Trying To Live With The Dead

by B. L. Brunnemer

  The morning moved on as usual. In World Civ, the girls to my left actually talked to me. It wasn’t long, just small talk about the upcoming essay before class. But it was a first for me. I was sitting in English waiting for class to start when the brown haired boy that usually sits behind me sat to my left instead.

  “Your Alexis right?” He asked turning towards me. I tried to hide my surprise that he was talking to me. He usually sat behind me and texted before class. His brown hair was short, but shaggy on the sides, but longer on top, enough that I could tell he used something to keep it up and back that way. He had a nice open face, a pointed chin and angled jaw. His amber colored eyes were killer though.

  “Yeah, and your Eric, right?” I asked hoping my memory was right. He smiled at me; a dimple peeked out of his cheek. The guy had dimples, uh, dimples killed me.

  “That’s me.” He opened his bag and started pulling out his copy of Romeo and Juliet. “So, what did you do your first weekend in town?” Oh, nothing big only helped a couple ghosts move on, found a dead body; you know the usual girl stuff.

  “Slept in.” I said immediately. He chuckled. “I went hiking with some friends, and saw one of their bands play over in Dulcet.” He suddenly looked really interested.

  “You were there Saturday?” I nodded. “What happened that night? I keep hearing different stories. Did Zeke Blackthorn really jump someone for no reason?” I barely stopped myself from groaning.

  “Oh no, he had plenty of reason. The guy shoved a girl, and she hit the floor.” I said; maybe if more people knew the truth then they’d stop thinking Zeke was to blame. People already seemed to avoid him like the plague. Eric’s eyebrows went up. His eyes were unfocused for a moment as if he was thinking.

  “Huh? Guess he did have reason.” Those pretty eyes were on me again. “So, did you like the music? Who was playing anyway?”

  “Under Fire was playing that night. Ethan Turner's band.” I noticed Mrs. Hayes starting up the aisle. “I honestly can’t wait till they start performing their own songs. I want to hear what they can do.”

  “So, you really like music huh?” He asked a grin on his face.

  “I like music. I really like music that says things you can’t normally say.” I told him absently. His grin spread to a smile as Mrs. Hayes called for everyone’s attention. English went on as usual, reading and talking about Romeo and Juliet. Dear God, please let us be done with this book soon. It felt like we were moving at a snail's pace. When class was over, I was pulling on my jacket when Eric looked at me.

  “I’ll see you around Alexis.” He was gone before I could say anything. Okay, he was a cutie, with dimples. I grabbed my bag and headed out towards my next class. Zeke and Asher as usual spotted me in the hall. I headed towards them moving to meet them in the middle when someone stepped close to me.

  “Hey sexy.” A guy I never met leaned into me. I felt the sting from a hard smack on my butt. I had a heartbeat of shock, and then I was pissed. Oh, hell no. When he began to move past me I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn towards me. He was still smiling when I drove my right fist into his solar plexus. His eyes grew wide as all the air left his lungs in a rush. He grabbed his stomach and stumbled back into the lockers, his face turning red. I stepped closer and got in his face as he still struggled to breathe.

  “Don’t ever smack my ass again.” I growled at him. “Or next time I’ll kick you in the balls.” The guy finally took a gasping breath and nodded. I stepped back and picked my bag up from where I dropped it. Several girls were clapping, others whooping. Maybe this guy had done this before? Asher and Zeke finally reached me. Zeke’s eyes went from me to the guy I’d hit and back. Asher was frowning.

  “What did he do?” Zeke asked his tone making it sound like this was something I did everyday.

  “He smacked my ass.” I replied, watching with a satisfaction as the guy tried to straighten up.

  “I don’t think he’ll be doing that again.” Asher observed a grin on his face. The guy started shaking his head as he moved off into the crowd. I turned and looked up at the guys.

  “So how are your mornings going?”

  It wasn’t until the end of chemistry that I had a chance to open one of the books Serena gave me. A journal really, from a man in the 1920s. It was full of information about different kinds of ghosts. How they manifest and how to tell them apart. I was hoping to find a solution to our Bitch Ghost problem. I really didn’t want to get Miles' house trashed again, we still hadn’t cleaned up the mess from last night. I was finally getting to an interesting part when it was time for lunch. I grabbed my bag and started walking. I was ignoring the guys and barely paying attention to where I was going. A hand grabbed my jacket and jerked me to the right. I stumbled and actually looked up. Ethan had jerked me away from the pole I was about to walk into.

  “Red, put the book down and walk.” Isaac chided.” You can read when we get to the table.” I kept my finger on my page and closed the book.

  “This book actually has some answers on how to deal with our bitch problem.” I said, making sure to be vague in case someone was within earshot.

  “It won’t do any good if you give yourself a concussion.” Miles pointed out as Ethan let go of my jacket.

  “Okay, okay.” I waved the book around showing it was closed. When we walked into the area in front of the cafeteria, I noticed Jessica was sitting on Jason’s lap not too far away. I made a point to sit with my back towards her. Isaac and Ethan were arguing again something about training this week as I started reading again. I didn’t notice the others had arrived until Asher sat down next to me. I scooted over my nose still in my book. A hand waved in front of my face. I looked up blinking.

  “What?” Everyone laughed at me.

  “We were talking about going to get lunch in the cafeteria.” Asher informed me. Oh yeah, no one made a lunch this morning. It had completely slipped my mind.

  “We can’t all go; someone needs to watch our bags.” Miles reminded everyone. I immediately volunteered pulling my wallet out of my back pocket.

  “I’ll watch them.” I pulled out a five and handed it to Asher. “Get me something cheesy and fattening please.”

  “You’ll get something healthy and like it.” Zeke growled at me. I stuck my tongue out at him as they got to their feet and went back to my book.

  “How much do you want to bet our bags are gone when we get back? And she has no clue?” Ethan asked as they were walking away.

  “I can hear you.” I commented. The boys laughed as they walked away. I started reading again but made sure to look up and check the bags every once in a while. I don’t know how much time passed I had just found the answer to our ghost problem when the boys got back. Asher handed me a plastic container with salad with grilled chicken inside. I glared at Zeke, he smirked back. I thanked Asher.

  “I think I found a way to get rid of Bitch Ghost.” I announced. Five pairs of eyes looked up at me. “Well two actually, but one is kind of illegal.”

  “So?” Zeke asked bluntly. I leaned in towards them.

  “So, it’s salting and burning the body of the ghost.” I whispered. “I’d rather not get arrested for that. Especially considering my uncle.”

  “He’d cover for you.” Asher reassured me.

  “Let’s call that plan b for now.” Miles suggested. I agreed with him completely. “What’s the second way?” I sighed.

  “It talks about linking to the Veil and using it to force her out of this plain and into the next. Pretty much forcing her to move on.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t say how to link to the Veil; it’s going to take time to find more.” Miles held out his hand towards me.

  “Can I use your phone, since mine is still in the pool?” He asked me playing the guilt card. Jokes on him I didn’t feel guilty at all. Though I did give him my phone.

  “What’s the Veil?” Ethan chimed in.

  “It’s the place between this world and the next, and least that’
s what I’m reading. Souls are supposed to go there to pass on.” I explained looking through the pages to check that I got it right.

  “I still like the first way better, it’s fast, efficient.” Zeke commented before taking another bite of food.

  “We’d possibly get caught.” I pointed out.

  “The bitch tried to strangle Miles; normally I’m the last to suggest doing something risky.” He argued. “But this I’m okay with.” His voice was becoming hard.

  “Well I’m not.” I countered. Isaac leaned over to Ethan.

  “I’ve got ten on Red.” He staged whispered to his brother, Ethan snickered. We ignored them.

  “Why?” Zeke all but barked.

  “Because it doesn’t say where she’d go.” I shot back to him. He blinked at me not understanding. “One way says it will force her to move on, the other doesn’t say what would happen to her.” I took a deep breath as I tried to explain. “She was 16 when her boyfriend killed her. Yeah, she stayed and didn’t want to be dead. I can’t blame her for that. Maybe in time she can come to deal with that on her own.” I met Zeke’s eyes from across the table. “But I can’t do something when I don’t know where I’d be sending her. Not if she can’t touch us anymore.” I took a deep breath before adding. “If she becomes a bigger threat then yeah, we’ll go the other route.” Zeke’s eyes softened a bit and opened his mouth. Miles cleared his throat grabbing everyone's attention.

  “As the one who got strangled.” Miles began adjusting his glasses. “I agree with Lexie, she’s not really a big threat right now as long as the charms continue to work.” He turned to me. “However, knowing where she’s buried would allow us to move fast if she does become that threat.” He held up the phone. “In the meantime, I’ve found something on linking to the Veil.” He handed the phone over to me. I started reading. Apparently linking to the Veil required a lot of meditation, and exercises. It took time to develop the ability. Shit. I read the instructions over and over committing them to memory.

  “To do it my way, it’s going to take time.” I informed them. “It requires a lot of practice. I don’t know when we’ll be able to move her on.” I dropped the phone and started rubbing my temples.

  “Are you guys willing to wait to deal with her?” I asked my eyes closed.

  “I am.” Isaac assured me. I opened my eyes to see him wink at me. I gave him a grateful smile.

  “Me too.” Asher announced.

  “I like staying at Miles' house; he’s got a hot tub. I say wait.” Ethan supplied. Zeke sighed.

  “Majority rules.” Zeke said his voice neutral. The conversation quickly moved to a lighter subject. After a few minutes I met Zeke’s eyes, he gave me a wink. He wasn’t mad at me. My heart felt lighter. Ethan’s phone vibrated on the table and he picked it up. He was in the middle of a sentence talking about a girl when he stopped. He looked up at me and smiled that mischievous grin of his.

  “Lexie, when were you going to tell us about punching Derrick Geeter in the stomach this morning?” Ethan asked sweetly. Asher and Zeke grinned but kept their mouths shut. Isaac and Miles were looking at me their questions on their faces.

  “Who?” I asked innocently.

  “The guy you hit this morning in the hall.” Asher reminded me helpfully, his eyes still full of laughter.

  “Oh, I never got his name.” I admitted finding that a bit funny myself. I looked over to Ethan.

  “If you tell me that it's on Youtube I might have a fit.” I told him honestly.

  “No, one of the girls I know texted me.” Ethan reassured me. “She knows we’re friends and is asking why you slugged him?”

  “Oh, he smacked my ass.” Isaac and Ethan chuckled; Miles gave me a small smile. “I have a rule. If I don’t know you, hands off.” The boys grinned at me as if they found it cute or something. Ethan sent my answer to the girl who asked. Miles eyes narrowed on me.

  “You didn’t slug Isaac or Ethan on your first day here.” Miles pointed out. I smiled at that.

  “They weren’t slapping my ass, or being jerks.” I shrugged. It might be a weird rule, but it was mine. It could be weird. Miles expression told me it made complete sense to him. Our conversation went back to normal.

  Soon the bell rang, and I hurried to gym. I had just pulled my gym shirt on when Jessica stepped over next to my locker. Oh, great. I’m pantless and she wants a chat. I pulled my gym shorts out of my locker.

  “Can I help you? Or are you just checking me out?” I asked getting irritated with her watching me. I pulled on my mesh gym shorts and waited.

  “You’ve been hanging out with my brother a lot.” Jessica announced to me, like this was news. I waited for her to continue. When she kept glaring at me, I realized she was waiting for me to say something.

  “And?” I asked before sitting down on the bench and pulling on my sneakers.

  “I don’t want him hanging out with a skank.” She snapped at me. I shook my head and started tying one of my shoes. I ignored her. There was nothing to gain in the conversation, so I didn’t even try. She had made up her mind about me. I admit it. I was probably just as big a bitch as I thought she was from her point of view. But I wasn’t going to waste my time with this bullshit. I had enough to deal with right now. So I ignored her. I was tying my other shoe when I realized some of the other girls were watching us and trying to be stealthy about it. I finished tying my shoe and stood up. I turned around and shut my locker making sure it latched. I was pulling my hair up into a messy bun when I met Jessica’s eyes. I smiled sweetly.

  “Fuck off.” I said simply before I turned and walked away. She wasn’t done yet.

  “You’ll regret this.” She shot at my back. I stopped and turned around.

  “Why am I going to regret this?” I asked my temper starting to spark. “You’re going to destroy my reputation? Spread lies about me?” I asked sarcastically. “I don’t really care what people think about me. I know what I am and I know what I’m not.” I shrugged casually. “Knock yourself out.” I turned to walk out of the now silent locker room.

  “I’m going to make you care!” Jessica shouted after me. I waved my hand goodbye without turning around.

  “Doubt it.” I shot back over my shoulder. I was out the door before she could say anything more.

  The rest of gym was normal; we played basketball and sat around. Jessica didn’t approach me again in the locker room. I met Asher on our way to art class as usual.

  “You're sure those charms will work Ally?” Asher asked his voice uncertain.

  “Yep, I couldn’t even feel her emotions last night. Not even when I stepped out of the circle.” I smiled up at him, trying to be reassuring. His face relaxed a bit.

  “Well, let’s not stress test it today.” Asher suggested. “No stopping on the path.”

  “Oh, I’m with you on that.” I nodded emphatically. He finally smiled, his face relaxing a bit. We were getting close to the path when my cell vibrated. I pulled it out and checked it. It was Isaac calling.

  “Hey Cookie Monster.” My phone vibrated telling me there was another call coming in. I ignored it.

  "Actually, it's me." Miles voice surprised me. "Isaac let me borrow his phone since his last classes are with Ethan."

  "That was sweet of him."

  “Have you walked past her yet?” Miles asked, sounding oddly like Zeke at the moment. I smiled to myself as Asher’s cell phone rang.

  “Not yet, we were just getting close.” I watched Asher answer his phone then immediately pulled his phone from his ear wincing. I had a hunch that was Zeke on his phone.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Miles asked his voice tense. I smiled to myself; they were really worried about this.

  “I told you guys last night, the charms work. I couldn’t feel anything from her at all.” I repeated what I had just told Asher. Asher was telling someone to stop yelling.

  “You’re positive? No doubt in your mind?” His doubt made me start to think about
it. The charms were to keep her from touching me. If she couldn’t touch me, she couldn’t hurt me.

  “Yeah, like ninety-nine point nine percent sure.” I admitted.

  “So you’re not a hundred percent sure.” He stated his voice getting worried. I rolled my eyes.

  “No one can ever be hundred percent positive that something isn't going to happen.” I told him wishing he’d just trust me on this. Asher frowned as he took his phone from his ear held it out to me.

  “Zeke wants to talk to you.” He said, then gestured that we trade phones. I nodded.

  “Miles, honey, I’m going to give you to Asher, Zeke’s apparently demanding my attention.” I told him before handing the phone over to Asher and taking his. Asher's phone vibrated; someone else was trying to call. “Greetings, tall and oh so grumpy one.” I teased him smiling, thinking myself funny.

  “Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Zeke growled into my ear. I rolled my eyes.

  “Miles got to me first.” I snapped back at him.

  “Have you walked past her yet?” Now I know Asher had told him we hadn’t.

  “People keep calling and making it harder for us to walk.” I pointed out, obviously talking about him.

  “Well get walking, I want to listen to what’s going on.” Zeke demanded. I thought about what the repercussions would be if I just hung up on him. Knowing Zeke he’d run across campus to get over here and it would be over before he got here. But, I did almost die this week, so he wasn’t being completely crazy. I sighed as I realized I was going to give in.

  “Fine, oh so grumpy and demanding one.” I couldn’t help mocking him. I mean really, I tested this last night, we were fine. I looked up at Asher. “We’ve been told to walk.” Asher nodded as we headed out to the path.

  “So, how’s your day going?” I asked in a cutesy voice. He huffed back at me. I spotted Bitch Ghost she was waiting in the middle of the path. “Because mines going okay.” I continued talking to distract him from worrying. And maybe myself, a little too. We started down the path, walking at our normal speed. I kept talking. “A cute guy talked to me this morning, he asked me about Ethan’s band.” I began going over my day. We were almost to Bitch Ghost and I still felt nothing. It was going to be fine. “Then someone slapped my ass.” She tried to reach out and touch me, but her fingers stopped inches away from me. Her energy was like a blanket in front of me. I felt it only because she was using a lot. The beads on my wrist grow warmer. “I hit him, but you saw that anyway.” I continued in my cutesy voice as we past Bitch Ghost and kept going.