Asher
I walked into the house to find Jessica actually home and in the living room with Dad.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dad bit out.
I sighed as I put my keys on the table in the foyer, beside Mom’s flag case. “I was at Zeke’s.”
He huffed. “That Blackthorn kid? You’re still hanging with that loser?”
That irritated the hell out of me. I turned around. “Zeke’s a good guy.” I half expected Jessica to smile or chime in to bash Zeke, but she surprised me. She looked at Dad with a frown.
“I don’t want you hanging around him,” he told me.
Normally, I would just say ‘yes sir’ and sneak around until he left. But… not this time. I couldn’t stomach this crap anymore. “No.” Dad’s eyes went to me. “I’m going to keep hanging out with Zeke.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “No? Asher, that kid’s father—”
“Zeke isn’t his father,” I snapped. “And you don’t get to tell me who to be friends with.” I walked away from the living room and up the stairs. I locked my bedroom door behind me. Then I dropped into my desk chair. I braced my elbows on the desk and held my head in my hands. I was so tired of his shit. I was tired of him. I was tired of playing things his way. I sighed and pulled out my phone. I started to text Ally and hesitated. She had looked exhausted when Miles took her home. She was probably asleep already. I set my phone down and tried to come to grips with what had happened tonight.
Demons. Demons were real. Those burns on her wrists showed that alone. Shit. What the hell else was out there? What else could come for her?
Isaac
Metal smashed into metal. The car jerked again. I held Sophie tight to my chest.
“Izzy.” She coughed. I looked down to find blood trailing from her mouth. Her amber eyes were wide, tears filling them. “Why didn’t you save me?” Her voice shook. My heart split in two. I bashed on the door, slamming my shoulder into it over and over.
“Hold on, Sophie, I’m getting you help,” I told her, my voice thick as desperation took control. I slammed and hit the door over and over. “Let us out!”
“Izzy…” her sweet voice called. I looked down into my arms. Bright red blood poured from her mouth onto her chest. “I can’t breathe.” She coughed a wet cough that ended with her gasping for breath. I wiped the hot blood away from her mouth so it wouldn’t go back into her lungs.
“Hold on, hold on for us,” I told her, my voice cracking. My chest burned, my lungs ached. The sound of cars crashing finally stopped. Silence fell.
She looked me in the eye. “You could… have… saved me.” Her eyes became blank, her pupils dilated. Her body went limp in my arms. No, no, no. NO!
I bolted up in bed, gasping for air. Sweat rolled down my face as I searched my dark bedroom. Home. Sophie’s been dead for years. My fault. Fuck, it was my fault. My heart tried to rip itself in two as I brought my knees up and rested my elbows on them. Taking deep, shaking breaths, I wiped my face. I should have fucking got out of the car! I should have fucking tried harder! She was dying and I just fucking SAT THERE! My hands came back wet. My eyes continued to burn. More tears fell down my face. My chest stayed tight, my lungs not taking in enough air. I laid back down and watched the shadows from the tree outside dance across the ceiling.
It should have been me. It should have fuckin’ been me.
Chapter 6
Saturday
Asher
An annoying buzz woke me up. Groaning, I rolled over and shut it off. MMA practice. Right. I rolled onto my back and took a deep breath. Another Ally dream. That was the third this week. And they always ended at the best damn part. I laid there, taking deep breaths until my body grew soft again. Normally I’d just take care of it, but I was dreading going downstairs today. How much of an ass was Dad going to be?
When my hard on was finally gone, I got up and went to my dresser. I got dressed on autopilot and headed downstairs.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I came up short. Dad was at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. And surprisingly, Jessica was there too, in her pink Hello Kitty pjs, standing at the stove and trying to make eggs.
I moved into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of cereal. No way was I sticking around long enough to cook anything. I eyed Jessica’s cooking. “The heat is too high. You want medium high.”
She said nothing as she turned down the burner.
I stood against the sink and looked out the window, watching the sun rise.
“You have training this morning?” Dad asked. I let out a breath. So much for a quiet breakfast.
“Yeah, MMA.” I was almost done with breakfast anyway.
“Good cardio, but no fighting. You don’t want to break something or damage your arm,” he informed me absently.
“Sparring is part of it,” I said before I could think.
“Well, knock that shit off. You’re going to get injured and blow your ride,” he said.
I put my bowl in the sink and closed my eyes. I hadn’t realized how tired I was of his bullshit. How tired I was of pretending to be someone I wasn’t. It finally hit me full on. What I wanted, what I didn’t. I couldn’t do this the rest of my life. I could barely do it the rest of his visit.
“No, I won’t,” I said, my heart pounding. “I’m not playing football in college.” Tension filled the room.
His chair scraped against the tile. “What are you talking about? Of course you are.”
I turned around and met his eyes. He was leaning against the kitchen island. “I don’t want to play football for the rest of my life.” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ease the tension there. Just accept it. Please. It was a futile hope, but a hope all the same.
His eyes flashed. “It’s not about what you want. It’s about money,” he reminded me. “It’s about the scholarship to get you through school, and then the money you’ll make in the pros. If you’re good enough, you’ll be set for life by the time you're twenty-four.” He shook his head. “Football is your future. You’re not going to get into college any other way.”
Anger flashed through me. “I have a three-point-nine GPA. Of course, you would know that if you ever asked about my grades instead of about my football stats.”
He shook his head. “Listen here. You are going to get a scholarship. You’ll play football in college and move on to the pros.”
I met his eyes and shook my head. “No. I’m not.” Accept it, Dad, please.
His jaw clenched, his eyes grew hard. “Then don’t expect me to pay for it.” What? That’s all he had to say?
“I’ll get a student loan,” I told him.
He scoffed. “You need someone to co-sign, and I’m not doing it. I’m not going to help you set yourself up for failure.”
It was like a blow to the stomach. Failure… rage coursed through me. “Fine. You know, if you cared half as much about Jessica’s grades as you do about me playing football, then she'd have a better GPA.” I was sick of it. Sick of the way he treated Jessica, sick of the way he treated both of us. I was done. I walked away from him and out of the kitchen. Snagging my keys on the way, I left the house. Anger burned in my gut all the way to the gym.
Lexie
I was gasping as I rolled off of Maddie’s back and dropped to the mat. I had managed to put her in a hold that made her tap out. Again.
“Damn, Lexie,” Maddie said. “You’re kicking my ass too much.”
“Think of it as me getting even for all the times you’ve pinned me,” I countered. She chuckled. I got to my feet and reached down to help her to hers. She was shaking her head as we reached Dave.
“Maddie, you did well. You pushed her into her usual weak areas and kept her there.” He turned to me. “Lexie, you’re improving on your grappling, but Maddie shouldn’t have been able to get her hands on you. Work on your cardio.” He turned back to Maddie. “Give us a minute.” She smiled and headed off to the showers. Dave gestured for me to follow
.
He led me over to the room Isaac was training in. Isaac was tearing into a punching bag. His face was hard, his jaw clenched.
“Do you know what’s wrong with Isaac?” he asked.
“No…” I said. I watched him beat into the bag. “Nothing I can think of.”
Dave sighed. “What about Asher?”
I turned to where he was looking. Asher was laying into his sparring partner. His partner was holding his own, but Asher was going all out.
“His dad is in town,” I offered.
“Shit,” he snapped. “I’m taking him off sparring until that ass leaves.” Dave moved toward the ring Asher was sparring in.
I headed back to the main gym room and towards the lockers, unwrapping my hands as I went.
“Hey, Beautiful, are you done?” Ethan asked, breathless as he met me in the center of the large room.
“Yeah, how about you?” I asked as we headed toward the front and the lockers.
“Oh yeah. I’m done,” he grumbled. I eyed him; he was walking with a slight limp.
“Snoopy, is your back hurting?” I asked, in a low voice. Ethan didn’t exactly like to advertise the slipped disks in his back.
“Yeah. My massage therapist is off at a family reunion this week,” he muttered. “Think you could give me a hand, or two?”
I smiled. “Sure, but you need to put sunblock on me again.”
He instantly perked up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I think I’m getting the better end of the deal.”
I was laughing when we reached the lockers. After I opened my locker, I pulled out my bag and headed for the women’s showers.
Today we were going out to the quarry to swim. The guys thought it would be better than going to my house. Less Tara at least. I took a quick shower before pulling on my two-piece suit. Then I slipped my street clothes over that. Feeling tired already, I washed my face with cold water, hoping it would wake me up.
I slipped on my sandals, threw my hair up into a bun, slapped some sunscreen on my face, and called it good.
When I came back out, the boys were all in their board shorts and had their bags slung over their shoulders. Everyone headed outside.
“So, where is the quarry?” I asked them as we stepped out into the blaring heat. Ugh, yuck. It was like running into a wall of burning air.
“I’ll go with ya,” Ethan offered. He held the car keys out to Isaac. Isaac shot him a look, his face hard.
“Sure. I’ll take the car,” he muttered on his way to their sedan.
“Asher and I will be a bit,” Miles announced.
“We’ll be there after we pick up lunch,” Asher explained as they headed for his truck.
“Can you pick me up an iced coffee?” I called to Asher and Miles. Asher waved his hand without turning around to let me know he heard.
I turned back to the others. “Well, I’ve got a blanket in the back, so we don’t need to sit on the ground,” I told them.
“Oh, a blanket?” Ethan wiggled his eyebrows. Heat washed through me at the soft, smoky sound of his voice.
I shot him a look. He chuckled. Everyone loaded up.
I followed Zeke’s Jeep until we pulled into a gravel lot full of cars.
“Looks like the quarry is busy today,” Ethan said with a smile.
We climbed out. I grabbed my small bag of stuff and pulled out the folded blanket. Ethan led me to a path through the trees where Zeke was waiting. We were only a few feet along when Zeke grabbed my arm in a hard grip and kept me on the inside of the path. I didn’t understand why until I looked to the right, past him. We were at the very top of a cliff over the quarry. It was at least forty feet down to the deep, water-filled pit. Shit. There was no way I was jumping from this high. Ethan led us down the path and steps that had been carved out of the rock. Being careful, we eventually reached the bottom of the quarry. Zeke didn’t let go until I was off the last step.
People from school were everywhere. Music was playing from somewhere. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to find a good spot in the shade for the blanket. Ethan helped me spread it out under the branches of a tree. I sat down, opened my canvas tote, and pulled out my sunblock. Ethan took off his shirt as I rubbed the lotion into my skin. He smiled and sat behind me. I squirted some into my hand before handing it to him. Zeke laid down and covered his eyes with his large forearm. He looked like he was going to take a nap.
“Don’t forget to put some on you,” I reminded him as I started on my legs. Ethan pulled the back of my shirt up and started rubbing it onto my back and shoulders.
“So, how high are you jumping from today?” Ethan asked.
“She can go to the second level, that’s it,” Zeke snapped. I shot him a look, but his eyes were still covered.
“What’s the second level?” I asked Ethan.
He reached around me and pointed at an outcropping of rocks about ten feet up from the water. “The first level is ten feet. The second, twenty. The third is thirty. The fourth is from the very top.” He went back rubbing in lotion.
“Don’t even think about going above—”
Zeke stopped himself. I looked over my shoulder to watch him clench his jaw. He dropped his arm off his eyes and looked at me. “It’s dangerous over twenty feet. Don’t go higher than the second level… please?”
I eyed him. He was asking? Zeke never asked, he just ordered. “Okay,” I answered. What was going on? Zeke let out a deep breath and covered his eyes again. I slipped my sandals off and rubbed sunblock into my feet. When I was done, Ethan moved in front of me and handed me the lotion.
I sat back on my knees and began to rub the lotion into his muscular shoulders and back. My fingers glided along his toned lines. Needing a distraction, I sang under my breath. It wasn’t until my voice cracked that I realized what I was doing. I stopped instantly, my mood dimming.
“Keep singing,” Ethan told me, “you were doing great.”
“Not here,” I muttered. When I was done putting sunblock on his back I tapped his shoulder. “Lie down.”
“Oh, Beautiful,” he said eagerly as he laid down next to me, “this is going to feel so good.”
Smiling, I turned and put more lotion in my hands. Then I began working on his back. His muscles were tight and knotted as usual. I focused on broad strokes that loosened up most of his muscles.
It wasn’t long until Isaac came down the cliffside and joined us. He pulled off his shirt when he reached us. Oh, mother… definition and muscles. That described Isaac perfectly. I fought not to drool as he moved behind me to sit against the trunk of the tree.
When I started on the small knots, Ethan started groaning into the blanket. I smirked and ignored it as much as I could.
After a while, the guys had had enough.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” Isaac snapped. My eyes jumped to him. His jaw was clenched, his mouth a hard line as he glared at his brother.
“Can’t, she has magic hands,” Ethan mumbled.
“Lexie, just push a lot harder,” Zeke told me. I snorted as I continued to work out the last of the knots. When I was done, Miles and Asher were coming down the stairs with several grocery bags.
Ethan sat up, stretched, and then leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Beautiful.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I worked my thumb into the muscle between my thumb and forefinger. I gasped as I hit a knot.
“Red?” Isaac asked.
“I’m fine, the muscles in my hands are just tight,” I muttered.
“Why?” Asher asked as they reached the blanket. Miles and Asher sat down and began handing out drinks. I took my coffee happily and popped it open.
“She worked out the knots in my back.” Ethan moved over to sit in front of me. He held his hands out. “Gimme. Time to pay for my massage.” He began to gently rub the muscles in my right hand as I drank my coffee.
Asher began passing sandwiches out. Miles started with the chips. By the time Ethan moved on to m
y left, everyone else was eating lunch and talking.
“So, who’s here?” Asher asked before biting into a sandwich.
“Uh, the usual crowd,” Ethan answered.
“Is there any news about a bonfire down here yet?” Asher asked.
“We haven’t talked to anyone yet,” Isaac told them. “We’ve been here waiting for you, and Ethan made annoying noises. That’s about it.”
I looked over my shoulder at Isaac. His shoulders were stiff, his brow was drawn down as he ate his sandwich.
“Cookie Monster, are you okay?” I asked gently.
His eyes snapped up to mine. They softened slightly. “Yeah, it’s just hot.” I was smiling at him when Ethan pressed too hard.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” I hissed as I jerked my hand away.
“If you can’t fucking do it without hurting her, don’t fucking do it at all,” Zeke snapped.
“You want to try?” Ethan shot back over his shoulder. “It’s not exactly easy, ya know. She’s got these freaking little hard knots in a muscle that’s sensitive.” Wow. Everyone was crabby. Was it just the heat?
I sighed and picked up my sandwich.
“Beautiful, I’m not done with your hands,” Ethan reminded me.
I shook my head as I pulled my legs out from under me. “Everyone is in a shitty mood today. And I’m a little tired of hearing everyone snap at each other.” I started opening the white butcher paper.
The silence stretched as Miles looked at each of the guys. I took a bite of my turkey sandwich.
Isaac sighed. “Sorry.”
“Me too,” Ethan added.
“The heat is just getting to everyone,” Miles offered.
“Then go dunk your butts then come back and eat. ’Cause your grumpy asses are killing my good mood,” I told them. Isaac chuckled and got up. Ethan followed. I sent Zeke a look. He cursed and got up to jump in the water.
I chuckled as they came back. Isaac and Ethan came back with smiles. Zeke came back and squeezed the water out of his shirt over my head.
When Evil Comes To Play (The Veil Diaries Book 5) Page 10