When To Fear The Living

by B. L. Brunnemer

  "Ethan! Lexie! Isaac! The boys are here!" Maria shouted from downstairs. Ethan's mouth snapped shut. He got to his feet and held out his hand to me, I took it without a word and followed him into the hallway. Sophie gave me a sad smile as we walked out.

  When we got downstairs, Asher was being held hostage by a much shorter Maria. I bit back a laugh as she held his jaw and looked at his face.

  "Are you sleeping enough?" Maria asked, her voice telling him to answer.

  "Yes, ma'am," Asher assured her.

  "How about eating?" She asked. Asher smiled.

  "Yes, ma'am," He repeated. Miles came over to me, drawing my attention away from Asher and Maria.

  "Are you alright? Rory called us and told us about the phone call," Miles asked gently. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.

  "I'm worried he's going to go after one of you," I admitted. Miles smirked, his eyes turned cold.

  "I hope he does," He muttered. I blinked, and he was back to the same old sweet Miles I've always known. Huh, Miles wanted a piece of this guy too, I didn't expect that. Miles hugged me tightly. I relaxed against him, some tension inside me easing. "Only one demand left, and I get my bag back, right?" He asked, teasing me. I chuckled. He let me go and went to save Asher. Maria then repeated the same questions to Miles. Zeke was looking out the front window, his shoulders tense and his stance rigid, I moved next to him.

  "Hey." I greeted. He looked down at me, his eyes ran over me once, before he was looking out the window again.

  "You okay?" He growled.

  "Yeah, I was shaky at first, but then I got over it," I admitted. He reached out and took my hand without even looking away from the window. I gave his big hand a squeeze. His thumb ran over my fingers.

  "It's going to be fine," He said. "They might be picking him up right now."

  "True." Before I could say anything else, Maria clapped her hands.

  "Okay, if all of you are staying for supper, then a store run is needed," Maria announced. Miles instantly volunteered. Maria shook her head. "No, not you Miles, I'm going to give Lexie her first salsa lesson while they're gone. So, I need you, darling."

  "Shit," I whispered.

  "Told you, you wouldn't get out of it," Zeke whispered down to me. I giggled to myself. Soon enough all the guys, except Isaac and Miles, were running out the door to the store while Maria went to the stereo system. I went to meet Miles in the middle of the living room after he moved the coffee table. Salsa music filled the room as he stood across from me. Maria came back with a big smile.

  "Okay, we're going to start you with basics," Maria began then looked at Miles. "Okay, Miles position one." Miles gave a small smile and stepped closer. One hand went around me to my middle back, the other took mine. I rested my other hand on his shoulder as I tried to ignore the way my pulse picked up. "On the first beat, you'll step forward with your left foot, then back and back again with your right." I nodded and looked down at my feet.

  "Don't look at your feet, Lexie," Miles said. I looked up to meet his eyes. He grinned at me as Maria began to run us through the basics. Well, she ran me through the basics, Miles already knew everything. I felt completely and utterly ridiculous until Miles spun me under his arm and back to him. His smile made me smile. At one point, Isaac came down, groaned, then ran back upstairs to hide. For the next hour, Maria taught me how to salsa dance, and I loved it. By the time the guys got back, I was laughing as Miles picked up the tempo and led me through the steps I knew.

  "Oh, God no!" Ethan groaned, the others joined in. I ignored them and spun around the room with Miles.

  "Oh, shut up," Maria shot at them. "She's good." The guys grumbled as they brought the groceries in. When the song was over, I was out of breath and smiling. "You enjoyed that," Maria said.

  "Yeah, it was awesome," I said. "I think I need more lessons." Maria chuckled.

  "Well, I can't teach as much as I used to but Miles should be able to teach you. Right, Miles?" Maria offered with a small grin on her face. Miles gave me an awkward smile.

  "Sure, I can teach you if you want to learn more," He offered. Maria turned off the music.

  "Good, because I'm holding you to that," I warned. He chuckled as we headed into the kitchen with the others.

  The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of cooking and chaos in the kitchen. Asher helped Maria cook while the twins kept trying to snatch the dessert empanadas. They kept getting their hands smacked. The rest of us played the card game Bullshit. Zeke and I kept losing, he couldn't lie worth a damn, and everyone seemed to figure out when I was lying too. Eventually, Maria called a halt to the game and made everyone wash up and set the table. Dinner was lingua tacos. I had no idea what it was, but it was delicious. After I was stuffed, Isaac told me lingua was cow tongue. I shrugged, it tasted amazing, I didn't care. Isaac immediately deflated as if he expected a big reaction. His disappointed face made me laugh. Hades ended up in Zeke's lap as we played Uno and I didn't mind. He was getting too big for my lap anyway. It was around six when my cell rang, it was Rory. I got up and went into the living room.

  "Rory?"

  "Hey, kid." Rory's voice sounded tired. "We couldn't find him." My shoulders tensed.

  "What do you mean you couldn't find him? I thought you traced the call or whatever," I asked as I started pacing.

  "He rerouted the call through several cell towers. By the time we realized that's what was happening he was off the line," He said. "We've been trying to follow the trail, but we just weren't fast enough." I sighed.

  "Okay. Then I guess someone comes home with me?" I asked, trying not to get angry.

  "Yeah. Don't worry. We'll find him," He reassured me. I bit back my retort.

  "I know. I'll go home in a couple minutes," I told him.

  "Stay safe," He said before hanging up the phone. I wanted to throw the damn thing, I was still pacing when Asher came out.

  "Ally?"

  "He got away," I told him. "He pulled some trick with the towers and they couldn't trace him."

  "Do you want to come over to my place tonight?" He offered. I stopped pacing and shook my head.

  "You've got Jessica," I reminded him. "Last thing we need is for him to possibly switch his focus to her." I needed to move, to walk, to go. I couldn't just stay here anymore. "I'm going to head home." Asher's eyes ran over me, his face worried.

  "Let me tell Ethan so he can go with you," Asher said. I nodded, not really paying attention. I was thinking about ways to hunt this guy down when Ethan came into the family room with his book bag and an overnight bag.

  "Come on, Beautiful," He said cheerfully. "Let's bail before we have to do dishes." I smiled and got my coat while he called Hades. We said goodbye to the others and headed out to my Blazer. When we got close enough to the truck, I noticed the manila envelope under the wiper. My mind grew quiet as I pulled it off the windshield and opened it. It was pictures of Asher and I skating. There were also some from this afternoon while I was dancing with Miles through the front window. Written over one of them were the words 'touch her and die.' My temper sparked, you don't threaten my family. I climbed in and wordlessly handed the photos to Ethan. He called Rory as I drove home. I was half hoping to see the white Camry on my block so I could run the fucker over, but no such luck. We walked into the house and locked up. I fed and gave water to Hades. Then I went upstairs to shower and get in my pajamas. I was thinking things out as I came back down and sat in one of the arm chairs. Ethan put on some movie, I watched it without really paying attention. I looked at my phone and got an idea. Eventually, Ethan fell asleep on the couch. I turned off the lights, curled up in my chair then looked at my phone. I was done waiting for this fucker. It was time to go baiting.

  Alexis: Nice photos, too bad you ruined them with your insane bullshit.

  I didn't have to wait long for a response.

  Secret Admirer: Stop talking like that.

  Alexis: Free country, dickless. I can talk however I want.

>   Secret Admirer: This isn't you.

  Alexis: Oh, yeah it is. And if I were you, I'd run.

  Secret Admirer: Your friends can't hurt me.

  Alexis: I didn't say you had to run from them, it's me you have to worry about.

  He didn't respond. I wasn't scared of this fucker anymore. He was a coward, and I'd treat him that way. I stayed up waiting to see if he'd respond. It was late when Ethan woke up.

  "Beautiful?" Ethan's soft voice pulled my attention away from my phone. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

  "No, I'm waiting to see if this dick has the stones to respond," I admitted. Ethan woke up fast and got to his feet.

  "What did you do?" He demanded as he took my phone from me. He looked through the message and started laughing, "Oh, Lexie."

  "I'm tired of playing it his way," I admitted. "He's careful, right? So, if I piss him off he's more likely to make a mistake."

  Ethan shook his head as he looked down at me. "That's a dangerous game, Beautiful," He warned. "Rory said no contact."

  "Yeah, well no contact isn't working," I pointed out. "I want this shit in jail." Ethan sighed.

  "Come here, Beautiful." He said gently as he settled back on the couch. I got up and walked over to him. He gestured for me to lie down. I knelt between his knees then laid down on him with my head on his chest. His arms wrapped around me as I took in a deep breath of spice, his hand ran through my hair as I listened to his heart beat under my ear. "You don't need to bait him. He's going to come after you anyway."

  "I'm gonna kick his ass," I reminded him. He kissed the top of my hair.

  "I know. That's why he's scared of you," He murmured holding me tight. I wasn't sleepy, but the combination of his body head and the sound of his heart beat relaxed me enough for sleep to take over.

  Chapter 18

  Monday

  The next morning my phone vibrated as I pulled into the parking lot. Ethan pulled it out of the holder and checked it as I parked the Blazer. He cursed.

  "It's your stalker, he says to check your locker," Ethan grumbled. I shut off the truck, grabbed my bag then held out my hand for my phone.

  "Then let's check my locker," I said simply. Ethan nodded. He called Miles as we walked through the halls. My temper burned as we got closer to my locker, the guys were waiting by the time we got there. I gave them a small smile before opening the locker. Red rose petals poured from the white locker to the ground. It reminded me of blood pouring from a wound. I waited silently until they were all on the ground. Then I took the note taped to the back of the locker.

  ‘This is my last warning. Touch her again, and I'll kill you.’

  That's it. I handed the note to Miles then proceeded to stomp the hell out of the rose petals until each, and every one of them were crushed and dark. When I was done, I was breathing heavy. Isaac raised an eyebrow.

  "Feel better?" Isaac asked. I thought about it.

  "Yes. Yes, I do," I admitted. The guys chuckled. "I wrote him back last night." Zeke cursed, Asher sighed, and Miles started tapping on his leg in that staccato rhythm.

  "What did you say?" Isaac asked. I held out my phone to them. Isaac read it off to the others. Zeke's jaw clenched.

  "Damn it, Lexie," Zeke snapped. His burning eyes met mine. "No contact. That's what Rory said. What the fuck were you thinking?"

  "I was thinking 'let's piss him off, and maybe he'll make a mistake,'" I shot back.

  "Or he'll escalate," He countered. "He might go from wanting to save you to wanting to kill you." My stomach dropped as my anger disappeared. I hadn't thought about that, I had been so mad that I didn't stop to think. "You just fucked up big time," He growled. He took my phone from Isaac and tucked it back into his pocket. "You're not getting your phone back."

  "What?"

  "You fucking heard me," He snapped. "You were told not to respond, and you did. You think I'm going to let you keep taunting this guy until he wants you dead?" The tension was thick as we glared at each other. I finally looked away as I realized how stupid I had been. He looked to the others. They split up my schedule between them to walk with me between classes, and I didn't even argue. Because Zeke was right, I fucked up. Pissing this guy off was a great way to get him to want me dead. When they were done, the bell for first period rang and everyone took off, except for Zeke. Zeke walked with me to first period in silence, we were near the door when he stopped me. "Wait until Ethan gets here before leaving the room," He ordered me. I nodded.

  "Hey." I looked up to meet his ice blue eyes. "You hear me?" He asked, his voice sharp and hard.

  "I hear ya," I muttered.

  "Good." He waited until I was in the room before heading to his own class. I could feel everyone watching as I walked to my desk and sat down. This is going to get old fast. When Mr. Matthews got up to teach, his gaze found me.

  "Lexie, what happened to you?" He asked in front of the class. I sighed.

  "Some asshole tried to kidnap me Saturday night," I told him bluntly. "He didn't like it when I fought back." Mr. Matthews raised a white eyebrow.

  "You're here. Good job," He said, then turned his attention back to the class and began our lecture.

  That's how it went for the day, one of the guys would pick me up from class, my teacher would express concern, and class would start. It was getting annoying by the time Isaac picked me up from Algebra.

  "How's it going, Red?" He asked. I sighed.

  "My head is killing me, and if one more teacher asks what happened, I might scream," I told him bluntly. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a side hug.

  "Miles usually has something for a headache," He told me as we walked into a hallway. I gave him a small smile when I looked ahead of me. Morgan was walking down the hall, he spotted me, and frowned. He stopped in front of me his eyes running over my face.

  "Did he do that to you?" He demanded, pointing at Isaac. Isaac made a rude noise in the back of his throat.

  "No, some asshole stalker who thinks I belong to him did," I told him bluntly. "The cops are on it." His eyes were shadowed as they ran over my face.

  "I'm sorry to hear that," He said quietly before stepping out around me. "Take care of yourself."

  "Thanks," I said before he was out of ear-shot. Isaac was muttering under his breath as we walked into Chemistry. Isaac practically threw his bag on the floor, Ethan eyed him.

  "What's with you?" Ethan asked.

  "Fucking Morgan asked if I gave Lexie her bruises," Isaac snapped as he sat down still steaming.

  "It doesn't matter what people think, Cookie Monster," I reminded him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  "You're right," He grumbled. Miles came in and took his usual spot next to me. He dug a small bag out of his pocket.

  "Lexie, here," Miles said, pulling two small disks out of a plastic bag. "These are GPS trackers. I want you to keep them on you at all times," He said as he put them in my hand. It took me a second to realize what he was saying.

  "In case he grabs me," I stated. Miles' eyes were troubled as he nodded.

  "I'd rather be over prepared than not prepared enough," Miles admitted. "Those have a strong enough signal that we can track you anywhere on the planet and up to one hundred feet underground, as long as you have them on you." A weight lifted off my chest that I wasn't even aware of. I practically jumped on Miles to hug him.

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I whispered in his ear. He gave me a big hug back.

  "You're very welcome," He said softly. "Just keep them somewhere safe on you." I pulled back and instantly slipped my hand down my sweater and tucked one into my bra cup. Miles looked away, his ears turned pink while the twins laughed. I slipped the other into my right shoe.

  "That should work, right?" I asked, grinning. Miles nodded, his ears still pink.

  "I imagine so," Miles muttered.

  "Hey," Isaac said. "Maybe we should talk about code words."

  "Yeah, Ma uses them all the time with her class,"
Ethan nodded.

  "What are you talking about?" I asked.

  "Like, if you are on the phone with us, and your stalker is standing there with a gun on you, it'd be a way to tell us you’re in trouble without coming out and saying it," Isaac explained. Miles nodded, and then looked to me.

  "What would you never call one of us?" Miles asked. I thought about.

  "Blue eyes?" I offered uncertainly. "I mean, I'd call Zeke a multitude of other things before that." The guys nodded.

  "Blue eyes it is," Ethan announced.

  Class started, and for the first time, a teacher didn't ask what happened to my face. I was grateful.

  We were heading toward the cafeteria when I hesitated, Miles stopped walking.

  "Lexie?" He asked gently.

  "He's in there," I said. "That fucker is probably in there." I don't know why I stopped, but it just hit me that I knew my stalker and he could be anyone at this point; I knew who hit me and took those photos. Miles' hand was a comforting weight on my lower back.

  "Do you want to eat out here? Or in the library?" He asked in that silky-smooth voice of his. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as some of the tension inside me eased.

  "No, I'm not going to let him get to me," I told him. "I just needed a second." Miles waited patiently while I took another breath then started walking again. Isaac and Ethan were waiting by the door. They both gave me supportive smiles before going inside. Isaac went ahead of me, Ethan walked in beside me, and Miles brought up the back as if they had planned it. Hell, it wouldn't have surprised me if they did. I felt eyes on me as we walked to our table. I sat down between Asher and Isaac, Zeke was across from me. I met Zeke's gaze. "Can I have my phone now?" I asked sweetly.

  "Are you going to respond to people you shouldn't?" He asked.

  "No," I grumbled. "I know I fucked up." He pulled it out of his pocket and slid it over to me. I took out my lunch while the guys filled Asher and Zeke in on our code phrase for trouble, they loved the idea. Then they talked about going to my house for homework tonight. We usually went to Miles next but, apparently, that was off the table for now. I was chewing when I realized we were missing someone. "Where's Riley?" I asked Zeke.