As Zeke changed, I took the opportunity to check out the photos that were scattered all over the bookcases. Most were of Sylvie and a non-smiling Zeke, then I found a different one. It was in a white, carved, wooden frame that matched the rest of the book case. I smiled. The little boy looked like Zeke, with a cherub face and a big laughing smile. Just behind him was a beautiful woman with long black hair and big brown eyes. There was something about her that made her face glow in the sunlight as she smiled down at the little boy. Zeke was in front of her in dirty blue jeans and a dusty blue shirt with his arms open wide and balancing on one foot. From the pine trees, it looked like they were on a hiking path somewhere. I was still looking at it when Zeke came into the living room. He turned the corner and stopped, his gaze went to me then the photo, and back.
“Little Zeke,” I teased with a big smile. “You were so cute.” He grumbled wordlessly. “Who’s with you in this photo?” I asked. He gave me a sad half grin as he looked at the picture.
“That’s my Mom. Sylvie’s her sister,” He said, his voice warm. He’d never told me anything about his Mom before.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, she was,” He said quietly, looking at the photo.
“Where are the pictures of your dad?” I asked absently as I looked over the rest of the case again in case I missed one. When I looked back to him I went still. Zeke’s face was hard, his eyes burning on me. “What?” I asked instantly, my gut knotted. Zeke closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.
“I forgot that you don’t know,” He muttered before walking further into the room.
“Know what?” I watched him walk across the room to stand near the couch. He looked back at me, his face strained
“I don’t have photos of my father anymore,” He said, his voice hard. His gaze went back to the photo on the bookcase, “Because, he killed her.”
Chapter 7
Sunday Afternoon
“He what?” I asked, not sure I heard him right. Zeke’s shoulders were tense as he dropped his hand from his hair, his haunted eyes met mine.
“He killed my mom and then he killed himself,” He said bluntly. As I tried to process what he had said, he sat down on the couch. Tank got up and went to sit in front of him demanding Zeke’s attention, he grinned sadly at the dog as he started petting him. “My father was an unstable prick. He would have killed me too if Alice hadn’t asked me to have dinner with them that night.” Holy shit, Alice was Asher’s mom. The boys had spent so much time at Asher’s house that she might as well have been their Mother too. My heart ached for him.
“Zeke, you don’t have to tell me,” I said, softly. Zeke shook his head before meeting my eyes.
“No, it’s time you knew some of my crap,” He said quietly. I walked over and sat in the yellow armchair next to him. Zeke focused on petting Tank. “Alice actually insisted that I stay for dinner that night. She knew things had gotten worse at home and wanted to cheer me up. So, she had all of us over and taught us how to make spaghetti and meatballs. It was my favorite when I was a kid, she saved my life.” He kept petting Tank, his jaw clenching. “I found them when I got home. I was eight.”
“Zeke,” My voice was barely a breath of sound. My heart broke for him, finding his parents dead at eight had to be... fuck. I swallowed hard. Zeke looked over towards me, but not at me. His eyes were unfocused over my shoulder.
“There was a note. It was a confession, and it said the only regret he had was not taking me out too,” He said, his tone matter of fact but his voice was rough. I reached over, took one of his hands from Tank, and held it. He gave my hand a squeeze.
“Was he...” I had to ask. “Was he drunk? On drugs?” His eyes focused on me.
“No, the autopsy showed he was clean and sober,” He said, his voice bitter. “He just came home, beat the shit out of her, stabbed her to death then hung himself.” Tears fell down my face. His face was blank, his eyes unfocused. I wanted to hug him but I knew Zeke. I knew he was dealing with his memories right now and hugging him wouldn’t help. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. “I went into foster care until Sylvie could move back here. About two months.” I looked at the floor and tried wipe my face on the sly. It didn’t work.
“Stop crying, Baby. I can’t stand it,” He growled. I rolled my eyes and wiped my face.
“I’m sorry Zeke. I can’t imagine coming home to....” I shook my head and wiped my face again. Zeke let go of my hand so he could pull out his handkerchief and handed it to me. I smiled my thanks as I used it to wipe my face.
“I’ve dealt with most of it. Sylvie made sure of that, she sent me to a great shrink that helped me work through it. Now, it’s like any other memory,” He said as he met my eyes. “Most days I’m alright, but every once in a while, it comes up and bites me in the ass. Then I have a really hard day.” I gave him a sad smile.
“When that happens, you know-”
“I can call,” He quoted me. I smiled. Yeah, I had been saying that to him a lot lately.
“Day or night, it doesn’t matter,” I reminded him gently. His eyes were soft as they ran over my face.
“I will,” He promised. Then he narrowed his eyes at me. “No one told you about this?” I shook my head.
“The guys hinted that your home life really wasn’t that good with your parents. I think they didn’t want you scaring me off,” I said. He huffed. “But no one told me why,” I added. His mouth twitched and then he raised an eyebrow.
“Not even Rory?” He asked. My brows went up.
“What? Rory knew?” I asked, surprised. He nodded.
“He... was the first cop to get to the house that day,” He admitted. “Even if he didn’t remember, it would have come up that first day he ran our names through the system.”
I shook my head. “Rory never said a word,” I assured him. “He’s a big believer in people making their own choices.” Zeke’s eyes became unfocused again.
“Yeah, he is.” We were quiet for a few beats. I reached over and touched his nose.
“Boop,” I said in my cutesy voice. He chuckled. Those shadows began to disappear from his eyes. I loved that I could do that for him. “So,” I said, cheerfully. “Where are the rest of the photos of you as a kid?” He chuckled nervously and shook his head at me.
“No, Lexie,” He stated firmly. I grinned.
“They’re in your room, aren’t they?” I asked, getting excited. He tried to glare at me but he saw my face and started laughing. I rushed to my feet and ran for his room.
“No!” He shouted. I ran down the hallway and into his room. I started opening drawers in his desk. His big, bare feet slapped against the wood floor in the hallway. I searched the first drawer and opened the second. I pretended that I was frantically looking when he came through the door. He grabbed me around the waist, lifted me off my feet, and pulled me away from the desk.
“Not fair!” I shouted, laughing as he tossed me onto his bed and away from the desk. I bounced, rolled, then got to my knees. I pointed at him. “Cheater!” He smirked at me.
“You started it,” He countered.
“One pout, a cheater doth not make,” I declared dramatically, watching as he moved to stand in front of the closet door. I smirked. “They’re in the closet,” I said. He crossed his arms over his chest. I climbed off the bed and tried to get past him to the closet. He grabbed my arms but I slipped by, I made it to the door before his big arms snatched me up off my feet again. I struggled and forced him to fight to keep ahold of me.
“You’re not getting in there,” He stated simply as he carried me away from the door. He threw me back onto the bed. I rolled back to my knees and dove off the bed to try to get by. He caught me and tossed me back on his bed. I growled as I rolled and tried again. I wasn’t even trying to get to the photos now, I just wanted to see if I could get past him, then maybe to the photos. This time I jumped off the bed and Zeke caught me. He carried me back in his ar
ms and dropped me on my back. Out of breath, I took a second to rethink my strategy, I didn’t realize what he planned until his bodyweight was draped over my stomach. I opened my eyes to find him sitting on the side of the bed and leaning over me. His arm keeping most of his weight off me, but he was still incredibly heavy. I smacked his chest.
“Squishing! Squishing!” I groaned. He lifted his body up enough so I could breathe. “Damn Zeke, how much do you weight?”
“225 and all muscle, Baby,” He said as he grinned down at me. “Now, are you going to stay away from my closet?” He asked patiently as the scent of leather and engine grease surrounded me.
“No,” I shot back defiantly. “I want to see baby Zeke photos!” I pushed at his chest, he didn’t budge. I tried to wiggle out from under him but it was useless. I continued to struggle until I was out of breath, then I playfully glared up at him. “You’re cheating,” I pointed out. “It’s not fair that you get to use your giant ass to pin me and I can’t even pout.” He started laughing at how serious I sounded. Then his face softened and his eyes grew warm.
“Thank you, Baby,” He said in that quiet voice I loved.
“For what?” I asked, softly. He gave me a warm, heart-stopping smile, with teeth. I loved seeing those.
“You’re not really trying to get to my photos,” He said. “You’re trying to make me laugh.”
I had to stop myself from squirming under him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tough Guy,” I insisted. “I want embarrassing baby photos of you.” Zeke chuckled quietly. He leaned down and kissed my cheek.
“Thank you,” He whispered, his breath tickling my skin. I gave his arm a squeeze before he sat back up. “Now, are you going to behave?”
“Never,” I scoffed. He chuckled. He got off me and let me up. But before I could do more than stand, he grabbed my arm and steered me out of his room. “I thought I wasn’t trying to get to your photos?” I taunted.
“Just in case,” He muttered. I snickered at him.
It wasn’t long before I had to go home. I gave Zeke an extra big hug tonight, I held on long enough that he snorted and gave me a big squeeze.
"I'm alright Baby, really I am," He whispered before he kissed the top of my head and let me go. I took Hades home. I didn’t understand how he was alright. Maybe therapy did help?
I ignored the pain slamming down my neck as I pushed my way past the ghosts outside. Hades was helping, he growled and snapped at the ghosts until they backed further away. When I walked into the house, I had a bloody nose and a smile. The ghosts were learning to respect Hades and I wondered what would happen if Hades ever managed to bite one.
“How’s Zeke?” Rory asked from the couch.
“Better, he’s moving again,” I replied as I unhooked Hades’ leash. Hades ran and climbed into Rory’s lap. My phone vibrated in my back pocket. I sat down in one of the armchairs and checked it.
Secret Admirer: How was your day?
Alexis: Not bad. Busy, but not bad. How was yours?
I watched the movie Rory was watching as I waited for an answer.
Secret Admirer: The same. Right now, I’m looking through my movies for something to watch.
Alexis: Tremors. Watch Tremors. Awesome movie.
Secret Admirer: I’ve never heard of it.
I grinned as I texted back.
Alexis: It’s an early ‘90’s monster movie. It’s great.
Secret Admirer: Okay, I’ll find it. But you have to watch one of mine.
Alexis: Deal.
Secret Admirer: A Walk in the Clouds.
I looked up the movie. Keanu Reeves? I had loved John Wick and liked The Matrix. Sure, why not?
Alexis: I’ll watch it tonight and let you know what I think.
Secret Admirer: Same here.
Someone knocked on the door. Rory answered it and took the delivery.
“Dinner’s here!” Rory shouted up the stairs.
Alexis: Dinner time. TTYL
Dinner with Rory and Tara was quiet as usual. I was almost done when I decided to try and connect with Tara.
“So, Tara, how are the plans for Winter Formal going?” I asked. Tara eyed me like I was an alien from another planet.
“Okay, we just got the light order in and we’re spending the next week making decorations,” She said carefully.
“What kind?” I asked before taking another bite.
“Well, paper snowflakes, the centerpieces for the tables,” Tara began loosening up as she continued. “Silver and white balloons, and all the branches we need to paint. But the rec. center is giving us a hard time about candles. They said if we’re going to have a fake snow blowing than we can’t have the candles. That it’s a fire hazard.”
“What’s fake snow made out of?” I asked, curious now.
“Styrofoam,” Tara stated. “So, we’re using those battery LED candles.” Tara continued talking through dinner. It was a nice change from our usual tense silence. After dinner, it was Tara’s turn to do the dishes, so I headed upstairs with Hades. I got comfy on my bed and brought up Netflix on my computer. Hades instantly had his head in my lap. Once I found the movie, I started it. I put the computer on the nightstand and snuggled with my puppy, my giant puppy. The butt was going to be hogging my bed very soon. Once the movie started, it didn’t take long for me to I realized that this was a romance. Damn. I still watched it because I said I would. When it was over, I was glad it was over. It was a good movie, just not my kind of thing. Seeing the time, I shut down my computer, rolled on my back and went to work.
I was in the Veil again, lying on my back in the dirt as the hot breeze ran over my skin carrying the bite of sand with it. I watched the sky boiling overhead, the lightning stretching across the sky. It was beautiful, or it would be if it didn’t mean the Veil was dying. I thought about my last work session. I had reached the sky but the energy there batted at me the same way the walls had. So, I was going to try the same strategy, I didn’t bother to sit up, I closed my eyes and pictured the guys. We were all sitting around the coffee table at Asher’s house. Isaac was trying to throw marshmallows into Ethan’s mouth from across the table. We were making bets on how many tries it would take. I eyed the twins, they were entirely too quiet about it. So, I betted the within five tries, Isaac smirked at me before he started throwing. I cleaned up that night. I remembered that feeling. My barriers dropped and it wasn’t so jarring this time. I kept my eyes closed as I focused on spreading my energy over the Veil floor, dry and cracked but I kept going. I knew when I reached the walls, anger and menace flooded through me. I didn’t fight it, I just accepted that it was there. I pictured my energy rising higher and higher. A wind blew through me hard, throwing me off balance An intense, boiling feeling of wrong filled me as wind battered through my mind and across my soul. I accepted it, I didn’t fight it. I opened my eyes and watched as my energy moved across the Way. The closer I got to the center the harder the winds thrashed through me. I made it half way before I lost it. My barriers slammed shut and my energy slammed into me. I laid there gasping, aching and raw. Halfway, I got halfway across. I smiled to myself as my body ached. I was getting closer, I was almost there. I pulled myself out looking forward to a good night of sleep.
Chapter 8
Monday
I held tissues to my nose on my way to our usual outside table, I had opened the door this morning to find all the ghost still camped out on the lawn. Apparently, there was enough energy floating around now that they didn’t have to return to their haunting grounds at dawn. Great. I checked my tissues, the bleeding had finally stopped. Just a few more days and I can start crossing souls, I reminded myself as I threw my tissues away. My phone vibrated.
Secret Admirer: I watched your movie last night. Do you really like that movie? Or are you making a joke? Because it was awful.
I rolled my eyes before I wrote back.
Alexis: That’s one of the reasons I love it. It’s great monster fun. If you want s
omething with better effects, watch Pacific Rim.
I reached the table and sat down next to Miles.
Secret Admirer: I’m weary now.
I snickered.
Secret Admirer: Did you like my movie?
Alexis: It was good for a romantic drama, but not my usual thing.
I had just hit enter when Ethan stepped up next to me. He snagged my phone out of my hand.
“Snoopy!” I snapped as I tried to grab it back, but Ethan dodged and read my texts to my Secret Admirer out loud to the guys. I watched him as I planned my revenge. When Ethan was done, the others chimed in as he handed back my phone.
“He hated Tremors, he doesn’t have a chance,” Isaac declared, smiling.
“You’re still texting with him?” Asher asked, surprised.
“Wait, this guy had a chance to meet you, and he didn’t take it?” Zeke asked his voice suspicious.
“Yeah, he was at Vegabond Saturday night,” I said, shrugging. Before he could say more, Zeke turned away from the table and coughed.
“That’s strange,” Miles said quietly.
“No, that’s weird,” Zeke said his gravelly voice rough.
“Yeah, I thought so too,” I admitted. “Then again he seems really shy.” I shrugged.
“What’s the big deal?” Isaac asked, “It’s just texts.”
“Anyway,” I changed the subject. “Guess what I found outside when I opened the door this morning?” I suddenly had everyone’s attention.
When To Fear The Living Page 13