that I’d let you know.” He just grunted in response. I looked over at him and asked, “What happened with Riley?” His hands on the wheel tightened until his knuckles were white.

  “We’re fighting,” He admitted. “She got a ride home with her friends.” I looked back out the window.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, gently. He scoffed.

  “No, I don’t.” His voice told me not to push it so I let it go. I reached over and gave his arm a squeeze before looking back out at the trees. We were almost back to town when my phone rang. The caller ID said it was Tara, I didn’t even know she had my number.

  “Tara?” There was loud background music and voices.

  “Lexie, I need a favor,” Tara said. Her voice strained, my stomach knotted.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded. Zeke looked over at me, frowning.

  “I got a ride with my friends to the party out at the Thompson house,” Tara said, her voice was still strained. “There’s a guy here that won’t leave me alone, can you come get me? Please?” Her voice was scared. I’d never heard her sound that way. I pulled the phone away from my mouth.

  “Tara is in trouble at the Thompson house,” I told Zeke. He accelerated.

  “I know where that is. It should be ten minutes,” Zeke assured me his voice hardening. I brought the phone back to my mouth.

  “We’re ten minutes out, Tara,” I told her calmly. “Stay with your friends, don’t go to the bathroom alone and stay in sight of everyone. Got it?”

  “Yeah, got it,” Tara’s voice was stronger, more her. “Thanks.” Tara hung up. I cursed as I put my phone away.

  “What happened?” Zeke asked.

  “Some guy won’t leave her alone and her friends drove so she can’t leave,” I bit out. My knee started bouncing. Zeke sped up even more, adrenaline raced through me. Tara and I didn’t really get along, for her to call me for help meant it had to be something bad. Zeke sped through the curves in the road and blasted through town without any trouble.

  We made it to the Thompson house in eight minutes. Zeke parked the Jeep behind all the other cars. We both got out and hurried toward the house, Zeke took my hand and led me through the crowd. The Thompson house was big and packed with people. The longer it took to find Tara the more worried I became. Finally, I spotted her at the end of a hallway. She was standing in the corner with a tall guy towering over her. His brown hair was sweaty and his shoulders were broad. He had to be around Asher’s size.

  “Zeke, over there.” I got his attention and pointed. We both watched as Tara tried to walk out of the corner only for the guy to block her, he moved closer until she was practically pinned in the corner. Zeke dropped my hand and strode down the hallway with me one step behind.

  “Leave me alone,” Tara told the guy, her voice shaking. Zeke grabbed the guy’s arm and jerked him away from my cousin. I grabbed Tara then pulled her behind me and out of the line of fire.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Cornering a girl like that?” Zeke growled. The guy pushed back but Zeke was stronger, he kept the guy against the wall. I turned to Tara and moved her further down the hallway.

  “Tara, what did he do? Who is that?” I asked. Tara’s hands were shaking.

  “Darren Cross. He-he kept saying gross stuff and kept touching me. I told him to stop but he didn’t listen,” Tara said, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself.

  “When a girl says stop, you stop, motherfucker!” Zeke snapped. He was furious.

  “What did he touch?” I asked, bluntly. She met my eyes before looking away.

  “My hair, my face, and my leg. He just wouldn’t leave me alone,” Tara said. My temper sparked, I wanted to hit the fucker. I turned to Zeke.

  “He kept touching her, Zeke,” I announced. Zeke punched the guy. Darren cried out and clutched his bleeding nose. He started to slide down the wall but Zeke grabbed him by the throat and pinned him there.

  “If you ever fucking touch Tara again or even come near her. I’ll crush your throat under my boot,” Zeke snarled in Darren’s face. Darren’s dark eyes
grew wide. “Understand?”

  “Got it,” Darren said painfully.

  “Good, now apologize to her,” Zeke growled, his fingers tightening. Darren’s gaze went to Tara and I.

  “Sorry,” Darren bit out. Zeke punched him one more time and let him drop to the floor. Zeke stepped back. Darren just groaned against the wall.

  “Lexie, get her to the car,” Zeke ordered. I didn’t argue. I took Tara’s hand, lead her through the party, and out of the house. I knew Zeke was just a step behind us. Tara was quiet all the way to the car. I opened the back door for her and she slid in with tears running down her face. I handed her some tissues before I closed the door. I climbed into the front seat. Zeke started the car, peeled out of the driveway, and onto the highway. I turned around in my seat.

  “What happened?” I asked, gently. Tara wiped her face before answering.

  “My friend Lane was sober driver tonight so we all took her car,” Tara began. “We were having a good time when Jason and his friends showed up. Darren wouldn’t leave me alone.” Tara shook her head. “He wanted to go upstairs and my friends were no help. They kept saying, ‘Go, he’s a football player.’” I cursed.

  “They told you sleep with him just because he was a football player?” I asked, not quite believing this. Tara nodded. “Un-fucking believable.”

  “There was no way that was happening,” Tara pointed out. “I told him to back off but he didn’t.”

  “I’m glad you called, Tara,” I said, adamantly. She looked up from her lap and met my eyes.

  “Really?” She asked uncertainly.

  “Yeah,” I gave her a small smile; she gave me one back.

  “Thanks, Lexie,” Tara said.

  “Tara, I want you to show up to the gym on Monday,” Zeke announced, his eyes still on the road. “We’ll teach you some basic self-defense.” His voice told us not to argue. Tara nodded as she looked out the window. I turned in my seat and looked at Zeke.

  “I think Isaac would be good to teach her,” I suggested. Zeke nodded.

  “That’s what I was thinking. He’s good at laying out the basics,” Zeke agreed. The rest of the drive was quiet. When Zeke pulled up to Rory’s house he parked the car, I ignored the ghosts on the front lawn.

  “Thank you, Zeke,” Tara said from the back seat. I blinked. That was the first-time Tara ever spoke to Zeke let alone acknowledged him.

  “If you need help Tara, you call. Don’t hesitate, don’t worry about being wrong, you call. And we’ll come running,” Zeke said, his voice gruff.

  “We?” Tara asked.

  “Give me your phone,” Zeke demanded as he held his hand out over his shoulder. Tara handed him her phone in its purple case. I smiled to myself as I watched him punch in a bunch of numbers. When he was done, he handed the phone back to Tara. “Send a text to the group named backup. And we’ll all head straight to you,” Zeke told her.

  “Thank you,” Tara said again, her voice quiet.

  “No problem,” Zeke answered. Tara got out of the car and headed inside. I sighed deeply.

  “Well, tonight sucked,” I announced. Zeke chuckled.

  “Mine got better, I got to hit someone,” Zeke said as he smirked at me. I snorted.

  “Damn, maybe I should have taken a swing too,” I pointed out. Zeke laughed.

  “Maybe,” He agreed.

  “Is she going to have Asher’s number now?” I asked. He chuckled.

  “No, I made it so she had to do a group text and couldn’t tell which number is whose,” He admitted.

  “You sneaky bastard,” I grinned at him. He snorted. Then I had to ask. “You’re fighting with Riley a lot lately, aren’t you?” Zeke rested his head against the headrest.

  “Yeah.”

  “What about?” I asked, gently. He shook his head.

  “Don’t want to talk about it yet,” He said, bluntly.

  “Okay.” I was about to open the door when he grabbed my hand. I looked up to meet those sky-blue eyes.

  “But when I do, I’ll let you know,” He assured me. I gave him a smile and his hand a squeeze.

  “Alright.” I reached over and gave him a big hug. The smell of engine grease and leather filled my nose. I took a deep breath. He gave me a big squeeze and kissed my temple before letting me go. “Night Zeke.”

  “Night Lexie.” I pushed through the ghosts as usual. You’d think they’d learn not to swarm me but they haven’t. Zeke waited until I was inside before he drove off. I closed and locked the door. When I turned, Rory was looking at me.

  “Why was Tara crying?” He asked his voice hard. I walked over and sat in the arm chair closest to the door with tissues at my nose. Hades jumped off the couch and came over to jump into my lap. I grunted under the weight as he settled.

  “Zeke was driving me home when she called, some guy was giving her a hard time at a party and her friends weren’t helping,” I began, keeping my voice down. Rory’s jaw clenched. I explained what happened at the party, how Zeke had punched the guy, and what Tara said happened. “I’m taking her to get some basic self-defense with the guys on Monday.” Rory nodded, his jaw still clenched. I checked my tissues, the bleeding had stopped.

  “Who was the kid?” Rory asked his voice harsh.

  “Darren Cross,” I answered. Rory nodded his eyes unfocused. “Zeke gave him a clear message.” Rory nodded again. Then his eyes focused on me.

  “What about you?” Rory asked. “How’s the Veil work?” I sighed.

  “I’m working on it,” I said vaguely. Rory nodded. “Speaking of...” I gave Hades a nudge and he slid off my lap to the floor. I went up to my room and changed into my jammies, black sweats and black shirt.

  I laid down on my bed next to Hades and closed my eyes, I sank to my center quickly. It was the same as usual, burnt and dying. I lay down on my back and looked up. The Way was still boiling and streaked with green. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and I thought about the guys. We were sitting at the dinner table at my house doing homework. I had my headphones on and I was getting into the music. Nickelback’s “Savin’ Me” started in my ears. Forgetting that the guys were there, I started singing. I was halfway through the song before I looked up, the guys had stopped doing their homework and were watching me. Every one of them with a shit-eating grin on their faces, I took my earbuds out and pointed at them.

  “Not. A. Word,” I threatened. They busted out laughing as I buried my face in my hands and groaned. Ethan put his arm around me and got control of his laughter first.

  “We love hearing you sing Beautiful,” He said. “It makes us smile.” I dropped my hands to glare at him. He burst out laughing again. I just rolled my eyes and went back to my homework with a warm face. I remembered that feeling of belonging from that night. I ignored the hot wind that started to blow through me and focused on stretching my barriers across the Veil. When I reached the walls, I paused. Don’t fight it, Lexie. I took a deep breath and visualized that gold shimmer climbing the walls. The walls were disgusting. That thick, clinging, goo filled me with anger but I didn’t fight it. I just accepted that it was there and there was nothing I could do about it yet. It filled my mind as I pushed higher, then I reached the sky. Energy was liked the wind and it batted at me hard, I struggled to hold on to my position but as soon as I tried to strengthen it, I lost it. My barriers slammed closed leaving me gasping in the dirt. Fuck! I rubbed my eyes and face in frustration. The energy was rough as hell. I closed my eyes and pulled myself out.

  I was lying in my bed with Hades’ big blue eyes watching me.

  “This is getting annoying, baby,” I told him. He simply closed his eyes and went to sleep. I soon did the same.

  Chapter 6

  Sunday Morning

  I pulled into the circular drive in front of Miles’ house just in time to watch Isaac bolt out the front door. I put the Blazer in park as I watched him run towards me. Asher came running out of the front door with yellow goop covering half his head and one should
er.

  “Isaac!” Asher shouted as he ran after him. I shut off the truck and got out in time for Isaac to hide behind me.

  “Save me,” Isaac begged as he rested his hands on my shoulders and pulled me between him and an approaching Asher.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “A pudding filled balloon,” Isaac admitted without shame. “The shit was annoying me last night.” I snorted.

  “I don’t think hiding behind me is going to help,” I pointed out. Asher stopped directly across from me, close enough that his chest was almost in my face.

  “Let her go and you can have a head start,” He snapped. I snickered as Isaac’s grip on me tightened.

  “Oh, no. I’m not that stupid,” Isaac countered emphatically. Isaac wrapped his arm around my waist and picked me up. I started giggling as he carried me with him backing away. Asher followed at a steady pace as Isaac walked backwards with me around the Blazar. I didn’t bother fighting it, Isaac needed a little help and I was probably the only one who could.

  “Put her down,” Asher warned, still stalking us.

  “Uh-uh. Red’s saving my ass,” Isaac shot back as he walked backwards towards the front door. I kept giggling.

  “Put her down or else,” Asher threatened.

  “Or else what? If I’ve got Red, you won’t touch me,” Isaac countered. Asher smirked.

  “Zeke!” Asher shouted. “Isaac’s using Ally as a shield!” Isaac cursed.

  “Oh, you might want to run,” I warned Isaac.

  “Uh-uh, we’re going to have to live like this now,” Isaac announced. I snickered.

  “That’s going to make using the bathroom difficult,” I pointed out.

  “We’ll manage,” Isaac countered as the front door opened. He turned until we could both see Asher and Zeke. Zeke’s eyes ran over us then back to Isaac.

  “Put her down,” Zeke warned in his deep, menacing voice.

  “Can you run carrying me?” I asked, innocently.

  “We might have to find out,” Isaac whispered back. I bit back a laugh. That’s when Zeke and Asher struck. Zeke grabbed Isaac and broke his grip while Asher grabbed me and took me out of Isaac’s arms. Asher kept me off the ground while Zeke got Isaac in a head lock.