“How long?” I asked already hating this position.
“20 minutes.” Rory answered putting a timer in front of me.
“No, how many more days do I have to do this for?” Rory sighed.
“A couple more weeks, then we’ll mix in heat if the bruising isn’t healing.” I groaned miserably. Memories of my mother coming at me flashed through my mind, the feel of the belt hitting me. I pushed the memories away, focusing on the TV. It was constant, memories coming to the surface from that night, me pushing it away again. I really hated this. I was vaguely aware when Tara came home. That is until she started demanding answers from me.
“What were you doing talking to Asher Westfell?” Tara snapped above me. All I could see of her was her black leggings.
“I was making friends.” I pointed out like it was obvious. “And you know, walking to class.”
“You embarrassed me in front of him!” She accused me. The timer went off. I sat up and picked up the ice packs.
“I’m confused Tara.” I looked up at her my brow drawn in mock confusion. “Didn’t you tell me an hour before that you didn’t want anyone to know we’re related?” Rory’s head turned as he frowned at Tara. “Then you see me walking to class with Asher, and all of a sudden I’m cousin Lexie.”
“Tara is that true? Did you say that to her?” Rory asked his voice hard. Tara turned and whined at Rory. “She’s not going to be popular Dad. She’s already got the most popular girl in school gunning for her.” Tara turned back to me and narrowed her eyes. “She twisted Jason Miller’s arm behind his back then shoved him in front of everyone.” Tara tattled. Fair enough, I tattled on her first. Rory turned his frown onto me.
“Explain.” He demanded. I sighed.
“This guy, Jason, wrapped his arm around me, I told him to let go.” I explained keeping it simple. “Instead he wrapped his arm around my waist and asked me if the curtains matched the drapes.” Rory’s face became hard. I continued. “So I broke his hold and did an arm lock on the guy. I told him he was being an ass and pushed him into his friends.” Rory’s frown had disappeared as I spoke. Now he was smiling.
“Good girl.” He told me, I winked at him. He went back to watching football.
“Dad!” Tara scoffed. Rory looked up at her blankly.
“I’m not going to punish her for defending herself.” He told her plainly. “She told him to let go, he didn’t. So, she made him. Perfectly justified.” Tara’s mouth dropped, then she turned back to me her eyes calculating.
“Dad, she tried to stop me from talking to Asher today.” Tara complained. All but stomping her foot in her tantrum. “We were standing there talking, and she tugged him to start walking. I had to tug him to stop. Then she gave herself a bloody nose to get me away from him.” I looked over at Rory and met his gaze. He inclined his head towards me; he understood what happened.
“The nosebleed wasn’t about you Tara.” He told her plainly turning back to the football game. “Lexie has always gotten a lot of nosebleeds.” Tara looked at him like he was insane. Then she crossed her arms and glared at me. She seemed determined to get me in trouble for something. “She’s hanging out with a bunch of boys. One of them is Zeke Blackthorn. That really scary guy, he’s a total bully.” Rory shrugged.
“He didn’t seem so bad.” Rory said absently. I winced. Tara’s eyes went wide.
“You met him?” She asked stunned. Rory didn’t notice the can of worms he had opened.
“Yeah, I met all of them. They were nice kids.” He said dismissively, still watching the game. Tara looked at me, her eyes wide.
“Asher Westfell was here?”
“Yeah, we all had dinner.” I got up and took the ice packs to the freezer to put them away for tomorrow. I turned and found Tara blocking my way out of the kitchen.
“You have to tell me when Asher is here.” She actually ordered me. I scoffed at her.
“I’m not going to help set you up with my friend.” Her mouth pinched and her eyes narrowed.
“Your friend?” She huffed. “You’re just the new girl Alexis. Soon enough they won’t even be talking to you.” That hurt, I admit it, it really hurt. Because she was probably right. Even if they did want to be my friends, when they found out about the Sight they’d be gone anyway.
“Night Tara.” I walked around her and went upstairs. I turned off my light then climbed into bed miserable. Tara’s comment shook me. I was just wondering if they’d even talk to me tomorrow when my phone vibrated on the desk. I reached over and picked it up.
Zeke: Why do you have physical therapy?
That was it, no hi or how are you. Straight to the point Zeke. I didn’t want to tell him. Especially after Tara had rattled me. So, I asked him something I doubt he’d answer.
Alexis: Why do you wake up swinging?
He was silent so long that I thought he’d never answer. Then my phone vibrated again.
Zeke: Not every family is a good family.
My heart sank. I knew exactly what he was saying. Just because someone is your parent doesn’t mean they give a damn. Hell, my own Mother couldn’t care less about me. I was invisible as long as I was able to keep food on the table. And when I couldn’t... I pushed those memories away as another text message came in.
Zeke: Why do you have physical therapy?
I bit my lip trying to decide how to answer. I wasn’t going to lie; he’d been honest with me.
Alexis: Not every family is a good family.
I thought that would be the end of it, but my phone vibrated again.
Zeke: That’s why you moved in to your uncle’s.
It wasn’t a question, not really. So, I didn’t answer. He sent another text.
Zeke: Are you okay?
I bit my lip; his simple question shook my control. I took a deep breath to stop the tears from falling. I didn’t want to deal with it, not yet. So again, I was honest, but vague.
Alexis: I’m alive.
Zeke: Some days alive is the best you get. But, there’s always tomorrow.
I smiled at that. Underneath the rough and scary Zeke had a soft spot somewhere.
Zeke: Night.
Alexis: Night.
Chapter 4
I woke up twice that night, both times with nightmares. So when the alarm went off, I wasn’t happy. At least I got to sleep in an extra half hour since I showered last night. I got out of bed slowly, my back stiff. I rubbed my eyes; I felt like I hadn’t slept at all. I got up and headed to the bathroom. Surprisingly Tara wasn’t in it this morning. I opened the medicine cabinet and found a small bottle of Ibuprofen. I took two, and then quickly washed my face. After brushing my teeth, I took the bottle with me. By the way my back felt, I was going to need it. Now more awake I dressed the way I felt today. Dark boot cut jeans, an olive long sleeve thin sweater with a black cami on underneath. The neckline on the sweater was low that the cami kept the girls covered. I brushed my hair, leaving it down and only pulling the front back into a small clip at the back of my head. I did my usual sunscreen and makeup then I grabbed my jacket making sure I had my wallet, cell phone and keys before heading downstairs. Thankfully, I found a metal travel mug. I turned the coffee maker on and made my lunch. My cell phone vibrated in my bra. I pulled it out to find a text from Miles.
Miles: Picking up coffee today, what would you like?
I texted back smiling; it looks like Tara was wrong about them. My mood lifted from dour to just tired.
Alexis: Mocha with two espresso shots please.
I had stronger coffee coming. That alone, got me out the door. That and the coffee in my hand. By the time I reached the school I had already drunk half of my mug. I finished it before I even reached my locker. I turned the corner and there they were, all five of them waiting for me. Ethan in all black again, Asher looking classic in another button down shirt and wool coat, Zeke wearing his black clothes, wallet chain and his motorcycle jacket, Isaac in his blue hoodie gray jeans and white shirt. I spott
ed Miles. Sweet, wonderful Miles in his t-shirt with a chemical compound written across his chest. Who had my coffee in his hand. I made a beeline for him.
“Morning.” He greeted me cheerfully handing over my coffee. I took it and hugged him tight. His body became rigid his hands hovering over back uncertainly.
“You are my hero for the day.” My voice was muffled; my face was in his blue hoodie at his shoulder. He smelled like wintergreen.
“Um, no problem...?” Miles voice trailed off, I felt him looking to the guys for help. I smiled, gave him one last squeeze then stepped back.
“Hell, if coffee is all it takes for a hug. I call tomorrow.” Isaac called, raising his hand. A few of them chuckled at Isaac. I ignored it and went to open my locker. With how my back felt today, I wasn’t going to be lugging all my books around all day.
“You okay Red? You look as bad as Zeke did yesterday.” Isaac asked. I waved his concern away still not awake as I put my bag on the ground and pulled out my chemistry book.
“I’m fine, just had nightmares all night.” I said absently before I took another deep drink of coffee and put the book in the locker. I was debating my World Civ book when Asher spoke up.
“Jessica’s on the warpath today.” He warned stepping up to the other side of my locker. I ignored it and put my World Civ book in the locker too. That should make my bag light enough for me today. I also put the empty travel mug in for good measure.
“What is she bitching about?” I asked as I closed the locker, turned and realized they all looked serious.
“Jessica’s the most popular girl in school for some reason.” Isaac explained. Asher nodded and met my eyes.
“She believes some bullshit story Jason came up with about you hitting on him.” Asher continued holding my gaze. “I explained to her what really happened, but brain power was never my sister’s strong suit.” He scratched his jaw as he continued. “She can destroy your reputation here before you even have one.” I snorted.
“I don’t really give a shit what people think about me.” I told him bluntly, I really was too tired for drama this morning. I took a drink of coffee before gesturing around the circle. “Does my reputation really matter to you guys?” They all shook their heads; the twins were smiling. Zeke did his almost smile thing.
“We thought you might. She might make it harder for you to get along with girls.” Miles chimed in. I sighed trying to find a way to explain how I felt about this.
“If the girls here are so spineless that they can’t think for themselves, I don’t want them as friends.” I told them honesty. I gestured at them again. “Besides, I’ve got you guys. I’m good.” All the guys smiled; Zeke smirked.
“See. This is why we kept you. You think like a guy.” Ethan declared wrapping his arm around my back jarring me. I winced as he hit particularly nasty bruise on my back, my hands actually shaking from the pain. I just smiled back at him, hoping no one had noticed. The bell rang, and the group split up. I couldn’t move yet, I had to give my back a minute. I was looking at the ground focusing on breathing when a pair of motorcycle boots came into view. I bit the bullet and looked up. Zeke’s eyes ran over my face, accessing.
“You okay?” He asked, his eyes bore into mine demanding an answer. I put on my best smile.
“Peachy.” I lied. He looked at the lockers over my head.
“The twins are affectionate with everyone.” He began, he tilted his head down meeting my eyes. “If you don’t want them touching you, you just need to speak up.” I felt my eyes widened, was he serious?
“I have never had a problem speaking up in my life.” I told him honestly. “You should have seen some of the notes from teachers in grades school. ‘Motor mouth’ was mentioned often.” The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Just checking.” He ran his eyes over me again before taking off down the hall. Zeke had noticed the wince. Damn, he was observant. I needed to be more careful around him and right now, I was too tired to figure it out how. God, it was too early for drama.
I was on my way to Algebra 2 my mind was finally awake though my body was still tired. I was going to make it through the day and take a nap this afternoon. Hell, maybe I could bribe one of the guys to do my homework. I had put Asher’s warning out of my mind and was simply walking down the hall when a shout rang out. Then another.
“Hey, new girl!” That had to be me. I turned to find a tall girl with the same blonde hair as Asher striding toward me with fire in her eyes. I sighed, reminded myself about my temper and waited. People backed up creating a ring around us. Jessica was pretty but had too much bubblegum pink lip gloss on. She was wearing a white crop top even though it was cold this morning. Her big gold hoop earrings shined at me. She stopped within a few feet of me, towering over me. Two of her friends standing on either side of her. Oooh. A show of force. I barely managed to keep my face straight.
“Yes?” I asked keeping it polite. Her eyes flared at me.
“Keep your hands off my boyfriend bitch.” She spat. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with this.
“Your boyfriend put his hands on me, and I made him stop.” I shrugged, feeling my hair slide down my shoulder. “Tell your boyfriend to keep his hands to himself and we won’t have a problem.” I added, again my voice reasonable. Jessica took a step forward, and I swear did a head bob.
“Jason told me what happened. How you came up to him, flirting and touching him.” She ran her eyes over me then back to my face. “Acting like a slut….” This was Asher’s sister, so I tried again to make her understand.
“Asher was there, ask him what happened.” I offered, but she was coming at me hard. Yelling, getting in my face. Yeah, I wasn't going to back down and crawl away. And to be honest, it seemed like that was what she expected. I was very aware of the surrounding crowd; I even saw a few cell phones out filming. Great.
“He’s lying to cover for you.” She snarled. All right, I had enough. I opened my arms to her palms up.
“Then what the hell do you want?” I asked more of my anger slipping through the more I spoke. “Asher told you what happened, I told you what happened. You don’t believe it.” I shook my head not caring that I was almost shouting now. She needed to learn that she wasn’t scaring me and I had to make her realize it “What are hoping to do coming at me like this? What? Do you want a fight? Fine.” I stated. I put my bag down, pulled off my jacket, which I dropped onto my book bag. I stepped closer to her waiting. Jessica’s eyes went wide, had no one done this before? Had no one ever just pushed back? Then she looked pissed as she stepped back away from me.
“I’m going to make your life here hell.” She snarled. I felt my face go blank; my eyes go dead.
“You don’t know a damn thing about me Jessica.” My voice was flat and honest as I kept eye contact with her. I pushed it; I had to make her understand something very simple. “You don’t intimidate me, and you sure as hell don’t scare.” Her eyes flashed at me, I continued. “So knock yourself out. It’s not going to make a bit of difference to me.” She pursed her lips before storming off her heels clicking down the hallway. The crowd parted for her in stunned silence. When she was gone I turned my back, bent over picked up my jacket and book bag. The circle was starting to break up since there wasn’t going to be a show. It was quick and bloodless the way I preferred it. I just hoped Jessica got the message, if you come at me I won't back down. I straightened up and sighed. Zeke was leaning against the wall with Asher standing next to him. Both were watching me. I felt awkward walking up to them, after all, I did just tell Asher’s sister to pretty much fuck off. Though Asher had the biggest smile I’d ever seen.
“That was beautiful.” Asher told me happily. “I’ve been wanting to see Jessica taken down a peg for a long time.”
“Happy to help.” Surprised, I didn’t know what else to say.
“I’ve got ten on it being on Youtube before the end of the day.” Zeke said an actual grin spreading across his face. Asher shook h
is head.
“I’m not stupid enough to take that bet.” I shook my head; I didn't know what to think about that. I looked up at Asher.
“Think that will be the end of it?” Asher tilted his head, thinking.
“I don’t think she’ll come at you directly like that again.” He was smiling again. “No one’s ever stood up to her before. But we probably haven’t heard the end of this.”
“Oh well, let her knock herself out.” The late bell rang overhead.
“See you guys at lunch.” I waved to them before heading off to class. I figured that the rest of the day would go back to normal. However, halfway through Algebra people were showing phones to each other and sending looks my way. Damn, Zeke had been right. It hadn’t even been an hour, and it looked like the video had gone viral through the school. I ignored it the best I could; it wasn’t easy. The quiet girl with brown hair that sat to my right leaned over.
“Did you really stand up to Jessica?” She whispered. I looked up from my book at her. Her brown hair was straight to her shoulders. She had a sweet face that was clear of makeup. Her fingers were twisting in her lap like she was anxious about something.
“I just made a couple things clear to her that’s all.” I whispered back, keeping my voice friendly. She smiled, and it changed her face completely. She was pretty, but you wouldn’t know it since she kept hiding in her hair.
“Wish I could have done that when she came at me.” She mumbled, picking up her pen. Jessica went after this girl too? It got me curious.
“She goes after girls like that a lot?” She nodded, sucking on her lower lip.
“All the time.” I snorted at that, Jessica wasn’t a pissed off girlfriend she was a drama queen. “She even goes after some of the boys sometimes.” That really caught my attention. I abandoned my class work and focused on her.
Trying To Live With The Dead (The Veil Diaries Series Book 1) Page 7
